I am currently conducting a series of seven day polls on sakeriver forum ( Round One: Some Old Dudes ). Members are asked to do their civic duty and vote for your favorite Science Fiction author. The authors are presented in series of five each round. There will be ten normal rounds, followed by two semifinal rounds to produce the ballot-of-victorius-authorship. Any two authors to reach this point would be very lucky, or very good.
Suggestions for author inclusion may be personal-messaged via sakeriver Personal Message System (or PMS, wait, that's not right....).
As of this posting (on sakeriver):
Who is the greatest Science Fiction Writer?
Jules Verne 22% [ 2 ] H. G. Wells 66% [ 6 ] John W. Campbell 0% [ 0 ] Edgar Rice Burroughs 0% [ 0 ] H. P. Lovecraft 11% [ 1 ]
Total Votes : 9
H. G. Wells takes a commanding lead, stomping on the dreams of the father of Science Fiction. Lovecraft is facing the nameless dread. John W. Campbell, not remembered for The Thing perhaps? And surely someone else also loves Burroughs? (rabbits?)
There is still time. You can still go vote for your guy. In six days round two will begin.
And send in those suggestions. Lobbying by guests is allowed. Petition your fellow Jats who are also sakes to vote for your favorite. Guests may post in the topic as well. Surely you can argue a case, can't you?
[ January 18, 2004, 01:01 PM: Message edited by: eslaine ]
Posted by Book (Member # 5500) on :
Awww, I don't want to register for something else.... My vote is for Lovecraft, though. I'm a morbid freak, I admit.
[ December 11, 2003, 12:57 AM: Message edited by: Book ]
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
You don't have to register to post.
Not sure about voting, though. Posted by eslaine (Member # 5433) on :
You must be a member to vote at sakeriver.
You must also be a member to use the PMS.
(By the way, welcome to sakeriver, Book.)
Posted by saxon75 (Member # 4589) on :
I suggest SMS, for Sakeriver Messaging Service. The acronym is a little less ridiculous and it has a nice resonance with GMS.
Posted by Megan (Member # 5290) on :
What? No Isaac Asimov??
Posted by saxon75 (Member # 4589) on :
quote:There will be ten normal rounds, followed by two semifinal rounds to produce the ballot-of-victorius-authorship
Posted by katharina (Member # 827) on :
saxy, I lost my username and password to sakeriver again.
Posted by eslaine (Member # 5433) on :
Further rounds will include Asimov, and Clarke, and Bradbury, and, yes, Orson Scott Card.
The polls will only accept small numbers at a time, so they will be run in series of rounds, as described above.
Thanks for voting!
Posted by saxon75 (Member # 4589) on :
kat,
Check your email.
Posted by eslaine (Member # 5433) on :
Day Two Update:
Who is the greatest Science Fiction Writer?
Jules Verne 13% [ 2 ] H. G. Wells 66% [ 10 ] John W. Campbell 0% [ 0 ] Edgar Rice Burroughs 0% [ 0 ] H. P. Lovecraft 20% [ 3 ]
Total Votes : 15
Lovecraft gets a boost, but the Wells Machine is unstoppable! Verne needs to make more than an appearance. Will John Carter have a day? And what of Golden Age Editor John W. Campbell, who shouldn't have been in this round?
Due to weakness on the part of eslaine, the names were duplicated on an original post edit. Any votes on these duplicate names will be tallied with the original. (sorry)
Round Two will begin tonight. Hatrackers can suggest authors to be considered in this thread.
Thanks for voting! Your vote really makes a difference!
[ December 14, 2003, 12:54 AM: Message edited by: eslaine ]
Posted by eslaine (Member # 5433) on :
Arthur C. Clarke Robert A. Heinlein Isaac Asimov Frank Herbert Frederick Pohl
The poll has been set to run seven days.
Have we found your candidate yet?
We will. We will.
Posted by Book (Member # 5500) on :
What about Kurt Vonnegut? Oh, by the way, thanks for the welcome!
