All posts by Carl V. Anderson

book news

Readers Imbibing Peril X

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(Image by the extraordinarily wonderful Abigail Larson, used with permission)

The beginning of my favorite time of year is just a few days away…Autumn (unofficially) begins.

I love the period of year from September through December. I was telling a dear friend the other day that something about the change of seasons, where the world goes to sleep and the beauty changes from bright and colorful to muted and subdued (yet no less beautiful) makes me feel closer to God.

Yes, just one more reason to conclude that I am one weird individual. I think that time of beautiful melancholy makes me more conscious of the precious gift of time and my senses are heightened.

Another reason I love this time of year is that my reading turns towards the mysterious, which is why 10 years ago (I can hear Jeremy Piven’s voice from Gross Pointe Blank screaming “10 years!!!!) I began what was then the R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril, or R.I.P. Challenge.

While the years have changed it from “challenge” to “event”, the spirit of the thing remains. As I approached this season I had some commitments that I knew were going to make hosting a challenge, and the idea of doing something special for anniversary instantly brought to mind Andi and Heather, who have hosted Group Reads in conjunction with this event for the past few years.

I’ve known these women online for several years, and have done projects with them on both the Estella’s Revenge and The Estella Society sites. I asked them recently if they would take the hosting mantle this year, and to my utter delight they said “yes”.

So this year, R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril X will be hosted by The Estella Society, and I couldn’t be more thrilled. I will be taking on the role of participant, something I’ve already begun as I started listening to the audio version of Louise Penny’s newest novel, The Nature of the Beast, yesterday.

Special thanks to Andi and Heather for their love of this event and their willingness to lead the community this year. And to Abigail Larson for the use of her fantastically perfect art.

Now head on over there and join me in making the 10th year the BEST EVER!

Film

Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation

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Despite their record of proven results, the IMF’s (Impossible Missions Force) history of wanton destruction and lack of oversight have drawn the ire of CIA Chief Alan Hunley (Alec Baldwin). With no hard evidence that Ethan Hunt’s (Tom Cruise) latest obsession–a shadow organization known as “The Syndicate”–exists, Hunley demands and is granted the disbanding of IMF, making Hunt a wanted man.

What better time for the Syndicate to strike, drawing Ethan Hunt and the rest of the IMF team into their web of secrecy and deception? With the American government, the Syndicate, and an agent with questionable loyalty after them, the members of the IMF have truly become a rogue nation.

If you have seen any of the previous four Mission Impossible offerings, then you know what you are getting: death-defying action sequences, vehicle chases, martial-arts-style fighting, handsome-and-capable male characters, a beautiful-and-capable female character, at least one nefarious villain, plenty of twists and turns to keep you guessing at various characters’ motivations and timely humor.

If you’ve seen a Tom Cruise movie, you know what you are not getting: overuse of “mature” language, blood and gore, frontal nudity.

All of this adds up to one of the most FUN movies of the summer thus far, a film that keeps you on the edge of your seat despite the outcomes you expect from a film that is part of an ongoing franchise.

Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation is one of the most entertaining films I have seen this year.

Continue reading Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation →

Fitness, Home

Getting Psychotic with the Trail Nerds

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It had to happen this way, didn’t it? I knew when signing up for the 10 mile loop (10.41 miles, to be exact) of the Psycho Psummer “Run Toto, Run” Trail Run that it would be brutal. I’ve volunteered at aid stations for this race twice and both times it was extremely hot.

It is called “Psycho Psummer”, after all.

But in the week leading up to the race, the temperatures were very unseasonably moderate…because it just would not stop raining.

A couple of years ago I ran this course for the winter version, Psycho Wyco Run Toto Run, right after a massive snowstorm that stopped the city dead for two days and then quickly melted, leaving the course a muddy disaster. I was overconfident because of a 13.1 mile race the November before, had not trained well, and the course destroyed me. My legs hurt for days. The course kicked my proverbial behind.

But this time would be different. The course would be hard packed and I would only have the heat to contend with. What could go wrong?

Remember that rain I mentioned?

Continue reading Getting Psychotic with the Trail Nerds →

Art/Photography, book news

Cover Story: July 2015

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July is here! I don’t know about you, but I feel somewhat astonished that we have just stepped over the midpoint of 2015. It hardly seems possible, yet here we are.

It has been a few months since I’ve produced an issue of Cover Story, and this seems a fine time to remedy that grievous injustice. Pull up a chair for your very own visual feast, for Cover Story is all about eye-catching book and magazine art gracing publications due out this month. July looks to be a really good month, though perhaps not for your bank account.

Before continuing on with this month’s showcase, I want to add the usual disclaimer that I am not an artist, nor am I an educated art critic. I know what I like, and armed with that insight I make an effort to be open-minded enough to allow a variety of art and design styles to pique my interest. In the end, the images featured are the ones that caught my eye, they are the books or magazines that I would pick up and give a second glance (and perhaps bring home) were I to see them on a bookstore shelf. The inclusion of each image and the thoughts associated with them are mine alone, and I welcome opinions on each work featured, be they in agreement with my own or not. I also welcome you to submit any images you think should be included in this feature.

There are a number of reasons that I enjoy doing these posts, but the primary purpose is to bring attention to the artists who use their skills to create engaging genre art/design and to give a shout out to those publishers who continue to make the effort to use art and design work to sell science fiction, fantasy and horror publications.

As always, I thank John DeNardo for the monthly jumping off point that I use to begin my review of each month. You can see hundreds more July 2015 releases on his post here.

Welcome to July 2015. Enjoy!

(The opening image, featured again later in this post, is property of artist Richard Anderson)

Continue reading Cover Story: July 2015 →

book news

Rules of Acquisition: Minnesota Variations

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(Picture taken just minutes before I went into shock.)

The 1st Minnesota Variation of the Rules of Acquisition: When visiting legendary genre bookstores, bring smelling salts.

This past week Mary and I visited Minnesota for our delayed 26th Anniversary trip. My sister Abby, her husband Mike, and our niece Madelyn live outside of Minneapolis and we all went to stay in an inn on Lake Superior for part of the week and then Mary and I rejoined them later in the week at their home.

Part of the scheduled itinerary for this adventure was for Mary and I to spend a day going to visit Uncle Hugo’s and DreamHaven Books, two legendary genre stores that are situated within a few miles of each other in Minneapolis. Mary and I took the two hour and fifteen minute journey down from Duluth on Thursday morning, arriving at Uncle Hugo’s around noon.

I had a physical and mental list of books I was looking for (mostly paperbacks) and I had offered to search for used paperbacks for an online friend of mine, the pseudonymous Joachim Boaz of Science Fiction and Other Suspect Ruminations. I’ve been a friend and fan of his for some time. His website is chock full of interesting older science fiction book covers and his reviews of these books leave me in awe of his intelligence and word wizardry. I asked him for a list of books to find before I left for the trip, and armed with both of these lists I entered the store.

Continue reading Rules of Acquisition: Minnesota Variations →