@the_roamer

#SciFi
(1/2)

#IsaacAsimov's

The Complete Robot

and

The Foundation Saga

...should be manadory reading* for all high school seniors, as well as anyone working on #AI in the widest sense of the meaning, IMHO.

*And before I get the usual replies, yes, there are several others, including:

@PhilSalkie

Darrell K. Sweet's cover art detail for the 1st edition of William R. Forstchen's A Darkness Upon the Ice (1985)
#art #scifi #sciencefiction

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A sailing ship with ice skates zips through a wood gate of a city of layered roofs. In the vessel is a woman hugging a boy and a man at the helm.

Artist Ralph McQuarrie (1929-2012) was born on this day. Bibliography: https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?7866

L, 1977; R, 1978
#scifi #sciencefiction #art

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Cover for The Star Wars Portfolio. Dark Vader fights someone. Mysteriously, Dark Vader has a blue lightsaber.

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Cover for The Best of Jack Williamson. A robot goes shopping on a typical American street. The robot holds a paper bag.

A favorite artist and a favorite author!

For more covers by Atelier Heinrichs & Bachmann: https://sciencefictionruminations.com/2021/03/27/adventures-in-science-fiction-cover-art-the-pop-collage-of-atelier-heinrichs-bachmann-part-i/
And my book review of Aldiss' novel (note: from the earliest years of my site): https://sciencefictionruminations.com/2010/10/24/a-book-review-non-stop-variant-title-starship-brian-aldiss-1958/
#scifi #sciencefiction

Atelier Heinrichs & Bachmann's cover art detail for the 1970 German edition of Brian W. Aldiss' Non-Stop (1958)

German title: Fahrt ohne Ende
#scifi #sciencefiction #art

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Woman stands in a surreal depiction of the overgrown nature of the ship in the novel. There are cables and branches and trunks around her.

Lee's interior art for Henry Slesar's "A Message from Our Sponsor" in Infinity Science Fiction (October 1956)
#scifi #sciencefiction #art

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Man with a crew cut eats a sandwich and grabs an alien with three arms.

I wrote a bit about Kelly and his importance on my site -- "Science Fiction in Dialogue with The Great Depression: Frank K. Kelly’s “Famine on Mars” (1934)" https://sciencefictionruminations.com/2025/03/26/science-fiction-in-dialogue-with-the-great-depression-frank-k-kellys-famine-on-mars-1934/
#scifi #sciencefiction

Frank K. Kelly (1914-2010) was born on this day. Bibliography: https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?1773

L, Frank R. Paul, 1932; R, Leo Morey, 1933
#scifi #sciencefiction

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Cover for the Summer 1932 issue of Wonder Stories Quarterly. Above a molten sea of lava rock ships zip and a personal rocket with two people. There seems to be a grasping collection device or something reaching into the lava.

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Cover for the December 1933 issue of Amazing Stories. A translucent rocket ship zips across a canyoned area.

Henry Slesar (1927-2002) was born on this day. Bibliography: https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?690

L, Hannes Bok, 1956; R, Ed Valigursky, 1957
#scifi #sciencefiction

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Cover for the October 1956 issue of Universe. Woman in red dress with a moon tiara stands surrounded by odd humanoid black shapes with huge eyes and triangular heads dancing around her.

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Cover for the April 1957 issue of Fantastic. Man with green glasses moves valves on a glass vial containing a woman.

Dutch SF author A. D. Hildebrand (1907-1977) was born on this day. Bibliography: https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?169713

L, Marten Toonder, 1961; R, Rein van Looy, 1952
#scifi #sciencefiction #books

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Cover for Harry en Kwartje in de ruimte. Two men and a dog look at the cosmos. Above them is a rocket ship and maybe another spaceship

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Cover for Monus de man van de maan. Two men in spacesuits look at what might be an alien dressed in a robe with a winged circle sans spacesuit on a rocky lunar-like surface.

Basil Wells (1912-2003) was born on this day. Bibliography: https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?1159

L, Robert C. Sherry, 1941; R, Harry Lemon Parkhurst, 1945
#scifi #sciencefiction #pulp

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Cover for the Sept. 1941 issue of Astonishing stories. Pulp scene includes a man and a woman with a gun shooting sort of at a multi-legged mechanical thing.

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Cover for the Summer 1945 issue of Planet Stories. Woman climbs a ladder that's sort of above a boat. Man shoots at a strange angle at a leaping reptile/lion creature.

