Monday Maps and Diagrams 12/17/18
A map from one of the better known dystopias by one of my favorite authors… Russell Hoban’s Riddley Walker (1980). I have not read it, yet. I know, I know, I should. I have opened its pages and savored a passage or two–“Eusa sed, This is a dream. He opent up his iys but that ben open aul redde (34).”
The Map:
Citation: Map from the 1998 Indiana University Press Expanded edition of Russell Hoban’s Riddley Walker (1980). [click to enlarge] Continue reading
Monday Maps and Diagrams 12/10/18
A map from one of my absolute favorite SF novels… Suzy McKee Charnas’ Walk to the End of the World (1974).
The Map:
Citation: Map from the Ballantine Books 1st edition of Suzy McKee Charnas’ Walk to the End of the World (1974)
Continue reading
Monday Maps and Diagrams 12/3/18
As I paged through the hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of books in my science fiction question in a search for maps, my interior dialogue went something like this….
“Map? No. Map? No. Map? No. Map? No. Map? YES! FINALLY! Is the book a far future post-apocalyptical pseudo-medieval type story? Yes. Sounds about right. Do any other science fiction stories have maps?” Repeat.
Here’s one from a Mark S. Geston far future post-apocalyptical pseudo-medieval type story….
The Map:
Citation: Jack Gaughan’s map from the Ace Books 1st edition of Mark S. Geston’s Lords of the Starship (1967) [click to enlarge] [review]
Series blurb: In my informal Continue reading
Monday Maps and Diagrams 11/26/18
In my informal Monday Maps and Diagrams series I will showcase scans of SF maps and diagrams from my personal collection. As a kid I was primarily a fantasy reader and I judged books on the quality of their maps. When my reading interests shifted to science fiction, for years I still excitedly peeked at the first few pages… there could be a map!
Let’s start off with a simple yet effective map via Jack Vance. Islands, and rivers, and swamps….
The Map:
Citation: Map from the 1973 Ballantine edition of Jack Vance‘s Trullion: Alastor 2262 (1973) [click to enlarge]. Continue reading
(May 1972)
Mike Hinge (1931-2003) combined a distinct 70s pop art visual aesthetic with SF themes to great effect. For the general public in the early 70s, he was best known for his Time Magazine covers (Nixon, November 5, 1973, “The Push To Impeach” and Emperor Hirohito, October 4th, 1971, “It’s Tougher World for Japan”).
I have selected Hinge’s eight covers (between 1970-1975) for Amazing Science Fiction to feature—a small slice of his massive and varied output. I own three of the eight issues of Amazing Science Fiction included in this collection (my SF magazine piles still remain on the small side) and have often Continue reading
(Don Dixon’s cover art for the 1st edition of The Crucible of Time (1983), John Brunner)
This post is about a Don Dixon SF space art cover that gives me nostalgic chills. But first, a rumination….
As with so many new readers, my first science fiction adventures–almost a decade and a half ago–followed the Hugo Awards closely and the back catalogue of the established male “masters” (often those whom my dad remembered reading in his childhood–Heinlein, Clarke, Brunner, Herbert, Pohl, Anderson, etc.). And boy did John Brunner feature heavily! I read everything of his I could get my hands on. From the genius that STILL is Stand on Zanzibar (1968)–my first New Wave SF novel–to the half-hearted pulpy adventures (Born under Mars, Meeting at Infinity) that scream paycheck. These novels were some of my first reviewed works on my site (John Brunner review list below). As my readers know, my tastes have changed radically as my willingness and knowledge of lesser known authors and/or “unpopular” authors expands as I read more along the edges. Brunner’s radical New Wave SF (and at some degree his short fiction) remains a constant.
All of this is to say that it’s unsurprising that Don Dixon’s cover art Continue reading
(Alberto Cavallari’s cover for 1972 edition (Galassia 178) of the anthology The Dark of the Soul (1970), ed. Don Ward)
As my 60s/70s Italian SF art explorations continue on both my site (here and here) and on twitter (@SFRuminations), I’ve come to the conclusion that Italy’s SF easily ranks among the most appealing (at least to me) graphic explorations of the dynamic genre. For most fans of SF art, one name will immediately spring to mind (in part because he created a few covers for American editions)—the masterful Karel Thole. However, I am increasingly impressed by less known Italian artists brought in for shorter periods of time by the Italian press Galassia. This post will focus on one of those figures—Alberto Continue reading
This piece of uncredited cover art appeared on the 1976 Italian edition of Jack Vance’s solid adventure novel The Blue World (variant Italian title: Pianeta D’Acqua) (1966)—my review. It’s my type of non-collage SF art. Hints at the “feel” of the novel, has a surreal touch, Continue reading
(Marcela Cordescu’s cover for the 1969 edition of Thaïs din Infern (1969), Alexandru Forje)
The Romanian graphic artist Marcela Cordescu produced a fascinating series of SFF covers from the 1950s-70s. For more on her consult this short article (most resources are in Romanian unfortunately). Many of her covers graced editions of Vladimir Colin’s (her husband) SFF works. I came across her eerie figures researching the publication history of the French SF author Gérard Klein—a collection of his short stories appeared in Romania with a Cordescu cover in 1973 (below). Her cover for the 1969 edition of Alexandru Forje‘s Continue reading
Science Fiction and Other Suspect Ruminations 