#149 Celebration of wounds: Crash (1973) by J. G. Ballard
A shocking collision of warped sexuality and twisted metal"I wanted to rub the human face in its own vomit - and force it to look in the mirror." With these words, J.G. Ballard described the aim of his 1973 novel Crash. A harrowing descent into a bizarre subculture of damaged outcasts whose sexual fetishes centre on the car crash, the novel is Ballard's disturbing diagnosis of the 20th century. The writer described it as a "deranging book to write", which made him hate himself because he felt he was "dealing in deadly things.. like a sort of arms salesman."Welcome to a tour of an unsettling vision of the highways and byways of a concrete dystopia, and a novel which is science fiction of a unique kind - a deranged hellscape of the here and now.Get in touch with a text message!For more classic SF reviews and discussion, visit andyjohnson.xyz. To get free weekly classic SF updates, sign up here.
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#148 Out of the darkness: Flowers for Algernon (1966) by Daniel Keyes
Flowers for Algernon is a science fiction classic which crossed over into the mainstream. Originally published in novel form in 1966, Daniel Keyes' only fully-fledged SF book not only won a Nebula, but was adapted to film, and frequently appeared on school curricula. It has even been called "arguably the most popular SF novel ever published". Welcome to a landmark story of intelligence, compassion, and what it means to be a good person.Get in touch with a text message!For more classic SF reviews and discussion, visit andyjohnson.xyz. To get free weekly classic SF updates, sign up here.
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#147 Armed to the teeth: The Jagged Orbit (1969) by John Brunner
A plea for human connection in a computerised worldThe reputation of John Brunner rests largely on his four "tract novels" published between 1968 and 1975. Complex and imposing, they are fictional explorations of issues and crises facing society in the latter part of the 20th century.Originally published in 1969, The Jagged Orbit is the second of these novels and Brunner's follow-up to Stand on Zanzibar - the first British novel to win the Hugo Award. In a declining United States in 2014, racial animosity is stoked and exploited to sell military weapons to anyone who can afford to buy.Get in touch with a text message!For more classic SF reviews and discussion, visit andyjohnson.xyz. To get free weekly classic SF updates, sign up here.
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#146 Digging up the future: Icehenge (1984) by Kim Stanley Robinson
A moving meditation on revolution, knowledge, and human longevityKim Stanley Robinson has been a major fixture of American SF for 30 years. Best known for his Mars trilogy from the 1990s, each of his recent novels has been a major event, and he is a particularly important figure in climate fiction.This episode takes a look at an early and lesser known book by KSR. Icehenge was first published in 1984, and consists of a wide-ranging tour of the future of our solar system. Over the course of three linked novellas, Robinson examines the thorny topics of revolution, knowledge, and human longevity. All are linked to the structure of the title, a giant mysterious artefact discovered on the surface of Pluto. Also in this episode: responding to a listener message about Isaac Asimov's The Caves of Steel (1954), Andy Weir, and the film Phase IV (1974).Get in touch with a text message!For more classic SF reviews and discussion, visit andyjohnson.xyz. To get free weekly classic SF updates, sign up here.
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#145 Heavy weather: Mission of Gravity (1954) by Hal Clement
The classic which helped to define hard science fictionWhatever your definition of "hard science fiction", Hal Clement's 1954 novel Mission of Gravity is sure to meet it. Rich with meaty discussions of the hard sciences, and written with a stern adherence to scientific plausibility, Clement's third novel is one of the definitive works of hard SF. Get in touch with a text message!For more classic SF reviews and discussion, visit andyjohnson.xyz. To get free weekly classic SF updates, sign up here.
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