Rambling Readers

Michael Whelan

THE PRIDE OF CHANUR (1981)
Acrylic on Illustration Board - 24" x 17"

The book that introduced the Hani to the world. In C.J. Cherryh's first novel in this series, the cat-like aliens find the human stowaway on their ship. 1/4

#sciencefiction #scifi #scifiart #sff #illustration #cjcherryh

A group of buff aliens with cat heads and tawny fur stand guard around a single human, whose face can only be seen from the nose up but resembles the artist. One of the Hani carries a shiny chrome blaster and another is talking into a handheld communication device. Many have rings adorning the underside of their pointed ears. Looming in the background, arranged in a descending arch, an array of alien species is rendered in cool blue tones against a light blue field.

Fluffgar -Creative/Illustrator

#SciFi #StarTrek #replicator #farming
Every time I see someone giggling about how waste (poop) must get put into the replicator system to be broken down into its component molecules and then reasembled into various things (often food) I think, "You really don't understand how farming works, do you?"

Neve Maslakovic

#writephant #selfpromo

A couple of promotions running at the moment!

This one is ONLY on Kobo Plus:
https://books.bookfunnel.com/kobo-plus-february-2025/9pn45ik7jz

This one is WIDE on all retailers:
https://books.bookfunnel.com/Feb2025WIDESci-fiSales/r8q3w9iuke

#books #Bookstodon #sff #scifi #sciencefiction

Amber

#WordWeavers 02/08/25 - Share the first thing your characters would see, feel, and hear if they went outside in the last indoor scene you wrote.

They would see many twinkling stars around them in the vast, darkness of space. There's also a colorful nebula in the distance.

They would feel the soft/stretchy material of their space suit covering their entire body.

They would hear the sound of oxygen being pumped through their helmet.

#writer #writing #author #scifi

Michael Whelan

DISTANT STARS (1980)
Acrylic on primed panel - 18" x 28"

I was stuck for a while as I tried to come up with a design structure to unify the elements I wanted to include in this composition. 1/5

#sciencefiction #scifi #scifiart #sff #illustration #samuelrdelany

Side by side, two astronauts emerge from portholes with the barest hint of planetscape on the other side. On the left, a female astronaut braces herself with one arm on the bulkhead and a foot poised to step through. In her opposite arm, she holds the helmet of her spacesuit. On the right, a male astronaut steps fully through the porthole gripping the sides with both hands as he boldly emerges.

Hippie Scuba Steve

Amos: "I learned that I could hold my breath for almost two minutes while engaging in physical stressful activity"

Thug: "So?"

Amos: "So...you have to ask yourself, how much damage do you think I could do to you in two minutes before the knockout gas gets to me? 'Cause I'm betting it's a lot"

From E501

#TheExpanse #SciFi

The Weaver

Hi all! I’m looking for interesting accounts that talk sometimes about #LiteraryCriticism, or maybe other #literature and #CriticalTheory-based accounts. I’ve tried searching for authors I like, but haven’t had a huge amount of luck beyond finding posts. I’m especially looking for #SciFi criticism, but am curious about a lot of other genres too. Some other things I like are #DFW, #MarkFisher, #PKD, #BeckyChambers, #Solarpunk, #Cyberpunk, #Existentialism, #ArabLit, #Metamodernism. TY!

#Request

Michael Whelan

RUN FOR COVER (1982)
Acrylic on illustration board

H. Beam Piper is, of course, best remembered for the Fuzzies of Zarathustra. 1/4

#sciencefiction #scifi #scifiart #sff #illustration #hbeampiper #fuzzies

A white haired man cradles a little fuzzy alien creature in one hand and a laser rifle in the other while staring down a horned and tusked alien boar-like creature that prepares to charge. The beast turns intense orange eyes towards the pack of fuzzies that are panicked and looking for cover. From the set of its hooves in the flora covered rise and the bristling of its mane, its intentions are clearly hostile.

