Deck Review: Sci Fi Tarot

Todd Alcott, Sci-Fi Tarot. Brooklyn, NY: The Unemployed Philosophers Guild, 2022. (link to publisher).  

 

Genre: Tarot decks

Subgenre: horror, pulp

Format: kit with little white book and deck

Source: I own this one. 

 

The Lovers-VI 

Todd Alcott strikes gold again with his pulp style look at science fiction. If you like sci-fi, you'll probably enjoy this one. If you already have his previous two decks, the Pulp Tarot (link to my review) and the Horror Tarot (link to my review). you'll want this one for your collection as well. 

In the style of previous decks, the deck box is in the shape of a book, so it looks nice on the shelf. You open the box, and it shows the image of a library card inside a pocket.  Inside the box you get a 51-page booklet and the 78-card deck. 

The booklet includes: 

• Introduction by AncHistBot H-280/z. Alcott's concept this time is an AI program bot describing a preserved Tarot deck from a bygone human civilization. By the way, in his author's note, Alcott states that while he made the text sound like AI, "no AI was used in either the creation of these images or the writing of this booklet" (50). In the introduction, the AI bot describes what led to the Galactic Hivemind, and along the way describes what humanity was. We also get an overview of what Tarot was and how it was used. In reading this, it is an interesting way to see how humans connect to Tarot. 
• Major Arcana. Entries feature about a paragraph per card. Text maintains the "AI bot" voice in the insightful interpretations. Text is easy to read and accessible. It blends serious advice with a bit of cheeky humor. 
• Minor Arcana. Entries are arranged by suits: wands, cups, swords, and pentacles. Text here is as for the Major Arcana. 
• A note from the author. This is where the author explains the deck's concept a bit. He explains suits are arranged by colors: wands are spring green; cups are summer yellow; swords are autumnal red, and pentacles a wintry blue. Note these key colors are somehow integrated into the cards' art.

 

Can you use the deck without the book? Yes, probably. The cards are very well illustrated and feature some helpful text. However, you would miss some of the charm from the deck's concept as well as some of the card insights if you skip the book. So I strongly recommend you read the book to get the full experience. I can read the cards well enough, and I still found the book's interpretations interesting, useful, and with a bit of good humor. Don't be fooled though; this deck can deliver deep and serious readings too.  

The card art expresses that pulp fiction sci-fi style and feel very well.  We get a broad variety of genres like movie posters, comics, book covers, so on. If you grew up reading old pulp science fiction or watching it, you'll likely love this deck. The art is very colorful, bright, and expressive. Some cards have a bit of text, and other less so depending on the art style. The images are easy to read, so they can work for intuitive readers. Card art has Rider Waite Smith (RWS), but this is not an RWS clone. Still RWS readers should be able to work with deck just fine. It works well for me. I found it to be a clear, responsive, and reliable reader I can use for myself, and I think it can work well for others. 

Though I would not recommend it for beginners, it can work well for a beginner given its full illustrations and the text. It can be a good option for intermediate and advanced card readers. Also a good choice for pop culture collectors. 

Overall, I love this deck. It is one I would recommend to almost anyone, especially science fiction fans. I have a couple of space themed oracle decks, and I may try pairing them with this deck. This is one I would buy a back up copy, and I am glad to own it. 

5 out of 5 stars.   

 

Note: Photos are mine from my copy of the deck.