#sci fi novels

[arconinternet]

The Timequest Trilogy (Books, William Tedford, 1981)

You can digitally borrow them here.

[rotten-whispers]

Do YOU like queer protagonists in books? Dystopian horror? Silly sci-fi novels?

Or supporting your local queer indie author?

THEN consider delving into Tales from a Mall, a wacky sci-fi novel where ferrets have mechanical attachments, snails have legs, and there is something sinister going on in the 22nd century Fresh Malls. Perhaps something to do with the rats. Lots and lots of rats...

Only $10!

https://www.amazon.com/Tales-Mall-future-become-ridiculous/dp/B0BK6PVMX3/ref=sr_1_1

Or consider exploring the dark world of Boxes, a sci-fi horror novel following the journey of nonbinary Baxley through the Complex. Monsters roam the halls, stairs descend endlessly into the earth, and a sweet madness has overcome the denizens, turning them into something else entirely. See trigger warnings if necessary!

Only $16!

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0B8BPW3P5/ref=dbs_a_def_awm_bibl_vppi_i0GJhNzA3ZTZmM2I2NGY5ZDVmNWQ1NSwzNzdhNmM0ZGIwMTBiMTg2Y2FmNTZiNDIxZDI4YjA0MWQxMWM0NGY5&ts=1660371335

Not into novels? Try one of my silly sticker designs on Redbubble!!

https://www.redbubble.com/people/molespignoses/shop

Please check out a copy or reblog this post to support my work :)

[midnighttraindemo]

astounding science fiction (british edition) issues from 1955

from my grandfather's sci fi collection :)

[m1lkywaves]

sona and eris

[nonolithic]

Ultralight

[brokehorrorfan]

Bottleneck Gallery will release a 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea 24x36 giclee print by Karl Fitzgerald today, May 8, at 12pm EST. The hand-numbered edition of 75 costs $60.

[gayfraggle]

YOOOO UHMMM

could you ermmm

Draw the invisible man (from the book) and hoodude voodoo? :3 (separately!! If u wanna)

gewber ⬇️

Silly devious guy ⬇️

[arconinternet]

The Colossus Trilogy (Books, Dennis Feltham Jones, 1966/1974/1977)

The series whose first volume inspired the film Colossus: The Forbin Project. You can digitally borrow multiple editions of the first book here, and digitally borrow the other two books here and here.

[minutiaewriter]

Available now! Hera Part II: To Touch the Heavens

available here as either a paperback or an ebook

reblog and spread the word!

Rynn Hera’s journey to reunite with the stars continues in this sweeping second installment of the HERA trilogy. Having just found High Priestess Velle Deka and learned how to reach the celestial spring, Rynn, Kilderan, Yojackson, and Aome set off on the second leg of their journey guided by nothing but their hope, fighting for their lives to ensure Rynn’s safety within the spring, or so they believe. But secrets and hidden desires hang over everyone’s heads, causing trust to be tested and the truth to eventually unravel. 

💙 Thank you to everyone who has supported the HERA journey so far, I couldn't have done it without you cheering me on and words are never an adequate means of expressing the gratitude I feel for my writing community.

HERA taglist:

@andromeda-grace @toribookworm22 @tzipor-feather-blog @chickensarentcheap @elijahrichardwrites @little-mouse-gardens @sarcasticjuiceboxes @royal1asset-if @aquil-writes @elizaellwrites @once-upon-a-springtime @whumpy-writings @mrbexwrites @aninkwellofnectar @ishipgenfics @creatrackers @eccaiia @primroseprime2019 @words-after-midnight @carrioncircus

please let me know if you would like to be added to the official taglist!

[midnighttraindemo]

astounding science fiction (mostly british edition) issues from 1958 & 59

the double up of march 1959 is due to the second one being the american edition.

from my grandfather's scifi collection :)

[spacedfictional]

An Excerpt from The Edge of Existence & Where to Find it - Chapter 2: The Moving Metropolis

Weaving through the masses, I made my way past the crowd and slipped into The Afterglow. The smell hit me right away, incense, grass, and that unmistakable haze of herbal concoctions hanging thick in the air. The walls were plastered with ads for pre-packaged recreational drugs, a trillion-credit industry thriving thanks to the Union's relaxed public health laws. "Your body, your problem." That was the motto, and honestly? It was one hell of a culture shock for us humans back in the United Commonwealth of Sol, or you know the globalized offspring of the United States of America and the United Nations.

We were still fighting the war on drugs then, too busy debating morality to notice we’d just legalized a trillion-credit industry overnight. Took the dopefiends a week to figure it out, then shit hit the fan. It was chaos, plain and simple. Goes to show, that even with all our advancements, humanity still has a talent for missing the fine print.

