#126 A very British disaster: The Day of the Triffids (1951) by John Wyndham

Classic SF with Andy Johnson

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State Secrets: Inside The Making Of The Electric State

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Family Secrets: Chris Pratt & Millie Bobby Brown Share Stories From Set 22:08

för 23 dagar sedan22:08

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Host Francesca Amiker sits down with directors Joe and Anthony Russo, producer Angela Russo-Otstot, stars Millie Bobby Brown and Chris Pratt, and more to uncover how family was the key to building the emotional core of The Electric State . From the Russos’ own experiences growing up in a large Italian family to the film’s central relationship between Michelle and her robot brother Kid Cosmo, family relationships both on and off of the set were the key to bringing The Electric State to life. Listen to more from Netflix Podcasts . State Secrets: Inside the Making of The Electric State is produced by Netflix and Treefort Media.…

för ungefär ett år sedan 8:14

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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 disease, but the iconic triffids themselves - mobile, venomous, and possibly intelligent plants with mysterious origins and a taste for human flesh.
Despite its pulpy premise, The Day of the Triffids is written in genteel prose that reflects its postwar British origins. But Wyndham's breakthrough novel is no "cosy catastrophe", a phrase coined by Brian Aldiss. It is an unsettling depiction of societal collapse, which probes the frailty and weakness of civilisation in the face of rapid change and technology that spirals out of control.
In this episode, walk the deserted streets of a fallen London to explore an enduring classic of British SF, one that casts a long shadow over the genre even after more than 70 years.

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151 episoder

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#126 A very British disaster: The Day of the Triffids (1951) by John Wyndham

Classic SF with Andy Johnson

published för ungefär ett år sedan

Dela

MP3•Episod hem

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.

151 episoder

#Video Games #Lifestyle #Cinema #Sci-Fi / Fantasy Stories #Audio Drama #Andy Johnson #Books #Science Fiction #Vintage #Classical #Review #Read

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#151 Ancient mistakes: Look to Windward (2000) by Iain M. Banks 8:09

för 2 dagar sedan8:09

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The Culture is run by Minds - AI constructs of immense computing power, some of the greatest intelligences in the galaxy. But no amount of intelligence can prevent you from making mistakes. The sixth novel in the Culture series by Iain M. Banks, Look to Windward was first published in 2000. It deals with effects of mistakes made by the Minds. As part of Banks' extended examination of the topic of intervention, it particularly focuses on an attempt to mould the future of a race of cat-like aliens, with resulted in disaster. The Chelgrians were plunged into a brief but appalling civil war. Now, the Culture may be about to feel the consequences. 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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#150 The First Classic SF with Andy Johnson Q&A 24:04

för 9 dagar sedan24:04

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Answering listener questions about all things classic SF. Can you believe it, it's episode 150! To mark this milestone, this episode is a special Q&A. Questions and answers take a tour of Ursula K. Le Guin, J. G. Ballard, Dune (1965), book collecting, getting started with Philip K. Dick, the "cosy catastrophes" of John Wyndham, and more. 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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#149 Celebration of wounds: Crash (1973) by J. G. Ballard 9:15

för 16 dagar sedan9:15

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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 9:11

för 23 dagar sedan9:11

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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 8:16

för 4 weeks sedan8:16

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A plea for human connection in a computerised world The 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 12:35

för 5 weeks sedan12:35

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A moving meditation on revolution, knowledge, and human longevity Kim 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 8:37

för 6 weeks sedan8:37

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The classic which helped to define hard science fiction Whatever 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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#144 Beating the odds: The Grand Wheel (1977) by Barrington J. Bayley 7:00

