Praise, complaints and tales of derring-didn’t fill the Scroll today.
(1) George Barr, Fan Guest of Honor at MidAmeriCon, the 1976 Worldcon, unexpectedly popped up in a soft-sell blog entry for PR firm Signal Hill, “Science Fiction Illustrator Finds Home” —
Hugo award winner George Barr found his home, freedom and #passion in #sciencefiction. http://t.co/1AsXTJqs86 pic.twitter.com/1iyzLucNO2
— Signal Hill (@signalhillspot) July 17, 2015
Barr’s art, often marked by a distinctive watercolor-over-ballpoint pen technique, illustrated science fiction magazines for decades, including the covers of “Amazing Stories,” “Fantastic Stories” and “If.” Barr also brought books to life through his work with publishers like DAW Books and Ace Books.
Prior to compiling this impressive resume, Barr did a great deal of free work for “fanzines,” non-professional publications popular in the science fiction world. Not only did it help build his portfolio, but it was a way to get his illustrations out, he says. The work even earned him a Hugo Award for best fan artist at the World Science Fiction Convention in 1968.
Barr earned these achievements with only one formal art course under his belt. Though he says he learned a lot about color, harmony and composition, the emphasis on commercial art did not play toward his interests. The freedom of the fantasy genre spoke to him most, he says.
“There was absolutely nothing you could imagine that could not occur,” says Barr of the genre. “You can conceivably be drawing anything that ever existed or might.”
Barr is 78 and has good things to say about the retirement community where he lives.
(2) Was the late Christopher Lee’s illustrious war record a complete fabrication? The Daily Mail writer who penned Lee’s obituary is now deconstructing his claims.
Until the end of the war, the man who would be Dracula served with the air force as an intelligence officer, briefing and debriefing pilots, and liaising with other units.
It was during this time that he claimed to have served in some way with the Long Range Desert Group and the SAS.
As Gavin Mortimer has shown, there is simply no evidence to support this. Lee may have worked alongside these units in some way, but he was emphatically not a part of them.
‘Lee didn’t exactly lie,’ says Mortimer. ‘But he did lead us on, encouraging us to believe [his job] had involved more derring-do than it actually did.’
In an interview he gave to Belgian television to promote Lord Of The Rings, Lee claimed also to have served with a small special forces organisation called No 1 Demolition Squadron, better known as Popski’s Private Army (PPA) after its charismatic leader Major Vladimir Peniakoff.
Like the Long Range Desert Group and the SAS, the PPA was a raiding and reconnaissance unit, and its exploits are venerated by many.
Again, there is no hard evidence to support Lee’s claim that he worked with the PPA.
(3) It’s not so much the complaints about Comic-Con that drew me to Heidi MacDonald’s roundup of what the convention’s critics had to say, but what she revealed in passing about the support other cons give to fans with disabilities, which far exceeds anything I see at the cons I attend:
There were many complaints about Hall H this year as always. Was it different? Not sure. I do know at least one person told me he got in and found many empty seats inside while a huge line was still waiting to get in, but that could be due to safety measures for crowd control. I would like to draw your attention to this post by Nick Eskey on the Talk Back panel and the subsequent comment threads as it deals with disabled attendees and the line wait. While to some hearing a fellow complain about not having a place to plug in his CPAP machine while waiting for Hall H may seem the height of folly, but you know, physically challenged fans have the same right to experience whatever it is they want out of Hall H as anyone else.
This is that guy that only slept 16 hours and needed his CPAP machine. You apparently only caught part of what I was saying, which is, that if they had not removed the outlets I could have used my CPAP machine and slept outside just fine. Besides that, however, you missed the point completely which is not everyone with disabilities can sleep outside. Because of that they should be given special consideration for their placement in line. What other convention gives ADA this sort of consideration? Try Emerald City Comic Con and PAX Prime, both in Seattle and both allow ADA to ALWAYS be first in line. Try DragonCon in Atlanta, where ADA have volunteers that will guide them through the convention, hold their spot in line and generally assist them in whatever way needed. I was on the BoD for OkCon and we bent over backwards to assist our ADA. Maybe because we had people on the board with disabilities.
And there’s even more in the Nick Eskey post she links to.
(4) On the other hand, fans are responding skeptically to a blogger’s complaint to SDCC management that the nine-year-old Who fan in his party was traumatized by the horror-oriented displays near the items they went to see. I wouldn’t be so quick to dismiss the complaint myself. As the parent of a 13-year-old, I have discovered my former ideas of what’s okay for kids were pretty out-of-touch.
I attended SDCC this year as part of a larger group. One of our party, a nine-year-old, is a HUGE Whovian (we are a large Whovian family), so the first day at the convention we immediately made our way to the BBC America booth for Doctor Who merchandise, photo ops, and chatting with the BBC America representatives onsite about Doctor Who and upcoming events. We found that the booth was sandwiched between a booth for AMC’s The Walking Dead and Starz’s upcoming series Ash vs Evil Dead. Though problematic on its own, we were extra upset to find that both horror booths had their walls covered in TVs playing, on loop, terrifying clips of zombie horror (The Walking Dead) and absurdly gory violence (Ash vs Evil Dead), of which the latter’s level of violence I, even as a 24 year old man, actively avoid because it’s an anxiety trigger to me.
That night our 9 year-old woke up screaming with nightmares about zombies attacking her, and the next day she burst into tears when we tried to enter the con floor (despite the fact that we were far from the horror booths). For the rest of the con, while we were able to get her onto the con floor without a meltdown, we had to make a wide berth around the BBC America booth because of its proximity to the Walking Dead and Ash vs Evil Dead booths, which was secondarily upsetting for her because she was previously extremely excited to be near the Doctor Who things (especially the TARDIS set up at the Hollywood Sci-Fi Museum booth, also placed next to the Ash vs Evil Dead booth – she wanted to take her photo with the TARDIS so badly).
