#space-ships — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #space-ships, aggregated by home.social.
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SPACESHIPS VOL 1 grotty grimy scanline goodness The backgrounds are separate and swappable for mix n match goodness Join the fleet! -> carlydraws.itch.io #art #ttrpg #spaceships
RE: https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:ymmxvxa2etxmgcfq3m3vvibd/post/3mlg7cajykc2k -
From the archives of incomplete games. Re-installed it and have it looking great & playing well. Originally issues with the JS axis controls prevented play. No joystick but I on EASY so it should work out. -Tomorrow War- #joystick #spacesimulation #games #flight #cockpitview #thomas #spaceships
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What pre-1985 science fiction are you reading? + Update No. XXVIII
First update post of 2026! What pre-1985 science fiction adventures have you started this year? Any great reads? Disappointing ones? Intriguing discoveries? Here’s the November 2025 installment of this column.
- A selection of read volumes from my shelf
Exciting news! Rachel S. Cordasco, who occasionally joins me to review older SF short stories in translation, will soon launch Small Planet: The SF in Translation Magazine. As the announcement on File 770 states, “the magazine will come out 4 times per year (February, May, August, and November) and include columns on such topics as: interesting upcoming books and notable reviews, interviews with authors, translators, editors, translators talking about books they’d like to see in English, essays on Anglophone awards, databases, and publishers that should recognize translators/SFT, essays on Anglophone awards, databases, and publishers that should recognize translators/SFT, pieces on interesting translation conundrums, notes on what’s happening in other countries in SF. It will be available for free on Cordasco’s Speculative Fiction in Translation website.”
Missing from the list will be my reviews of vintage SF in translation! The plan is to have one review in each issue for at least the next year or for as long as I can keep up a schedule (schedules and I do not mesh). I’ve already tracked down some lesser known gems from German, Norway, and Italy.
The Photograph (with links to reviews and brief thoughts)
- Robert Silverberg’s Thorns (1967). Generally considered one of his first great novels — I thoroughly his rumination on two psychologically devastated characters who are set up to fall in love for the entertainment of the world. Harrowing stuff. Recommended.
- J. G. Ballard’s The Terminal Beach (1964). Never managed to review this top-notch Ballard collection. I should just reread it… Coincidentally, I wrote a short story as a college student with a very similar premise to Ballard’s “The Drowned Giant” (1964).
- Judith Merril’s Survival Ship and Other Stories (1974). Notably contains the three short stories that Merril planned to transform into a generation ship novel — “Survival Ship” (1951), “Wish Upon a Star” (1958), and “The Lonely” (1963). If she had, it would have been the first gen ship novel by a woman. According to my index, the first solo-written generation ship novel by a woman is Pamela Sargent’s YA novel Earthseed (1983).
- Robert Sheckley’s The Status Civilization (1960). I found his short novel an interesting intersection of pulp narrative and “artfully constructed satire.”
What am I writing about?
While I have not had the most productive 2026, here are few notable reviews I’ve written recently in case you missed them: two interesting 50s short stories on race in America, Alan E. Nourse’s “Marley’s Chain” (1952) and Edward W. Ludwig’s “The Rocket Man” (1951); Fritz Leiber, Jr.’s Gather, Darkness! (1943, novelized 1950) and Gillian Freeman’s The Leader (1965); William Tenn’s collection Time in Advance (1958); and another installment on my survey of all pre-1985 generation ship stories available in English, Mari Wolf’s “The First Day of Spring” (1954) and Francis G. Rayer’s “Continuity Man” (1959).
As I mentioned earlier, I am writing reviews for Rachel’s online magazine on SF in translation. When they go live I’ll double-post them on the site and link the other goodies that are sure to grace the pages.
What am I reading?
I recently finished Matthew I. Thompson’s fascinating monograph On Life Support: Eco-Dystopian Cinema in the Long 1970s (2026). He explores the intersection of popular science works by Rachel Carson and Paul R. Ehrlich and dystopia SF film with ecological themes. If you missed my interview with Thompson, I highly recommend you check it out. The interview surveys the main theoretical premises of the work and the main films he covers. I should rewatch Soylent Green (1972), David Cronenberg’s Shivers (1975), and Douglas Trumbull’s Silent Running (1972).
