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
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Welcome new followers! I read, talk about, and write about classic #sciencefiction books mainly from the 1950s to the 1990s. Reviews and podcast at andyjohnson.xyz #BookSky 💙📚 🚀 #scifibooks
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🔊 Just been listening to this summary of Baxter’s “Mammoth” trilogy, which I picked up fairly recently after @andyjohnson.xyz mentioned it here 🦋
Haven’t read the books yet, but hearing where final part ends up certainly raised an eyebrow or two! 😯
🚀 #SciFiBooks 🪐📚💙 #BookSky 🦋 #Podcasts 📻
Haven’t read the books yet, but hearing where final part ends up certainly raised an eyebrow or two! 😯
🚀 #SciFiBooks 🪐📚💙 #BookSky 🦋 #Podcasts 📻
November 30, 2025 at 11:29 AM
🔊 Just been listening to this summary of Baxter’s “Mammoth” trilogy, which I picked up fairly recently after @andyjohnson.xyz mentioned it here 🦋
Haven’t read the books yet, but hearing where final part ends up certainly raised an eyebrow or two! 😯
🚀 #SciFiBooks 🪐📚💙 #BookSky 🦋 #Podcasts 📻
Haven’t read the books yet, but hearing where final part ends up certainly raised an eyebrow or two! 😯
🚀 #SciFiBooks 🪐📚💙 #BookSky 🦋 #Podcasts 📻
Reposted by Classic SF with Andy Johnson
One last repost just in case you missed it! Great conversations happening over on the site in the comments about upcoming pre-1985 SF reads, Populism in the American South, conventions, favorite Fanac uploads... come join!
What pre-1985 science fiction are you reading? + Mini-rumination on the allure of historical SF conventions
Join the discussion: sciencefictionruminations.com/2025/11/29/w...
#scifi #sciencefiction #books
Join the discussion: sciencefictionruminations.com/2025/11/29/w...
#scifi #sciencefiction #books
November 30, 2025 at 1:56 AM
One last repost just in case you missed it! Great conversations happening over on the site in the comments about upcoming pre-1985 SF reads, Populism in the American South, conventions, favorite Fanac uploads... come join!
Reposted by Classic SF with Andy Johnson
In Stephen Baxter's Mammoth trilogy (1999 - 2001), these majestic creatures still walk the Earth - and a partially terraformed Mars. This week's article is now live, and explores how Baxter helps us see changing worlds through the eyes of mammoths. 🦣
Walk like thunder: the mammoth trilogy (1999 - 2001) by Stephen Baxter
Seeing a changing world through the eyes of mammuthus primigenius
www.andyjohnson.xyz
November 27, 2025 at 8:07 PM
In Stephen Baxter's Mammoth trilogy (1999 - 2001), these majestic creatures still walk the Earth - and a partially terraformed Mars. This week's article is now live, and explores how Baxter helps us see changing worlds through the eyes of mammoths. 🦣
In Stephen Baxter's Mammoth trilogy (1999 - 2001), these majestic creatures still walk the Earth - and a partially terraformed Mars. This week's article is now live, and explores how Baxter helps us see changing worlds through the eyes of mammoths. 🦣
Walk like thunder: the mammoth trilogy (1999 - 2001) by Stephen Baxter
Seeing a changing world through the eyes of mammuthus primigenius
www.andyjohnson.xyz
November 27, 2025 at 8:07 PM
In Stephen Baxter's Mammoth trilogy (1999 - 2001), these majestic creatures still walk the Earth - and a partially terraformed Mars. This week's article is now live, and explores how Baxter helps us see changing worlds through the eyes of mammoths. 🦣
This week's article and episode explore the Mammoth trilogy (1999)/ - 2001) by Stephen Baxter and will be available shortly. Get it in your inbox, sign up for the weekly-ish mailing.
Classic SF with Andy Johnson
Exploring classic SF, from the 1950s to the 1990s
classicsfwithandyjohnson.eo.page
November 27, 2025 at 6:09 PM
This week's article and episode explore the Mammoth trilogy (1999)/ - 2001) by Stephen Baxter and will be available shortly. Get it in your inbox, sign up for the weekly-ish mailing.