…Thank you so much for all that you do to organize and present this convention every year. Beyond this, we had very little issues with the rest of the con and overall had a great time. It’s simply unfortunate that the experience was marred by the emotional trauma inadvertently caused to our child stemming from the placement of BBC America’s booth between two of the biggest horror booths at the convention.
(5) John King Tarpinian says Mystery & Imagination Bookshop in Glendale is getting a lot of people wanting to buy reading copies of To Kill a Mockingbird, which led to a surprising discovery. “They are running out of paperback reading copies. A good customer says she wants a copy, the bookshop has one paperback left but Malcolm remembers that Christine paid $2 for a 40th anniversary hardback the other day and figures he’d be nice by offering it to the customer for $5 when she comes in. Malcolm, as is his habit, opens the book to discover it is SIGNED by Harper Lee. This is how a $2 book becomes a $1000 book.”
(6) While analyzing how the Hugos fit into contemporary fandom, Karl-Johan Norén points out that everyone thinks he/she is at the center of fandom.
(Ur-)Fandom came to Sweden in the 1950s. In the early 70s Tolkien societies evolved here from it, in many ways similar to SCA in the United States. The ties between the Tolkien societies and fandom in Sweden are still strong, and we can mingle relatively easily. However, media fandom, cosplay, LARP, and lots of other stuff were direct imports from the United States. Here the cultural differences are much larger and more profound. Partly this is because of the direct import, partly this is because Swedish fandom after the disastrous feuds of the 80s closed in on itself and very much focused on the core of discussing science fiction as books.
Put another way, the splinter lines within all the various off-shoots, special fandoms, and so are much easier to see here in Sweden. But the same tendencies are very much present in the United States, I imagine.
Another thing which has happened, from the 90s forward, is that the Internet has made it much easier to set up special interest groups that can gain critical size and connectivity. Baen’s Bar is one early such example, but there are many more nowadays.
So which of these disparate groups do the label “fandom” belong to nowadays? All of them. However, there is a tendency to use the word “fandom” as a shorthand for “the specific fannish group that I happen to be a member of”. I believe this is especially true within “core” fandom, the one that evolved around the pulp magazines in the 20s and 30s, with a primary interest in written science fiction. Historically, I think that movement can claim having first dibs on the label, but it helps to remember that fandom nowadays is much bigger and diverse than “core” fandom is.
(7) And as a kind of postscript, here are John Scalzi’s, Cheryl Morgan’s and Fred Kiesche’s tweets inspired by the report Michael Z. Williamson is voting No Award in every Hugo category.
Apparently the hip new thing for the Puppies re: the Hugos is to vote your work below "No Award" before everyone else does.
— John Scalzi (@scalzi) July 17, 2015
https://twitter.com/FredKiesche/status/622024711023788033
Discover more from File 770
Subscribe to get the latest posts to your email.
rrede: When Butler lived in Pasadena she kindly accepted my invitation to speak to LASFS on two different occasions as part of our Science Fiction Showcase fundraiser.
rrede, thanks for the summary of Kindred. Sounds like I’d better put it on my To-Be-Read Pile, which is towering to the stratosphere and threatening to topple and bury me alive….
1. I’ve been meaning for years to get around to reading Octavia Butler.
The Wells is something I’ve been meaning to read because it’s a “classic” of
the field, and I feel like I “ought” to. Having read neither, I vote for
the Butler, because my reasons for intending to read it are sounder.
2. Asimov. I enjoyed the Foundation series. I read the Huxley for high
school English class, because I had to. That may have contributed to my
dislike for it.
3. no vote: I’ve never read the Ballard, and I don’t remember the Cherryh,
having read it more than 30 years ago.
4. The Stars My Destination
5. Dune: I read it in a day (took the book and lunch into the woods with
me, and didn’t come out until I finished it).
6. Tiptree. Just because. And partly for the same reason as 2. Not only
can’t I bring myself to truly like something I was required to read, but also
both the Huxley and the Orwell felt too “message-y” to me, while the messages
in the Asimov and the Tiptree didn’t get in the way of the story.
7. Stranger in a Strange Land. The Burgess is too mainstream-literary for my
taste.
8. Too difficult to choose. “to wound the autumnal city.”
9. No vote. Both are on my “I should read this some day” list. I’m hoping
that they eventually show up on John Hertz’s “classics of SF” discussions.
10. The Left Hand of Darkness, even though I’ve never read the Lem.
11. Frankenstein. Everything I’ve read by Adams has always felt too self-
consciously clever, and trying so hard to be funny that it doesn’t succeed.
12. no vote. Neither of these has ever gotten close to my “I should read
this” list.
13. Surprisingly, Fahrenheit 451, although I generally don’t like Bradbury.
14. I’ve never read any Banks, and I really should reread L’Engle: it’s been
far too long.
15. Both. That’s like asking which of your children you love more.
16. Ender’s Game as the more enjoyable book, even though I would vote for
Russ over Card in a heartbeat if deciding who gets the last seat in the
lifeboat.
Your list is invalid without Bujold. 😛
More when I have a real keyboard.
My choices. You are an incredibly cruel human being for pairing # 15!
1)-War of the Worlds, which is a seminal work and deserves to move forward.
2)-Foundation and Empire, because it’s Asimov.
3)-The Drowned World, because I may well be the only one here voting for it and it’s too good to be skunked.
4)-The Stars My Destination, because I like it slightly better. Second hardest choice.
5)-The Beast That Shouted Love At the Heart of the World, because Ellison is the writer who got me hooked on SF.
6)-Her Smoke Rose Up Forever, because it’s Tiptree.
7)-Stranger In a Strange Land, while not the best Heinlein (I’d have picked Double Star or Starship Troopers) is the better of the two novels paired.
8)-Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang, because I’d rather read Wisdom From My Internets every day for a year than have to read a page of Dhalgren again and I’d blind myself first before I’d do either one.
9)-20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, because I suspect most people will pick the Clarke.
10)-The Left Hand of Darkness, because it’s much better than Solaris.
11)-Frankenstein, because it’s the mother of them all.
12)-Ubik, while not even close to top-flight Dick, is better than The Handmaid’s Tale.