- Matthew I. Thompson’s On Life Support: Eco-Dystopian Cinema in the Long 1970s (2026). Photographed by me on a hike in Pembroke, VA.
A Curated List of SF Birthdays from the Last Two Weeks [names link to The Internet Speculative Fiction Database for bibliographical info]
March 22nd: Raymond Z. Gallun (1911-1994).
- Johnny Bruck’s canvas for Perry Rhodan, #270: Ultimatum an Unbekannt (1966)
March 22nd: German cover artist Johnny Bruck (1921-1995). He’s easily one of the most prolific German cover artists.
March 22nd: Rudy Rucker (1946-).
March 23nd: H. Beam Piper (1904-1964). I recently (sort of) covered my first Piper story on the site: H. Beam Piper and John J. McGuire’s “Hunter Patrol” (1959). I have another one planned this year.
March 23nd: Sheila MacLeod (1939-).
March 23nd: Elizabeth Ann Scarborough (1947-). I enjoyed her Acorna sequence books (written with Anne McCaffrey) was a child. Most of her published solo work is outside my area of focus. I placed her novel The Healer’s War (1988-) on my Vietnam War-inspired SFF list.
March 23rd: Kim Stanley Robinson (1952-). I recently reviewed Icehenge (1984). I really enjoyed it. Perhaps more than his Mars Trilogy, albeit, they are very different books…
- David K. Stone’s cover for the 1978 edition of The Stainless Steel Rat Wants You (1978)
March 24th: Cover artist David K. Stone (1922-2001).
March 24th: Peter George (1924-1966).
March 25th: Jacqueline Lichtenberg (1942-)
March 26th: Edward Bellamy (1850-1898). Author of Looking Backward: 2000–1887 (1888), the highly influential utopian SF novel that inspired countless sequels and prequels and rebuttals by other authors.
March 26th: David J. Lake (1929-2016)
March 26th: K. W. Jeter (1950-)
March 27th: Artist Stanley Meltzoff (1917-2006)
- Still from René Laloux’s Fantastic Planet (1973)
March 27th: Stefan Wul (1922-2003). A French SF author best known for writing Oms en série (1957), the source material for Fantastic Planet (1973).
March 27th: Helmut Wenske (1940-).
March 28th: A. Bertram Chandler (1912-1984)
March 28th: Cover artist George Ziel (1914-1982)
March 29th: Lino Aldani (1926-2009). I adored Aldani’s “Good Night, Sophie” (1963, trans. 1973). He represents one of the many reasons why Rachel’s magazine to promote SF in translation is such a great idea. Despite his ability to craft a masterpiece, only ONE additional short story exists in English translation.
- Walt Miller’s cover for the July 1953 issue of Astounding Science Fiction
March 29th: Artist Walt Miller (1928-2015).
March 29th: Artist Johann Peter Reuter (1949-).
March 29th: Mary Gentle (1956-).
March 30th: Artist Curt Caesar (1906-1974).
March 30th: Alice Eleanor Jones (1916-1981). While she only published five science fiction short stories, “Created He Them” (1955) is a 50s masterpiece.
- Art Sussman’s cover for the 1957 edition of Murray Leinster’s The Planet Explorer (variant title: Colonial Survey) (1956)
March 30th: Artist Art Sussman (1927-2008). Another underrated SF artist with a beguiling surrealist streat– I put together a post on his work in 2017.
March 30th: Chad Oliver (1928-1993). Most recently I covered his two generation ship stories: “Stardust” (1952) and “The Wind Blows Free” (1957).
March 31st: Marge Piercy (1936-). Dance the Eagle To Sleep (1970) is not to be missed!
April 1st: Anne McCaffrey (1926-2011). I adored her work as a kid. I read everything I could get my hands on–even from the lowest points in her career i.e. the Acorna Universe sequence and co-written Dragonriders of Pern novels with her son.
