Anderson Books

At it's worst, SF can be cheap schlock insulting the reader's intelligence or poorly-thought out boring drivel. At it's best, SF is lucky to come close to Poul Anderson's _The Night Face_. A short, intense page-turner, it has a rich cast of compelling characters, and the narrative is as lush as the thick greenery on the world of Gwydion - the planet where the action (and mystery) is set.

Three characters form the story's center, whirling through the book in a race of misinterpretations and incorrect assumptions. Of them, one is a Gwydiona, and two are of the visiting space travellers: one is Raven, leader of the expedition's military branch and of warrior-race ancestry; the other is Miguel Tolteca, a more peaceful republican seeking commercial and scientific rewards.

These three intersect - collide - thorought the story, their misaprehensions framed in the gorgeous natural scenery of Gwydion. The other characters are fleshed out as well, the dialogue is sharp, and the story is fluid, unencumbered, and hypnotizing. It is definitely the work of a master.

As both Anderson says in his Introduction and (in my 1978-edition copy) noted SF critic Sandra Miesel notes in her Afterward, _The Night Face_ can fit in Anderson's Technic Civilization series, but it stands brilliantly alone. It is evocative and chilling; its brevity not an obstacle to a well-detailed and satisfying story.

Originally titled _Let The Spacemen Beware!_ (and based on a novellete called "A Twelvemonth and a Day"), my only gripe with _The Night Face_ is the blurb on the back, which gave away the story's chief hook: the mystery surrounding the too-peaceful life of Gwydion's inhabitants, rooted in their extensive myths and legends.

My recommendation for this book is in two parts: read it as soon as you can get a copy, and do not read any blurbs anywhere on it (even Larry Niven's short, glowing review, inside the book). They will ruin the suspense. But definitely hunt down a copy of _The Night Face_ - it is powerful, unforgettable, and the only thing more tragic than its sad, gripping story would be a missed opportunity to read it.

The late Poul Anderson was without any doubt one of the Grand Masters of science fiction. He wrote on an astonishing range of topics within the science fiction genre, including time travel, alternate history, human evolution, and man's future destiny in space.

The Night Face is one of Anderson's finest stories. It is set within his famous "Technic Civilization" future history series. In this story, Technic Civilization has collapsed, the Terran Empire rose and fell, and the post-Empire human civilization is beginning to reach out among its various parts and consolidate. In this story several planets are mounting an expedition to re-establish contact with the planet Gwydion. Gwydion has been isolated from other human planets for over a thousand years. It was settled by a small group of colonists who lost touch with civilization and had to adapt to the new planet without the benefit of most technology. When the expedition arrives on Gwydion they find the folk to be friendly, prosperous, thriving, and startlingly free of numerous of the baser human traits such as excess greed, avarice, and internecine strife. Gwydion appears to be, in fact, almost paradise.

More would be telling, but you may be sure that nothing is as simple as it appears, and the Gwydionians have their own set of problems, forced upon them by their need to adapt to their hospitable but strange planet. This is a great and tragic story that most readers will find deeply moving.

The Night Face merits the overused title of "classic" and it is one of the great stories in science fiction by one of its Grand Masters. This is a wonderful story to which the discerning reader will return many times.

I have to admit a bias since the author is my husband's uncle! It's sad that times have changed so much that most of these adventures might in these more "modern times" get the parents charged with child neglect! Imagine letting a 12 year old take off on a 90 mile bike trip alone! That said, the stories are full of adventure and excitment along with the thread of true friendship woven throughout. This would be an excellent gift for a grandchild or even a grandparent who might remember these times. The Michigan connection and knowing the author made it especially meaningful for this reviewer.

The Adventures of Anderson
The Adventures of Anderson is a fast paced and delightful book about the action packed experiences of Curtis Anderson and his friends growing up in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Together they build a raft, race bicycles, explore mines, and learn the true meaning of life through their friendship with an Amish family. It is an unforgettable journey filled with laughter, love, and tears. This is a family-friendly and captivating book and I would highly recommend it to readers of all ages. I think it would make a great movie!

Well then, settle in and read The Affair of the Bloodstained Egg Cosy....What fun....what good writing..this is the classic British mystery at its best....an Agatha Christie look-a-like. It was packed with so much...clues, characters, satire, etc. that I needed a pencil and paper next to me to keep tract of everything and everyone....The characters are delightful and the ending is a hugh surprise......I double dare you to try to guess the murderer..... Lawscotch@aol.com

The Affair of the Blood-Stained Egg Cosy is one of many mysteries whose plot centers around a house party. However, Affair is unusually creative, funny, and clever. Affair was written in 1975, and takes place in the 1930s, but its humor and wit is timeless. Walter Satterthwait's Escapade would seem to owe a debt to Affair, as there are several similar elements and plot points. However, Affair succeeds in all the areas in which Escapade failed. James Anderson's plot is complex but never feels ridiculously contrived, and does not base plot points around ignorant, mistaken assumptions about ballistics, as Satterthwait does. Anderson also does a much better job with his characterizations, and is better able to make key characters charming rather than unintentionally obnoxious.