13)-More Than Human, because Sturgeon was a genius at the top of his form with More Than Human. The October Country is Bradbury’s strongest book. I liked it better than the novel.
14)-A Wrinkle In Time, the third hardest choice, but the L’Engle has stood the test of time already.
15)-LORD OF LIGHT, in the toughest match. Canticle would have won most of the other pairings easily (Dhalgren would have spontaneously combusted up against Canticle) but Lord is, hands down, probably the best work listed here, in my view, and it may not even survive the first round. (Did I mention you’re a cruel person)?
16)-Ender’s Game, which impressed me more that The Female Man.
!. Butler, because SJW.
2. Huxley, because no middle books of a trilogy.
3. Ballard, because he should win something.
4. Bester, because it’s one of my favorites of all time.
5. Ellison, because while I’ve cooled to him, I jounced away from Dune when I tried to read it. This is the weakest winner so far.
6. Tiptree, because Tiptree.
7. Heinlein, for old time’s sake.
8. Delany, because Dhalgren may be my favorite book. Probably isn’t, but it’s in the conversation.
9. Clarke, and it’s not even a contest.
10. LeGuin, for America!
11. Shelley because Adams wasn’t nearly as clever as he thought he was.
12. Dick, though it should be The Man in the High Castle here.
13. Bradbury, at the buzzer.
14. Banks. I’m not voting for kids’ books in this tournament.
15. Zelazny, because Lord of Light may be – you know.
16. Russ, because I’m damned if I’ll vote for Timothy Zahn fan-fiction.
1. Wells
Which is utterly unfair to Kindred seeing as I’ve never read it. Still listening to the Orson Welles broadcast is a Halloween tradition and I have to go with it.
2. Huxley
Hard, hard call and I’m more inclined to Asimov but Foundation and Empire isn’t the right one.
3. Cherryh
More unfairness. Never read Ballard at all. Cherryh is way up there in my pantheon though. I still recall those slim DAW paperbacks from the 70’s fondly and she’s done so much since.
4. Gibson
I’ve tried Bester multiple times. Never gotten hooked. Gibson on the other hand defined a sub-genre.
5. Herbert
Never met an Ellison book I liked. Dune had such beautiful world building though.
6. Orwell
Never read the Tiptree unfortunately but 1984 is a seminal work going well beyond the borders off SF. An aside but I never realized how much Jack London influenced 1984 though until I visited the London museum.
7. Heinlein
Ask me tomorrow and I might vote differently. I love the word play of Orange but for tonight Stranger edges it out.
8. Abstain
Never read either.
9. Verne
Leagues was one of my first SF loves. Clarke I liked but love?
10. Lem
Another really hard call. I’ve got an attachment to Solaris for personal reasons though.
11. Shelley
Frankenstein is just too much an ur-SF book to ignore.
12. Abstain
Never read either book. I absolutely love PKD though.
13. Abstain
Gotta blush but I’ve never read 451. I love Sturgeon but think he most shone in his short stories.
14. Abstain
I can feel the tomatoes headed my way but Banks just can’t pull me in. My girlfriend is an absolute fangirl and keeps handing me books to try but they never click. L’Engle for her part just bored me as a kid.
15. Zelazny
Hands down. Period.
16. Abstain
Never read The Female Man. Don’t love Enders Game enough to vote against a book I haven’t seen.
1. ENEMIES FROM UP THERE, ENEMIES FROM DOWN HERE
Octavia Butler: Kindred
Butler is a genius that we lost too young.
2. ONE WAY OR ANOTHER, WE CONTROL YOUR WORLD
Isaac Asimov: Foundation and Empire
3. AS ABOVE, DROWNBELOW
J. G. Ballard: The Drowned World
I’ve bounced off of almost every Cherryh I’ve ever tried to read.
4. THE FIRST CYBERPUNK NOVEL VS. THE FIRST CYBERPUNK NOVEL
William Gibson: Neuromancer
Alfred Bester: The Stars My Destination
This one is just too tough. I abstain.
5. I AM TOTALLY NOT LOST IN THE COMPLEXITIES OF THIS NARRATIVE
Harlan Ellison: The Beast That Shouted Love at the Heart of the World (the collection)
Dune is a great book, but it loses points for spawning infinite sequels.
6. HATE IS THE PLAN THE PLAN IS DEATH
James Tiptree Jr.: Her Smoke Rose Up Forever
The story or the collection? It probably wins either way.
7. DO YOU GROK ME, MY DROOG?
Robert Heinlein: Stranger in a Strange Land
Psychic powers and social satire that went over my head when I was 8 beats out drug-fueled violence.
8. STRANGE PEOPLE, STRANGE DAYS
Samuel Delany: Dhalgren
Dhalgren is a monument.
9. NEAR THE BEGINNING AND NEAR THE END
Arthur C. Clarke: Childhood’s End
10. IS UNDERSTANDING POSSIBLE Y/N?
Ursula K. LeGuin: The Left Hand of Darkness
11. THE MOVIES REALLY DIDN’T DO EITHER OF THEM JUSTICE, HONESTLY
Douglas Adams: The Restaurant at the End of the Universe
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and The Restaurant at the End of the Universe are really one book in two parts. I actually haven’t read Frankenstein, but Adams made such an impression on me when I was in high school that I have to give it the nod.
12. TRAPPED IN A WORLD THEY NEVER MADE
Margaret Atwood: The Handmaid’s Tale
I’ve really never actually grokked all the love for Dick.
13. LEARNING MORALITY — THE HARD WAY
Theodore Sturgeon: More Than Human
Another really tough one. Sturgeon by a nose.
14. FAR TRAVELLERS
Iain M. Banks: Use of Weapons
The twist in this one rocked my world.
15. UM, ALL THIS HAS HAPPENED BEFORE, HASN’T IT?
Roger Zelazny: Lord of Light
16. THESE TWO ARE PROBABLY NOT GOING TO GET ALONG
Joanna Russ: The Female Man
Card is not getting my vote.
