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Joachim Boaz

@joachimboaz.bsky.social

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History PhD. Defender of Liberal Arts. History of Leftist Thought. Joachim Boaz (he/him) maps the topography of science fiction between 1945-1985. Creator of the fanzine Science Fiction and Other Suspect Ruminations: https://sciencefictionruminations.com/

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Joachim Boaz @joachimboaz.bsky.social · 3d

Short Fiction Reviews: George H. Smith’s “The Last Days of L.A.” (1959) and “In the Imagicon” (1966) sciencefictionruminations.com/2025/10/04/s...

#scifi #sciencefiction

Paul Orban’s interior art for George H. Smith’s “The Last Days of L.A.” in If, ed. Damon Knight (February 1959)

Man's head superimposed over a city exploding after a nuclear bomb hit.

Cover for the February 1966 issue of Galaxy. An old man holds another mini-old man. A robot looks over his shoulder. In the background various humanoids push boxes while others drift by on carts.

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Joachim Boaz @joachimboaz.bsky.social · 7h

Frank Herbert (1920-1986) was born on this day. Bibliography: www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.c...

L, Vincent Di Fate, 1976; R, uncredited, 1970
#scifi #sciencefiction #books

Cover for Children of Dune. Two figures approach a small town in the desert of Arrakis.

Cover for Destination: Void. Two figures float next to a huge brain inside of a spaceship

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Joachim Boaz @joachimboaz.bsky.social · 7h

Ted Reynolds (1938-) was born on this day. Bibliography: www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.c...

L, Earl Keleny, 1989; R, Roger Stine, 1980
#scifi #sciencefiction #books

Cover for The Tides of God. Inlayed image shows a spaceship flying over earth.

Cover for the June 1980 issue of Asimov's. A group of green aliens rip sections of a spaceship apart.

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Joachim Boaz @joachimboaz.bsky.social · 7h

George Turner (1916-1997) was born on this day. Bibliography: www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.c...

L, Tony Roberts, 1984; R, Geoff Taylor, 1989
#scifi #sciencefiction #books

Cover for Beloved Son. The cover seems to be a ruined spaceship with a large net or webs around it.

Cover for The Sea and the Summer. Two humans look over the ruined remains of a city from a high point on a ledge.

Joachim Boaz @joachimboaz.bsky.social · 17h

Anyone know a good used book store (for science fiction) in Pittsburgh, PA? Visiting at the moment.

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Reposted by Joachim Boaz

Joachim Boaz @joachimboaz.bsky.social · 2d

David Brin (1950-) was born on this day. Bibliography: www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.c...

L, Jim Burns, 1983; R, Tom Hallman, 1985
#scifi #sciencefiction #book

Cover for Startide Rising. Two people in diving suits hang out with dophins (with contraptions around their heads).

Cover for The Postman. Man wanders across a cracked landscape. There's the outline of a city in the background.

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Joachim Boaz @joachimboaz.bsky.social · 2d

The book that made me fall in love with reading. My mother started reading it to my sister and I at night. I was so transfixed that I pulled out the little book light my dad gave me but never used, and read the rest... all night.

Reactor Magazine @reactorsff.bsky.social · 2d

Today's Classic Cover of the Day is Brian Jacques' Redwall! Troy Howell illustrated the US editions of the series, including the 10th and 20th anniversary editions of Redwall

Joachim Boaz @joachimboaz.bsky.social · 2d

Yup. I teach dual credit US and Western Civ.

Joachim Boaz @joachimboaz.bsky.social · 2d

I wrote a dissertation about a vast medieval encyclopedia that was not "fun" to read. I have high tolerance for all types of texts if the history is interesting :)

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Joachim Boaz @joachimboaz.bsky.social · 2d

I treat what I read as historical evidence for the questions I want to answer. From a literary standpoint, it depends on the author. Lem, yes. The 19th century utopian lit? It can be a struggle.

