All posts by Carl V. Anderson

Book Reviews, Mystery

How the Light Gets In ~Louise Penny

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Chief Inspector Armand Gamache is fighting a losing battle. His once respected homicide department, the pride of the Quebec de Surete, has been decimated, good officers replaced by those who don’t care. People he nurtured and trusted may no longer be in his camp. The investigation into a bigger conspiracy is going nowhere and the always stable facade of Armand Gamache is starting to crack. What better time for a murder  to take his mind off of his current problems?

It is Christmas time and a Montreal murder with ties to his favorite idyllic village takes Armand Gamache back to Three Pines and the comfort of long-time friends. As he struggles to unravel the threads of a life suddenly and violently ended, Chief Inspector Armand Gamache senses that the shadowy events that have dogged his every step for years will finally be coming to light, for good or for ill.

Louise Penny’s latest novel, the ninth in the Chief Inspector Armand Gamache series, may be her most satisfying read to date, particularly after the controversial choices made in her last novel, The Beautiful Mystery. How the Light Gets In is a layered, complex and compelling novel packed with moments of gut-wrenching drama and heart-racing suspense. By setting it in the village of Three Pines, Penny is able to bring in beloved characters from previous novels which gives the tension-filled story a much needed foundation of comfort and familiarity upon which to build. Though I questioned the legitimacy of the handling of one of the series’ prime characters in The Beautiful Mystery, the end result of those choices makes How the Light Gets In the kind of page-turning novel that kept me up until 1 a.m. this morning, having tread the last two hundred pages of this roughly 400-page novel in one sitting.

I closed the book after reading the last dozen or so pages with tears streaming down my face and the kind of satisfied smile that can only come from being immersed in a cracking good read. Those reviewers who were disappointed by The Beautiful Mystery and vowed to never read Louise Penny again are missing out on a novel that reaffirms just why people fell for Louise Penny’s creation in the first place.

My rating: 10/10 stars

Continue reading How the Light Gets In ~Louise Penny →

book news

R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril, VIII

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(Images by Artists Jennifer Gordan and Roman Sirotin, used with permission.)

“Does something amuse you?’ asked Uncle Montague.
‘I was merely reminding myself, Uncle, that I am getting too old to be so easily frightened by stories.’
‘Really?’ said Uncle Montague with a worrying degree of doubt in his voice. ‘You think there is an age at which you might become immune to fear?”
― Chris Priestley, Uncle Montague’s Tales of Terror

Stories can make us look back over our shoulders and question every creak and groan on a dark, quiet night. Stories can cause our hearts to race with ever-increasing tension as we forgo sleep to rush towards a surprising conclusion. Stories can make us suspicious of every character as we challenge the protagonist to be the first to solve the crime. Stories can make us sleep with the lights on, make us pull the covers just a little bit tighter, and can make every shadow seem more menacing than they ever have before.

Be they our favorite cozy mysteries, exciting police procedurals, classic tales about things that go bump in the night or contemporary terrors that chill us to the bone, there is something delicious about the ability of the printed word to give us a fright. At no time of the year is this more of a delight than when Summer heat turns to Autumn chill as the days become ever darker.

Eight years ago I became aware of reading challenges and wanted to start one of my own, hoping to find others who shared my Autumnal predilection for the works of Edgar Allen Poe, H.P. Lovecraft, Bram Stoker and other authors contemporary and classic who captured the spirit of gothic literature. All these years later we are still going strong, welcoming September with a time of coming together to share our favorite mysteries, detective stories, horror stories, dark fantasies, and everything in between.

I welcome you to join us.

September 1st is right around the corner. It is time to begin.

Continue reading R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril, VIII →

Film

The World’s End

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Sometimes all you want to do is laugh. This was the case earlier this Saturday morning when I got together with a group of guys, including my soon-to-be son-in-law, Grant, to have the male version of a bridal shower. While the women got together to do…(it’s a mystery)…the guys got together to watch a flick and then eat buffalo wings.

I’ve been a Simon Pegg fan ever since the release of Shaun of the Dead. His films are consistently fun in the slightly off, goofy, geeky way that I like. His newest film, an alien invasion comedy, The World’s End makes a wonderful trilogy along with Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz. All three films take a snarky-yet-cool look at the various kinds of films that they spoof.

I went into the film expecting to be entertained by groan-worthy humor and inside-joke references to the other films and my expectations were met. These movies may be deemed guilty pleasures, but there is sincerely no guilt, just pleasure.

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book news

Summer Reading Guest Post

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Earlier this year I was asked to participate in a series of guest posts hosted by the wonderful Tanya over at Girl XOXO. Her blog is book and food centric, two of my favorite things, and is well worth subscribing to. The topic was Summer Reading and my contribution was based on my three picks for Summer Reading from the genre of Science Fiction.

I would love it if you would take the time to visit and share your comments over there not only on my picks but what your three top summer reads are, Science Fiction or otherwise.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone! And be sure to head over to SF Signal at noon to check out my review of the original fiction in the latest issue of Clarkesworld.

Art/Photography

Yes Virginia, there will be a Spectrum Fantastic Art Live 3

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I’m a few weeks late in getting the word out, but that is in large part because I fainted dead away when it was announced on Facebook that Spectrum Fantastic Art Live would be returning to Kansas City, MO in May 2014!!! I promptly got online and changed my vacation plans–I kid you not–as I had made the assumption it would be the same weekend as previous years (if held) and this year it is one week earlier. So…I’ll be starting the week of my 25th wedding anniversary by hanging out with some of the coolest and most creative people in the world followed by a nice, relaxing vacation with Mary. Can’t wait!!!

So folks, you have PLENTY of notice this time. Be there! I want the third time to be a charm with this truly indescribable event. Save your pennies, make your travel plans, and let’s do a huge meet up at SFAL3! This is my home town (of 15 years). I promise I’ll show you a good time.

No word on who will be the special guests for SFAL3, but rest assured that they will be top notch, phenomenal artists. Be prepared for Spectrum art related posts to crop up throughout the next several months, especially once tickets go on sale, with those posts increasing the closer we get to May 9th, 2014.

You will see some of the best art in the world up close and personal. You will meet hundreds of incredibly creative people and learn that they are really nice and are fans themselves. And, I must warn you, you will want to empty your pocketbooks to take some of the treasures you will find home with you.

Hope to see you there…er, here!