ConQuesT has a new website!

ConQuesT Prime (ConQuesT 47) has kicked off its new website!

"Primed" (sorry) and ready for clicking! Check out the new website!

The concom has been working hard to get the new look, navigation, and functions working smoothly. Please check it out, and share it with friends!

Early Bird Registration ends August 5
Take advantage of the lowest rates you'll see all year! See all our guests and much, much more! (click the link on the first page).

There's also information on the hotel (We are moving back to the Sheraton at Crown Center), guests, programming, and general information.

IMAGES: The banner is from the opening page of the new website. The banner with the guests' photos is from the ConQuesT Facebook Page. 

Start Reading Now! Directive 51 for August SF&F Literati

Do you have your copy?
The August Selection for the SF&F Literati is Directive 51, by John Barnes.

Overview from Barnes & Noble: 

Part philosophic discussion, part international terrorist faction, and part artists' movement, "Daybreak" consists of a group of diverse people with radical ideas who are united in their desire to take down modern civilization. And when they strike, the government has no choice but to implement its emergency contingency program: Directive 51.

From Publisher’s Weekly:

"Daybreak"--an assault against modern civilization conceived and developed through the Internet--has begun. As plastics and other petroleum products deteriorate and bring the world crashing down, Heather O'Grainne, of the U.S. Office of Future Threat Assessment, is a leader in the government's efforts to stabilize the remnants of American society and prevent total anarchy. It's a sprawling and provocative apocalyptic epic improved by Susan Ericksen's riveting performance. Ericksen (whose voice will be familiar to J.D. Robb fans) sustains the suspense and produces believable regional accents and multicultural and generational characters. An Ace hardcover.

The meeting is Monday evening, August 31, 2015 at 7:00 p.m., at the Oak Park Barnes & Noble Booksellers #2352, 2^nd Floor, 11323 W 95th Street, Overland Park, KS 66214, but it's not too early to start reading NOW! 

IMAGE: Many thanks to the Strange Horizons website, for the cover image.

Enjoy a Classic with SF&F Literati, July 27 2015

Date: July 27, 2015-7:00 p.m.

Title: Childhood’s End

Author: Arthur C. Clarke

Publisher: Random House Publishing Group

Available from: Fine booksellers, including Barnes & Noble

Meeting Location: Barnes & Noble #2352, 2^nd Floor
11323 W 95th Street, Overland Park, KS 66214

Overview from Barnes & Noble:

Without warning, giant silver ships from deep space appear in the skies above every major city on Earth. Manned by the Overlords, in fifty years, they eliminate ignorance, disease, and poverty. Then this golden age ends—and then the age of Mankind begins....

Overview from Wikipedia:

The story follows the peaceful alien invasion of Earth by the mysterious Overlords, whose arrival begins decades of apparent utopia under indirect alien rule, at the cost of human identity and culture.

Didn't read it? Come anyway! The conversation is always good.

Next Month: 

Directive 51, by John Barnes, available everywhere.

IMAGE: Many thanks to Goodreads, for the image of the book's cover.

Advance notice! The August 15 Meeting will be a Swap-N-Shop event!

Get ready NOW for the Science Fiction-Fantasy and Horror 

Swap-N-Shop!

Here's a great excuse to get a jump on your "Fall Housecleaning!" (Of course you do that). 

Use the upcoming sale as incentive to go through your basement, attic, garage, closet, and the all the boxes of books and other items still hanging on since your last move, to collect some really GOOD STUFF that is genre-related, but that you no longer need/want/have room for. We hope your treasure-hunting is fruitful!

We would love to see SF, Fantasy, Speculative, and/or Horror-Themed:

Books, Magazines

DVDs, VCR tapes

CDs, Audio books, Radio plays

T-shirts, ties, or other wearables

Toys, Models, 

Robots, Figurines

Ray-guns, light sabers, swords, etc.

Artwork, Posters, 

Games, Trading cards and collectibles

Tchotchkes of all descriptions 

Any Dues-paid member may bring their items to sell. All members and guests are welcome to come and buy. When the Writers' Place tables are all filled, you'll be on your own, so consider bringing your own portable tables. You're also on your own for easels and other vertical displays, unless you arrange to borrow Art Show panels (see meeting post 8/9/15 for details).

After the sale: Please consider donating any leftover books to our Book Drive, and any other unsold genre items to our Charity Auction.

IMAGES: Many thanks to Erin Underwood’s Blog “Underwords” for the photo of genre books in crates. The photo Robin Bailey's 2010 book-sales table at an earlier Swap-N-Shop event is courtesy of Jan S. Gephardt. The photo of Star Trek trading cards is from eBay.

Lawn Order

It's summertime--but not everyone's taking it easy . . .

"When 900 years old you reach, look as good your lawn will not."

IMAGE: Many thanks to David Gerrold's Facebook Page for this image.