Reposted by Classic SF with Andy Johnson
I don't have a book to promote (well, I do, but it's quite old), but I do have a podcast! I'm reading all the Hugo Award winners in order, beginning in 1953, and talking about them with fun guests. Next episode will be Heinlein's Starship Troopers! sites.libsyn.com/586395
Hugo History
Join us in discussing all of the Hugo Award winners beginning in 1953. Updated monthly. SciFi/Fantasy.
sites.libsyn.com
November 26, 2025 at 10:10 PM
I don't have a book to promote (well, I do, but it's quite old), but I do have a podcast! I'm reading all the Hugo Award winners in order, beginning in 1953, and talking about them with fun guests. Next episode will be Heinlein's Starship Troopers! sites.libsyn.com/586395
Reposted by Classic SF with Andy Johnson
Humans crash-land on an Earthlike world, but life there isn't easy in Edgar Pangborn's debut SF novel West of the Sun (1953). This week's article is now live.
The new Argonauts: West of the Sun (1953) by Edgar Pangborn
A transitional 1950s novel of colonisation
www.andyjohnson.xyz
November 20, 2025 at 7:43 PM
Humans crash-land on an Earthlike world, but life there isn't easy in Edgar Pangborn's debut SF novel West of the Sun (1953). This week's article is now live.
I seldom read short story collections, but picked up two today: The Voices of Time (1984) by J. G. Ballard and Heliotrope (2011) by Justina Robson.
November 22, 2025 at 5:08 PM
I seldom read short story collections, but picked up two today: The Voices of Time (1984) by J. G. Ballard and Heliotrope (2011) by Justina Robson.
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Artist Vincent Di Fate (1945-) was born on this day. Bibliography: www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.c...
L, 1972; R, 1973
#scifi #sciencefiction #art #artist
L, 1972; R, 1973
#scifi #sciencefiction #art #artist
November 21, 2025 at 11:40 AM
Artist Vincent Di Fate (1945-) was born on this day. Bibliography: www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.c...
L, 1972; R, 1973
#scifi #sciencefiction #art #artist
L, 1972; R, 1973
#scifi #sciencefiction #art #artist
Very nice to see that my article from last week on Le Guin's Hainish stories is featured in this week's Intergalactic Mixtape roundup. Thanks @renay.bsky.social
Intergalactic Mixtape is live! I read some fab essays this week. Bring on ~reflection season~
Intergalactic Mixtape #29
Hey! There’s lots of article recs this week, some film trailers I’m excited about, plus the usual collection of recent reviews. Also, CRITICAL NEWS: one of...
buttondown.com
November 21, 2025 at 8:57 AM
Very nice to see that my article from last week on Le Guin's Hainish stories is featured in this week's Intergalactic Mixtape roundup. Thanks @renay.bsky.social
Humans crash-land on an Earthlike world, but life there isn't easy in Edgar Pangborn's debut SF novel West of the Sun (1953). This week's article is now live.
The new Argonauts: West of the Sun (1953) by Edgar Pangborn
A transitional 1950s novel of colonisation
www.andyjohnson.xyz
November 20, 2025 at 7:43 PM
Humans crash-land on an Earthlike world, but life there isn't easy in Edgar Pangborn's debut SF novel West of the Sun (1953). This week's article is now live.
Reposted by Classic SF with Andy Johnson
"Man is neither good nor bad but both. But he can swing the balance." This week's article, and podcast episode 178, cover Edgar Pangborn's debut novel West of the Sun (1953). Available tomorrow. Sign up the newsletter to get a reminder, plus capsule reviews.
Classic SF with Andy Johnson
Exploring classic SF, from the 1950s to the 1990s
classicsfwithandyjohnson.eo.page
November 19, 2025 at 10:16 PM
"Man is neither good nor bad but both. But he can swing the balance." This week's article, and podcast episode 178, cover Edgar Pangborn's debut novel West of the Sun (1953). Available tomorrow. Sign up the newsletter to get a reminder, plus capsule reviews.