There are only two pairings where I’ve read all of both (and it’s my own fault as I have been meaning to read the Bester for ages).
11 – The Restaurant at the End of the Universe
I read them both at about the same stage of life, and certainly I enjoyed the Douglas Adams book more. And I am not the first to note that so many humorous science fiction books to follow are shaped by Adams’ work. (I would have chosen So Long, and Thanks For All The Fish as my exemplar, but Restaurant was the first one that I read)
15 – As you allow ties, I will wuss out and take that option. I’ve read Lord of Light more often, but I find myself referencing Canticle for Leibowitz more frequently.
1. Octavia Butler, Kindred. As an examination of race, gender, and power, the importance of this novel can’t be overstated… And it grabs your heart and doesn’t let go. Probably the easiest decision of this set, for me.
2. Huxley, Brave New World. Though it has been a long time since I read either.
5. Frank Herbert, Dune. Sheer scope of world building, planetary ecology as character…
6. James Tiptree, Jr., Her Smoke Rose Up Forever.
7. Heinlein, Stranger In a Strange Land.
9. Clarke. Childhood’s End
11. Shelley, Frankenstein
12. I haven’t read the selected PKD, but I will vote for The Handmaid’s Tale. Atwood is a better writer.
13. Tie. I think these both deserve to advance.
14. Haven’t read any Banks, but L’Engle was a formative influence on my tastes and probably my morality. But I hate voting against Banks completely blindly… Half a vote for A Wrinkle I’m Time?
16. A vote against Ender’s Game. Not for OSC’s politics, but because I don’t think the central conceit of the innocent killer holds up well to a critical reading. It speaks to the trapped and bullied child inside most SFF fans, but not, I think, in a good way.
It may be that I am slipping smoke grenades and small arms to Daniel Keyes, Sheri S. Tepper, Kurt Vonnegut, John Varley, and Gene Wolfe, in case they wanted to rush the tournament later. And perhaps for Nicola Griffith, too.
Kyra, this is amazing! Thanks for putting it together. Here are my votes:
1. ENEMIES FROM UP THERE, ENEMIES FROM DOWN HERE
H. G. Wells: War of the Worlds. Nothing against the Butler, but WotW is a seminal work in SF.
2. ONE WAY OR ANOTHER, WE CONTROL YOUR WORLD
Isaac Asimov: Foundation and Empire
Aldous Huxley: Brave New World
This is tough: BNW is better written, but F&E bigger in scope and more interesting. So I’ll go with F&E.
3. AS ABOVE, DROWNBELOW
J. G. Ballard: The Drowned World
C. J. Cherryh: Downbelow Station
Abstain; haven’t read either one.
4. THE FIRST CYBERPUNK NOVEL VS. THE FIRST CYBERPUNK NOVEL
William Gibson: Neuromancer
Alfred Bester: The Stars My Destination
Oh, quibbles! You should have had Mike Ford’s Web of Angels instead of Neuromancer as the other proto-cyberpunk book. I’d’ve voted for that… as it is, a very tough choice (The Demolished Man is my favorite Bester, don’t like SMD nearlya s much)…. Going with Neuromancer.
5. I AM TOTALLY NOT LOST IN THE COMPLEXITIES OF THIS NARRATIVE
Harlan Ellison: The Beast That Shouted Love at the Heart of the World (the collection)
Frank Herbert: Dune
Another touch choice: both writers were major revelations when I was young. I think I’ll go with Beast, simply because Ellison at top form was like no one else in the world. Also, he’s funny, whereas it seems neither Herbert nor any of his characters has a sense of humor.
6. HATE IS THE PLAN THE PLAN IS DEATH
George Orwell: 1984
James Tiptree Jr.: Her Smoke Rose Up Forever
Tiptree.
7. DO YOU GROK ME, MY DROOG?
Robert Heinlein: Stranger in a Strange Land
Anthony Burgess: A Clockwork Orange
SIASL, because I read it every year from age 14 through the end of college, and because CW is so bleak and vicious.
8. STRANGE PEOPLE, STRANGE DAYS
Kate Wilhelm: Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang
Samuel Delany: Dhalgren
Abstain; never read either.
9. NEAR THE BEGINNING AND NEAR THE END
Jules Verne: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
Arthur C. Clarke: Childhood’s End
Um…. Tie? Both are too important in genre and in literary history to pick one over the other.
10. IS UNDERSTANDING POSSIBLE Y/N?
Ursula K. LeGuin: The Left Hand of Darkness
Stanislaw Lem: Solaris
LHoD, because I read that one.
11. THE MOVIES REALLY DIDN’T DO EITHER OF THEM JUSTICE, HONESTLY
Douglas Adams: The Restaurant at the End of the Universe
Mary Shelley: Frankenstein
Frankenstein, for its significance, and how well it has lent itself to being remade and re-interpreted, every way from Serious Reverent Drama (the recent London Theatre dramatization) to outlandish comedy (Young Frankenstein).
12. TRAPPED IN A WORLD THEY NEVER MADE
Margaret Atwood: The Handmaid’s Tale
Phillip K. Dick: Ubik
I’ve only read Handmaid, so I’ll vote for that one.
13. LEARNING MORALITY — THE HARD WAY
Ray Bradbury: Fahrenheit 451
Theodore Sturgeon: More Than Human
More Than Human. Another time my teenage mind was blown: the concepts, the non-linear storyline, the differing POVs… Wow.
14. FAR TRAVELLERS
Iain M. Banks: Use of Weapons
Madeleine L’Engle: A Wrinkle in Time
Abstain as haven’t read either.
15. UM, ALL THIS HAS HAPPENED BEFORE, HASN’T IT?
Walter M. Miller Jr.: A Canticle for Leibowitz
Roger Zelazny: Lord of Light
Oh, another rough one. Canticle is luminous, but Lord of Light a crackling good read. I loved that something other than Judeo-Christianity was the basis of the world-building – equal time for non-theisms, dammit! – and do my best to overlook the homophobia.