April 1st: Samuel R. Delany (1942-).
April 2nd: Artist Mitchell Hooks (1923-2013). One of the underrated SF artists of the 50s-70s in my view. For a lovely example, check out my recent review of William Tenn’s Time in Advance (1958).
- Murray Tinkelman’s cover for the 1978 edition of John Brunner’s The Squares of the City (1965)
April 2nd: Artist Murray Tinkelman (1933-2016). Another underrated SF artist… How can your forget his iconic cover for Brunner’s The Sheep Look Up?
April 2nd: Joan D. Vinge (1948-)
April 3nd: Noel Loomis (1905-1969).
April 3rd: Colin Kapp (1928-2007). As I’ve said before, “want to push my buttons? Recommend stories for me to read like Kapp’s “Hunger Over Sweet Waters” (1965). You’ll have to read my review (an exercise in snark) to find out why.”
- Jack Faragasso’s cover for the 1972 edition of The Thinking Seat (1969)
April 3rd: Peter Tate (1940-). One of those British New Wave authors I should read more of… Tate’s The Thinking Seat (1969) is on the burner for later this year.
April 4th: Stanley G. Weinbaum (1902-1935). Best known for his early classic “A Martian Odyssey” (1934).
April 4th: Artist Tim White (1952-2020).
For book reviews consult the INDEX
For cover art posts consult the INDEX
For TV and film reviews consult the INDEX
#1950s #1970s #avantGarde #bookReviews #books #fiction #JGBallard #JudithMerril #paperbacks #RobertSheckley #RobertSilverberg #sciFi #scienceFiction #spaceships -
Breaking this out again because it's right up there on the fun pew pew game scale, as long as you don't get 'all serious'. An old friend, who turns out to be quite the dude on the local scene, is very graciously helping get our stuff all updated.
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"Spaceships: The first frontier. Across the '70s and '80s, complex and colorful spaceships were the primary element that publishers everywhere thought to shoehorn onto any science fiction book cover.
The diverse visual style of all that spacecraft is impossibly to fully sum up, but in this post, we're going to try regardless."
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You've just reached your age of majority (or maybe you're starting your second career). Which ship do you sign onto for your first tour?
I can only post four choices, if yours isn't listed, let me know what it is in the comments.
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There's also a digital colouring book to go with it. You can colour the spaceships digitally, or print them out and colour with pencils or pens.
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Did you know you could buy a digital copy of my book 'Weird Field World'?
It's a mix of world building, fiction, maps, illustrations, detailing a future where earth receives messages from the stars, which turn out to be instructions for building spaceships.
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When you hear I'm adapting #TheOdyssey, you don't expect to see #spaceships, do you? Well...
More info here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/redwulfcomics/space-odyssey-1-homers-epic-like-youve-never-seen-it
#odyssey #scifi #sciencefiction #spaceopera #indiecomics #booksky #mythology #epic #homer #adaptation #classic #literature
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Exploration Log 12: Adam Rowe’s “Your Guide to the Best Retro Science Fiction Art Collections”
- Jim Burns’ cover for the 1st edition of Mechanismo (1978)
I would like to welcome Adam Rowe again to Science Fiction and Other Suspect Ruminations. Back in 2023, I interviewed him about his lovely book Worlds Beyond Time: Sci-Fi Art of the 1970s (2023)–on 70s science fiction cover art with a foreword by SF artist Vincent Di Fate. You can buy Worlds Beyond Time on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. You can follow Adam’s art account on Bluesky and Tumblr. I also recommend subscribing to his free 70s SF art newsletter.
Adam Rowe is a writer who has been collecting retro science fiction art online since 2013. He covers technology at Tech.co and has been a Forbes contributor on publishing and the business of storytelling. He has also written for iO9, Popular Mechanics, Reactormag.com (previously Tor.com), and the Barnes & Noble Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog. Worlds Beyond Time: Sci-Fi Art of the 1970s (2023) is his first book.