[ December 11, 2003, 10:09 PM: Message edited by: Book ]
Posted by eslaine (Member # 5433) on :
I figured that Celia60 would want Kurt Vonnegut strategically placed.
Thanks. And keep up the suggestions!
This round will be mayhem.
[ December 11, 2003, 10:25 PM: Message edited by: eslaine ]
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
Musn't forget Ray Bradbury!
Or Ben Bova. Or Octavia Butler.
Barbara Hambly. Larry Niven. Jerry Pournelle.
Posted by eslaine (Member # 5433) on :
Did you vote yet rivka?
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
First round? Yes.
Second round is going to be a problem. I'm not a big fan of any of them, although I like Asimov's non-fiction. So I need to cogitate some more before I vote.
[ December 11, 2003, 11:00 PM: Message edited by: rivka ]
Posted by eslaine (Member # 5433) on :
Like recent elections in California for you, eh?
quote: suggest SMS, for Sakeriver Messaging Service. The acronym is a little less ridiculous and it has a nice resonance with GMS.
I was thinking it should be sms, then. Or, perhaps sMS.
[ December 11, 2003, 11:06 PM: Message edited by: eslaine ]
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
No. Not like the recent elections at all.
Not one author on that list do I detest or wish ill.
Posted by eslaine (Member # 5433) on :
Oh. I meant the lesser of two evils, but yeah, I know what you mean!
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
Except I don't actually dislike any of the authors, either. I actually liked some of their stuff. So it was more like the best of five neutrals. Posted by eslaine (Member # 5433) on :
Round One Day Three
Jules Verne 13% [ 2 ] H. G. Wells 66% [ 10 ] John W. Campbell 0% [ 0 ] Edgar Rice Burroughs 0% [ 0 ] H. P. Lovecraft 20% [ 3 ]
Total Votes : 15
No new votes since yesterday. Looks like H.G. could carry it. There is still four days left in which to vote.
Round Two Day Two
Arthur C. Clarke 6% [ 1 ] Robert A. Heinlein 6% [ 1 ] Isaac Asimov 46% [ 7 ] Frank Herbert 26% [ 4 ] Frederick Pohl 13% [ 2 ]
Total Votes : 15
A real paint-tradin' round of high speed voting and vying for position.
Asimov took an early lead, garnering the first vote and the last (so far), and crushing his competition. Herbert is a very strong second, leaving Fred Pohl in the dust. Drafting Pohl is Bob Heinlein and A. Clarke. An important pit stop is coming up for the race. Everyone down on pit row expects them to break out the soft tires for the sprint to the finish.
Five days are left in which to voice your opinion.
[ December 14, 2003, 12:53 AM: Message edited by: eslaine ]
Posted by pooka (Member # 5003) on :
I don't guess James Cameron is going to be on any lists. Or the Wachowski brothers. I guess it takes a special talent to put modern ideas into a dead medium like print. Seriously, OSC is the only SF author I've ever read, so wake me when his heat comes up.
Posted by V Aaron (Member # 6012) on :
Pooka, if you like OSC, what makes you think you wouldn't like any other SF writers?
Eslaine, are you going in chronological order? You started out with a group of pre-Golden Age authors (BTW, it's John W. Campbell, not Joseph), then moved on to a group of Golden Agers. Will we see some more recent names later?
Posted by pooka (Member # 5003) on :
Its the addictive chemicals that make me crave it fortnightly.
Posted by Primal Curve (Member # 3587) on :
quote:dead medium like print
Wow, aren't we the barbarian?
Posted by eslaine (Member # 5433) on :
As mentioned above: This is a series of ten rounds. Each round has five authors. Using contemporaries, or near contemporaries, seems to pit the authors against their peers. I am going roughly chronologically.
But please submit more names. If you think that someone should be nominated for a ballot, then please post ideas.