16. THESE TWO ARE PROBABLY NOT GOING TO GET ALONG
Joanna Russ: The Female Man
Orson Scott Card: Ender’s Game
The Female Man. No contest.
There are no brackets in which I’ve read both novels, and precious few brackets containing two novels I want to read. Ah well.
Here’s three authors that I think Kyra missed that really ought to have been in the running, and I disagree with the book choice for the Varley. Not to knock your efforts in the slightest, and I apologize if I just overlooked your mentions… I don’t know if anyone else might want to add a few brackets in, destroying the elegant reduction process… But for your consideration:
Haldeman: The Forever War
Vinge: A Fire Upon the Deep
Robinson: Red Mars
Varley: Blue Champagne
Kyra’s list is wonderful. But too short !
I think we will need another round of 32 in the future
For cyberpunk
I echo the suggestion of Mike Ford’s Web of Angels, I also think of Walter Jon Williams Hardwired and his sequel. Melissa Scott’s Trouble and Her Friends
I think we should have a mini Mil SF bracket as well. That would be fun. The Forever War, Enders Game, Starship Troopers, Armor, Last Dorsai, Basilisk Station, and bunches of others I can’t think of right now.
@Kate: (brackets)
5. Ellison. Never could get into Dune.
7. Heinlein. ACO was good, but got bogged down by the slang. Stranger‘s not my favorite – that’s probably Double Star or The Door into Summer – but any of the three beats ACO.
9. Clarke. I mean, aliens that look like literal devils and know it?
11. Shelley. Not really a fair bout, though, putting philosophy against humor like that…
13. Bradbury. Hate to knock Sturgeon out like that, but damn could Bradbury sling the prose…
15. Miller. Sorry, Rog, but “Canticle” is a classic for a reason…
1. ENEMIES FROM UP THERE, ENEMIES FROM DOWN HERE
H. G. Wells: War of the Worlds
Octavia Butler: Kindred
Bulter wins as a sociological critique, as a writer, as an unique and visionary voice.
2. ONE WAY OR ANOTHER, WE CONTROL YOUR WORLD
Isaac Asimov: Foundation and Empire
Aldous Huxley: Brave New World
Asimov wins. Psychohistory and the Mule.
3. AS ABOVE, DROWNBELOW
J. G. Ballard: The Drowned World
C. J. Cherryh: Downbelow Station
Cherryh. Always Cherryh. No Chanur Saga ?
4. THE FIRST CYBERPUNK NOVEL VS. THE FIRST CYBERPUNK NOVEL
William Gibson: Neuromancer
Alfred Bester: The Stars My Destination
Bester because I would pick someone else for modern cyberpunk.
5. I AM TOTALLY NOT LOST IN THE COMPLEXITIES OF THIS NARRATIVE
Harlan Ellison: The Beast That Shouted Love at the Heart of the World (the collection)
Frank Herbert: Dune
Dune wins because Fear is the Mindkiller.
6. HATE IS THE PLAN THE PLAN IS DEATH
George Orwell: 1984
James Tiptree Jr.: Her Smoke Rose Up Forever
Tiptree.
7. DO YOU GROK ME, MY DROOG?
Robert Heinlein: Stranger in a Strange Land
Anthony Burgess: A Clockwork Orange
I have not read either.
8. STRANGE PEOPLE, STRANGE DAYS
Kate Wilhelm: Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang
Samuel Delany: Dhalgren
Again my TBR pile gets bigger.
9. NEAR THE BEGINNING AND NEAR THE END
Jules Verne: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
Arthur C. Clarke: Childhood’s End
Verne. Captain Nemo !
10. IS UNDERSTANDING POSSIBLE Y/N?
Ursula K. LeGuin: The Left Hand of Darkness
Stanislaw Lem: Solaris
I have read neither.
11. THE MOVIES REALLY DIDN’T DO EITHER OF THEM JUSTICE, HONESTLY
Douglas Adams: The Restaurant at the End of the Universe
Mary Shelley: Frankenstein
Grr. No vote here. I have not read Frankenstein
12. TRAPPED IN A WORLD THEY NEVER MADE
Margaret Atwood: The Handmaid’s Tale
Phillip K. Dick: Ubik
Again my lack of reading these leaves me unable to vote
13. LEARNING MORALITY — THE HARD WAY
Ray Bradbury: Fahrenheit 451
Theodore Sturgeon: More Than Human
Bradbury. Always.
14. FAR TRAVELLERS
Iain M. Banks: Use of Weapons
Madeleine L’Engle: A Wrinkle in Time
Banks here by a hair
15. UM, ALL THIS HAS HAPPENED BEFORE, HASN’T IT?
Walter M. Miller Jr.: A Canticle for Leibowitz
Roger Zelazny: Lord of Light
Kyra you give difficult choices. Miller because it is the better work
16. THESE TWO ARE PROBABLY NOT GOING TO GET ALONG
Joanna Russ: The Female Man
Orson Scott Card: Ender’s Game
Enders Game but I have not read Russ
16. THESE TWO ARE PROBABLY NOT GOING TO GET ALONG
Joanna Russ: The Female Man
Orson Scott Card: Ender’s Game
Round 1 voting:
1. H. G. Wells: War of the Worlds (Why was this up against Butler :-(( )
2. Aldous Huxley: Brave New World
3. J. G. Ballard: The Drowned World
4. Alfred Bester: The Stars My Destination
5. Harlan Ellison: The Beast That Shouted Love at the Heart of the World (the collection)
6. George Orwell: 1984
7. Anthony Burgess: A Clockwork Orange
8. Samuel Delany: Dhalgren
9. Arthur C. Clarke: Childhood’s End (Although this could easily have been William Olaf Stapelton’s Last and First Men)
10. Ursula K. LeGuin: The Left Hand of Darkness
11. Mary Shelley: Frankenstein (Ooh, Not choosing HHGttG made this a contest!)
12. Phillip K. Dick: Ubik
13. Ray Bradbury: Fahrenheit 451
14. Madeleine L’Engle: A Wrinkle in Time (Nostalgia value wins this one)
15. Walter M. Miller Jr.: A Canticle for Leibowitz
16. Joanna Russ: The Female Man
1. ENEMIES FROM UP THERE, ENEMIES FROM DOWN HERE
H. G. Wells: War of the Worlds
Sorry Octavia, but the Wells is a classic.