- Graphic created by my father
Your Guide to the Best Retro Science Fiction Art Collections
Adam Rowe
I’ve read a lot of art books covering science fiction in the 20th century. This likely isn’t a big surprise, given that I sunk more than a few years into compiling my own retrospective art collection, Worlds Beyond Time: Sci-Fi Art of the 1970s.
These types of collections come in two basic categories. First, collections that are dedicated to exploring every facet of one single artist and, second, collections that encompass dozens of artists, intentionally (or inadvertently) capturing a slice of a specific era.
The former collections are often beautiful – I’d recommend just about every book focused on Chris Foss, John Harris, or Jeffrey Catherine Jones for the art alone. But single-serving art collections aren’t designed to deliver something that I tend to crave: The context that exists around any given artist. Some of them do have this. One great example is Jane Frank’s incisive 2001 book The Art of Richard Powers, which explores the artist’s deep influence on 1950s and ‘60s surrealist paperback covers while delivering a flaws-and-all portrait of the artist’s colorful personality. I’d also recommend Stephen D. Korshak’s Frank R. Paul: Father of Science Fiction Art (2010), Luis Ortiz’s Outermost: The Art + Life of Jack Gaughan (2010), and Frank Kelly Freas: The Art of Science Fiction, the latter of which was written in 1977 by the endearingly self-deprecating Freas himself.
But in my experience, the best entry points for the average sci-fi enthusiast are collections that package up a big selection of artists. You’ll get a new curious vision on every page, and by the time you close the cover, you have all you need to piece together a mosaic-like celebration of the style.
Here’s my take on the best and most influential science fiction art collections from the 70s, 80s, and beyond. I hope it can serve as a meta version of what all these books themselves do, and provide the context you need to identify this snapshot of art history.
- David Schleinkofer’s cover for Ian Summers’ Tomorrow and Beyond (1978)
Ian Summers’ Tomorrow and Beyond (1978)
Multiple artists I interviewed for my book cited this 1978 art collection as a big influence. Bob Eggleton called it a “watershed,” since it included many then-newcomers – Michael Whelan, Rowena Morrill, Carl Lundgren, Don Maitz – who went on to reshape the world of science fiction and fantasy illustration. It was a jolt of fresh air at the time, and in retrospect it captured a wide range of styles that defined the era.
You’ll be able to enjoy the art easily, since there’s very little text or even captions across most of the book after the introduction, although you can skip to the index in the back for a little more information about each illustration. That text-lite approach to art compilations would change quickly in the wake of another big title that debuted in the same year: Spacecraft 2000 to 2100 AD, the first of the Terran Trade Authority books.
- Angus McKie’s cover for Stewart Cowley’s Spacecraft 2000 to 2100 AD (1978)
Stewart Cowley’s Terran Trade Authority series (1978-1980)
These books were a huge influence on Gen X kids, thanks to author Stewart Cowley’s decision to create his own fictional world as the framing device for his four in-universe handbooks: Spacecraft 2000 to 2100 AD (1978), Great Space Battles (1979), Spacewreck: Ghostships and Derelicts of Space (1979), and Starliners: Commercial Spacetravel in 2200 AD (1980).
The TTA series packages up the best mid- to late-’70s science fiction cover art that the UK had to offer: Cowley worked with the London-based Young Artists illustration agency, and was able to recycle existing art from their stable of illustrators, including Chris Foss, Angus McKie, Jim Burns, Bob Layzell, and many others. The series is probably the most popular out of all the titles in this guide, so good luck nabbing second-hand copies.
Honestly, I think Cowley’s masterstroke was writing a bunch of nerdy details into his world – I honestly don’t think the 12-year-olds cared that the “ACM 128 Stingray” had a “broad speed range” or whatever, but they definitely loved being trusted with a lot of adult information that could be safely ignored while they flipped through looking at pictures. But maybe that’s my ADHD talking.
Keep an eye out for Cowley’s other series, the six Galactic Encounters books, which are fun but generally considered to be second-fiddle to the TTA books – Cowley even distanced himself from them with the pen name “Steven Caldwell.”
