Classic SF with Andy Johnson

The exploration and colonisation of Mars is a perennial subject in science fiction. Arthur C. Clarke's 1951 novel The Sands of Mars is a significant entry in that history, especially because it takes a realistic approach before the Mariner 4 flyby in 1965 - at least until the alien kangaroos show up.

This episode takes a look at the book, and how it fits in with the history of Mars-themed fiction and Clarke's wider career.

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Before The Handmaid's Tale (1985), there was Native Tongue (1984). Suzette Haden Elgin's feminist dystopia is an early precedent for this increasingly popular genre. Combining a powerful feminist message with a detailed exploration of the science of linguistics, this is an interesting curio of 1980s social SF. But why has Klingon proven to be so much more successful than Láadan, Elgin's own constructed language for women?

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American author Roger Zelazny won the Hugo and Locus awards for Best Novella for his story "Home is the Hangman". The 1976 book My Name is Legion collects this science fiction tale and its two prequels. Featuring nuclear engineering projects, assumed identities, dolphins, and a killer robot, how does this collection stack up?

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This bumper edition of "what I played" covers not one but two months! Featured in this instalment:

• Need for Speed Unbound (2022)
• Metro Exodus (2019)
• Company of Heroes 2 (2013)
• A Plague Tale: Innocence (2019)

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This episode continues our look at the Humanx Commonwealth sci-fi series by Alan Dean Foster. The fourth standalone book, Voyage to the City of the Dead, is set on the diverse Commonwealth world of Horseye. Married human scientists Etienne and Lyra Redowl travel up the massive Skar river and could make an incredible discovery - if they can survive the planet's dangers.

To catch up with the series, listen to episodes #62 (Midworld), #65 (Cachalot) and #81 (Nor Crystal Tears).

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If humans mastered the stars and met other alien species, what would they do in order to stay on top? This short episode covers The Long Result, a 1965 sci-fi novel by British author John Brunner which is part of a transitional period in his fascinating career.

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The latest monthly roundup of the games I've played lately, new and old. Featured in November 2022: 

• Evil West (2022)
• Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0 (2022)
• Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory (2005)
• Rise of Nations: Rise of Legends (2006)
• Sniper Elite 4 (2017)
• Star Trek: Away Team (2001)

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My coverage of Alan Dean Foster's Humanx Commonwealth series continues with Nor Crystal Tears (1982). This third novel focuses on the early history of the setting, and the first encounter between humans and the insect-like Thranx. Can the plucky agronomist Ryozenzuzex bridge the cultural barriers with a freakish species who wear their skeletons on the inside?

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Aliens, generation ships, dated social attitudes, and the horror of infinite nothingness. This episode is an overview of the book Spaceworlds: Stories of Life in the Void. Published by the British Library in 2021, this anthology of classic science fiction stories set in space features short fiction by John Brunner, Jack Vance, Judith Merril, Richard C. Meredith, and more. Which are the essential tales, and which should be tossed out of the nearest airlock?

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This month's bumper roundup of the games I played features seven entries:

• Asterigos: Curse of the Stars (2022)
• Dome Keeper (2022)
• Gotham Knights (2022)
• Titanfall 2 (2016)
• Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance (2013)
• Cultic (2022)
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II (2022)

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For more classic SF reviews and discussion, visit andyjohnson.xyz. To get free weekly classic SF updates, sign up here.