2. ONE WAY OR ANOTHER, WE CONTROL YOUR WORLD
Isaac Asimov: Foundation and Empire
He’s the greatest Golden Age writer, and Foundation is arguably his best achievement (maybe tying with the Robots stories as an overall work, but this is novels). So what if his characters were a bit on the underdeveloped side?
3. AS ABOVE, DROWNBELOW
C. J. Cherryh: Downbelow Station
Cherryh writes great characters in tight prose.
4. THE FIRST CYBERPUNK NOVEL VS. THE FIRST CYBERPUNK NOVEL
William Gibson: Neuromancer
This gets my Special Award For Best Bracket Title. Also, Gibson.
5. I AM TOTALLY NOT LOST IN THE COMPLEXITIES OF THIS NARRATIVE
Frank Herbert: Dune
Hmmmm, close, but Herbert
6. HATE IS THE PLAN THE PLAN IS DEATH
George Orwell: 1984
Gah, I hate to knock out Tiptree, but I’m not a fan of that particular book, and George Orwell is just brilliant, and 1984 is his best book. Of his other fiction I’d rate Burmese Days as the best.
7. DO YOU GROK ME, MY DROOG?
Robert Heinlein: Stranger in a Strange Land
Heinlein. SiaSL is nowhere near to his best book, but I can’t actually decide what I’d propose instead. (Although the Imp of the Perverse is suggesting Sixth Column/Day after Tomorrow. I probably like his early-to-mid Future History stories as a best work)
8. STRANGE PEOPLE, STRANGE DAYS
Kate Wilhelm: Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang
It’s a long time since I read either, but Wilhelm by a nose.
9. NEAR THE BEGINNING AND NEAR THE END
Jules Verne: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
Given that I love Asimov and Heinlein, it’s perhaps odd that I’m more meh on Clarke. But I am, so Verne takes it.
10. IS UNDERSTANDING POSSIBLE Y/N?
Ursula K. LeGuin: The Left Hand of Darkness
Stanislaw Lem: Solaris
Haven’t read Solaris (damn, wish list just expanded) so no vote.
11. THE MOVIES REALLY DIDN’T DO EITHER OF THEM JUSTICE, HONESTLY
Mary Shelley: Frankenstein
If Adams was putting this bracket together, this is who he’d put himself up against, because Sense of Humour. So Shelley can have it.
12. TRAPPED IN A WORLD THEY NEVER MADE
Phillip K. Dick: Ubik
PKD.
13. LEARNING MORALITY — THE HARD WAY
Ray Bradbury: Fahrenheit 451
Theodore Sturgeon: More Than Human
I’ll leave this one, as I haven’t read the Sturgeon.
14. FAR TRAVELLERS
Iain M. Banks: Use of Weapons
I think Player of Games is his best early Culture, but Use of Weapons is an acceptable placeholder. I can’t write a short description of how much I love Banks.
15. UM, ALL THIS HAS HAPPENED BEFORE, HASN’T IT?
Walter M. Miller Jr.: A Canticle for Leibowitz
Roger Zelazny: Lord of Light
Zelazny. No, Miller. Wait, Zelazny. GODDAMNIT I REFUSE TO CHOOSE, WHY DID YOU PUT THESE TWO TOGETHER!
16. THESE TWO ARE PROBABLY NOT GOING TO GET ALONG
Joanna Russ: The Female Man
Orson Scott Card: Ender’s Game
Oh god, umm. Enders Game is the only OSC book that is really any good, and it’s very good indeed. I hold to the theory that he wrote it by accident or something. I’m going to vote no decision on this one.
Don’t watch the George Clooney movie. Do watch the Tarkovsky movie but do fast-forward through the bit when for no reason it shows traffic speeded up for several minutes. (Or maybe don’t watch it because every time I’ve persuaded somebody to watch it they’ve then asked ‘why did you make me watch that?’)
Mark: Enders Game is the only OSC book that is really any good, and it’s very good indeed. I hold to the theory that he wrote it by accident or something. I’m going to vote no decision on this one.
I beg to differ, sir! I thought Ender’s Game was the perfect Puppy paen: its message is that good and evil are clearly delineated, and that if your motivation is “noble”, then whatever it takes to achieve it — no matter how heinous — is justified. Also, the “hero” never has to deal with the negative consequences of his actions (ur arire unf gb qrny jvgu gur xabjyrqtr gung ur’f xvyyrq — haarprffnevyl — gjb crbcyr, naq gur trabpvqr trgf oynzrq ba gur nqhyg jub gevpxrq uvz vagb rkrphgvat vg, abg ba uvz).
Whereas, in Speaker for the Dead, Ender has come to understand the gravity and consequences of at least some of his actions, he feels remorse, and he takes steps to make recompense for the horrific things he’s done. He grows up into a decent, complex human being who understands that life consists of many, many shades of gray, instead of the child who understood only black and white.
That, in my opinion, is the only decent book OSC has ever written.
@JJ on the topic of Ender.
I second your assertion – or at least think that Ender’s Game and Speaker should be considered as a pair. It works because it considers the impact of one story on a character.
Camestros Felapton: Don’t watch the George Clooney movie [of Solaris]. Do watch the Tarkovsky movie
Don’t read the Joanna Kilmartin and Steve Cox 1970 English translation from the French translation. I am reliably informed that it is hugely untrue to the original Polish version (which is why both the Clooney movie and the BBC radio adaptation are so appalling).
Read the 2011 English translation from Polish by Bill Johnston (which, coincidentally, I was just motivated to acquire 3 days ago after being utterly appalled by the BBC version, but which I have not yet read).