Every round will be important. H.G. Wells has a 66% majority, compared to Isaac's 46%. All of the winners will be entered into the two semifinal rounds, leading to the two candidate ballot.
I should think it likely, considering the population of this forum, that Orson Scott Card has a home-field advantage, and may wind up on that final ballot. But the percentages have already surprised me.
I thought that Jules had an advantage, being the father of Science Fiction, but H. G. Wells showed up strong in the first round.
It's your duty. Go. Vote.
[ December 13, 2003, 12:27 AM: Message edited by: eslaine ]
Posted by kwsni (Member # 1831) on :
Pooka, you think print is dead, go to a bookstore sometime.
Ni!
Posted by V Aaron (Member # 6012) on :
I'm not accepting Jules Verne as the father of science fiction. That title goes to Wells or Campbell or Hugo Gernsback. In any event, Mary Shelley is the mother.
Posted by pooka (Member # 5003) on :
I guess it's a circular argument, but you'd think some people had never seen "Ghostbusters".
Posted by eslaine (Member # 5433) on :
Ursula K. Leguin Harlan Ellison Jerry Pournelle Spider Robinson Orson Scott Card
Tough choices....
[ December 14, 2003, 12:08 PM: Message edited by: eslaine ]
Posted by eslaine (Member # 5433) on :
Sopwith: as you can see, Ray Bradbury and RAH are on the menu. And Heinlein needs your help!
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
ACK! Why is it that each cluster either has no authors I much care for OR three or four that I think are wonderful? Posted by Annie (Member # 295) on :
quote:I guess it takes a special talent to put modern ideas into a dead medium like print.
quote:Who's Annie?
Pooka, you're killing me here.
And I'm really disappointed it wasn't on New Wave rock stars, but Oingo Boingo and I will recover.
Posted by eslaine (Member # 5433) on :
Round One Final Result
Due to confusion, we'll just keep the last result:
Jules Verne 16% [ 3 ] H. G. Wells 68% [ 11 ] John W. Campbell 0% [ 0 ] Edgar Rice Burroughs 0% [ 0 ] H. P. Lovecraft 16% [ 3 ]
Total Votes : 17
>>>>H. G. Wells: Winner of Round One.<<<<
Our first result, a little premature, but I don't think there was any doubt.
Philip K. Dick 38% [ 7 ] John Brunner 0% [ 0 ] Michael Moorcock 0% [ 0 ] Kurt Vonnegut 38% [ 7 ] George Orwell 22% [ 4 ]
Total Votes : 18
Now deadlocked (it must be the weather or something, see Round Six...) Dick and Vonnegut: perhaps the most meaningful contest of the lot so far. Dick and Vonnegut are often compared to each other.
Kim Stanley Robinson Charles Sheffield Roger Zelzany Greg Bear Gregory Benford
Go, Vote.
Also we need suggestions for wildcards for the last couple of rounds....
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
Is Piers Anthony on your list?
S.M. Stirling? Stephen Barnes? Lois Lowry? Michael Crichton? Douglas Adams? Roald Dahl? Robert Asprin? Terry Brooks? George R.R. Martin? Gordon R. Dickson? C.J. Cherryh? Poul Anderson? Roger Zelazny? Timothy Zahn? Lois McMaster Bujold? Joe Haldeman? Kim Stanley Robinson?
*goes back and bolds her preferences*
Posted by eslaine (Member # 5433) on :
*cough*
The others are excellent suggestions. Thanks.
[ December 16, 2003, 11:10 PM: Message edited by: eslaine ]
Posted by eslaine (Member # 5433) on :
Last day for round two: go vote.
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
Why the cough? Did I list someone already at the polls? Or do you dislike Anthony?
Posted by eslaine (Member # 5433) on :
(round seven)
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
Dang! Thought I had weeded out all the redundancies. Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
Well, I guess you can tell who I didn't vote for in round seven! Funny thing is that I almost did . . . but still managed to stick him on the list. Posted by eslaine (Member # 5433) on :
lol!