And Saxton's fascinating first novel The Hieros Gamos of Sam and An Smith (1969) here: https://sciencefictionruminations.com/2012/11/04/book-review-the-hieros-gamos-of-sam-and-an-smith-josephine-saxton-1969/

#scifi #sciencefiction #books

I reviewed Josephine Saxton’s first three published short stories “The Wall” (1965), “Ne Déjà Vu Pas” (1967), and “Nothing Much to Relate” (1967) here: https://sciencefictionruminations.com/2022/07/29/short-fiction-reviews-josephine-saxtons-the-wall-1965-ne-deja-vu-pas-1967-and-nothing-much-to-relate-1967/

#scifi #sciencefiction

Josephine Saxton (1935-2023) was born on this day. Bibliography: https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?1557

L, Michael Brickmann, 1978; R, Jack Faragasso, 1972
#scifi #sciencefiction #books

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Cover for the French edition of Group Feast. French title: La fête fabuleuse Cover shows a castles with lots of spires and roofs.

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Cover for The Hieros Gamos of Sam and An Smith. Man and woman stand close in white robes. Man holds a bird.

Artist Don Maitz (1953-) was born on this day. Bibliography: https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?421

L, 1979; R, 1979
#scifi #sciencefiction #art

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Cover for Lee's Electric Forest. Woman with spectacular headdress that looks like stained glass stands over the encased body of another woman in a machine

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Cover for Cowper's The Road to Corlay. Person with halo sits next to someone else below them -- head in lap. They are on a sailboat. There's a white dove.

I have finally completed Book 8 of #TheExpanse, Tiamat's Wrath!

#ScienceFiction #SciFi #SF #Bookstodon #Books #Reading

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My Kobo displaying the book

A third of the way through Tiamat's Wrath. Book 8 of #TheExpanse

Finally feels like I'm making progress

#Books2026 #bookstodon #SciFi #ScienceFiction

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My Kobo with the book cover on it

Joe Haldeman (1943-) was born on this day. Bibliography: https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?27

L, Murray Tinkelman, 1976; R, Jim Burns, 1988
#scifi #sciencefiction #books

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Cover for The Forever War. Soldier in helmet sits with a sword. Behind him are clocks.

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Cover for Mindbridge. An armored soldier holds aliens that look like human women but have tentacles and weird bumps.

Artist Keleck (1946-2002) (Jacqueline Barse) was born on this day. Bibliography: https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?151948

L, 1980; R, 1981
#scifi #sciencefiction #art

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Cover for Moorcock's Le Secret des Runes. Soldier with stern look in black armor holding a sword. There's a city in the background.

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Cover for Watson's Chronomachine Lente. Nurse-like figure holds a syringe. She's stark and white and there's white tile below her -- the antiseptic hospital feel.

Artist Leo Summers (1925-1985) was born on this day. Bibliography: https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?7792

L, 1959; R, 1960
#scifi #sciencefiction #art

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Cover for the October 1959 issue of Amazing. A gun emerges from an asteroid and shoots at a rocket ship. There are other asteroids in the distance.

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Cover for the 1960 issue of Amazing. Three large stone heads. A spaceman comes across the dead body of another spaceman. Smoke emerges from the dead body.

John Berryman (1916-1988) was born on this day. Bibliography: https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?2193

L, Malcolm Smith, 1951; R, H. R. Van Dongen, 1961
#scifi #sciencefiction #books

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Cover for the December 1951 issue of Other Worlds. A large cylindrical spaceship with fins is in orbit above China. Various red jet-like spaceships zip around it.

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Cover for the Jan. 1961 issue of Analog. A destroyed city with hanging corpses. A wanted poster shows a male face and "TRAITOR."

My review of Wilhelm's Vietnam allegory The Killer Thing (variant title: The Killing Thing) (1967)
https://sciencefictionruminations.com/2024/01/15/book-review-kate-wilhelms-the-killer-thing-1967/
#scifi #sciencefiction #books

Kate Wilhelm (1928-2018) was born on this day. Bibliography: https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?66

L, Geoff Taylor, 1977; R, uncredited, 1972
#scifi #sciencefiction #books

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Cover for Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang. A group of people walk in front of a ruinous American Capitol Building. It's overgrown.

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Cover for The Killing Things. A robot on tracks chases a man across a desert planet.

The perfect author for Pride Month!

Elizabeth A. Lynn (1946-) was born on this day. Bibliography: https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?1040

L, Melvyn Grant, 1981; R, Wayne Barlowe, 1978
#scifi #sciencefiction #PrideMonth #books

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Cover for Watchtower. A knight with helmet sits on his horse -- he holds an axe. Next to him is another soldier with a sword. In the background there's a castle.

