I've been stuck in Latin American literature for the past couple years and have been neglecting my scifi duties.
Posts: 8504 | Registered: Aug 1999
| IP: Logged |
quote: The guy's [Arthur Clarke] so stuck on himself that he talks for hours. And watches videos of himself being interviewed. And documentaries done on him, and so on. And so on. And so on."
Funny but pathetic. I hope I never get such a monster ego.
Posts: 6316 | Registered: Jun 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
Well even if Arthur C Clark has developed an ego in his later years, he wrote some amazing books in his younger ones. And I'm rather suspicious that he'd have that much of an ego, there may be more to it...
Posts: 3295 | Registered: Jun 2004
| IP: Logged |
posted
Ok, this is weird. In all the years I've been reading science ficion, hundreds and hundreds of books by many, many authors, there has only been one novel I was unable to force myself to finish because I dislike the writing style and the material bored me. It was by Arthur C. Clarke. Guess which author I'M supposed to be?
Scary.
I'm sure there are all sorts of psychological implications here....I find my own writing boring, I dislike my own work....I rarely finish anything I begin to write....
Of couse, it could simply be a silly little quiz that I shouldn't take too seriously...Hmmm....
Posts: 676 | Registered: Sep 2002
| IP: Logged |
posted
Well, I've picked up a number of Greg Benford's books and never ever finished one. And thats who I originally got. So it might just have something to do with the quiz. We like authors styles that differ from our own cause well, we're used to our own Posts: 3295 | Registered: Jun 2004
| IP: Logged |
posted
I'm surprised at all the people you all haven't heard of.
Benford is . . . okay. I've read six or seven of his books, so he can't be too bad, but he can often be pretty boring.
Posts: 13680 | Registered: Mar 2002
| IP: Logged |
posted
I read one short story by Triptree . . . "The Women Men Don't see" or whatever. I found it to be too strident in its feminism.
Posts: 13680 | Registered: Mar 2002
| IP: Logged |
posted
Benford is interesting, but long-winded. The one book of his I recall (um, time-travel (no, not travel -- sending a message to a younger you?), irreversible damage to the biosphere, set in the 1970s . . . ) I didn't like the first time I read it, but it grew on me.
quote: The third story in this volume takes place 16,000 years in the future. When you realize that the 33 stories are ordered chronologically, you begin to grasp the scale of Cordwainer Smith's creation. Regimes, technologies, planets, moralities, religions, histories all rise and fall through his millennia.
These are futuristic tales told as myth, as legend, as a history of a distant and decayed past. Written in an unadorned voice reminiscent of James Tiptree Jr., Smith's visions are dark and pessimistic, clearly a contrast from the mood of SF in his time; in the 1940s, '50s, and '60s it was still thought that science would cure the ills of humanity. In Smith's tales, space travel takes a horrendous toll on those who pilot the ships through the void. After reaching perfection, the lack of strife stifles humanity to a point of decay and stagnation; the Instrumentality of Mankind arises in order to stir things up. Many stories describe moral dilemmas involving the humanity of the Underpeople, beings evolved from animals into humanlike forms.
This pessimistic Pole has spent a whole career telling ironic stories of futility and frustration. Yet he is also a master of wordplay so witty that it sparkles even when translated into English.
okaaaaaaaay
edit: is it true that all the "jen"s who have taken this test got Stanislav Lem? I did, and I noticed that jeni did too...
Ironic, I was watching October Sky, (Still am) and Homer grabs a copy of From the Earth to the Moon. I saw that like five minutes before I took the test... man, I have a short memory don't I? ^_^
Do you really call yourself science fiction fans? How can you possibly be familiar with this genre if you've never heard of Lem, Farmer, Tiptree, Cordwainer Smith, and Jules freakin' Verne?
posted
Who is Kurt Vonnegut? "For years, this unique creator of absurd and haunting tales denied that he had anything to do with science fiction." So my guy is in denial? Anyone ever heard of him?
Posts: 853 | Registered: Feb 2004
| IP: Logged |
Okay, I clearly slipped through a crack into some Bizarro universe where everyone else on Hatrack apparently grew up reading, um, Diane Duane or something.
Posts: 37449 | Registered: May 1999
| IP: Logged |
posted
People not having heard of these authors scares me, but the idea of Tom as Heinlein scares me more. I like Tom.
Posts: 9866 | Registered: Apr 2002
| IP: Logged |
posted
I took it again and changed some answers I wasn't so sure about and got Arthur C. Clarke. Mph, were you talking to me? Can you tell me some books by him? I want to read me Posts: 853 | Registered: Feb 2004
| IP: Logged |
LeGuin -- I've read her Isaac Asimov -- read Kurt Vonnegut -- read William Gibson -- read Frank Herbert -- read Philip José Farmer -- read Robert A. Heinlein -- read Arthur C. Clarke -- read Jules Verne -- read
Ayn Rand -- heard of but never read James Tiptree, Jr. (Alice B. Sheldon) -- heard of, but never read
Hal Clement (Harry C. Stubbs) -- never heard of Cordwainer Smith (Paul M.A. Linebarger) -- never heard of him Stanislav Lem -- never heard of Gregory Benford -- never heard of John Brunner -- never heard of E.E. "Doc" Smith -- never heard of him Olaf Stapledon -- never heard of him David Brin -- never heard of
posted
I'm currently on a Vonnegut reading spree (read some short stories years ago, have been meaning to get to him for a while) and loving it.
Posts: 8504 | Registered: Aug 1999
| IP: Logged |
posted
I'm pretty sure I've seen 'Cordwainer's on shelves because the name is so distinctive, but I've never read any of them.
