All posts by Carl V. Anderson

book news

Four Great Gifts, One Great Price: Free!!!

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Although we are only mid-way through the 2010 Sc Fi Experience, it is not hyperbole to say that March is around the corner. Those of you who have frequented this site for a year or more know that March brings with it the annual Once Upon a Time Challenge. This challenge, now in its 4th year, will begin on March 21st, 2010.

Katrina Alvarez from the HarperCollins Imprint, EOS, contacted me the other day with an offer for a book giveaway. I couldn’t help but jump at the opportunity for a number of reasons. One, you might just get a free book, two, it would make a nice preview of Once Upon a Time IV, and three, Harper Collins is home to one of my favorite authors, Neil Gaiman, and thus I feel honored to be able to do a promotion for work from some of their other authors.

Now about those free books…

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Book Reviews, Science Fiction, Short Stories

The Best from Fantasy and Science Fiction: Seventh Series ~Anthony Boucher, ed.

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The Best from Fantasy and Science Fiction: Seventh Series ~Anthony Boucher, ed.

–published 1958 (Book Club Edition)
–Doubleday and Company
–264 pages
–4/5 stars

A book lover’s treasured possessions come in all shapes and sizes and their reasons for being cherished can be as enigmatic as the myriad of readers on the planet or as simple as a three word explanation. In the case of this recently purchased treasure it is the simple explanation: book cover art. I fell in love with this wonderful representation of 1950’s science fiction art the moment I pulled it off the top shelf of a small used bookstore in my home town on a shopping trip during Christmas vacation. I was bound to pick it up, it was only a couple of dollars, even before I opened to the table of contents to see a nearly balanced representation of authors that I have read, authors I have heard of but not read, and authors whose names were foreign to me. Imagine my great pleasure to find that this collection was every bit as fun to read as its cover art promised it to be.

I had determined to spend the last weekend of January reading short stories and though it was not my intention to read this book from start to finish, once I started I just could not put it down. Per usual I will attempt to give a very brief overview/rating of each story without spoiling the experience for you. After all, if I like a story then I want you to read it too!

Continue reading The Best from Fantasy and Science Fiction: Seventh Series ~Anthony Boucher, ed. →

Book Reviews, Science Fiction

Old Man’s War ~John Scalzi (Reread)

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Old Man’s War ~John Scalzi

–published 2005 (this version, 2006)
–Tor Books
–313 pages
–Winner of John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer 2006
–5/5 stars

Books beget books beget books. Sometimes the best laid plans, like knowing exactly what we are going to read next, go awry because of the influence of the book we are currently reading. That is precisely what happened as I closed the book on Starship Troopers. I have often seen Old Man’s War compared favorably to Heinlein’s classic (heck, I even did that in my original review without having read Starship Troopers), but after finishing Troopers and reading the various controversial accusations against it on Wikipedia, I wanted nothing more than to return to the world of John Perry and Jane Sagan.

Thus Sunday found me perched in my rocking chair partaking of a cover-to-cover read that I finished just after the NFC Championship game. Reading the classic, and the destined-to-be classic, back-to-back was an enriching experience that left me with an even deeper appreciation for both novels.

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Book Reviews, Science Fiction

Starship Troopers ~Robert A. Heinlein

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Starship Troopers ~Robert A. Heinlein

–published 1959
–G. P. Putnam’s Sons (this version, Berkley Medallion Books)
–208 pages
–Hugo Award for Best Novel, 1960
–4.75/5 stars

A wise man once said, “Never judge a book by its movie”. For years I have done just that. I left the theater in 1997 after seeing Paul Verhoeven’s interpretation of Heinlein’s novel feeling that I had just pissed away the price of two movie tickets and precious hours of my life. To be fair to those who enjoyed Starship Troopers: the movie, I can only vaguely recall the events that frustrated me so. I was certainly expecting a different movie than I received, and I determined that there was no way that I was going to ever read the book.

Age and experience have taught me the the truth of those wise words, and my recently kindled desire to read Heinlein’s earlier and more famous works, coupled with the positive review of a good friend, made me cast aside my former prejudice. I have now read Starship Troopers, and I liked it. I liked it a lot!

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