Bring out your Droids! Monthly KaCSFFS Meeting 7/18/15

What: Monthly KaCSFFS Meeting

Where: The WritersPlace

3607 Pennsylvania Ave., Kansas City, MO 64111

When: Saturday, July 18, 2015

5:30 Board of Directors—open meeting

6:00 Doors open for setup and pre-meeting socializing.
6:30 Start of socializing in earnest.

7:00 Program begins: Tonight! KC R2 Builders!

Food Theme: Cool and Refreshing!

Kevin's R2-D2

Meet Kevin and R2

Tonight's presentation will feature Kevin Schwarz of the KCR2 Builders Club, along with his full-size R2-D2! KCR2 Builders Club members build full scale R2 units from the Star Wars Universe. Membership is free an open to anyone living in the Kansas City Area.

Robots on Parade (B.Y.O.R.)

If you have robots of your own, please bring them to show us! Large or small, tonight we officially love robots! Let's see if we can put together a good display of them.

Bring Cool and Refreshing Food or Drink

KaXFEN are always up for something good to eat. Please bring any favorite "cool and refreshing" favorites that you'd like to share--and come prepared to give out recipes, too, if you're willing!

As ever, KaCSFFS provides cups, plates, plasticware and napkins. The rest is up to you!

IMAGES: The KCR2 Builders Logo and the photo of Kevin's R2-D2 are from the KCR2 Builders Club website.

KC Horror Book Club July 2015 Meeting

The Missing

By Sarah Langan

Details:
Date and Time: July 19, 2015 (Saturday) from noon to 1:30.
NEW Location!!!!!: Char Bar
Address: 4050 Pennsylvania Ave, Kansas City, Missouri 64111
Event Notes: 

Come and discuss and grab some food too.

"A remote and affluent Maine community, Corpus Christi was untouched by the environmental catastrophe that destroyed the neighboring blue-collar town of Bedford. But all that will change in a heartbeat . . .

"The nightmare is awakened when third-grade schoolteacher Lois Larkin takes the children on a field trip to Bedford. There in the abandoned woods, a small, cruel boy unearths an ancient horror—a contagious plague that transforms its victims into something violent, hungry . . . and inhuman.

"The long, dark night is just beginning. And all hope must die as the contagion feeds—for the malevolence will not rest until it has devoured every living soul in Corpus Christi . . . and beyond."

-Harper (via Amazon) & Earline Beebe

Check the Facebook Event Page for more information.

Please contact Earline Beebe for more information on the Facebook event page.
Image from: Amazon. Published by Harper.

Laser Rangers 2015 July Meeting

The World Ends in Fireworks!

Date: July 11, 2015
Time: 4:50pm
Location: David Sooby’s home theater with 51-inch Samsung HDTV, a 5.1 Surround Sound Dolby Digital sound system, a full set of audiophile-grade speakers, and upgraded seating for about 15 people without crowding.
Captain Laser: David S. & Don M.
Food: Mediterranean
Costume: Greek

To learn more, please visit our Facebook Event Page.

Short features will be shown before each feature. Don't miss them!

Pompeii

(2014, 104 minutes) Directed by: Paul W. S. Anderson

Starring: Kit Harington, Emily Browning, Carrie-Anne Moss, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Jessica Lucas, Jared Harris, Kiefer Sutherland

In 79 A.D., Pompeii, a bustling port city, stands in the shadow of Mount Vesuvius. Milo (Kit Harington), a former slave, is a gladiator who has caught the eye of Cassia (Emily Browning), a wealthy merchant's daughter. However, their difference in social status is not the only obstacle to their love; Cassia has been promised to Corvus (Kiefer Sutherland), a corrupt Roman senator. When the eruption of Mount Vesuvius rains lava and ash down on the city, Milo races to save her before it's too late.-IMDB

Watch the trailer here!







~~~~~
After the first feature, please join us for a potluck dinner. Bring something to share. It can follow the theme, or be something you prefer.
~~~~~

Feature Presentation!
The Core

(2003, 135 minutes) Directed by: Jon Amiel

Starring: Aaron Eckhart, Hilary Swank, Delroy Lindo, Stanley Tucci, Tchéky Karyo, DJ Qualls, Bruce Greenwood, Alfre Woodard

The only way to save Earth from catastrophe is to drill down to the core and set it spinning again.-IMDB

Watch the trailer here!











The home of the Laser Rangers is located about four miles north of the Kansas Speedway, NW of the intersection of I-70 and I-435 on the Kansas side of the Greater Kansas City area.

IMAGE CREDITS: The information for all of these shows come from the invaluable IMDB. The movie posters come from Wikipedia or the movie's respected distributors. 

The movie screen frame image used for the Laser Rangers contact information is courtesy of Psychology Today Online. Many thanks to these websites!