- Colin Hay’s art from Janet Sacks’ Visions of the Future (1976)
And a lot more…
Cowley didn’t invent the “fictional text paired with reused art” format.
But most other prefabricated art books that hit the market around this time were often larded with not-so-great artists or packed with full-page images in order to stretch out the art. I’d still recommend them all to the aspiring collector.
An early example is Janet Sacks’ Visions of the Future (1976), which repurposes art from the New English Library’s Science Fiction Monthly magazine. Alan Frank’s Galactic Aliens (1979) lists the artists but doesn’t match the names to individual works of art, while David Wingrove’s The Immortals of Science Fiction (1980) merely cites everything to “Young Artists” on the copyright page.
- Paul Lehr’s cover for Vincent Di Fate’s Infinite Worlds (1997)
Vincent Di Fate’s Infinite Worlds (1997)
Pick this one up if you get the chance: It’s the most comprehensive tome of 20th century science fiction art I’ve come across.
Di Fate is an impressive genre artist himself, and he’s tracked the big names in the business since he was writing ‘70s magazine columns interviewing greats like John Schoenherr and Paul Lehr. He brings those decades of lived experience to bear with his writing, detailing each artists’ strengths so that the reader can more easily grasp their place in history. It’s an approach I highly appreciate and it’s what makes this collection my personal favorite of those in this guide.
- David A. Hardy’s jacket painting for his book Visions of Space (1989)
David A. Hardy’s Visions of Space (1989)
Visions is focused almost entirely on space art – the nonfiction, scientifically guided scenes of planets, pulsars, and any interstellar bodies in between.
Technically, that means this isn’t a science fiction collection, but anyone who enjoys one is likely to enjoy the other. Plus, the two categories of illustration were very intertwined by the 1970s, due in large part to the legacy of space artist Chesley Bonestell, whose ’40s and ’50s-era solar system landscapes inspired the next generation of science fiction artists.
Visions is a great companion to Infinite Worlds: Like Di Fate, Hardy has a long history as a successful illustrator in the same genre that the book covers. His wide-ranging exploration of the subject covers fascinating details about the history of our understanding of the universe.
- David A Hardy “Ocean Planet” (1979) from his book Galactic Tours: Thomas Cook Out of This World Vacations (1981)
Bob Shaw and David A. Hardy‘s Galactic Tours: Thomas Cook Out of This World Vacations (1981)
A primitive ship crafted from an alien skeleton with a single giant leaf for a sail. A metal planet with a shimmering city grid across its entire surface. These are just a few of the alien visions you’ll find in Galactic Tours.
Billing itself as a travel information guide covering a range of outer space vacation spots, Tours is a fun example of an art collection built around a Terran Trade Authority-style fictional narrative. The big difference is that none of the art here was repurposed and it doesn’t come from a wide swath of artists, either: It’s all from the mind of David A Hardy.
Granted, this does mean that Tours violates my self-imposed restriction to focus on multi-artist collections in this post. But this title is too innovative and strange to fit in anywhere else, and that level of creativity should be celebrated. Besides, I’m trying not to overthink this guide – I told Joachim I’d finish writing it two years ago!
- Richard Clifton-Dey’s cover art for Martin Caidin’s High Crystal (1974), included in Harry Harrison’s Mechanismo (1978)
Harry Harrison’s Mechanismo (1978)
This collection is a true oddity: Not only does the broad range of art have plenty of re-used book cover illustrations, but Mechanismo even throws film concept artworks and NASA-produced space art into the mix. It’s all held together with prose that covers real-life history alongside fictionalized futures.
This book is pure stylistic whiplash, in other words. My favorite part is when we see a pulpy Richard Clifton-Dey illustration of Lee Majors as the Six Million Dollar Man (although the text refuses to identify him as such), followed by an HR Giger artwork spread on the very next page.
The title’s worth picking up for this mish-mash of art, but Harrison’s fun prose also includes some delightful science fiction art history jokes and opinions – we learn, for example, “giantism in spaceship design was on the scene pretty early, since an author can type one mile as easily as he can one foot.”