Posts: 8473 | Registered: Apr 2003
| IP: Logged |
And I have heard of Lem, Farmer, Tiptree, and Verne. (I think I've even read all of them.) I also know of (but have not read) Vonnegut, Clarke, Gibson, Delany, Clement/Stubbs, and most of the others mentioned in this thread.
I read Heinlein, but I scrubbed my brain afterward.
Posts: 32919 | Registered: Mar 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
A whole bunch of his later stuff, when I was a teenager.
Then I used a phrase I had picked up from one of the books at the dinner table -- with my grandfather there, no less -- and quickly discovered that it was NOT appropriate to use that particular phrase as a general-use expression. Posts: 32919 | Registered: Mar 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
To answer Tom's question - I definitely do not call myself a science fiction fan. I'm a fan of good fiction from all genres.
Posts: 4292 | Registered: Jan 2001
| IP: Logged |
posted
I'm Greg Benford. I don't think Neal Stephenson is on there. Oh well.
I was introduced to Lem last semester with two short stories from a book called The Cyberiad. I want to hook him up to a machine so I can syphon off all his creativity for myself. He's one of the few authors that can make me laugh while reading.
Octavia Butler is awesome! Everything I've read by her has been very spartan and kinda depressing, but also very interesting.
Not a fan of Asimov, or Clarke. Some Heinlein stuff is okay, but I tend to be wary of his writing.
Most of the other writers on the list I've been meaning to read, of have never heard of.
Posts: 903 | Registered: May 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
Apparently, everyone knows Kurt Vonnegut and I've never even heard of him . Annie, mph, Paul, can any of you recommend a good book by him that I could try?
Posts: 853 | Registered: Feb 2004
| IP: Logged |
I'm a cross between Greg Benford and Ursula Le Guin. Sounds good to me!
Kama, you should read some Octavia Butler. Rivka got me onto her and her work is fantastic! Try the Xenogenesis Trilogy - the first book is called Dawn.
Posts: 466 | Registered: Sep 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
David Brin is oh so entertaining and interesting.
Ever heard of the Kevin Costner movie The Postman? He wrote that. The book is excellent.
Practice Effect. Uplift Saga (Series - I need to get the rest of them.) Earth Kiln People (Love it!!!!) Life Eaters Second Foundation Trilogy Otherness Glory Season River of Time
And a whole bunch more. And now I'm salivating. I need a serious David Brin fix, and I need it NOW! He's one of my all-time favorites.
Posts: 8355 | Registered: Apr 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
I just want to add to your reading some french autors : Jules Verne (of course), René Barjavel (creator of idea as temporal paradox, i strongly recommand him), Pierre Boule (who Wrote "La planète des singes" (Planet of the Apes)), Jean-Pierre Andrevon, Louis Boussenard, André Laurie, Gérard Klein.
At this list, I'd like to add Boris Vian who wrote interesting SF books as "Et on tuera tous les affreux" where he treat of gene science just after the WW2.
I forget many french SF writer, because during the 50's to the 80's, French are poor in SF production. the 90's saw a rebirth of this style. I hope to read more french autors in the futur.
Posts: 1189 | Registered: Dec 2004
| IP: Logged |
posted
LeGuin -- I've read all of her Ecumen books. I own her Earthsea ooks but haven't gotten around to reading them. Isaac Asimov -- I believe I have read ALL of his science fiction writings (I know, an audacious claim), I have read two or three compilations of mysteries by him, two different memoirs, and a joke book. Kurt Vonnegut -- I've read all of his books. I don't Cat's Cradle was his best. I would recommend Sirens of Titan, or, for more serious absurdism, Slaughterhouse Five. William Gibson -- Know him by reputation only. Frank Herbert -- Okay, here's the big admission: I have never read anyting by Frank Herbert. Philip José Farmer -- I think I have read one short story by him; he had one in Dangerous Visions right? Robert A. Heinlein -- Again, I believe I have read everything by Heinlein, including Anson McDonald. I have even read his recently released, previously unpublished first "novel." Arthur C. Clarke -- read Jules Verne -- read Ayn Rand -- I've read Anthem, Foundation and about half about Atlas Shrugged before the phase ended violently and I threw the book down in disgust. James Tiptree, Jr. (Alice B. Sheldon) -- read (and did not care for) one short story. Hal Clement (Harry C. Stubbs) -- I've read one or two short stories Cordwainer Smith (Paul M.A. Linebarger) -- short stories Stanislav Lem -- Cor read Solaris, but I haven't gotten around to it yet. Gregory Benford -- Read about six or seven novels. Timescape and his Galactic Center novels. The Galactic Center novels are uneven, but not as boring as Timescape is capable of being. John Brunner -- never heard of either E.E. "Doc" Smith -- sort stories Olaf Stapledon -- Name vaguely rings a bell. Did he have anything in Dangerous Visions? David Brin -- I've read the two Uplift series and everything else I ave gotten ahold of since then. If you have a hard time getting through Sundiver, keep slogging. It gets a lot better.
People who are notably absent so far: Card, Dan Simmons, Nancy Kress, Charles Sheffield, Phillip K. Dick
Who else really ought to be here?
Posts: 13680 | Registered: Mar 2002
| IP: Logged |
Printer-friendly view of this topic
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
![[Wink]](wink.gif)
![[Razz]](tongue.gif)
![[Dont Know]](graemlins/dontknow.gif)
) I didn't like the first time I read it, but it grew on me. ![[Confused]](confused.gif)
![[No No]](graemlins/nono.gif)
![[Embarrassed]](redface.gif)
![[Grumble]](graemlins/grumble.gif)
![[Frown]](frown.gif)
sorry... 
