Classic SF with Andy Johnson
@andyjohnson.xyz
Exploring classic science fiction, with a focus on the 1950s to the 1990s. Weekly articles and podcast at andyjohnson.xyz
Political prisoners are sent hundreds of millions of years back in time, in Robert Silverberg's excellent short novel Hawksbill Station (1968). New essay and podcast ep now up.
Prisoners of the past: Hawksbill Station (1968) by Robert Silverberg
A swift tale of political radicals trapped in the late Cambrian period
andyjohnson.xyz
Playing Soul Reaver recently encouraged me to return to Darksiders Warmastered Edition (2016), which happily now has a photo mode following a recent update.
Working my way through the 721 pages of Death's End (2010) by Liu Cixin this week, and as I approach the final third it has had me literally laughing out loud at the wild audacity and scale of its ideas.
This week I polished off the 2024 remaster of Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver (1999). Definitely an interesting and atmospheric game, albeit one which is highly obtuse at times. I can't imagine getting through it without a guide.
Bent on an intellectually and creatively impoverished, dumbed-down world, AI bros continue their speedrun replication of Fahrenheit 451.
AI Firms Are Buying up Old Books, Then Scanning and Destroying Them
The world’s biggest AI companies are buying antiquarian books en masse so they can be scanned to train their large language models (LLMs) before being destroyed.
novaramedia.com
The Claw of the Conciliator (1981) by Gene Wolfe ✅ - a further test of patience, in a continuation I liked less than the first volume. Meandering to an almost maddening extent.
Celebrating the legacy of renowned illustrator Virgil Finlay, born OTD 1914. Here’s a beautifully evocative piece (which I hadn’t come across before) representing J. G. Ballard‘s ‘The Crystal World‘, as advertised in a 1966 edition of ‘Things to Come’, the bulletin of the Science Fiction Book Club.
Hawksbill Station (1968) by Robert Silverberg ✅ - political prisoners forced back in time to the late Cambrian period struggle to cling to purpose and sanity. Perhaps a bit slight in plot and conceptual terms, but a every entertaining short novel.
The Gorgon and Other Beastly Tales (1985) by Tanith Lee ✅ - the four best stories in my view are "Anna Medea", "Sirriamnis", "Because Our Skins Are Finer", and "La Reine Blanche". Brief thoughts on all stories in the thread.
Classic SF with Andy Johnson@andyjohnson.xyz · 3w agoSome thoughts as I make my way through The Gorgon and Other Beastly Tales (1985) by Tanith Lee, which collects 10 stories published from 1979 to 1984, plus one new to this volume. 🧵
The Gorgon and Other Beastly Tales (1985) by Tanith Lee ✅ - the four best stories in my view are "Anna Medea", "Sirriamnis", "Because Our Skins Are Finer", and "La Reine Blanche". Brief thoughts on all stories in the thread.
Classic SF with Andy Johnson@andyjohnson.xyz · 3w agoSome thoughts as I make my way through The Gorgon and Other Beastly Tales (1985) by Tanith Lee, which collects 10 stories published from 1979 to 1984, plus one new to this volume. 🧵
Some thoughts as I make my way through The Gorgon and Other Beastly Tales (1985) by Tanith Lee, which collects 10 stories published from 1979 to 1984, plus one new to this volume. 🧵
Trouble With Lichen (1960) by John Wyndham ✅ - British scientists discover a rare lichen from China which promises enhanced human longevity, in what I feel is a fairly minor Wyndham.
Picked up the huge Tanith Lee bundle today - 26 books, including multiple complete series, from the British fantasy and SF author (1947 - 2015).
Humble Book Bundle: The Tanith Lee Collection by DAW Books
Discover the unique worlds and unforgettable stories of master fantasist Tanith Lee! Pay what you want for this ebook collection, and support BINC!
humblebundle.com
If Turkey is trying to give NATO leaders some Castor Troy swag they've got to step up their game.
Thomas O’Mahony@gotitatguineys.bsky.social · 4w agoOne of the personalised pistols Erdoğan gave to each NATO leader. There is a pistol out there that says “Keir Starmer”, and for @bloodwork.show purposes I need to own it.
"Our deadliest susceptibility is conformity, and our deadliest virtue is putting up with things as they are." - Trouble With Lichen (1960) by John Wyndham
One of the least likely adaptation ideas I can recall is when BBC Studios announced a TV version of the History of the Runestaff books by Michael Moorcock. Seemingly nothing at all has happened since 2019.
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Volume IV: The Tempest (2019) by Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill ✅ - a fairly poignant ending to the series, especially given O'Neill's passing in 2022.
The Shadow of the Torturer (1980) by Gene Wolfe ✅ - yes, I finally got around to it. Dense, sophisticated, enigmatic. Wolfe tested my patience at times, especially in the botanic garden sequences, but a fine start.
Chris Moore’s 1991 cover illustration for Stephen Baxter’s "Raft"
No Country for Old Men (2005) by Cormac McCarthy ✅ - quite gripping neo-western thriller. Surprisingly, the book meanders on for about 50 pages after the story has reached its end.
Walter Hill's tough, excellent first film Hard Times (1975), with Charles Bronson and James Coburn, is (surprisingly) now on Netflix. Strongly recommended.
"It takes very little to govern good people. Very little. And bad people can't be governed at all." - No Country for Old Men (2005) by Cormac McCarthy
Jem (1979) by Frederik Pohl ✅ - quite distinctive and gloomy, even cynical, novel of colonisation and first contact. Three human factions encounter three sentient species on the planet N-OA Bes-bes Geminorum 8426 - or "Jem".
One Million Tomorrows (1970) by Bob Shaw ✅ - easily one of Shaw's weaker novels. A strictly workmanlike potboiler about immortality drugs which lacks entirely the energy and wonder of his best work.
It has been over 50 years since a child was born, and humanity is dying while nature replenishes itself. This week's essay is a look at Brian Aldiss' superb catastrophe novel Greybeard (1964).
Winter of the world: Greybeard (1964) by Brian Aldiss
A science fictional processing of personal pain
andyjohnson.xyz
It has been over 50 years since a child was born, and humanity is dying while nature replenishes itself. This week's essay is a look at Brian Aldiss' superb catastrophe novel Greybeard (1964).
Winter of the world: Greybeard (1964) by Brian Aldiss
A science fictional processing of personal pain
andyjohnson.xyz
This year is the 50th anniversary of the standalone edition of The Word for World is Forest. This Berkley Medallion edition is from December 1976. Cover art by Richard Powers.
Master and Commander (1969) by Patrick O'Brian ✅ - supremely detailed, convincing, and deep historical novel. Hard to imagine how such a thing could be achieved.
My favourite artist, his work a frequent presence in SF spaces over the years. I was fortunate to be able to explore the Escher museum in the Hague in 2025.
Future Revisitations@futurerevisited.bsky.social · 2mo agoIn celebration of the legacy of artist M. C. Escher, born OTD 1898. Little wonder his imagery has frequently graced various SF publications, with their beautifully disconcerting tendency to turn the familiar inside out. Here we have his iconic 1953 piece ‘Relativity’ adorning New Worlds in 1967.