- Roger Dean’s painting used as the cover for The Flights of Icarus (1977) with Martyn Dean and Donald Lehmkuhl
That’s my list, and I’ll be the first to admit that it’s far from definitive. I’d also particularly recommend Martyn Dean, Roger Dean, and Donald Lehmkuhl’s The Flights of Icarus (1977) and Malcolm Edwards and Robert Holdstock’s Alien Landscapes (1979). Plus, if you’re interested in great art collections published in this century, check out Cathy and Arnie Fenner’s contemporary fantastic art annuals, Spectrum. The series ran 20 volumes from 1994-2013, so you should be busy for a while.
Please, let me know in the comments if there are any more art collections that are particularly important to you and that would make sense alongside all the others I’ve mentioned here. Chances are high that I’ll track them down and review them on my own science fiction art blog.
- Les Edwards’ cover art for Malcolm Edwards and Robert Holdstock’s Alien Landscapes (1979)
For book reviews consult the INDEX
For cover art posts consult the INDEX
For TV and film reviews consult the INDEX
#1970s #1980s #art #artist #sciFi #scienceFiction #spaceships #technology
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Taking a break from painting abominations and going back to #eveonline #spaceships.
For most of these frigates and destroyers, I chose a colour pattern similar to their Tech 1 variants.
#eveonline #spaceships #miniatures #miniaturepainting #warforneweden
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Just out here aura-farming.
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I bought a Switch 2 in the middle of 2025 (my previous games console was, and I keep having to double-check this, the original NES), and finally picked up No Man's Sky, a mere decade after it launched, looking for a chill space-themed exploration sandbox.
Every time I dip into this thing it accidentally generates cover art for never-written sci-fi novels that teenage me would have devoured.
Must try to dust-off the writing pen in the new year.
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Jamming the two together: I'm alternately amused and annoyed by how much #ScienceFiction has #humans doing things like #flying #spaceships, but relegates #medical care to #robots. Uh ...
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TTCombat's Dropfleet Commander: The Dreadhold starter set pits prison guards against space criminals attempting a jailbreak. Ship to ship combat, plenty of standard issue woooop woooop noises as ships go down, shields deplete and ... RAMMING SPEED! https://l.d20.ninja/huccypjz #ttcombat #spaceships #starshipCombat #sciFiMiniatures #dropfleetCommander
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My favourite ship is the USS Aventine, with Captain Ezri Dax, a Vesta-class slipstream ship.
Conceived and named by author David Mack for the Relauch ‘Destiny’ novel trilogy, the Aventine was given form by digital artist Mark Rademaker, appearing first in the 2010 Starships calendar, and later made its appearance onscreen in Star Trek Online.
@virtualbri has mentioned that the vfx team for Picard had access to the STO renders but it wasn’t one of the ships that made leap to the show.
I still hope to see it onscreen one day. In the meantime, I am very glad to have been gifted one of the last of the Aventine models from Master Replicas.
https://modelermagic.com/aventine-vesta-class-starship-by-mark-rademaker/
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#bookwyrm 30 Day Book Challenge - Day 11 - Set Somewhere I'd like to Visit - A Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers #beckychambers #foundfamily #scifibooks #cozybooks #aliens #spaceships #booktok #bookstagram #booksky #ttrpgpodcast #gamemastersbookclub https://www.k-squareproductions.com/gmbc
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SHORTS 170: What Happens if you forget what the Outisde of Your Spaceship Looks LIke?
What Happens if you forget what the Outisde of Your Spaceship Looks LIke? - From Into Your Head #podcast - IntoYourHead.ie #Podcasts #comedy #humour #PodcastClips #podcasters #podcasting #IntoYourHeadshorts #humor #funny #spaceships #generationship #StarTrek #scifi #startrekhumor #spacetravel #humour #SpaceshipPerspective #InsideOut #CosmicView #StarTrekHumour #SpaceTravel…
