#classic science fiction

[free-land-free-labor]

Hilarious to see people try to project secular politics onto the Papal election. Catholic social teaching is long established and extends far beyond the Catholic Church, generally aligning with the basic socio-political doctrine of most of Christendom.

“He’s anti-abortion, but also pro-environment?”

Yes; that’s basic Catholic (and the consensus in wider Christian) social teaching. Opposing killing babies being “conservative” and supporting conserving the environment being “liberal” is not some fundamental preordained thing. Supporting human rights for unborn children and immigrants and the poor is entirely coherent with opposing the unjust economic structures and the wide ideology of liberal materialism.

[obsidian-sphere]

“Water-Bound World” by Harl Vincent in “Amazing Stories Quarterly,” Spring-Summer 1932. art by Leo Morey.

UFO abduction 1932 style!

[rollerska8er]

I love that H. G. Wells was basically the origin of science fiction writers pausing their stories to infodump about alien biology or physics.

There's a section of The War of the Worlds where the journalist is stuck in a house with someone so Wells spends pages telling us about how cool and weird Martian biology is, and it's genuinely fascinating. Wells is possibly the father of speculative biology. His conception of the Martians came entirely from extrapolation from the then-novel theories of evolution and germ theory.

People often write off Wells's fiction as kind of boring and old hat, but it still reads really well.

[smalltownspacebug]

John Bolton

[doomedyuri]

decided that, on top of getting through my owned physical tbr, i want to start reading more science fiction - particularly science fiction that is older, more obscure (to me lol) and/or formative

the growing (tentative) list, as of this morning:

blood music by greg bear (reading this right now!)

solaris by stanislaw lem

the dispossessed by ursula k. le guin

world at the end of time by frederik pohl

hothouse by brian w. aldiss

inherit the stars by james p. hogan

the left hand of darkness by ursula k. le guin

eon by greg bear

ringworld by larry niven

fallen dragon by peter f. hamilton

way station by clifford d. simak

blindsight by peter watts

permutation city by greg egan

dawn by octavia e. butler

house of suns by alastair reynolds

gateway by frederik pohl

dreamships by melissa scott

star maker by olaf stapledon

dying inside by robert silverberg

nova by samuel r. delany

the palace of eternity by bob shaw

a fire upon the deep by vernor vinge

protector by larry niven

consider phlebas by iain m. banks

bloodchild by octavia e. butler

raft by stephen baxter

the city and the stars by arthur c. clarke

hyperion by dan simmons

ammonite by nicola griffith

dragon's egg by robert l. forward

cat's cradle by kurt vonnegut

tau zero by poul anderson

the mote in god's eye by larry niven and jerry pournelle

the forge of god by greg bear

grass by sheri s. tepper

diaspora by greg egan

the pastel city by m. john harrison

parable of the sower by octavia e. butler

the space merchants by frederik pohl and c.m. kornbluth

city by clifford d. simak

contact by carl sagan

rendezvous with rama by arthur c. clarke

farewell, earth's bliss by d.g. compton

roadside picnic by arkady and boris strugatsky

if anyone has other suggestions, please share 💖

[toomuchhorrorfiction]

Paperback cover art by Chris Moore (1947-2025)

[spacetimesally]

A confrontation on the bridge leads to a mutiny, from the classic Spacetime Sally episode, 'All's Quiet Until a Disruptive Grunt'

[benjacksonstanaccount]

[brokehorrorfan]

Bottleneck Gallery will release Metropolis 24x36 screen prints on foil paper by Chris Thornley today, May 21, at 12pm EST. The standard edition (left) is limited to 100 for $60, while the variant is limited to 50 for $70.

[judgeitbyitscover]

I, Robot (1950) by Isaac Asimov

Cover art by Stephen Youll

Bantam Spectra, December 1991

The Three Laws of Robotics: 1) A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm. 2) A robot must obey orders given to it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law. 3) A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law. With these three, simple directives, Isaac Asimov formulated the laws governing robots’ behavior. In I, Robot, Asimov chronicles the development of the robot from its primitive origins in the present to its ultimate perfection in the not-so-distant future—a  future in which humanity itself may be rendered obsolete.s

[sci-fi-fantasy-art-collection]

Godzilla Vs Monster Zero

[obsidian-sphere]

Images from Invaders from the Infinite by John W. Campbell, art by Wesso from Amazing Stories Quarterly, Spring-Summer 1932.

[pin-uppal]

Sean Young

Sean Young; American actress (November 20, 1959). Seen here in a publicity photo, as Rachael, in the Sci-Fi Noir classic Blade Runner (1982).

[savage-kult-of-gorthaur]

"…THE REST STOOD SILENT -- WATCHING. THEY MAY ONCE HAVE BEEN ANIMALS; BUT I NEVER BEFORE SAW AN ANIMAL...."

PIC INFO: Spotlight on cover art to the 1968 paperback reprint of classic "science romance" novel, "The Island of Dr. Moreau," originally published in 1896 and written by the prophetic and prolific H.G. Wells. Artwork by William Douglas Rosa (1932-1977).

PIC #2: Resolution at 810x1367 -- Isolated cover artwork and/or illustration, also by WDR.

"The knot of Beast Men, still wondering, stood back among the trees. I passed them serenely as possible. One started to follow me, but retreated again when Montgomery cracked his whip. The rest stood silent -- watching. They may once have been animals; but I never before saw an animal trying to think."

-- EDWARD PRENDICK, from "The Island of Doctor Moreau" (1896), by H.G. Wells

Sources: www.biblio.com/book/island-dr-moreau-paperback-masterpiece-library/d/1032681319 & eBay.

[free-land-free-labor]

I’ve been on a huge 17th century Britain kick of late but it truly is remarkable to me that there hasn’t been an extensive study of the political philosophy of the 1653-1660 Commonwealth. In typical academic fashion, there are plenty of Marxist studies of fringe radicals that miss the central cast of Oliver Cromwell, Charles Fleetwood, etc.