Longtusk (1999) by Stephen Baxter ✅ - another excellent entry in his Mammoth trilogy, this one set 18,000 years ago. We know the lone bull of the title will become a hero in the great "Cycle", but how and why, in a matriarchal species?
November 19, 2025 at 11:01 PM
Longtusk (1999) by Stephen Baxter ✅ - another excellent entry in his Mammoth trilogy, this one set 18,000 years ago. We know the lone bull of the title will become a hero in the great "Cycle", but how and why, in a matriarchal species?
"Man is neither good nor bad but both. But he can swing the balance." This week's article, and podcast episode 178, cover Edgar Pangborn's debut novel West of the Sun (1953). Available tomorrow. Sign up the newsletter to get a reminder, plus capsule reviews.
Classic SF with Andy Johnson
Exploring classic SF, from the 1950s to the 1990s
classicsfwithandyjohnson.eo.page
November 19, 2025 at 10:16 PM
"Man is neither good nor bad but both. But he can swing the balance." This week's article, and podcast episode 178, cover Edgar Pangborn's debut novel West of the Sun (1953). Available tomorrow. Sign up the newsletter to get a reminder, plus capsule reviews.
"Change is the universal in our lives, and the truth is, change is neither good or bad - it is just different." SF and fantasy writer Greg Bear (1951 - 2022) passed away three years ago today.
November 19, 2025 at 5:26 PM
"Change is the universal in our lives, and the truth is, change is neither good or bad - it is just different." SF and fantasy writer Greg Bear (1951 - 2022) passed away three years ago today.
Happy birthday to Alan Dean Foster, king of SF novelisations and prolific writer of original work, born on this day in 1946. I've covered six of his "Humanx Commonwealth" novels, including his adventure of silicon-based life, Sentenced to Prism (1985).
Crystal methods: Sentenced to Prism (1985) by Alan Dean Foster [Review]
This is a weekly blog exploring classic science fiction , with a focus on the 1950s to the 1990s.
www.andyjohnson.xyz
November 18, 2025 at 10:07 PM
Happy birthday to Alan Dean Foster, king of SF novelisations and prolific writer of original work, born on this day in 1946. I've covered six of his "Humanx Commonwealth" novels, including his adventure of silicon-based life, Sentenced to Prism (1985).
It's about a novel I don't think I'd touch with a bargepole, but this is a very interesting and worthwhile discussion on The Historian (2005), Dracula, and vampire fiction.
It's got history, it's got vampires, it's got...sort of a baffling absence of theory on either topic! Scholar, editor, & comrade @guynes.bsky.social is on to talk about Elizabeth Kostova's THE HISTORIAN.
A Meal of Thorns 37 – THE HISTORIAN with Sean Guynes
Vampire scholar, science fiction studies editor, and ARB co-founder Sean Guynes joins to discuss Kostova’s 2005 historical vampire thriller. We both have fairly negative opinions of the book, but i…
ancillaryreviewofbooks.org
November 17, 2025 at 4:53 PM
It's about a novel I don't think I'd touch with a bargepole, but this is a very interesting and worthwhile discussion on The Historian (2005), Dracula, and vampire fiction.
Reposted by Classic SF with Andy Johnson
🎧 An elegant and eloquent summation of Le Guin’s “Hainish” novels, @andyjohnson.xyz includes a useful suggested reading order which particularly captures the ears* for noobs like myself 🤔
*I just listened to the podcast that followed this as noted👇
🚀 #SciFiBooks 🪐📚💙 #BookSky 🦋 #Podcasts 📻
*I just listened to the podcast that followed this as noted👇
🚀 #SciFiBooks 🪐📚💙 #BookSky 🦋 #Podcasts 📻
"They do not form a coherent history". This week's article is up (podcast to follow): my beginner's guide to the Hainish novels and stories (1966 - 2000) by Ursula K. Le Guin.