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
He must've stayed stuck in the buffer of my brain.
When we're done with authors, can we do illustrators? There aren't nearly as many well-known ones, but perhaps there are enough to make it interesting?
Posted by eslaine (Member # 5433) on :
Kelly Freas.
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
Michael Whelan, Don Maitz, Bob Eggleton, Boris Valejo, Rick Sternbach, Ed Emshwiller . . .
Kim Stanley Robinson 20% [ 2 ] Charles Sheffield 0% [ 0 ] Roger Zelzany 50% [ 5 ] Greg Bear 20% [ 2 ] Gregory Benford 10% [ 1 ]
Total Votes : 10
Well, Noemon voted for KSR too! (At least KSR is losing to Zelzany though. It was a tough choice for me as well this round, as it is with most of the rounds.)
C. J. Cherryh William Gibson Vernor Vinge Stanislaw Lem Poul Anderson
Enjoy.
Posted by saxon75 (Member # 4589) on :
You know, I enjoyed Piers Anthony and Terry Brooks immensely as a young'un, but I would have a really hard time calling either of them great writers. Same with Zahn.
All I can say is that if Gene Wolfe doesn't make it into the contest I'm going to have to withdraw my official endorsement.
Posted by eslaine (Member # 5433) on :
As it was said, so shall it be done...
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
Out of curiosity, saxon, have you read Anthony's Incarnations of Immortality books? Or his Phaze books?
I wasn't suggesting him because of Xanth! Posted by saxon75 (Member # 4589) on :
Let's see, what have I read of Anthony's?
Standalones:
Anthonology
Macroscope
Prostho Plus
Rings of Ice
Ghost
Bio of an Ogre
Total Recall
Hard Sell
MerCycle
Tatham Mound
Killobyte
If I Pay Thee Not In Gold (with Mercedes Lackey)
Series (and portions thereof):
The first 18 Xanth books
Battle Circle Series (all 3 books in one volume)
Of Man and Manta (just the third one, strangely enough)
Cluster Series (first 5 books)
Apprentice Adept Series (all 7 books)
Incarnations of Immortality Series (all 7 books)
Bio of a Space Tyrant (first 5 books)
Mode Series (first 2 books)
Geodyssey Series (first book)
Dragon's Gold Series (first 4 books)
So that makes... 65 books of his that I've read, most of which I enjoyed, and many of which I'd read again even now. But I still wouldn't call him a great writer.
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
I'm pretty sure that means you've more of his stuff than I have!
Are there more than 4 Dragon's Gold books? And didn't he co-author those? *checks* Yeah, with Margoff -- oh, and there are 5, yeah I read all of those.
I guess we'll just have to disagree about his merits as a writer. Posted by saxon75 (Member # 4589) on :
I had to go to hipiers.com to jog my memory a bit as to which I'd read (there were so many and it's been a while [and actually, many of them sounded familiar but I didn't know for sure whether I'd read them]). To my surprise, several of the series that I thought had been completed had an additional book tacked on afterwards (e.g. Bio of a Space Tyrant and Cluster). Weird.
Anyway, I think I may have read more Piers Anthony novels than any other single author. And I think that many of them are fun, or have an intriguing premise, or whatever. I just don't put him in the same category as authors like OSC, Asimov, Herbert, KSR, Vonnegut, Zelazny or Wolfe. He doesn't even make it into the group with Brin, Bova, or McCaffrey. Don't get me wrong, his books have a special place in my heart and always will, but I don't think that he's got as much skill with writing technique or has been as influential in the field as these other writers.
As you said, I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree.
Posted by eslaine (Member # 5433) on :
Octavia Butler 16% [ 2 ] Douglas Adams 75% [ 9 ] L. Sprague de Camp 0% [ 0 ] Harry Turtledove 0% [ 0 ] Gordon R. Dickson 8% [ 1 ]
Total Votes : 12
Adams is the final ingredient.
