Category Archives: book news

July/August 2014 Cover Story

whaagart

Cover Story is a feature I host here at the beginning of each month which showcases genre cover art for works scheduled for publication within the current month*.

I do judge books by their covers, at least on the first pass.

It was the art on science fiction book covers that drew me in as a young reader, and I believe it is important to promote the artists and designers, and the book companies that employ them, for the efforts made to keep alive the grand tradition of eye-catching genre cover art.

(Monthly Disclaimer: I am not an art critic and have no formal artistic training. “Eye-catching” means exactly what it says, these images caught my eye and drew my attention to the works they grace, compelling me to search out more information about the book. Opinions contrary to mine, and suggestions for works that I missed that caught your eye, are always welcome.)

Due to an unplanned break in blogging for most of July, you are getting a double-feature here today! Two great months for the price of one.

The featured image is by artist Wayne Haag. His work graces the cover of the current issue of Interzone. You can read more about it in the post below.

*due to changes that can happen in publication dates, covers featured may have already seen publication prior to the current month or could possibly be delayed.

With those formalities out of the way, let’s get to the cover art, shall we?

Continue reading July/August 2014 Cover Story →

So Long, Fair Spring

“Green was the silence, wet was the light,
the month of June trembled like a butterfly.”

― Pablo Neruda, 100 Love Sonnets

“When Summer lies upon the world, and in a noon of gold, Beneath the roof of sleeping leaves the dreams of trees unfold;
When woodland halls are green and cool, and wind is in the West, Come back to me! Come back to me, and say my land is best!”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Two Towers

We have been blessed.

Truly blessed.

For Spring in the Midwest, at least the small patch of it that I call “home”, was present in all her changing glory for the entirety of days designated to her by the Roman calendar.

We had warm days and cool, bright sunshine and varying degrees of Spring rain.

I often find myself on June 21st lamenting the Spring we did not have…not this year. It is almost enough to make me welcome Summer unreservedly.

Almost.

With the calendar’s announcement of Summer’s arrival comes the end of this year’s Once Upon a Time Challenge, our eighth in a row together.

It was a very different event for me personally this year, with much of my reading time being taken up with the fairy tale that was Spectrum Fantastic Art Live 3.  A fairy tale for me in that I still have a hard time believing I was able to be a part of the event to the degree that I was able to take part.  So much of Once Upon a Time VIII for me was reveling in the visual side of fantasy, fairy tale, mythology and folklore.  But not all of it…

Continue reading So Long, Fair Spring →

Cover Story: June 2014

tolkienlovejeff

Cover Story is a feature I host here at the beginning of each month which showcases genre cover art for works scheduled for publication within the current month*.

I do judge books by their covers, at least on the first pass.

It was the art on science fiction book covers that drew me in as a young reader, and I believe it is important to promote the artists and designers, and the book companies that employ them, for the efforts made to keep alive the grand tradition of eye-catching genre cover art.

(Monthly Disclaimer: I am not an art critic and have no formal artistic training. “Eye-catching” means exactly what it says, these images caught my eye and drew my attention to the works they grace, compelling me to search out more information about the book. Opinions contrary to mine, and suggestions for works that I missed that caught your eye, are always welcome.)

The opening image for this post was created for the current issue of the New Yorker by artist Jeffrey Alan Love. It was commissioned to accompany a piece on the recently released Tolkien translation of Beowulf.

*due to changes that can happen in publication dates, covers featured may have already seen publication prior to the current month or could possibly be delayed.

With those formalities out of the way, let’s get to the cover art, shall we?

Continue reading Cover Story: June 2014 →

Cover Story: May 2014

AEldredJohnHarris1942

It is May! MAY!!! How did that happen?!?! This is the month I’ve been anticipating for some time, what with Spectrum Fantastic Art Live 3 in a little over a week followed by a week’s vacation with my lovely wife Mary to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary. May 2014 is going to be one for the record books.

And it all starts with the May 2014 edition of Cover Story. Cover Story is the monthly feature showcasing genre cover art for works scheduled for publication within said month. I do judge books by their covers, at least on the first pass. It was the art on science fiction book covers that drew me in as a young reader, and I believe it is important to promote the artists and designers, and the book companies that employ them, for the efforts made to keep alive the grand tradition of eye-catching genre cover art.

(Monthly Disclaimer: I am not an art critic and have no formal artistic training. “Eye-catching” means exactly what it says, these images caught my eye and drew my attention to the works they grace, compelling me to search out more information about the book. Opinions contrary to mine, and suggestions for works that I missed that caught your eye, are always welcome.)

The opening image for this post is by John Harris.

With those formalities out of the way, let’s get to the cover art, shall we? May has some really tempting works coming down the publication line.

Continue reading Cover Story: May 2014 →

Who doesn’t like Free?

One of the assignments I took on last year for my short story reviewing at SF Signal was to read and review fellow SF Signal contributor Carrie Cuinn’s newly released collection of short stories. In my review I mentioned having some trepidation over reviewing the work of someone with whom I shared a writing venue.

My worries were unfounded. As I wrote:

“I was “wowed” by it.

While Cuinn’s work does not shy away from dealing with material that pushes the comfort level, those stories in which she does so contain the sort of raw emotion and confrontation of reality that prove not only how powerful fiction can be, but how much influence and power short fiction can wield. She also knows how to entertain, and she demonstrates an ability to be light and fun while having something meaningful to say. I have been a fan of Cuinn’s nonfiction for some time. I am now a fan of her fiction, and I hope you will become one as well.”

Three of the stories in this collection made my Favorite Short Fiction of 2013 list. One is a fun story that reminded me of Tim Burton’s A Nightmare Before Christmas, the second is an adventure story and the third examines the villain in a familiar fairy story. None of the stories in this collection are fluff, though they do entertain.

This is a collection I want everyone to read.

Thus I am excited to announce that author Carrie Cuinn is giving away free copies of her collection on all digital platforms from now until the end of the month. Follow this link for details.

There are nine works in this collection, so it does not take a great reading commitment to get through it, and my opinion is that it is a power-packed collection of stories that showcases the strength of the medium. Get your copy now.