All posts by Carl V. Anderson

Book Reviews, Science Fiction

Boneshaker ~Cherie Priest

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Boneshaker ~Cherie Priest

–published 2009
–Tor Books, 416 pages
–4.5/5 stars

“A steampunk-zombie-airship adventure of rollicking pace and sweeping proportions, full of wonderfully gnarly details. This book is made of irresistable.”
~Scott Westerfield

“Boneshaker is without a doubt Cherie Priest’s breakthrough work: This hollering, stamping, crackling thing is the best fun you’ll have with a book all year.”
~Warren Ellis

“If Jules Verne and George Romero got together to rewrite American history, it might go something like this. I loved it. I want more.”
~Mike Mignola

Three quotes from three authors with incredible geek cred who are also at the top of their game. Combine that with the eye-catching Jon Foster cover, the fact that steampunk is one of my favorite sub-genres of science fiction, and the fact that I have heard nothing but high praise for Cherie Priest in the past and had yet to read her fiction and you have a recipe that made it a foregone conclusion that I would be picking this book up as soon as it was released.

The risk of showcasing the above quotes and of tossing out the “steampunk” label is that it could potentially scare away readers who would:

a) Profess that a book like this is “not their kind of thing”.

b) Erroneously presume that this book is some sort of Night of the Living Dead zombie-fest.

and/or

c) Fear that any book categorized as science fiction would contain technical details that they just would not understand.

If you will allow me a few minutes of your time, dear readers, I will attempt to dispel those concerns and explain to you why this book should not only go immediately on your to-read lists, but should be a book that you read soon. Very soon.

Continue reading Boneshaker ~Cherie Priest →

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Four decades plus one

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(Image by jakes creations)

“It takes a long time to grow young.”
~Pablo Picasso

This past weekend, Saturday to be exact, saw me shift from being forty, to being IN my forties. Traumatic?!?! Not really, no. I have always had an ’embrace the celebration’ attitude about birthdays and just the right amount of healthy narcissism to enjoy being the center of attention for one day out of the year.

And so Saturday came and went. We met my parents and sister and her husband and baby for breakfast, antique store shopping, and then lunch. (Sounds like an early start on Thanksgiving with all the food!). The afternoon found Mary, Tori and I putting up the Christmas tree and some of the indoor decorations, a tradition that began a few years back when we realized we needed a slightly longer season in which to enjoy our decorations. We then settled down to snacks and Star Trek to end the evening. It was a wonderful, wonderful birthday.

Being on a spending/debt reduction plan there has not been much call for book porn lately, so I’ll use this occasion to show you all what I got.

Continue reading Four decades plus one →

Book Reviews, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Short Stories

Eclipse Three ~Johnathan Strahan, ed

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Eclipse Three ~edited by Jonathan Strahan

–published 2009
–281 pages, Night Shade Books
–4/5 stars

Eclipse Three is the just released third volume in Jonathan Strahan’s annual series, meant to showcase new, previously unpublished science fiction and fantasy short stories, unrelated to any specific theme.

To observe an eclipse is to witness a rare and unusual event. Under darkened skies the sun becomes a negative image of itself, its corona transforming the landscape into a strange space where anything might happen, and any story may be true…

In the spirit of classic science fiction anthologies such as Universe, Orbit, and Starlight, master anthologist Jonathan Strahan (The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year) presents the non-themed genre anthology Eclipse: New Science Fiction and Fantasy. Here you will find stories where strange and wonderful things happen–where reality is eclipsed by something magical and new.

I was there at the beginning, or nearly so, when the Eclipse series began. Older science fiction fans have had the privilege of “being there” when some of the great stories were told, revealed first in magazines and anthologies that, were I to try, would take years to go back and collect, let alone read. I remember being very excited to learn that this new anthology would be released and I, as a fan of the short story genre, would be able to follow along with it year after year. Eclipse One and Eclipse Two found their way to my local Barnes and Noble months after their official release dates. So it should come as no surprise that I was more than thrilled to visit the science fiction and fantasy section last week and see Eclipse Three waiting there patiently for me, at least two months before I thought I would have a chance to read it. I gifted myself a copy and started in on it right away when I arrived home. As with anything one is anticipating, there is always the chance of a let down. Couple that with the controversy surrounding the Eclipse series (which I will touch on later) and it is safe to say that I experienced a bit of trepidation.

Continue reading Eclipse Three ~Johnathan Strahan, ed →

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Its Beginning to Look a (little) Like…

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(previously used image…I was running to late to take a pic of today’s snow)

“It is, indeed, the season of regenerated feeling–the season for kindling, not merely the fire of hospitality in the hall, but the genial flame of charity in the heart.”

~Washington Irving

It is hard to fathom. One minute it is Halloween, the next sees a brief return of spring weather, and before you know it you awake a little more than a week from the Thanksgiving holiday to find a smattering of snow on the ground!

The Christmas mood was already creeping up on me, inspired in part by my decision to take advantage of last weekend’s good weather to get all the outside Christmas lights strung up (haven’t lit them yet, other than to test them) and partially inspired by the handful of Christmas magazines that I bought last week and have stashed away for my viewing pleasure come Thanksgiving week. The snow and colder temps almost have me reaching for the Christmas music station on the radio…almost!

I love the season, and frequently get an early start on it. It is still a bit too early to launch into it yet…though I suspect that this weekend will find me giving in and putting up the inside decorations and lighting the lights. The Thanksgiving holiday is so late this year that I just cannot accept only having Christmas lights on for a month…I like at least a month and a half of enjoying them…after all, it is a lot of work to get it all put together. And I’m just an old softy for the season.

My brief break from blogging has been less brief than I had planned. While this is one of my favorite times of year in my “real” life, it is one of my least favorite at work, as we have a big scary audit right smack in the middle of the holiday season. That means my joy and sanity are things I have to struggle to hang on to (and yes, there are some who believe I lost my sanity LONG ago! 🙂 ) and my at home time finds me with less energy to get on the computer…I end up in veg mode more often. But things are settling and I miss the heck out of all of you.

I saw the Irving quote in the holiday issue of Real Simple magazine (I’m such a junkie, I couldn’t even resist not pulling out one of my Christmas magazines last night!) and felt like it really summed up the way I feel about this time of year and about all of you. “Regenerated feeling” is a good catch phrase for what I feel we all must do on a continual basis to not let the cares of life overwhelm us and to simply take pleasure in each and every day and most importantly in the relationships we are blessed with.

As Gandalf says in The Two Towers, “The courtesy of your hall is somewhat lessened of late, Theoden King”. Its time to rekindle the fires for the holiday season here in the hallowed halls of Stainless Steel Droppings and welcome that genial fire in the heart. I hope the week before Thanksgiving finds all well and look forward to once again sharing the holiday season with all of you dear bloggers and blog readers.