Michael Whelan

THE WILDING (2004)
Acrylic on Canvas - 28" x 18"

The story involves genetic manipulation so I had fun finding ways to incorporate symbols of genetic biology into the decorative jewelry around the figure. 1/4

#sciencefiction #scifi #sff #scifiart #illustration #csfriedman

A woman wearing an ornate headdress dominates the right side of the painting. Wild tufts of thick red hair rise above a bronze tiara, a regal mane to match flame-like tattoos covering her forehead. An assortment of jewels, baubles, and tassels hang from the headpiece. Her neck is similarly adorned with decorative armor that flares wide at the shoulders and ends at a point over her breastbone where a test tube lit with a current of electricity hangs. A shimmering cloak drapes from the one pauldron visible. Bands of glittery fabric extends on a diagonal from under the armor to cover her breasts, but leave a patch of tanned skin between exposed. In her hand she holds a large token, the border filled with five-pointed stars wrought in bronze on black and the center a bulbous pearl with a flowing alien script. Behind her floats a huge cloud covered planet. Two crescents shine above, while a larger, similarly clouded moon intersect below. Another satellite hovers nearby—apparently artificial given the green glowing lights of technology at its core and metal bands spider-webbing around it. The star field backdrop is saturated the same lilac hue as the planet, but below wispy clouds are suffuse with golden light that radiates from around the woman.

Joachim Boaz

A fragment from the archives.

Diagramatic madness from the mind of J. G. Ballard

Ballard's article "Salvador Dali: The Innocent As Paranoid" appeared in New Worlds, #187 (February 1969), ed. Michael Moorcock, Charles Platt, and James Sallis
#scifi #sciencefiction #books #ballard

A chart with names of authors down the right side -- Wells, Huxley, Orwell, Burroughs, Bradbury, Herman Kahn, Dali, Pohl, Asimov. Across the top there is another list -- Technique, Inspiration, Subject, Genius, Composition, Originality, Mystery, Authenticity, Imagination. Dali and Burroughs rank the highest.

Michael Whelan

THUNDERHEAD (2025)

Acrylic - 8” x 11”

There's a small winter themed painting on my work table that I wanted to finish for the holidays but ran out of time. I got frustrated and smeared some of the colors on mat board I was using as a palette. 1/4

https://www.michaelwhelan.com/galleries/2025-leftover-1/

#leftoversandpalettegremlins #sciencefiction #scifi #illustration

Orange lightning flashes from a bank of clouds as a VTOL bomber breaks through the storm front. We get a view from underneath along the belly to the nose of the craft which has pronounced forewings. The aircraft still carries a payload in a pair of bombs mounted under each of the aft wings which tilt back and end with vertical stabilizers. A flight of white stand in contrast to the dark clouds.

Rod Faulkner

https://scalawagmagazine.org/2025/02/sci-fi-fantasy-and-fascism/

#scifi #fantasy

Alex Keane

Been listening to the audiobook of The Stardust Grail by Yume Kitasei this week.

It's a super fun sci-fi heist story with complications and character flaws and I've really enjoyed it so far.

#SciFi #bookstodon

Dave Dawkins

This is the future liberals want.

#liberals #future #scifi #yeeehaw!

The cover of Science Fiction Quarterly shows a woman in a yellow swimsuit wielding a laser rifle, while chained to the back of a man wearing a winged suit with rockets on the arms, flying through space. It's weirder than it sounds.

Michael Whelan

TRANTORIAN DREAM (1983)
Acrylic on Watercolor Board - 30" X 22"

Above the dreary spectacle of Trantor reduced to rubble, the protagonist gazes at the enigma of the Galaxy and attempts to divine its future course. 1/5

#sciencefiction #scifi #scifiart #isaacasimov #foundation

In the rubble of Trantor, a man stands on a broken pillar to gaze out a galactic spiral spinning brightly against a celestial canvas of stars. The immediate foreground is lit to give it an earthy red tint while the vista of planetary wreckage is gray-green leading up to a brilliant starscape of green and blue. Crumbling structures form a series of frames to give a sense of scale and distance across the ruined surface of the planet.