Classic SF with Andy Johnson
@andyjohnson.xyz
Exploring classic science fiction, with a focus on the 1950s to the 1990s. Weekly articles and podcast at andyjohnson.xyz
"Intelligence is suddenly on the up - way up." Episode 181 of the podcast, covering Poul Anderson's Brain Wave (1954) is now live. Here's the opening, introducing the novel's mind-expanding premise.
January 12, 2026 at 7:54 PM
"Intelligence is suddenly on the up - way up." Episode 181 of the podcast, covering Poul Anderson's Brain Wave (1954) is now live. Here's the opening, introducing the novel's mind-expanding premise.
Picked up a first edition of Millennium People (2003) by J. G. Ballard for £1 today, which turns out to be signed by the man himself.
January 9, 2026 at 8:40 PM
Picked up a first edition of Millennium People (2003) by J. G. Ballard for £1 today, which turns out to be signed by the man himself.
Sections focused on farmhand Archie Brock really only amount to a subplot, but feature some of Anderson's best writing in the novel.
January 8, 2026 at 7:24 PM
Sections focused on farmhand Archie Brock really only amount to a subplot, but feature some of Anderson's best writing in the novel.
Four editions of Brain Wave with cover art by Richard Powers (1954 first edition), Mudge-Marriott (1955), Ed Emshwiller (1967), and Tim White (1976).
January 8, 2026 at 7:13 PM
Four editions of Brain Wave with cover art by Richard Powers (1954 first edition), Mudge-Marriott (1955), Ed Emshwiller (1967), and Tim White (1976).
Just acquired: the 1978 UK hardcover of Robert Asprin's first novel The Cold Cash War (1977), reputedly a precursor to cyberpunk.
January 2, 2026 at 2:45 PM
Just acquired: the 1978 UK hardcover of Robert Asprin's first novel The Cold Cash War (1977), reputedly a precursor to cyberpunk.
Two more recent SF novella purchases from the weekend.
December 22, 2025 at 1:14 PM
Two more recent SF novella purchases from the weekend.
Received today: Last Letters From Hav (1985) by Jan Morris. Her travel writing about a country of her own invention. UK first edition hardcover.
December 12, 2025 at 12:58 PM
Received today: Last Letters From Hav (1985) by Jan Morris. Her travel writing about a country of her own invention. UK first edition hardcover.
Received today: Poul Anderson's Brain Wave (1954), in a very garish UK edition from 1965. Cover art by Jeff Jacks.
December 11, 2025 at 12:49 PM
Received today: Poul Anderson's Brain Wave (1954), in a very garish UK edition from 1965. Cover art by Jeff Jacks.
Cover art for four editions of West of the Sun, by Richard Powers, Richard Corben, and Hoot von Zitzewitz. Cover artist for the Armchair Fiction edition is unknown to me.
November 23, 2025 at 11:50 AM
Cover art for four editions of West of the Sun, by Richard Powers, Richard Corben, and Hoot von Zitzewitz. Cover artist for the Armchair Fiction edition is unknown to me.
I seldom read short story collections, but picked up two today: The Voices of Time (1984) by J. G. Ballard and Heliotrope (2011) by Justina Robson.
November 22, 2025 at 5:08 PM
I seldom read short story collections, but picked up two today: The Voices of Time (1984) by J. G. Ballard and Heliotrope (2011) by Justina Robson.
"Change is the universal in our lives, and the truth is, change is neither good or bad - it is just different." SF and fantasy writer Greg Bear (1951 - 2022) passed away three years ago today.
November 19, 2025 at 5:26 PM
"Change is the universal in our lives, and the truth is, change is neither good or bad - it is just different." SF and fantasy writer Greg Bear (1951 - 2022) passed away three years ago today.
Episode 177 of the Classic SF with Andy Johnson podcast, the audio version of my beginner's guide to the Hainish stories of Ursula K. Le Guin, is now live. Here's your clip - full version on your favourite platform.
November 17, 2025 at 8:28 PM
Episode 177 of the Classic SF with Andy Johnson podcast, the audio version of my beginner's guide to the Hainish stories of Ursula K. Le Guin, is now live. Here's your clip - full version on your favourite platform.
This week's article/episode is under construction, in the meantime here is your sample of episode 176 - the setup for Sladek's "comic inferno", The Reproductive System (1968). Full episode available via all good podcast vendors.
