Rambling Readers

Michael Whelan

PURSUIT (1982)
Acrylic - 30" x 20"

Occasionally it is fun to do an action-filled scene. This exciting book by Alan Dean Foster afforded the perfect opportunity. 1/4

#sciencefiction #scifi #sff #illustration #alandeanfoster

In a frantic flight through the woods, a fierce ostrich-like bird bends its sinuous neck as it corners around a massive tree. With a powerful talon, it grips rock and seeks footing with its other leg raised. Mounted on its back gripping reins is a redheaded man in a vibrant blue coat. A serpent coils around his shoulder and down his extended arm. The serpent spreads kaleidoscopic wings and hisses in displeasure. A badger-like creature springs out of their path.

d.w.

Look, I get it. 2025 just started and things are already sorta... a lot? That's okay.

We're all overwhelmed. But you know what? Having a few good sci-fi books to read can help steel that resolve while we head into the collective unknown. Just $20 for 13 ebooks! #scifi #ebooks #books #indieauthor

storybundle.com/exploration

Mosaic of book covers from the latest StoryBundle.

Neve Maslakovic

Looking for an exciting sci-fi read this weekend? Dive into this ebook story bundle! It includes my standalone mystery/thriller, All the Whys of Delilah's Demise, plus 12 other great books. The best part? Support indie writers and pay what you want (starting at $5)

https://storybundle.com/exploration

#sciencefiction #scifi #books #bookstodon #indie
#reading #fiction

Michael Whelan

THE RENEGADES OF PERN (1988)
Acrylic on Watercolor Board - 20" X 30"

I was in a frenzied state trying to finish up jobs before the impending birth of our son when I had a dream about this cover. 1/3

#sciencefiction #scifi #fantasy #sff #illustration #pern #annemccaffrey

A caravan travels the grassy plains of an alien world as a line of dragons casually flies by. A man in overcoat with bright red garb underneath leads the way with a bag slung over his shoulder. The gypsy-like wagons that follow are pulled by rough skinned pachyderms. An adult and child stand at the rail atop the foremost wagon gazing out at the vista. Tall flat top trees rise up into a sky hazy with dusk and atmospheric effects that stretch lavender and peach across the horizon.

Dave Dawkins

If there are any #SciFi authodons out there who need an idea for a strange encounter, how about a nuclear powered man-hole cover? (story in alt-text)

#AmWriting #Writing #StoryIdea #WritingPrompt #authodons

A black and white photograph showing a bunch of people staring at a mushroom cloud from a nuclear bomb going off in the distance. Back when people did that kind of thing.

The US conducted underground tests for their A-bombs including one where they placed a half-ton manhole cover over the top of a 500ft shaft to "contain" the explosion.

August 27th, 1957, they detonated the bomb and highspeed cameras caught a couple of frames of the manhole cover popping off at over 125,000 mph.

That makes it the fastest manmade object in history, travelling at five times the necessary velocity to escape Earth's gravity.

Physicists recently calculated that the cover would not have burned up before escaping the atmosphere, and passed the orbit of Pluto sometime in 1961.

Use your imaginations.

Joanna Maciejewska

If you haven't been following my weekly shares of 3D art or you think you missed some, here's your chance to catch up!
https://authorjm.com/archives/32558

#3dart #fantasy #scifi

Michael Whelan

THE PEREGRINE (1977)
Acrylic on Masonite - 28" x 18"

When I moved to NYC, I staked everything on a letter from Don Wollheim. I worked on paintings for my portfolio and took my first assignments from DAW. Not long after I began to work for Ace Books.

#sciencefiction #scifi #scifiart #sff #illustration #poulanderson

Emeritus Prof Christopher May

This week I've been mainly reading, no.202.

Nicola Griffith's anthropological SciFi novel Ammonite (1998) is a real treat. It relates the story of a world in which men non longer exist, killed by a gender discriminating virus, the mission to explore/exploit this world & how one women crosses from one side to the other. It combines an interest in emerging societies & change with questions of exploration and 'first contact'; a really compelling read.

@bookstodon #books #SciFi #anthropology

Branwen OShea (she/her)

5 POV, 2 Worlds, 1 Ice Age:

-Bleu must save his sister.
-Atsushi takes the leader hostage. Oops.
-Rana seeks enlightenment, but violence pursues her.
-Kahali believed love overcomes everything until he meets humans.
-Savas believes he’ll save them all by killing the aliens.
#scifi #fantasy #books #reading

A hand holds a paperback of The Calling by Branwen OShea above a field of small white flowers. The cover features a teen exiting a massive elevator into a nighttime arctic landscape. In the far distance, a strange star sits on the ground.

