Classic SF with Andy Johnson

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…

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 h…

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, b…

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 ex…

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…

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 …

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 p…

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 th…

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. McInt…

"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 ultraviol…

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 …

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 …

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 pla…

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 d…

Dramatic climate breakdown is causing extremes of weather never seen before, and contributing to a succession of convulsive wars, with no end in sight. This isn't the 21st century - it's a unique ent…

On the constantly stormy planet of Windhaven, elite messengers take to the skies using flying rigs made from the remnants of an ancient starship. But who deserves to wear the wings?

George R. R. Marti…

This is a neccesarily brief episode - because there is much in this book that must not be spoiled. The Palace of Eternity is an excellent 1969 novel by the Northern Irish writer Bob Shaw. It is a fas…

Breakfast in the Ruins is a sometimes harrowing experimental novel by Michael Moorcock. Originally published in 1972, the novel is a loose sequel of sorts to Moorcock's earlier novel Behold the Man -…

Since he died in 1982, Philip K. Dick has become, and has remained, one of the best-known science fiction writers of all time. He has recognition not only from established fans of SF, but also from m…

Oddly, the British author Ian Watson may be best known today for his various novels in the Warhammer 40,000 setting. Long before he flirted with "the grim darkness of the far future", Watson carved a…