November 14, 2025 at 2:55 PM
This week's article/episode is under construction, in the meantime here is your sample of episode 176 - the setup for Sladek's "comic inferno", The Reproductive System (1968). Full episode available via all good podcast vendors.
Just arrived: new bookmarks to promote the site, podcast, and newsletter. Will mainly be going out to eBay purchasers of classic SF books 📚
November 13, 2025 at 12:29 PM
Just arrived: new bookmarks to promote the site, podcast, and newsletter. Will mainly be going out to eBay purchasers of classic SF books 📚
Covers for various editions of The Reproductive System (1968) by Leo and Diane Dillon, Chris Foss, Jack Gaughan, and Mark Wilson.
November 8, 2025 at 10:20 PM
Covers for various editions of The Reproductive System (1968) by Leo and Diane Dillon, Chris Foss, Jack Gaughan, and Mark Wilson.
Always a pleasure to find interesting SF books in unlikely places.
October 26, 2025 at 9:05 PM
Always a pleasure to find interesting SF books in unlikely places.
Some unexpected purchases today, from a lovely second hand bookshop in a former chapel at Hidcote Manor Gardens.
October 26, 2025 at 4:21 PM
Some unexpected purchases today, from a lovely second hand bookshop in a former chapel at Hidcote Manor Gardens.
Four editions of Silverberg's The Masks of Time (1968), with cover art by Paul Alexander, Bruce Pennington, Chris Achilleos, and Bob Haberfield. Achilleos' art for the 1972 Tandem edition uses the title for early UK editions, Vornan-19 (the name of the visitor from 2999).
October 18, 2025 at 10:25 PM
Four editions of Silverberg's The Masks of Time (1968), with cover art by Paul Alexander, Bruce Pennington, Chris Achilleos, and Bob Haberfield. Achilleos' art for the 1972 Tandem edition uses the title for early UK editions, Vornan-19 (the name of the visitor from 2999).
Four entries in the Tit-Bits Science Fiction Library (1953 - 1955), all with brilliantly gaudy cover art by Ron Turner (1922 - 1998).
October 18, 2025 at 3:35 PM
Four entries in the Tit-Bits Science Fiction Library (1953 - 1955), all with brilliantly gaudy cover art by Ron Turner (1922 - 1998).
More thrifty lunchtime purchases: a little-discussed PKD, my first Lem, and a late-90s Sterling.
October 10, 2025 at 1:28 PM
More thrifty lunchtime purchases: a little-discussed PKD, my first Lem, and a late-90s Sterling.
Two acquisitions at 50p each this lunchtime, '90s novels by two authors I'm yet to read anything by: Silver Screen (1999) by Justina Robson and Fairyland (1995) by Paul J. McAuley.
October 8, 2025 at 12:39 PM
Two acquisitions at 50p each this lunchtime, '90s novels by two authors I'm yet to read anything by: Silver Screen (1999) by Justina Robson and Fairyland (1995) by Paul J. McAuley.
Comments on the site make my day! Received a nice one on a piece I wrote a couple of years ago on Alan Dean Foster's novel Sentenced to Prism (1985), a very entertaining adventure set on a planet that teems with silicon-based life.
October 2, 2025 at 8:41 PM
Comments on the site make my day! Received a nice one on a piece I wrote a couple of years ago on Alan Dean Foster's novel Sentenced to Prism (1985), a very entertaining adventure set on a planet that teems with silicon-based life.
"...a set of exciting SF adventures which [...] become surprisingly moving." Here's your clip of podcast episode 173 (the audio version of this week's article), introducing what I think makes Brunner's combination of alternate history and time travel special.
October 2, 2025 at 8:31 PM
"...a set of exciting SF adventures which [...] become surprisingly moving." Here's your clip of podcast episode 173 (the audio version of this week's article), introducing what I think makes Brunner's combination of alternate history and time travel special.
The three Society of Time novelettes - "Spoil of Yesterday", "The Word Not Written", and "The Fullness of Time" - were first published in three consecutive issues of Science Fiction Adventures in the summer of 1962. Cover art for all three issues by Brian Lewis.
October 2, 2025 at 8:26 PM
The three Society of Time novelettes - "Spoil of Yesterday", "The Word Not Written", and "The Fullness of Time" - were first published in three consecutive issues of Science Fiction Adventures in the summer of 1962. Cover art for all three issues by Brian Lewis.