All posts by Carl V. Anderson

book news, Challenges

When One Door Closes…

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RYO_TheDefinitive1950sReadingChallenge

January saw the end of two of my favorite events of the year, The 2015 Sci Fi Experience hosted here at Stainless Steel Droppings and Vintage Sci Fi Month hosted by Andrea at the Little Red Reviewer. I will wrap those up after the break.

As these two science fiction related reading events come to a close, another one has begun.

The Definitive 1950’s SF Reading Challenge, hosted on the World’s Without End website as part of their Roll Your Own Challenge project, is a challenge based on the work of one of my online friends, James Wallace Harris.

Using a database that collates rankings from a wide variety of online sources, Harris has created definitive lists of books for several different decades. This challenge utilizes his rankings for the decade of the 1950’s.

The challenge is to read a book from each of the ten years, beginning with 1950, in chronological order, chosen from the books in Harris’ database. Though you do not have to predetermine the books you will read, I had a fun time creating my tentative list. The books, in order of publication (and hence reading order), are:

Continue reading When One Door Closes… →

Book Reviews, Science Fiction

The Martian Chronicles ~Ray Bradbury

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mchroncov

The rocket lay on the launching field, blowing out pink clouds of fire and oven heat. The rocket stood in the cold winter morning, making summer with every breath of its mighty exhausts. The rocket made climates, and summer lay for a brief moment upon the land….

Ray Bradbury’s classic story of Earth’s progressive colonization of Mars, and the devastating effects that has on the native population, is a series of chronological vignettes, some of which were previously published as short stories in a variety of magazine publications prior to 1950. The stories are told from both human and Martian points of view over a period of months and years beginning in the then future of 1999 through late 2026.

A firing rocket brings early summer to a wintery Ohio countryside; a Martian wife in a dissatisfied marriage tells her husband of her recurrent dream of a man from Earth coming soon to their planet, prompting her husband to make a decision that will forever effect both humans and Martians; an expedition of men from Earth land to discover a familiar small town and the presence of friends and relatives long dead; a colonist of a later expedition takes exception to the behavior of his fellow crew members to their new home and reacts in the only way that makes sense to him…a way that ends in blood…

Ray Bradbury uses the mysteries of the red planet to shine a mirror at humanity, reflecting our hopes, dreams and propensity for destruction in a series of interconnected tales written with the graceful nostalgia that made him a much-celebrated and beloved author.

Continue reading The Martian Chronicles ~Ray Bradbury →

Art/Photography, book news

My Favorites of 2014: A MASSIVE issue of Cover Story

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(Ancillary Justice X 3, painting by John Harris for Orbit Books)

I have been writing about my personal favorite science fiction and fantasy covers on an annual basis for many years now, and in 2014 expanded the art coverage with a monthly Cover Story post, showcasing work being released in that month. In looking back over 2014 there is a massive amount of eye-catching, wallet lightening cover art commissioned for works that came out from January through December. I could have posted many more images, but one must stop somewhere, right?

All works of art featured here are the property of the artists and the publishers who commissioned them and are featured with the sole intention of shining a spotlight on creators of Fantastic Art and on those publishers, large or small, who are doing their part to keep the tradition of illustrated/designed cover art on science fiction, fantasy and horror publications. As I peruse the genre shelves of my local bookstore I see too many photo stock covers. Some of them are quite creative and garner my interest. But I am old school in that I want to see the work of painters, sketchers, designers (traditional and digital) on genre covers.

I don’t claim to be an art critic, I just know what I like, and want to share these with you in hopes of introducing you to artists, authors, and publishers of whom you may not have been aware.

Title, publisher, artist, author information for each featured image is followed by the cover image and some text, in brief, related to the illustration. I usually say more about these images in the monthly Cover Story posts, but I have been merciful to you here.

For those images that accompany Tor.com short stories, you can click on the story title to be taken directly to the story online. Magazines featured will take you directly to that online issue with a simple click on the title.

Thank you to all the Art/Creative Directors who commissioned these works, to the artists for creating them, and to the publishing houses that continue to get great work like this on their publications. I salute you, keep fighting the good fight.

Continue reading My Favorites of 2014: A MASSIVE issue of Cover Story →

Book Reviews, Science Fiction

Secret of the Lost Race ~Andre Norton

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secretoflostrace

Joktar, a young dealer in JetTown, N’Yok, is blessed with a look of youthful innocence, a deadly skill with the blade, and an ability to ride a lucky streak like no one else. These traits and more served Joktar well in the service of Kern at the gambling establishment, The Sun Spot, and he will need to call upon them all when a sudden raid finds him swept off-planet to serve as an unwilling slave to the mining corporation on the cold, barren planet Fenris.

But Joktar is destined for more than forced labor on a hostile planet, for unbeknownst to him and those who captured him, Joktar is a threat to humanity’s status quo and he will soon find himself drawn into a galactic xenophobic conspiracy where his very life is in jeopardy.

Continue reading Secret of the Lost Race ~Andre Norton →

Book Reviews, Fantasy

The Slow Regard of Silent Things ~Patrick Rothfuss

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slowregardcover

Deep below the University, there is a dark place. Few people know of it: a broken web of ancient passageways and abandoned rooms. A young woman lives there, tucked among the sprawling tunnels of the Underthing, snug in the heart of this forgotten place.

Her name is Auri, and she is full of mysteries.

The Slow Regard of Silent Things is a novella set within the world of Patrick Rothfuss’ The Kingkiller Chronicles trilogy. Two novels in this trilogy, The Name of the Wind and A Wise Man’s Fear, have been released and The Slow Regard of Silent Things allows readers an opportunity to spend time with one of the more beloved characters while awaiting the final volume.

And beloved she is…and quirky, and enigmatic as all get out.

The Slow Regard of Silent Things reminds us of the importance of small things, and seemingly small people. It is a story that is not traditionally story-shaped that will frustrate some–Patrick Rothfuss seems to understand this based on his Author’s Forward and Endnote–and will mesmerize others.

I found The Slow Regard of Silent Things to be almost Gaiman-esque in its lyricism and I was transfixed by the rhythm of Auri’s daily customs. Reading The Slow Regard of Silent Things is like gazing at a fine jewel…the slightest movement, the most minute adjustment, reveals a different facet.

Continue reading The Slow Regard of Silent Things ~Patrick Rothfuss →