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Cover for A Different Light. A spaceship flies near a tower disgorging people.

Robert F. Young (1915-1986) was born on this day. Bibliography: https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?391

L, Barclay Shaw, 1980; R, Alex Schomburg, 1954
#scifi #sciencefiction

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Cover for the January 1980 issue of F&SF. A dragon swims in front of a sailing vessel. In the background a red sun burns.

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Cover for the November 1954 issue of Fantastic Universe. Two military-garbed men grasp a woman and man. Another general (I assume, don't know how to read insignia) looks at a computer readout. They are in a room with huge computers.

Frank Riley (1915-1996) was born on this day. Bibliography: https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?2100

L, Wallace Wood, 1958; R, Frank Kelly Freas, 1955
#scifi #sciencefiction #books

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Cover for The Forever Machine. Man scratches his head. He's wired up to a machine. Woman stands next to him. Man stands in front looking on in concern. There are tubes and pipes and other technological marvels around the throne-like chair

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Cover for the June 1955 issue of If. A man in jacket and tie and crutch walks forward. A looming head peers over his shoulder.

Editor and author John W. Campbell, Jr. (1910-1971) was born on this day. Bibliography: https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?14

L, Gray Morrow, 1966; R, Howard V. Brown, 1937
#scifi #sciencefiction #books

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Cover for Campbell's Invaders from the Infinite. A crocodile alien attacks a rocket ship

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October 1937 issue of Astounding. A red sphere shoots at three spaceships.

Leslie F. Stone (1905-1991) was born on this day. Bibliography: https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?1135

L, Leo Morey, 1931; R, H. W. Wesso, 1929
#scifi #sciencefiction

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Cover for the April 1931 issue of Amazing. A battleship is surrounded by a yellow cloud creature that seems to be leaning on it.

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Cover for the December 1929 issue of Amazing Stories. A large black blob with tentacles surrounded by floating jelly-fish like aliens cluster around a translucent pod filled with humans

So I started 'Empire of Silence' and.... MEH. I'm only 6% in so will give to to 10-15% before DNF'ing but I really don't get the love of "Let's tell fantasy stories in space" stuff.

I hate "Rome in space" stuff. I hate "Kingdoms, but with space" as well.

No hate on authors or readers who love this stuff, but it isn't for me.

#books #scifi #reading @reading

Book Review: Clifford D. Simak’s The Worlds of Clifford Simak (1960) https://sciencefictionruminations.com/2026/06/08/book-review-clifford-d-simaks-the-worlds-of-clifford-simak-1960/
#scifi #sciencefiction #books

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Cover is by Powers. A surreal landscape of green with various spheres. There's a farmer with a pitchfork and straw hat.

I’ve turned the cat wheel into a Stargate. 😁

#cats #CatsOfMastodon #Stargate #SciFi #SG1

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A large wood cat wheel with grey carpet and Stargate glyphs around the diameter against a tan wall with a end table and light to the right

In about three weeks, I'll launch my new novella, about an old woman with social anxiety who finds herself organising the defence of a decentralised nation when colonisers invade to steal the tech that makes her village a #solarpunk utopia. It is available for pre-order in all major stores (I think), but you can also get it from my small press, and there is a sample chapter available.

https://www.ododopress.com/novellas/the-blossoming-of-the-big-tree/

#books #bookstodon #book #SolarPunkSunday #scifi

@cstross Is it too ridiculous to think that such a cloud of worms might evolve functions useful to us - the owners of the substrate - and that they might turn out to be better at it than Microsoft etc al, having fewer conflicting interests?

Ken MacLeod's Black Planning network in the Fall Revolution perhaps had elements of that.

#SciFi #BotnetEcology #worm

John Russell Fearn (1908-1960) was born on this day. Bibliography: https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?465

L, Terry Maloney, 1950; R, Leo Morey, 1937
#scifi #sciencefiction #books

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Cover for Warrior of Mars. two muscular men stand in the foreground. One is shirtless, one shoots a fun. There's a UFO in the background with searchlights + additional figures.

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Cover for the December 1937 issue of Amazing Stories. It illustrates the Fearn story Zagribud. Four figures look at the cosmos below them. One man mans a scientific terminal.

Still from "Blipverts" (episode 1) of Max Headroom (1987-1988)
#scifi #TV #sciencefiction

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Representation of a man sitting in a chair with a TV showing an ad telling him to BUY BUY BUY. The "BUY" emanates from the TV.