After flashing my Commonwealth ID to the beefy security guard at the door, I was greeted by a table set up by some Cosmitosh producers. The brand? ChryBmb. Behind the table stood a girl with short red hair, matching outfit, and the kind of energy that only comes with either enthusiasm or stimulants. As I approached, she greeted me in Japanese, my optics helpfully displaying a live translation like subtitles.

“Hello there! Would you care for a sample of our newest variety, Scented -Tosh?” She handed me a disposable one-hit canister with an orange printed on the side, about the size of a fat baby carrot, attached to a plastic atomizer. I twisted the safety with a satisfying click, lined it up with my left nostril, and Noz-Binged the fuck out of that little bastard.

The hit was immediate, artificial oranges, smooth and clean, unlike the chemical tang I’d grown used to. It's kinda like going from Lysol to Orange Pledge. My head went fuzzy, and a rhythmic, euphoric buzz began rolling through my body. The psychedelic jazz they were playing in the background suddenly hit just right.

“Thanks,” I said, still savoring the scent. “Reminds me of orange groves.” The -Tosh girl giggled and waved me off as I floated over to the counter, now in the perfect headspace to finally buy my essentials.

[flo-stories-1986]

One of the 10 alien bases in the world!!! The mysteries of the Bucegi Mountains still amaze researchers today!!!https://amazon.com/dp/B0DTTCD3CH

[theconformist]

My well thumbed copy of ‘Dune’. Retail price £2.50!!

[lialacleaf]

Soooo possibly dropping my novel as an ebook in December… anyone here interested enough for me to post the link?

[chromaticramblings]

book review - ecotopia by ernest callenbach

Ecotopia, written by ernest callenbach in the 1970s, describes a world in which the land regions previously known as northern california, washington, and oregon secede from the rest of the united states and create their own nation, the nation of Ecotopia. the principles of sustainability and circular economy are central to this new nation.

here are my thoughts on some things covered in the book, i hope that this reaches someone else who's read it and we can share thoughts!

(this will include spoilers. however, the nature of the book is not a narrative, and is rather a presentation of ideas. therefore reading this post will not ruin the book for you if you choose to read it)

one of the greatest thought experiments Ecotopia undertakes is that of ideal urban planning. in that respect, the book is pretty cool! they hypothetical nation of Ecotopia describes San Francisco as a central city hub, from which spokes of public transport emerge and run to smaller city towns. these towns take the place of suburbs, which were razed during the country’s Independence / reconstruction era. (wooooo!!) public transport abounds and runs at a high speed of 30 mph, which is all you really need since the urban centers are so densely built and multi use. Between city towns are managed forests (actual forests! not monocultures) as well as natural land which has been allowed to restore itself.

people live in flexible communes that typically work together to produce something, whether that be a farming commune, fishing commune, artist communes, or business / science communes that invent things. everyone has a universal base income that is just minimal enough to reasonably get by, allowing people to pursue art or a risky startup without fear of dying. which i think is really cool! necessity breeds innovation yes but you need security too. work culture in Ecotopia is also vastly different, as the boundary between work and leisure and personal time is eroded, which may seem like a bad thing but the consequence of the UBI system means that most Ecotopians actually Like their work and choose to do it of their own free will. crazy huh.

houses are typically made of wood, which to me raised a suspicion flag, cause this is the Bay Area we’re talking about, which is Humid as Shit, and the Ecotopians have phased out paint due to it containing heavy metals. which good for them i guess but those houses are gonna rot lmfao. i took the liberty of imagining they are proofed with sealant made from the biodegradable, non petroleum based plastic the Ecotopians had developed and manufactured. while wood is the building material of choice, houses are also built from large tubes of insulated bioplastic, which are joined at the whim of the family or commune creating the house. (there are no architects, everyone builds their own houses themselves to suit their needs.) these houses are cheap and accessible, and zoning laws seem to be nonexistent, making homelessness a nonissue.

in terms of materials, everything in Ecotopia is renewable and has a full zero waste lifecycle. wood is the material of choice. the only metal Ecotopians use comes from scavenged cars and machinery of the pre seccession era. Ecotopians still manufacture plastic, but most kinds of it are fully biodegradable in a few days. when a lasting material is needed, a different type of plastic is used; this kind will not degrade until it is in full contact with soil. given how important disposable plastic is for applications such as research, i'm glad this was considered and accounted for in this book instead of throwing it off as a "we don't need plastic anymore kumbaya" kinda vibe.

culture wise, there is a lack of emotional restraint which the book’s narrator, a visitor from NYC, frequently comments on. hugs and physical affection between all relationships and genders are normalized. there also seems to be an insistence on small talk as a way to humanize those working “lesser skilled” jobs. honestly i found this a bit annoying, as i don’t think small talk is necessarily indicative of human connection, and that a truly emotionally attuned people would be okay with giving space when necessary. but i thought it was nice to acknowledge that all people are people, even while working “subservient” jobs.

ok so those were the things i liked.

criticism #1.

