All posts by Carl V. Anderson

book news

2015 New Releases in Science Fiction and Fantasy

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I had the privilege of participating in the Mind Meld feature on SF Signal, which asked the question “What 2015 Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror books are you looking forward to reading?”

Topping off my list is the upcoming art collection edited by Cathy Fenner. Women of Wonder: Celebrating Women Creators of Fantastic Art is slated to debut at Spectrum Fantastic Art Live 4, May 22-24th, here in Kansas City, MO. It will be available to all through online and brick and mortar book outlets.

Of the volume Cathy Fenner writes:

“Women of Wonder is a book that shines the spotlight on women creators of fantastic art. Though the illustration and gallery markets have traditionally been seen as a largely male profession, women have always been active participants, from Kewpie creator Rose O’Neill in the early 1900s to 1950s Disney film designer Mary Blair to Spectrum Grand Masters Diane Dillon and Kinuko Y. Craft. Increasingly women are making their marks in the world of contemporary fantastic art and inspiring new generations of illustrators, designers, sculptors, and painters. I was inspired to put together this collection after watching the expanding numbers of women artists featured in Spectrum; a book seemed like a happy way to acknowledge that growth. However, Women of Wonder isn’t some sort of political polemic but is simply a colorful celebration of the imagination and of exemplary creators who just happen to be women.”

Allow me to humbly assert that my list for Mind Meld, limited to five books maximum, is an exciting one. Please follow this link to Mind Meld to see the books that I, and a number of other authors and bloggers, anticipate for 2015. Let us know over there (and here too) which books you are looking forward to in 2015. As commenters, you are not limited to just 5 selections!

Before you leave, however…

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Book Reviews, Science Fiction, Short Stories

Assignment in Eternity ~Robert A. Heinlein

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Assignment in Eternity is a collection of four of Heinlein’s early published works. Two of the stories are advertised as “short novels”, or what might be more accurately called in current word count designations as novellas, and two shorter works. All four of these were first published in magazine format in the 1940’s, though two were actually written in 1939.

I first became a fan of Robert A. Heinlein over a decade ago when I read his novel Friday. I went on to read Time Enough for Love and then came a long Heinlein drought, ended because of friends reading and discussing his juveniles–a designation for books published by Scribner’s between 1947 and 1958 that would now be classified as ‘young adult’.

There was something special in both Friday and Time Enough for Love that made it obvious to me while reading them why Heinlein had maintained popularity, but the novels, like others of his later work, are filled with embarrassingly juvenile (here used negatively), taboo-crushing sexual content and diatribes about his beliefs at the time. His juvenile work is wonderful, as are some of the novels published just after the Scribner’s period.

The collection The Green Hills of Earth proved Heinlein’s skill at crafting stories in the short format, so I was very curious when I put this on my Christmas wishlist to venture into some of Heinlein’s early work.

That curiosity resulted in four rewarding journeys into the early imagination of the Dean of Science Fiction, Robert A. Heinlein.

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Home

Pardon us…

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(Image Credit)

Our server got a case of the uglies and had to go down briefly for a full exorcism. We are back now, but my theme was old and no longer supported by the creator, so for the moment things are going to be a bit on the simple side.

Please have patience with the look for awhile as I’m not sure when my web guru James and I will have time to mess with it. In the meantime, I will still keep up the (questionable) quality output and will continue to be grateful for your input, as always.

Book Reviews, Science Fiction

The Stainless Steel Rat Wants You! ~Harry Harrison

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James Bolivar diGriz, alias “Slippery Jim” is no longer a stainless steel rat in the wainscoting of society…well, at least he is no longer solely a stainless steel rat. Though his thieving ways are not yet behind him, Jim diGriz is firmly entrenched as the top agent in the Special Corps, that feared branch of the law headed by the most notorious criminal of all time, Harold P. Inskipp.

When his wife is kidnapped by the revenue service out of their current home on the planet Blodgett, Slippery Jim leaps into action, gathering up his two teenage sons from their military boarding school (and penitentiary) to spring mom and wreak havoc on the tax bureau at the same time. As is often the case with his adventures, personal conflict often leads to bigger problems, and Jim diGriz soon finds himself commandeered to save humanity from galaxy-wide destruction.

Sounds simple, eh? It is for the Stainless Steel Rat…at least until his most feared enemy comes on the scene–the infamous gray men.

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Art/Photography

January 2015 Cover Story

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(Detail from Originator cover, illustration by Stephan Martiniere)

It is a new month, in a new year, and that means it is time again to kick off the year with a visual feast of fantastic art that we call Cover Story. The idea is to feature covers of books, magazines, short stories, etc. of the science fiction/fantasy/horror variety slated for release within the featured month.

My regular disclaimer stands as notification that I am not an artist, nor a trained art critic. I know what I like, and feature what catches my eye. I enjoy hearing your opinions, whatever they may be, of the art featured in Cover Story, and am open to suggestions for covers coming out this month that you feel are worth acknowledging.

I see commissioned cover art decreasing when I look at genre releases, and I feel it is important to showcase the artists who continue to get commissions, and the companies that commission their work.

Special thanks to John DeNardo and SF Signal for the post featuring releases in January 2015.

(All images featured are the copyright of the artists and the publications featured.)

Continue reading January 2015 Cover Story →