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Classic SF with Andy Johnson
Добавлен 5 окт 2011
Exploring classic science fiction, with a focus on the 1950s to the 1990s.
#127 Science fiction in disguise: Inversions (1998) by Iain M. Banks
The time has come to continue exploring Iain M. Banks' Culture series. Inversions is the fifth of nine novels, and also the last to be published in the 1990s. This time, Banks stretched himself further than ever before, experimenting with a radically different view of his post-scarcity setting. What does the Culture look like, viewed from a medieval society that is unaware that other worlds even exist?
To catch up with my coverage of the series, listen to episode 90 for The State of the Art, 93 for Consider Phlebas, 99 for The Player of Games, 105 for Use of Weapons and 110 for Excession.
Get in touch with a text message! (www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/1080812/open_sms)
For more ...
To catch up with my coverage of the series, listen to episode 90 for The State of the Art, 93 for Consider Phlebas, 99 for The Player of Games, 105 for Use of Weapons and 110 for Excession.
Get in touch with a text message! (www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/1080812/open_sms)
For more ...
Просмотров: 22
Видео
#126 A very British disaster: The Day of the Triffids (1951) by John Wyndham
Просмотров 15День назад
No discussion of classic British science fiction could be complete without mentioning John Wyndham, and perhaps especially his 1951 novel The Day of the Triffids. A pioneer in the noble tradition of the British disaster novel, this influential classic piles not one, or two, but three catastrophes onto the world. The protagonist, Bill Masen, must navigate not only mass blindness and a mystery di...
#125 Future faith: Let the Fire Fall (1969) by Kate Wilhelm and Strength of Stones (1981) by Greg...
Просмотров 1814 дней назад
This episode covers two quite different science fiction novels by two quite different writers, published more than a decade apart. What links them is their emphasis on religious themes. Let the Fire Fall by Kate Wilhelm was published in 1969, and is largely forgotten. Set in a near-contemporary world, it deals with alien visitation and a manipulative religious cult. Strength of Stones is an ear...
#124 Moral hazard: Preferred Risk (1955) by Frederik Pohl and Lester del Rey
Просмотров 18Месяц назад
Back in episode 111, I took a trip back to the 1950s, and looked at three books written collaboratively by Frederik Pohl and Cyril M. Kornbluth. The first two of these, The Space Merchants and Gladiator-at-Law, are major landmarks in the development of social science fiction. In 1955, while that collaboration was ongoing, Frederik Pohl published another novel in partnership with a different aut...
#123 In love with death: Rogue Moon (1960) by Algis Budrys
Просмотров 62Месяц назад
Originally published in 1960, Rogue Moon is an excellent novel by the Lithuanian-American author, critic, and editor Algis Budrys. If you read classic science fiction and encounter contemporary reviews of those books, you are sure to have heard Budrys' name. He was a major critic of SF for many years. However he was also a highly capable writer of his own fiction, both at short story and novel ...
#122 Suffering for art: Meridian Days (1992) by Eric Brown
Просмотров 29Месяц назад
A debut novel which deals with guilt, art, and suspicious happenings on a troubled colony founded on matter transmission. The British SF author Eric Brown passed away in March 2023. He first came to prominence through his short fiction in the 1980s. Following the publication of his first collection, Brown was given the chance to put out his first novel. This episode covers that book, Meridian D...
#121 Seeing is believing: A Wreath of Stars (1976) by Bob Shaw
Просмотров 17Месяц назад
What if we share our world with a different intelligent species, but are separated from them by a failure of perception? And what if that gap could be bridged by a new technology, a new way of seeing? That is the premise of Bob Shaw's 1976 novel A Wreath of Stars. In his ninth novel, the Northern Irish writer combined his interest in optics with speculation about exotic particles and a grounded...
#120 Cities at war: Oath of Fealty (1981) by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle
Просмотров 322 месяца назад
In a recent episode, we looked at Frederik Pohl and C.M. Kornbluth, who formed the most important science fiction writing team of the 1950s. This instalment looks at a key book by a dominant collaboration of the 1970s and 1980s - Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle. These right-wing hard SF authors worked together on numerous books, and even collaborated on fantasy at times. Their 1981 novel Oath o...
#119: A case of consciousness: The Soul of the Robot (1974) by Barrington J. Bayley
Просмотров 72 месяца назад
Barrington J. Bayley's novel The Soul of the Robot (1974) fits within the wider context of robot stories in SF - these include Isaac Asimov's influential tales from the 1940s, and the more subversive work of John Sladek in the 1980s. The protagonist of Bayley's novel, the fully conscious robot Jasperodus, can be seen as a kind of middle ground between these two approaches. Featuring fallen empi...
#118 Schlock and awe: The Paradox Men (1953) by Charles L. Harness
Просмотров 112 месяца назад
Charles L. Harness' 1953 novel The Paradox Men was originally published under the title Flight Into Yesterday. It is a classic example of elevated pulp, which features swordfights, superpowers, voyages to the sun, and a strange furry creature that can speak - if only to speak the phrase "don't go..." The Paradox Men is featured in David Pringle's 1985 book Science Fiction: The 100 Best Novels. ...
#117: Man and machine: “A Meeting with Medusa” (1971) and The Medusa Chronicles (2016)
Просмотров 72 месяца назад
Originally published in the December 1971 issue of Playboy, “A Meeting With Medusa” is generally thought of as Clarke’s last significant shorter work. Notably, it won the Nebula Award for Best Novella the following year. It was also an early inspiration for two of Clarke’s successors in the British SF scene. 45 years after the novella’s publication, Stephen Baxter and Alastair Reynolds delivere...
