picture of cover

Iron Angels
by Geoff Landis

[Geoff Landis] "brings to bear his formidable scientific knowledge and poetic skills in his thoroughly entertaining and accessible debut poetry collection Iron Angels.  The book shines through with Landis's uncanny wit, acute intelligence, and passion for the stars.... Within its pages you will find lavishly penned works as well as eloquently minimalistic ones that employ a wide array of poetic forms.  All have the power to invoke a sense of awe and contemplation as they parade the mind's eye with fantastic visions of galactic majesty."
"Throughout this collection you will discover all variety of effectively emotive poems that are at times profound, insightful, melancholy, poignant, and on the whole deeply human.  Additionally, you'll find several works that refuse to take themselves at all seriously-- including a few of unabashed silliness, such as the charmingly whimsical rhyming verse 'If Angels Ate Apples,' and the lyrical spoof of a very familiar Janis Joplin ditty entitled 'SSTO.'"
"Yet there is more to Iron Angels than science fiction, astronomy, and cats.  All the poems here range the entire spectrum of human emotions and several are quite down-to-earth...  On the whole, Iron Angels is a fresh and fun collection of mind-expanding poems that are clear and comfortable to read-- a true dazzler that is well worth picking up."
From the review in Star*Line by Anthony Bernstein
Read the whole review

"Landis' background, intelligence and sense of humor are very evident in this collection. And while much of his poetry is profound, it always remains both accessible and engaging. These are poems for everyone, not just fans of science and science fiction.
"... All in all, an excellent collection and valuable addition to anyone’s bookshelf."
From the review in ClevelandPoetics by J.E. Stanley
Read the whole review
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Poetry by Geoff Landis

My collection Iron Angels just came out from VanZeno press in early 2009.  The book collects 53 of my poems, both science-fiction and mainstream, rhymed and unrhymed, sonnets through haiku.  Check out the Table of contents.


What people are saying:

"Some poems I read twice (and out loud!)"
--Jane Yolen
www.janeyolen.com

"As brilliantly as Sirius shines in the evening sky, Landis' poems are among the brightest stars of speculative poetry.  Each poem simply launches off its page into new realms of witty insight."
-Deborah P Kolodji
President, Science Fiction Poetry Association

"Rich in wit, imagination, craft and visions, the poems in Iron Angels are sure to resonate with both readers of poetry and those of science fiction. They certainly did for this reader. A remarkable collection with more than a few memorable entries."
--Bruce Boston,
Bram Stoker Award author of The Guardener's Tale.

"Geoff Landis is one of the smartest people I know, and one of the best writers.  I am thrilled that he finally is getting a collection of poetry published, that audiences can wonder along with me, Who the hell thinks like that?"
-Joshua Gage
author of breaths

click here to see a wraparound pdf of front and back covers

An excerpt from "Ten ways to tell if your cat is a Space Alien" is now appearing on 700 RTA busses and trains as part of the RTA "Minds in Motion" project.

Ten Ways to Tell If Your Cat is a Space Alien

1. The cat has unexplained powers of hypnosis. And occasionally teleports when nobody is watching.
2. When you come home, the stereo is tuned to the dead space between stations. Even though you're sure that it was tuned to Easy Listening when you last played it.
3. The cat sits on your lap, and there's a bright light, and the next thing you know it's three days later, and you can't account for the past 72 hours.
4. You get mysterious phone calls asking for names you never heard of. The voice sounds like Elvis.
5. Your cat is interested in your old college chemistry text, and absorbs its content by sitting on it. Every few minutes the cat carefully turns to a new page.
6. Things in your house mysteriously disappear. Aluminum foil. Coat hangers. Household bleach. The magnetron tube from your microwave oven.
7. The cat sometimes seems to be trying to speak English, particularly simple words: "wow," "me," "now," "yow," "out!" and "isotopically-purified plutonium-237 trioxide."
8. The cat has taken an exceptional interest in the satellite television dish. You think that this might be normal for cats, but your cat has rewired it, and aimed it at the Andromeda galaxy.
9. The neighbors complain about bright lights hovering over your house at night.
10. All cats are aliens. Why should yours be different?

Page by Geoffrey  A. Landis, 2009
"Ten Ways to Tell If Your Cat is a Space Alien" first appeared in
Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine
April 2001