Well this is a little distressing. I believe the version I read as older teen/young adult was the weaker translation you mentioned (e.g. it is definitely ‘Snow’ not ‘Snaut’ and ‘Rheya’ not ‘Harey)’ and I went to check but…my copy that I’ve had for years and on many continents is gone! Oddly in the spot where it should be is a dog-eared copy of Game of Thrones. Now I don’t want to jump to outlandish conclusions but either my copy was made out of neutrinos or GRRM has been sneaking into people’s house and replacing their books.
Oh well, an excuse to buy the better translation.
I deliberately avoided reading others lists before posting my own, but having gone back to read them I have to declare this the best, most evil, topic ever.
@JJ/Camestros
Enders Game is quite a polarizing book, isn’t it? My take is that EG looks and reads like a classic piece of coming of age wish fulfillment, until you realise that the story you are getting can’t possibly be complete, and something horrible lies below the surface. The ending is a straight reveal of the horrible followed by a swift curtain stop, and doesn’t really expand on it in any way, probably because OSC wanted to save that for Speaker. It leaves me with the certainty that Ender’s coming of age has been grotesquely abused and he will suffer horribly once he grows up. Leaving me with that realisation is enough to make EG a satisfying story for me. It’s quite possible that OSC didn’t mean me to take all that away, given that he felt the need to spend a further book showing it play out.
I suspect that a lot of people either think EG didn’t need an entire book as an epilogue, or Speaker didn’t need an entire book as a prologue, and which you think depends on which one you prefer!
Yes. Kyra is the embodiment of evil 🙂
I wasn’t surprised that people made different choices but I am surprised about how diverse the choices are that people highlighted as the most difficult to make.
This will sound like an odd comparison but…it reminds me of Terminator 2. The second Terminator film works so well because it is clear from the first movie that Sarah Connor isn’t going to drive away from all that and be in a nice place psychologically. Terminator 2 then follows that logically and presents a story about a woman who has been traumatized by events that a person should find traumatic – and then wraps it up in action movie, Arnie shooting things package so that people don’t notice the emotional depth.
Ender’s Game is necessary for Speaker and vice-versa. We want Ender to find peace and solace and that is quite a different kind of driver for a plot.
I enjoyed both, though EG probably more because there wasn’t the level of expectation.
I then read one of his other works, which involved rather too much child rape.
1. ENEMIES FROM UP THERE, ENEMIES FROM DOWN HERE
Invoking Rule Number 4:
Thomas Pynchon: Gravity’s Rainbow
2. ONE WAY OR ANOTHER, WE CONTROL YOUR WORLD
Aldous Huxley: Brave New World
3. AS ABOVE, DROWNBELOW
J. G. Ballard: The Drowned World
4. THE FIRST CYBERPUNK NOVEL VS. THE FIRST CYBERPUNK NOVEL
Alfred Bester: The Stars My Destination
5. I AM TOTALLY NOT LOST IN THE COMPLEXITIES OF THIS NARRATIVE
Frank Herbert: Dune
6. HATE IS THE PLAN THE PLAN IS DEATH
George Orwell: 1984
7. DO YOU GROK ME, MY DROOG?
Invoking Rule Number 4:
M John Harrison, Light
For taking the New Wave where it was supposed to go
8. STRANGE PEOPLE, STRANGE DAYS
Samuel Delany: Dhalgren
9. NEAR THE BEGINNING AND NEAR THE END
Invoking Rule Number 4:
Gene Wolfe: Book of the New Sun (or however you want to slice it)
For obvious reasons
10. IS UNDERSTANDING POSSIBLE Y/N?
Ursula K. LeGuin: The Left Hand of Darkness
11. THE MOVIES REALLY DIDN’T DO EITHER OF THEM JUSTICE, HONESTLY
Mary Shelley: Frankenstein
12. TRAPPED IN A WORLD THEY NEVER MADE
Phillip K. Dick: Ubik
13. LEARNING MORALITY — THE HARD WAY
Theodore Sturgeon: More Than Human
14. FAR TRAVELLERS
Invoking Rule Number 2: A Tie
Because they are evenly matched
15. UM, ALL THIS HAS HAPPENED BEFORE, HASN’T IT?
Walter M. Miller Jr.: A Canticle for Leibowitz
16. THESE TWO ARE PROBABLY NOT GOING TO GET ALONG
Invoking Rule Number 3:
Joanna Russ: We Who Are About To…
Because it can beat nearly any novel on this list
Mark: My take is that EG looks and reads like a classic piece of coming of age wish fulfillment, until you realise that the story you are getting can’t possibly be complete, and something horrible lies below the surface. The ending is a straight reveal of the horrible followed by a swift curtain stop, and doesn’t really expand on it in any way
And this — this — is my problem with Ender’s Game. How many teenage boys will “realise that the story you are getting can’t possibly be complete, and something horrible lies below the surface“?
Not that many, I think — because it takes a certain amount of life experience and maturity to see those aspects of the story.
My personal observation is that most teenagers seem to come out of Ender’s Game thinking, “Woo-hoo! What a kickass, smart young guy Ender is, just like me! What a great adventure! The HERO Wins!!!” and totally miss all the implications and subtleties. They come out of it thinking that good and evil are clearly delineated, and that if your motivation is “noble”, then whatever it takes to achieve it — no matter how heinous — is justified.
When I got Ender’s Game from the library a couple of years ago, there were ~100 copies, and I was on a waiting list about 60 people long. On the other hand, the library had about 15 copies of Speaker for the Dead, and there were several available, with no waiting list. What that tells me is that a lot of the people reading EG never go on to read SftD — and many of them are therefore completely missing all the implications and subtleties.
This would explain why I’ve seen so many people (mostly male) raving about the book, without any apparent understanding that it is not a kickass action hero story, it’s a grim study of actions and consequences and growing up and learning that nothing is ever just black and white or just good and bad.
WHERE THINGS CURRENTLY STAND
1. ENEMIES FROM UP THERE, ENEMIES FROM DOWN HERE
Kindred: 9 goals
War of the Worlds: 7 goals
A squeaker! After an early lead for Wells partly due to Butler’s book being somewhat less widely read, the Butler has now pulled ahead by a nose. These two genre giants are now slugging it out toe-to-toe. One vote for Gravity’s Rainbow here says Pynchon wuz robbed, though.