Semifinals: January 5th, 2004! I will have spotty connection with the internet, a monitor is down! Back up by next Monday!
Posted by eslaine (Member # 5433) on :
Orson Scott Card 41% [ 5 ] William Gibson 0% [ 0 ] Philip K. Dick 8% [ 1 ] Douglas Adams 0% [ 0 ] Isaac Asimov 50% [ 6 ]
Total Votes : 12
Yeah, I was the oddball PKD vote. What can I say? I've got to vote my conscious, not to say that Asimov isn't impressive as well.
As I predicted, any author to have made it this far has got to be pretty good! Someone else out there is having a hard time deciding, though. The other poll has a turnout of 13 votes....
Enjoy!
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
We're not supposed to vote in our sleep? Drat!
Posted by eslaine (Member # 5433) on :
That became a requirement during the last California election, didn't it?
Apparently. Who in their right mind would vote for the Terminator?
I wanted to see Gary Coleman up there, for entertainment purposes!
Posted by eslaine (Member # 5433) on :
The majority of the votes are in, but one of the rounds had a turnout of nineteen votes.
Surely the others must have an opinion on this. Or perhaps they're just waiting for Bradbury to get into trouble....
Posted by eslaine (Member # 5433) on :
[ January 16, 2004, 11:45 PM: Message edited by: eslaine ]
Posted by eslaine (Member # 5433) on :
If anyone has been waiting for the last minute to vote:
This is the last minute.
The poll is even for both. Do we truely have two equal adversaries here?
Posted by eslaine (Member # 5433) on :
TomDavidson posted that he would like to vote for Bradbury.
Although Tom isn't a resident of sakeriver, I'm inclined to allow this.
Making the score:
Isaac Asimov 50% [9] Ray Bradbury 50% [9]
So the score stands at that for now.
Any further votes from non-citizens of sakeriver may be submitted here until Hatrack's Clock shows midnight tonight.
Any posts or posts edited after that time will not be considered.
So vote. Right Here. Right Now.
Posted by lcarus (Member # 4395) on :
I would have voted for Sheffield in his heat. I'm surprised Nancy Kress was never mentioned. I would have voted for OSC in any heat in which he appeared.
I would definitely vote for Asimov now.
Posted by Sopwith (Member # 4640) on :
And I'd have to go with Bradbury. What a beautiful voice he has as a writer. Asimov is a great and his ideas form a cornerstone, but Bradbury's touch is too masterful.
Bradbury all the way.
And someday soon, like he said, we'll come to realize that We are the new Martians.
[ January 19, 2004, 07:28 AM: Message edited by: Sopwith ]
Posted by eslaine (Member # 5433) on :
Icarus put it over the top.
Isaac Asimov is the Greatest SF Author.
With 10 votes.
Ray Bradbury--9 votes.
Turnout: 19 votes.
At least according to our poll!
I'm happy. Both were great authors, I love thier works.
Thanks all for participating! Posted by Destineer (Member # 821) on :
Man, this is illegit. I didn't see Dan Simmons anywhere on the ballot.
Posted by lcarus (Member # 4395) on :
I could have sworn I saw him there. If not, I agree, that, like Kress, was an oversight. (One that either of us could probably have corrected by speaking up earlier, though. )
Posted by Erik Slaine (Member # 5583) on :
![[Dont Know]](graemlins/dontknow.gif)
![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
![[No No]](graemlins/nono.gif)
Did you vote yet rivka?
![[Razz]](tongue.gif)
![[Wall Bash]](graemlins/wallbash.gif)
![[Wave]](graemlins/wave.gif)
(That's me voting for Spider!) OSC is indisputably in control of this round.![[Confused]](confused.gif)
Why the cough? Did I list someone already at the polls? Or do you dislike Anthony?
![[Blushing]](graemlins/blushing.gif)
![[Wink]](wink.gif)
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
![[Evil]](graemlins/evil.gif)