WILLIAM WESTON STOP BEING A FUCKING MISOGYNIST CHALLENGE

alternatively:

ERNEST CALLENBACH WRITE ONE (1) WOMAN WHO ISN’T A SEX OBJECT CHALLENGE

NO, THE WOMAN WHO YOU DESCRIBED AS UNATTRACTIVE WHO ALSO HAPPENS TO BE IN A POSITION OF POWER DOES NOT COUNT

god jesus christ

over the course of his adventures, journalist William Weston encounters many fellows (men) and new friends whom he talks around the fire with (men). he also encounters Marissa, a beautiful wild woman, exotic and mysterious who runs through the forest, cares deeply for trees, stares into his soul with her plain face and round dark eyes, and has sex with him twenty four hours three hundred sixty five days a year.

he also encounters Linda, an attractively sarcastic yet caring nurse, who nurses his injuries, jacks him off, and consumes him with thoughts of when he “will be healed enough to fuck her properly”. (direct quote)

in addition to the misogyny, there appears to be a fair amount of gender essentialism in Ecotopian society, something I found disappointing. Ecotopian clothes are sharply gendered. (from my understanding of Ecotopian values, i’d expect everyone to be wearing skirts due to the ease of manufacture and resulting ease of movement.) women are described to have an “air of fertility” (yes, actually). the governing party is made up of women, due to womens’ “natural competency regarding cooperation and diplomacy rather than competition”. the only sport in the country, the ritual war games, is barred to women. (it’s actually remarked later in the book that in Ecotopian psychology offices, it is often women who come in with issues of untamed aggression, and attributes it to their exclusion from the games. i wonder what a solution could be 🤔) thankfully work is not gendered, but it appears the social spheres of men and women rarely intersect, as Weston socializes and discusses ideas with a fair amount of men, and no women. perhaps for the better, as he’d be too distracted trying to fuck them to have a discussion of any substance.

queer pairings are also mentioned offhand, but they serve the purpose of emphasizing the Ecotopian's open attitudes towards sex and intimacy. queerness is treated as a sexual quirk rather than as an orientation.

in addition to the disappointing sexism / heterosexism, there's a good amount of racism. different races live segregated. although this is a conscious choice by the inhabitants, it still strikes as somewhat odd that there wouldn't be a way for humans to maintain their culture while living in an integrated society. many of the barriers to race equality in our current system are abolished in Ecotopia; the cheapness of the bioplastic houses makes it accessible for anyone to own a house anywhere, and the ease with which people can start their own enterprises reduces employment barriers significantly. therefore i'd expect integration between races to be a significant achievement of the Ecotopians. the writing itself is also racist. callenbach makes distinctions while describing the cultures of the nonwhite populations that make it clear that white is the default of Ecotopia, and all other cultures are side notes. also, callenbach makes no mention of an Ecotopian prison system (an aspect of society that no doubt merits analysis) until he mentions the Black community. sir what is up with that 🤨

there's also a lot to be said of callenbach's treatment of Indigenous ideas. the Ecotopians take a lot of inspiration from classic Indigenous principles, such as living in balance with the earth's natural resources and respecting nonhuman life, and Indigenous clothing styles. however, this feels rather appropriative rather than appreciative, and there are no actual Indigenous characters in the book. i would expect that such an empathetic society which takes direct principles from Indigenous culture would appreciate and honor the Indigenous people within that society rather than just shamelessly taking their culture, especially given the context that Ecotopians are ex citizens of the united states, the country which caused the Indigenous communities in that area so much harm.

overall, i think this book's strengths lie in its rethinking of what society could be like without work as its central focus. i love the UBI system, the reduced work week, and the attitude of work as something to enjoy rather than something to get over with. i also love that the nation's economic fall wasn't skipped over. i think its important to realize that many policies which would improve human health and quality of life would also lower our GDP, and that maybe that's perfectly fine. maybe human lives matter more than how rich a nation is. despite all these strengths, however, the sexism and racism cannot be overlooked; they made me almost put the book down several times. this book is clearly a product of its time, written by a white man. in keeping with good critical thinking practices, its important to recognize what ideas are good to keep and what needs to be thrown out.

tldr: great ideas about an alternative structure for society, unfortunately sexist and racist as well. 6/10