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Joachim Boaz @joachimboaz.bsky.social · 2d

Or, a more extreme example, late 19th century utopian lit. It's futuristic rumination but often more essay on utopian potential and how society would/should function with "characters" as didactic mouthpieces (I've been reading tons for @hugobookclub.bsky.social's list on futuristic unions).

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Joachim Boaz @joachimboaz.bsky.social · 2d

There are many examples of science fiction that reads more as non-fiction essay -- Stanisław Lem comes to mind. His Master's Voice (1968) is a spectacular philosophical essay on first contact -- and also science fiction. There's space in SF for these types of variations...

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Joachim Boaz @joachimboaz.bsky.social · 2d

Karl Kofoed's interior art for D. D. Storm's "Mud/Aurora" in Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine (November 1981)
#scifi #sciencefiction #art #artist

Two humanoids walk past what looks like a large vegetal structure with a small lizard-like creature (with wings) on top. There are. various flowing plants with their flowers aimed at the people.

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Joachim Boaz @joachimboaz.bsky.social · 2d

David Brin (1950-) was born on this day. Bibliography: www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.c...

L, Jim Burns, 1983; R, Tom Hallman, 1985
#scifi #sciencefiction #book

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Joachim Boaz @joachimboaz.bsky.social · 2d

Well that Octavia E. Butler novel kicked me in the gut... will try to give it a full length review. I always struggle to write about her work.

Joachim Boaz @joachimboaz.bsky.social · 3d

I’m reading Butler’s utterly brutal, horrifying, and transfixing Clay’s Ark (1984)

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Joachim Boaz @joachimboaz.bsky.social · 3d

AI at its peak.

Scene from Silent Running (1972). Dern hangs with a robot.

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Joachim Boaz @joachimboaz.bsky.social · 3d

1930s pulp SF caveman bottom got flagged by the filter...

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Joachim Boaz @joachimboaz.bsky.social · 3d

Virgil Finlay's interior art for Otto Binder's "From the Beginning" in Weird Tales (June 1938) (written as Eando Binder)
#scifi #sciencefiction #art

A man (cave man?) walks towards a robot. The man has a spear.

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Joachim Boaz @joachimboaz.bsky.social · 3d

You can read both stories at the links provided in the review.

Joachim Boaz @joachimboaz.bsky.social · 3d

George H. Smith’s “The Last Days of L.A.” (1959) is the far more interesting of the two stories -- a deep-dive into a brain (rendered in second person -- "you") slipping into psychosis due to the traumatic terror of possible nuclear annihilation.

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Joachim Boaz @joachimboaz.bsky.social · 3d

Smith's “In the Imagicon” (1966), an intriguing take on a personal virtual reality machine, is the 34th story in my series on media landscapes of the future.

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Joachim Boaz @joachimboaz.bsky.social · 3d

Short Fiction Reviews: George H. Smith’s “The Last Days of L.A.” (1959) and “In the Imagicon” (1966) sciencefictionruminations.com/2025/10/04/s...

#scifi #sciencefiction

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Reposted by Joachim Boaz

Ranaroth @ranaroth.bsky.social · 5d

Jean-François Pénichoux. From Extraterrestres: mondes et créatures fantastique de la galaxie d'Andromède, Les Humanoïdes Associés, 1983. #Jean-FrançoisPénichoux

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Joachim Boaz @joachimboaz.bsky.social · 3d

Yeah, grabbed a copy of Wild Shore back in 2023. Still need to read it: sciencefictionruminations.com/2023/04/20/u...

Updates: Recent Science Fiction Purchases No. CCCXIX (Kim Stanley Robinson, Pamela Sargent, Greg Bear, and René Barjavel)

Which books/covers/authors intrigue you? Which have you read? Disliked? Enjoyed? 1. The Wild Shore, Kim Stanley Robinson (1984) Andrea Baruffi’s cover for the 1st edition From the back cover:…

sciencefictionruminations.com

Joachim Boaz @joachimboaz.bsky.social · 3d

Would not know. Sorry.
Can't say that's how I buy books. But hey, to each their own ;)