#116 End of days: The Forge of God (1987) by Greg Bear
Просмотров 102 месяца назад
In The Forge of God (1987), the Earth’s demise is an inevitability. Greg Bear’s novel of apocalypse was published when he was establishing himself as a leader of American hard SF in the 1980s. This is a sophisticated, chillingly believable, and scientifically rigorous view of the end of the world. Crucially, Bear is as interested in human beings as he is in the devastation that unfolds. Knowing...
#115 Faith in the stars: To Open the Sky (1967) by Robert Silverberg
Просмотров 52 месяца назад
Robert Silverberg's To Open the Sky (1967) combines five pre-planned stories originally published in Galaxy magazine in 1965 and 1966, it is an interestingly structured piece of work published at a time when Silverberg was just entering his own personal golden age. It also combines themes of religion, psychic powers, terraforming, immortality, and political conflict into a unique take on the "f...
#114 A Thousand Worlds: Dying of the Light (1977) and Tuf Voyaging (1986) by George R.R. Martin
Просмотров 62 месяца назад
George R.R. Martin is easily one of the best-known, most successful, and wealthiest genre writers still working today - albeit slowly. While Martin is a giant of modern fantasy writing, even some of his ardent fans may not be aware that he first made an impact in science fiction. This episode first covers his debut novel from 1977, Dying of the Light. It's a gloomy, mournful story of lost love ...
#113 A pair of Aces: The Atlantic Abomination (1960) and Sanctuary in the Sky (1960) by John Brunner
Просмотров 72 месяца назад
John Brunner was a startlingly prolific British writer of science fiction, whose reputation rests on four acclaimed books he published from the late 1960s to the mid 1970s. However, earlier in his career he wrote many SF adventures which while less ambitious, are a rich source of pulp excitement. This episode focuses on two of these many novels. The Atlantic Abomination and Sanctuary in the Sky...
#112 Empire in time: The Fall of Chronopolis (1974) by Barrington J. Bayley
Просмотров 52 месяца назад
#112 Empire in time: The Fall of Chronopolis (1974) by Barrington J. Bayley
#111 SF’s greatest partnership? Three novels by Frederik Pohl and Cyril M. Kornbluth (1952 - 1959)
Просмотров 22 месяца назад
#111 SF’s greatest partnership? Three novels by Frederik Pohl and Cyril M. Kornbluth (1952 - 1959)
#110 Outside context problem: Excession (1996) by Iain M. Banks
Просмотров 192 месяца назад
#110 Outside context problem: Excession (1996) by Iain M. Banks
#109 No brakes: Tau Zero (1970) by Poul Anderson
Просмотров 172 месяца назад
#109 No brakes: Tau Zero (1970) by Poul Anderson
#108 Fashion victim: The Garments of Caean (1976) by Barrington J. Bayley
Просмотров 32 месяца назад
#108 Fashion victim: The Garments of Caean (1976) by Barrington J. Bayley
#107 Living with the dead: The Falling Woman (1986) by Pat Murphy
2 месяца назад
#107 Living with the dead: The Falling Woman (1986) by Pat Murphy
#106 Raising Titans: Imperial Earth (1975) by Arthur C. Clarke
Просмотров 42 месяца назад
#106 Raising Titans: Imperial Earth (1975) by Arthur C. Clarke
#105 Pulling the trigger: Use of Weapons (1990) by Iain M. Banks
Просмотров 92 месяца назад
#105 Pulling the trigger: Use of Weapons (1990) by Iain M. Banks
#104 Finding a place in the future: China Mountain Zhang (1992) by Maureen F. McHugh
2 месяца назад
#104 Finding a place in the future: China Mountain Zhang (1992) by Maureen F. McHugh
#103 A dishonourable discharge? Commandos: Strike Force (2006)
Просмотров 22 месяца назад
#103 A dishonourable discharge? Commandos: Strike Force (2006)
#102 A methodical masterpiece - Commandos 2: Men of Courage (2001)
2 месяца назад
#102 A methodical masterpiece - Commandos 2: Men of Courage (2001)
#101 Uncontrolled evolution: Blood Music (1985) by Greg Bear
Просмотров 12 месяца назад
#101 Uncontrolled evolution: Blood Music (1985) by Greg Bear
#100 (!) There won’t be many coming home: The Forever War (1974) by Joe Haldeman
Просмотров 52 месяца назад
#100 (!) There won’t be many coming home: The Forever War (1974) by Joe Haldeman
#99 High stakes: The Player of Games (1988) by Iain M. Banks
Просмотров 22 месяца назад
#99 High stakes: The Player of Games (1988) by Iain M. Banks
#98 Newly remastered, Quake II is again the pinnacle of classic ‘90s shooters
Просмотров 12 месяца назад
#98 Newly remastered, Quake II is again the pinnacle of classic ‘90s shooters
Almost prophetic. Pretty amazing.
It is - Brunner was quite good at extending the trends he observed into the future.
I found it an amazing book. It’d be a great film, I think.
I think you might be right. Film-makers might struggle to avoid comparisons with The Life of Brian, though, and a film of Behold the Man could be just as controversial...
Great reviews. Much enjoyed.
Thank you!
“it can be difficult to tell one Mind from another” The audiobook has the advantage here. Peter Kenny does a brilliant (imo) job of distinguishing the Minds by giving them diverse (and sometimes amusing) accents.
@@fburton8 Thanks for listening! I'm not an audiobook listener myself, but I have heard good things about Peter Kenny in the past. It sounds like a good approach to the complexities of Excession.
The map looks and plays great! Much higher quality than anything else I've seen from RAMP.
Thanks - to be fair, most of the mappers for RAMP are very new whereas I have a few more maps under my belt.
@@classicsfwithandyjohnson true But that did lessen my interest somewhat Great community project and fun for the mappers, but I thought myself too advanced to be involved and less interested in playing 200 beginner maps
Very well done map! I will definitely find time to try it myself.