You'll have fun guessing what surprises Anderson may be hinting at, and all your guesses will probably be wrong! But you won't feel cheated or disappointed, as Affair remains pleasing and loads of fun throughout.

This is an excellent collection of short stories that take on the meaning of the war in a way you've never experienced.

This book of short stories is an excellent compilation giving a full treatment to various subjects related to war. It looks from different perspectives both during and after the war. In addition to being thought provoking, it is a fun read, and some images will stick in your head for years! Donald Anderson teaches Creative Writing at the Academy (I took his class!) and I look forward to more work from him.

If you're a guitarist, you gotta love Muriel Anderson. She plays a wide variety of styles and seems to have mastered them all. Plus, she is an excellent teacher and writer.

I have purchased several of her "books", including "All Chords In All Positions" and find each one to be unique and useful.

"All Chords In All Positions" is small enough to pack in the guitar case. It covers all of the key chords and positions. But rather than JUST showing the chords in every key, it shows the basic structure of each chord type and shows how to apply it for the various keys.

In my humble opinion, this is the ONE guitar chord book every guitarist should have.

If you've ever wondered how "exotic" guitar chords' funny names relate to the underlying music theory, or how to find (or build) the right chord in a particular location on the neck, this is the book for you. Very clear & straightforward -- it put it all together for me!

Get this book before you go to the Grand Canyon and you'll make the most of your visit--whether you stay for a few hours, or over a week. With over 44 full color photographs (2 of them panoramic canyon views measuring 17" x 7"), four easy-to-read maps, accompanied by concisely well-written text (just over 50 pages), this beautiful book gives you a scenic viewpoint-to-viewpoint guided tour of the best sights, rim trails, and hikes the Grand Canyon has to offer--plus as a bonus, its soft cover and unique shape (9-1/4" x 7-3/4") make it perfect for rolling up and sticking in a fanny pack. And at just under $5.00, it's the best bargain you'll find in Grand Canyon Village (but don't wait until you get there to buy it--there are very few copies remaining on the shelves!)

What I especially appreciated about the book was the logical arrangement of the Table of Contents by viewpoint, beginning from the south as you drive into the main entrance (Grand Canyon Village) and then west to east. Even more valuable is the information preceding each viewpoint description telling the distance to the next viewpoint (in miles and kilometers)--handy statistics that help you decide whether to hoof it to the next viewpoint or wait for the next shuttle bus, as much of the South Rim is closed to passenger car traffic.

In addition to the accurate information and beautiful presentation, this book also includes interesting history of the Grand Canyon with colorful descriptions of the pioneers who first explored, mapped, and took political action to preserve this natural wonder. Told with quotes, anecdotal stories, journal entries and black and white photos (from the late 1800's and early 1900's), the author weaves a tale as deep as the Colorado River itself winding through the Grand Canyon walls far below. Here you'll learn the history behind the buildings still standing on the edge of the rim, and the train that still visits daily, as well as be introduced to the geological history and modern day plant life and animal life that call the Grand Canyon their home.

This is must-have when visiting the South Rim of the Grand Canyon as it gives you all the background you need to enjoy the rim from Desert View to Hermits Rest.

Often, when people visit a place like the Grand Canyon, the very size and awe-inspiring views can be very overwhelming at first. To help find your way to the small wonders as well as the big, this book will give you the lowdown on all of the overlooks, roads, hotels, and historical buildings along the South Rim. It also gives you the historical background on the roads, overlooks, and trails.

When you get to the South Rim, the first thing to do is pickup this book as starting point.

I hear they are also working on a version for the North Rim.

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A Guide to my Book Rating System:

1 star = The wood pulp would have been better utilized as toilet paper.
2 stars = Don't bother, clean your bathroom instead.
3 stars = Wasn't a waste of time, but it was time wasted.
4 stars = Good book, but not life altering.
5 stars = This book changed my world in at least some small way.

We are homeschoolers using this book in part of a unit on Inventors. My eight year old is able to read and enjoy the history behind the different inventions. I thought it would just be a "how to" book, but we are both really enjoying the well written historical information in this book. It really makes Leonardo and the world he lived in come alive. I like to just browse through the book and look at all of Leonardo's sketches as well.