Other ways to live: introducing the Hainish stories by Ursula K. Le Guin
A beginner’s guide to her groundbreaking SF setting
www.andyjohnson.xyz
November 17, 2025 at 3:01 PM
🎧 An elegant and eloquent summation of Le Guin’s “Hainish” novels, @andyjohnson.xyz includes a useful suggested reading order which particularly captures the ears* for noobs like myself 🤔
*I just listened to the podcast that followed this as noted👇
🚀 #SciFiBooks 🪐📚💙 #BookSky 🦋 #Podcasts 📻
*I just listened to the podcast that followed this as noted👇
🚀 #SciFiBooks 🪐📚💙 #BookSky 🦋 #Podcasts 📻
SFF, or just F?
"This analysis has, so far, neglected the Science Fiction category as it is now by far SFF’s junior partner with just two titles in the 2025 Top 50." www.thebookseller.com/bestsellers/...
November 17, 2025 at 11:33 AM
SFF, or just F?
Kris from Speculative Reader has put together a good overview of Bob Shaw's classics of optics and perception, Night Walk (1967) and Other Days, Other Eyes (1972).
Speculative Reader Ep. 69: Bob Shaw's Strange Visions: Night Walk and Other Days, Other Eyes
YouTube video by Speculative Reader
youtu.be
November 16, 2025 at 1:07 PM
Kris from Speculative Reader has put together a good overview of Bob Shaw's classics of optics and perception, Night Walk (1967) and Other Days, Other Eyes (1972).
Reposted by Classic SF with Andy Johnson
Great essay here on SF satirist John Sladek, who should by rights be talked of as one of the greats of the new wave. This debut novel is great - and decidedly prescient - but his short stories are particularly wonderful. The collection Keep The Giraffe Burning is a good place to start...
The hiatus is over, and the self-replicating machines are on the loose - this week's article and podcast ep cover John Sladek's anarchic, comic debut SF novel The Reproductive System, AKA Mechasm (1968).
Silicon and steel: The Reproductive System (1968) by John Sladek
Machines run amok in a comic disaster ahead of its time
www.andyjohnson.xyz
November 16, 2025 at 11:06 AM
Great essay here on SF satirist John Sladek, who should by rights be talked of as one of the greats of the new wave. This debut novel is great - and decidedly prescient - but his short stories are particularly wonderful. The collection Keep The Giraffe Burning is a good place to start...
West of the Sun (1953) by Edgar Pangborn ✅ - six humans crash-land on an Earthlike planet and change, and are changed by, its alien societies. A strong, thoughtful SF debut.
November 15, 2025 at 10:26 PM
West of the Sun (1953) by Edgar Pangborn ✅ - six humans crash-land on an Earthlike planet and change, and are changed by, its alien societies. A strong, thoughtful SF debut.
Reposted by Classic SF with Andy Johnson
OK -- this is a long shot -- but does *anyone* have a copy of either of these two books about Lin Carter? (in the thread) They are hellishly difficult to find; I can't even find them from used sellers or on auction sites at any price!
November 15, 2025 at 7:05 PM
OK -- this is a long shot -- but does *anyone* have a copy of either of these two books about Lin Carter? (in the thread) They are hellishly difficult to find; I can't even find them from used sellers or on auction sites at any price!
J. G. Ballard (1930 - 2009) was born on this day. This piece I wrote about his extraordinary novel Crash (1973) is likely my favourite thing I've published this year.
Celebration of wounds: Crash (1973) by J. G. Ballard
A shocking collision of warped sexuality and twisted metal
www.andyjohnson.xyz
November 15, 2025 at 4:20 PM
J. G. Ballard (1930 - 2009) was born on this day. This piece I wrote about his extraordinary novel Crash (1973) is likely my favourite thing I've published this year.
Reposted by Classic SF with Andy Johnson
"They do not form a coherent history". This week's article is up (podcast to follow): my beginner's guide to the Hainish novels and stories (1966 - 2000) by Ursula K. Le Guin.
Other ways to live: introducing the Hainish stories by Ursula K. Le Guin
A beginner’s guide to her groundbreaking SF setting
www.andyjohnson.xyz
November 14, 2025 at 7:23 PM
"They do not form a coherent history". This week's article is up (podcast to follow): my beginner's guide to the Hainish novels and stories (1966 - 2000) by Ursula K. Le Guin.