K.N. Brindle (they/them)

It's Book Day!

Common Accord, my blue-collar space opera found family heist story (& my 3rd novel) is available today!

If you pre-ordered (thanks!!), you should receive your copy soon. If you've been on the fence, please check it out!

https://knbrindle.com/common-accord

#sff #scifi #bookstodon #lgbtqBookstodon #readers #sciencefiction

Advertisement for Common Accord by K.N. Brindle

"Available Now at Your Favorite Bookseller"

Common Accord book cover: Portraits of four people against a starfield, with a dimensional rift open behind them like a pink cloud. A ship in front of the portraits leaves a trail or light that loops around them to the rift. The four people are: Windy, a black woman in a teal jumpsuit; Jes, a nonbinary person in an orange jumpsuit; Fin, a young man in a red jumpsuit; and Stritch, a vulpine alien known as a triss.

- An Alien on the Run
- A Crew of Misfits
- Blue-Collar Space Opera
- Queer Rep
- Found Family
- Stealing a Spaceship

https://knbrindle.com/common–accord

Michael Whelan

DIADEM FROM THE STARS (1976)
Acrylic on Canvas Board - 21 ¼" x 14 ¾"

This early science fiction piece was commissioned by DAW and later collected in my first art book WONDERWORKS. 1/3

#sciencefiction #scifi #scifiart #sff #illustration

A woman wearing a shimmering diadem and simple gown rests her hand on the shoulder of a fierce panther-like cat. Its eyes glow green as it bares its fangs. They stand on a rocky hilltop set against an oversaturated purple sky stippled with stars. Over her shoulder a moon looms large with a wispy ethereal trail snaking and rising up. Three spaceships burn hard rocketing past. A smaller moon, partially obscured by the mountainous horizon, is tinted pink in the gradient of the lower sky.

Joachim Boaz

Y'all with your structured what I'm going to read lists in 2025 are crazy! I own 1.5-2k unread science fiction and history volumes. I finish one. Stare at the shelf. Let the whim take over. Put it down. Pick another up. Put it down. Think about it. Think about projects it could be part of. Haha.
#books #scifi #history #sciencefiction #2025

M. Pax

🎉✨ Release Day Celebration! ✨🎉

Echoes of Haller Canyon is here! 🚀 Available everywhere and for only 99¢—a deal as thrilling as the story itself.

📚 Everywhere you buy books. Start your journey into the depths of Triton now! 🌙✨

📖 https://buff.ly/4a6ah6A

💙 📚 #books #sciencefiction #scifi #bookrelease #writingcommunity

Branwen OShea (she/her)

Today’s the last day to vote for the Indie Ink Awards. My book, The Calling got nominated in three categories, if you’d like to support it. It’s also a great way to find Indie books. A free account is needed to vote, but it allows you to see all the reviews on the site, & it’s only an email (and they only ever contacted me about the annual contest, so not an annoyance.)
Link to vote:

https://indiestorygeek.com/a/indie-ink-awards-2024
#reading #writing #amwriting #author #authors #scifi #fantasy

Indie Ink Awards

Nominations: -Best Cover/Cover Artist -Best Setting -Wittiest Character

A cartoon polar bear says, “Haven't read it yet? You can still vote for the cover. I'd beary much appreciate it. “

The Calling by Branwen OShea
Cover by Rai Fiondella

Michael Whelan

A FIGHTING MAN OF MARS (1979)
Acrylic - 24" x 32"

Since I was endeavoring to be the illustrator most faithful to Burroughs' descriptions, Lester del Rey and I had a lengthy discussion about whether the white lizard I wanted to show had six or eight legs. 1/4

#sciencefiction #scifi #scifiart #sff #edgarriceburroughs #johncarter #barsoom

Menacingly, a white, six-legged lizard grips pale rocks rising well above the floor in an expansive cavern. Distant stalactites extend from the ceiling washed in dark pink and purple providing contrast. The lizard perches above twin Barsoomian warriors opening its maw to expose its teeth. As if caught by surprise—evident by the sword still in its scabbard—one of the men is standing upright and poised to attack with just a dagger in hand. His companion crouches warily with a basket-hilt sword held out, tip up. His shoulder length black hair swings forward with motion. A massive bone protrudes from the floor, the ball joint of a femur seemingly larger than the lizard itself. The foreground around it is littered with human bones, swords, and shields.