The pictures and instructions are fairly easy to follow. The inventions do use common items, but we don't always have the right "common" items at the right times. We have modified most of the directions to use what we actually have in our house. Today we wanted to make the camera obscura, but we just threw out our last empty Pringles can... guess we'll be eating lots of chips in the next week :)

Wonderful book for kids who love to learn. Great info and facts even for adults. Highly recommend.

A nice variety of recipes.

A nice variety of recipes.

One of the things I've always loved about the adventures of Psi-Judge Anderson is that her stories really could take place in any time period or locale. The fact that they take place in the post-holocaust 22nd century of Mega-City One is often incidental. While the More well known Judge Dredd often deals with high-tech plots, mutants, etc..., Anderson's stories are often tinged with more horror than Sci-Fi elements. This is certainly the case with the second book in the Anderson series from The Black Library, "Red Shadows" which is a terrific serial killer mystery that has Anderson and the rest of the Judges completely befuddled.

William Ganz seems to be killing his victims at random from a list he carries. All he knows is that all of them have a red aura about them. He can see this because he is a powerful psychic, not only able to see people's auras, but because he is also a Tele-Dominant, and able to force people to do his bidding, and to make them see what he wants them to see. The murders become increasingly brutal. Even longtime Judges are shocked by the savagery of the killer. The victims all have their throats cut, some have all their organs removed or limbs hacked off. Clearly this is one very ticked-off murderer. When Anderson psi-scans the dead victims to see what they saw before they died, she has images of a delivery man bringing flowers or candy, yet each time it's a different looking man, and yet surveillance cameras never see any such delivery man.

It is only after several murders that Anderson discovers the man's incredible psychic powers...powers which he uses to murder two Judges, and powers which may be even greater than Anderson's. That's not the worse thing though...the killer has now seen Anderson, and her aura glows with the brightest red he's ever seen. Now he's forgotten about the rest of the names on his list and is setting his sights on Judge Anderson.

"Red Shadows" was a fantastic, and thoroughly grisly story. Be warned that the murders and murder scenes are quite graphic as writer Mitchel Scanlon pulls no punches. For perhaps the first time we see Anderson truly in doubt and in fear. Once Ganz goes after Anderson it's a great game of cat and mouse that Scanlon delivers with the skill of seasoned mystery writer. "Red Shadows" was a thrill to read and I hope to see more from Scanlon.

Reviewed by Tim Janson

By the year 2126, atomic war has decimated humanity and the world is a bleak wasteland, inhabited by mutants and freaks. Most people live in vast, walled cities. Boredom, unemployment, and crime is sky high. The authorities must use an iron fist to keep the 400 million citizens in check. Justice is upheld by the implacable Judges. They are empowered to act as judge, jury, and executioner. Radioactivity has given some people dangerous talents: telekinetics, pyromaniacs, telepaths, and more. It is the Psi Division's task to do what the regular judges cannot: deal with supernatural phenomena and hunt mutant psychics down. Its ranks are comprised of telepaths and psychics, able to scan minds, even those recently deceased. Psi-Judge Cassandra Anderson is the best in the division.

The Necropolis Event (in "Fear the Darkness") ranked alongside the Apocalypse War as one of the worst disasters to have ever befallen Mega-City One. Judge Edward Weller still has nightmares because of it. It is also why he despises all psychics, even psi-judges. And Psi-Judge Anderson, in Weller's opinion, is the worst, simply because she is the best in the Psi Division. Needless-to-say, Weller is NOT happy when he finds out Anderson is assigned to assist in his case.

Psi-Judge Cassandra Anderson hunts a teledominant. This serial killer mentally dominates the minds of other people and makes them believe anything he wants them to. Every time Anderson scans a victim's mind, she sees only what the victim saw. Since the victims saw only what the killer wanted them to, Anderson has no idea as to what the killer looks like. To make matters worse, Judge Weller's prejudice ways keeps him from sharing vital information with Anderson. Yet even when they find out who the killer is, they must still find the person who is pulling the killer's strings.

***** Author Mitchel Scanlon often mentions names some of today's famous people or film characters within this series. They are slight, little mentions that many readers may not even notice. But for big fantasy and sci-fi fans, like myself, you will get a chuckle each time one of them jumps out at you. Other than this, the author keeps his sense of humor under wraps and gives his readers some of the best futuristic fantasies of the year. Author Mitchel Scanlon has a new fan in me! Fabulous! *****

Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

I purchased Anderson's Business Law (18th Edition) for my wife as she is a business owner. The book is a beefy college textbook and made with quality paper. Its use of color throughout the text made it easy to read and find a section within the book. The book provides case examples, sources, and website references for each section of law it covers. This book was actually very interesting to read. I highly recommend this book for the small business owner and those who have an interest in the law.

This book provides an easy to read, plenty of examples look on complex ideas like law, rules and contracts to name a few. Laws does not have to be complicated with this book.