Into the Ruins
Entry updated 25 February 2021. Tagged: Publication.
US low-paying magazine available in print form, as a downloadable PDF and, latterly, as an Ebook. It was produced by Joel Caris of Figuration Press, Portland, Oregon and ran for sixteen quarterly issues, from Spring 2016 to Summer 2020.
The magazine's theme was the deindustrialization of civilization, looking at how the future might cope with Climate Change, fossil-fuel depletion, Pollution, Economic collapse and social upheaval. It promoted the exploration of smaller, home-based industries, solar power, wind power (see Power Sources) and a return to nature. One might therefore call it an "anti-science fiction" magazine, but in general it looked to a more positive view of the future with people turning adversity and Disaster to new sciences and ingenuity. Caris was of the view that space exploration was a waste of time and money and that the investment should be in saving the Earth. John Martin Greer contributed a column, "Deindustrial Futures Past", which considered existing works of deindustrialized science-fiction, starting with a study of Edgar Pangborn. Many stories explore small communities that have arisen, such as in "The Doctor Who Went Over the Mountain" (Summer 2017) by Jeanne Labonte or the emergence of new societies; issue #7 (Fall 2017) explored growth and change in such societies in Alaska and the Antarctic. The role of Religion was also explored as in "The Church of Green Jesus" (Winter 2017) by Wilson Bertram. The contributors were little known outside the magazine but they helped develop strong and often devout views on the future of civilization and humanity. [MA]
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