för 7 weeks sedan7:00

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In which life, the universe, and everything are just a game In his 1976 novel The Garments of Caean , Barrington J. Bayley applied his unique approach to a space opera centred on clothes with strange powers. For his next trick, as critic Rhys Hughes put it, "having swept through a stellar Savile Row", Bayley "turned his sights on Monte Carlo". The Grand Wheel is another odd space adventure, in which its gambler protagonist infiltrates an organisation that might be willing to risk the future of the human species on the turn of a card. 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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#143 The enemy within: The Second Trip (1971) by Robert Silverberg 8:30

för 8 weeks sedan8:30

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A controversial psychological SF novel of crime and rehabilitation The Second Trip is a 1971 novel by Robert Silverberg which incorporates aspects associated with both the US and UK conceptions of the New Wave. This episode looks at this disturbingly intense work of psychological science fiction, in which two minds battle for control of one body. 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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#142 Tipping the scales: Dreamsnake (1978) by Vonda N. McIntyre 7:27

för 9 weeks sedan7:27

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A unique and moving feminist post-apocalyptic tale To win the Hugo Award for Best Novel is one thing, but to secure the Hugo, the Nebula, and the Locus Awards is another thing entirely. Vonda N. McIntyre's 1978 novel Dreamsnake did exactly that, becoming one of the most acclaimed science fiction books of the late 1970s. This episode explores what made this feminist post-apocalyptic novel significant in 1978, and why it retains its power today. 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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#141 A horrorshow cure: A Clockwork Orange (1962) by Anthony Burgess 9:00

för 10 weeks sedan9:00

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"When a man cannot choose, he ceases to be a man." Stanley Kubrick's film A Clockwork Orange was as controversial as it was profitable. Its depiction of a dystopian near future terrorised by ultraviolent teenage gangs made a startling impact on release in 1971. The film was an adaptation of a book that was nearly a decade old. This episode explores Anthony Burgess' 1962 book A Clockwork Orange . Included in David Pringle's list of the 100 must-read science fiction novels, it is an anomalous venture into SF by Burgess, who was then better known for his humorous novels. This landmark book came to dominate the author's reputation, with its linguistic invention, philosophical themes, and brutal violence. 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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#140 Plucked from the past: Picnic on Paradise (1968) by Joanna Russ 6:26

för 11 weeks sedan6:26

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A feminist subversion of SF adventure on a snowbound world. Joanna Russ was an American writer of science fiction and fantasy best known for her strident feminist perspective. Her most acclaimed book is The Female Man from 1975, in which several women - each from their own parallel universes - confront misogyny and patriarchy. In Picnic on Paradise (1968), Russ' debut novel, a thief from ancient Tyre is recruited to save the day on a holiday planet plunged into a "commercial war". 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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#139 In the days of their strength: Pavane (1968) by Keith Roberts 8:55

för 12 weeks sedan8:55

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Exploring a unique alternate history and a classic of British SF. It is the late 20th century - but not as we know it. There is no electricity, let alone nuclear energy. Steam-powered road trains are the fastest means of transport. And England is run not from London, but from Rome. This is the world of Pavane , a unique alternate history by Keith Roberts, published in 1968. 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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#138 Death is no obstacle: The Ophiuchi Hotline (1977) by John Varley 8:45

för 13 weeks sedan8:45

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Hundreds of years from now, there is not a single human being on Earth. The species has been exiled to the moon, Mars, and other worlds of the solar system. A powerful alien race has reserved the planet we think of as "ours", and given it over to the real intelligent life: dolphins and whales. Fortunately, humankind has mysterious friends in high places, who offer powerful technological fixes. John Varley's debut novel The Ophiuchi Hotline (1977) is a story of a changed and changeable human future in which transplants are trivial, body modification is easy, and death is optional - but in which our species may be running out of time. 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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#137 The Ten Best SF(F) Books I Read in 2024 17:12

för 15 weeks sedan17:12

17:12

With another year drawing to a close, it's time to assess the ten best novels I read in 2024: all of them featured on the show at some point. Which books will make the cut? Also: my biggest reading disappointment of the year, some honourable mentions, and looking ahead to plans for 2025. 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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