Artist Sanford Kossin (1926-2023) was born on this day. Bibliography: https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?96297

L, 1970; R, 1977
#scifi #sciencefiction #art #artist

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Cover for Dick's Galactic Pot-Healer. A looming cathedral structure with superimposed faces. Behind it is a large crow-like bird and fragments of the cosmos.

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Cover for Pohl and Kornbluth's Gladiator-At-Law. Man looks down on a bunch of people fighting. He's holding a goblet.

Robert J. Hogan (1897-1963) was born on this day. Bibliography: https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?28320

L, Frederick Blakeslee, 1935; R, Frederick Blakeslee, 1935
#scifi #sciencefiction #pulp

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Cover for G-8 and his Battle Aces. Various bi-planes are attacked by a tentacled creature with large bug eyes.

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Cover for G-8 and His Battle Aces, The Sword Staffel. Various biplanes are attacked by a large cloud man.

Charles W. Runyon (1928-2015) was born on this day. Bibliography: https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?1630

L, uncredited, 1973; R, uncredited, 1973
#scifi #sciencefiction #books

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Cover for Pigworld. Face superimposed on a burning city.

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Cover for The Best from Fantasy and Science Fiction. A composite image of a large amphibian/reptile-like human with sharp teeth, a satellite, various planets, another reptile man...

Artist Wendy Pini (1951-) was born on this day. Bibliography: https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?3510

L, 1977; R, 1982
#scifi #sciencefiction #fantasy #art

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Cover for Galaxy magazine vol. 38, no. 9. Cover shows a knight holding a faceted gem that shines. There's a green landscape on one side and a mountainous snowy one with lightning on the other.

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Cover for Elfquest. Two elves stand in a desert with a wolf, weapons, and other figures riding voles behind them.

I've reviewed some of her short fiction: https://sciencefictionruminations.com/science-fiction-book-reviews-by-author/

Including “Salamander” (1977) which contains a positive take on organized labor.
#scifi #sciencefiction

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Kennedy, Leigh “Detailed Science” (1980) “Helen, Whose Face Launched Twenty-Eight Conestoga Hovercraft” (1982) “Salamander” (1977) “Speaking10 to Others2; Speaking3 to Others20” (1981) “Whale Song” (1978)

Leigh Kennedy (1951-) was born on this day. Bibliography: https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?1497

L, uncredited, 1988; R, Steven Hunt, 1983
#scifi #sciencefiction #books

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Cover for The Journal of Nicholas the American. Three faces loom over a mountain valley covered with snow.

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Cover for the Mid-December 1983 issue of Asimov's Science Fiction. Cover shows a window from a field into the cosmos. A bunch of hands reach out towards a galaxy.

Ed Emshwiller's art illustrating Alfred Bester's The Stars My Destination serialized in Galaxy Science Fiction, ed. H. L. Gold (October 1956)
#scifi #sciencefiction #books #art

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Woman in the background stands austere in a white dress. Man in the front has jarring shadows across his face. There is a torn paper with the circulatory system of an arm. The background contains various jagged pieces of metal and patterns -- one spelling "NOMAD."

Artist Brian Lewis (1929-1978) was born on this day. Bibliography: https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?23001

L, 1959; R, 1959
#scifi #sciencefiction #art #artist

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Cover for No. 84 New Worlds. Illustrates Visitor at Large by James White. Two spacemen and a grasshopper-like alien.

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Cover for New Worlds No. 83. Illustrates Harrison's I see You. What look like car parts seem to be arrayed as robots (it's all a bit surreal). In the background are arrayed stick-like shapes in the outline of buildings.

Mike McQuay (1949-1995) was born on this day. Bibliography: https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?300

L, Luis Royo, 1985; R, Terry Oakes, 1980
#scifi #sciencefiction #books

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Cover for Pure Blood. A whole collection of people populate the cover. The two central figures wield swords. In the bottom left there are giant ridable dogs. Also what look like goblins across the bottom... Ruins in the background.

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Cover for Lifekeeper. Man sits in front of a bank of TV screens and controls.

Lester del Rey (1915-1993) was born on this day. Bibliography: https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?21

L, 1974; R, Richard Powers, 1956
#scifi #sciencefiction #books

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Cover for The Sky is Falling. Spaceship flies through a series of megastructures -- spheres connected with tubes.

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Cover for Nerves. A composite cover of separate images -- Doctor operates on patient, the nervous system outline of a man looms above, a city, a tower