2. ONE WAY OR ANOTHER, WE CONTROL YOUR WORLD
Foundation and Empire: 11 goals
Brave New World: 8 goals
The grand old man of SF has kept a steady lead over the literary legend, but Huxley has too much support to be counted out. But with strong support for the idea that Asimov is more nuanced than he’s credited for, it looks like he’s going to end up on top here.
3. AS ABOVE, DROWNBELOW
The Drowned World: 8 goals
Downbelow Station: 8 goals
AN EXACT TIE! Ballard vs. Cherryh is still ANYONE’S game, folks, with screaming fans on both sides cheering their favorite! Some ask why the Chanur books aren’t the Cherryh pick; would that have made a difference to the game? NONE CAN SAY.
4. THE FIRST CYBERPUNK NOVEL VS. THE FIRST CYBERPUNK NOVEL
Neuromancer: 9 goals
The Stars My Destination: 7 goals
Another close one, but it looks like Gibson is going to end up the victor here. Despite the fact that it apparently should have been a contest between two other novels entirely, but with little agreement which — Shockwave Rider, Trouble and her Friends, Web of Angels, Synners, Hardwired, The Demolished Man, or just “someone else”.
@Camestros
That’s actually a really good comparison to Terminator. The question of how sequels and later treatments effect how we see an earlier work is interesting.
@JJ
Really good points there, and I can’t argue with them. I’m trying to remember when I read EG for the first time, and what I thought about it. I suspect later teens, and that I probably didn’t twig to how much was being concealed from Ender until the actual ending. On a re read it’s all much clearer, of course. So, yes, you are probably right that there are a lot of readers walking away thinking the bathroom scene was all fine and dandy, for example.
5. I AM TOTALLY NOT LOST IN THE COMPLEXITIES OF THIS NARRATIVE
The Beast That Shouted Love at the Heart of the World: 9 goals
Dune: 11 goals
Another fairly close match, but it looks like the great saga is edging out the short stories. Some say Dune has lost its luster, though, so how will this highly-seeded work do in future rounds?
6. HATE IS THE PLAN THE PLAN IS DEATH
1984: 6 goals
Her Smoke Rose Up Forever: 13 goals
The first true blowout match here, Tiptree is crushing Orwell. Orwell’s sometimes heavy hand style may have failed against Tiptree’s light touch and skill.
7. DO YOU GROK ME, MY DROOG?
Stranger in a Strange Land: 12 goals
A Clockwork Orange: 4 goals
Another blowout! Grok crushed Droog, in spite of the fact that the Heinlein selected should apparently have been Double Star, Starship Troopers, The Door Into Summer, “something else”, or M. John Harrison’s Light.
8. STRANGE PEOPLE, STRANGE DAYS
Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang: 3 goals
Dhalgren: 6 goals
Low scorers, both perhaps being among those little-read classics you hear tell of. But Delaney’s weirdness is beating Wilhelm’s among Those In The Know.
9. NEAR THE BEGINNING AND NEAR THE END
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: 8 goals
Childhood’s End: 10 goals
Some say Clarke is the least of the Big Three, but he’s still edging out the Founder From France. Some think the Book of the New Sun or Last and First Men would have skunked either of ‘em, though.
10. IS UNDERSTANDING POSSIBLE Y/N?
The Left Hand of Darkness: 14 goals
Solaris: 3 goals
A better translation might have stood Lem in better stead, but it’s hard to see how anything could have prevented THE CRUSHING delivered by Le Guin’s beloved classic.
11. THE MOVIES REALLY DIDN’T DO EITHER OF THEM JUSTICE, HONESTLY
The Restaurant at the End of the Universe: 4 goals
Frankenstein: 16 goals
Frankenstein, “The Firstest With The Mostest”, still clearly has the chops as this tournament’s current high scorer. Adams’ first Hitchhiker’s Guide book might have picked up more votes, but certainly not enough to stop the Frankenjuggernaut.
12. TRAPPED IN A WORLD THEY NEVER MADE
The Handmaid’s Tale: 6 goals
Ubik: 6 goals
ANOTHER EXACT TIE! Two dystopic visions battling to a standstill. Would another PKD have had victory? Some look to the Man in the High Castle and wonder …
13. LEARNING MORALITY — THE HARD WAY
Fahrenheit 451: 10 goals
More Than Human: 8 goals
These two golden age greats have been neck and neck the whole way, but right now it looks like Bradbury is going to take it to the next round.
14. FAR TRAVELLERS
Use of Weapons: 9 goals
A Wrinkle in Time: 5 and a half goals
Despite some thought that Player of Games might have been a better choice, Banks is handily winning against the much loved L’Engle. The Curse of YA, or just a better book?
15. UM, ALL THIS HAS HAPPENED BEFORE, HASN’T IT?
A Canticle for Leibowitz: 8 goals
Lord of Light: 11 goals
This has been called by nearly everyone the toughest match of the round of 16, and it’s been agonizingly close throughout. But it looks like Zelazny has finally pulled out solidly ahead.
16. THESE TWO ARE PROBABLY NOT GOING TO GET ALONG
The Female Man: 7 goals
Ender’s Game: 6 goals
A real squeaker that has generated more conversation than any other pairing. Both books have advocates and detractors. The Female Man has the edge, but can it keep it? (And one voice says We Who Are About To … over them and everything.)
Meanwhile, this whole contest is clearly misguided to beginwith because BUJOLD, and Keyes and Tepper and Vonnegut and Varley (Blue Champagne, thank-you-very-much) and Wolfe and Griffith and The Forever War and A Fire Upon the Deep and Red Mars.
(Heading out for the day now — will get the Round of 8 posted sometime tonight.)
@kyra
The brilliant fun of the contest is exceeded only by the genius of the commentary.
Looking fairly evenly split between the European Team and the North American Team – although looks like some of Europe’s star players are out.
Votes still to come, Kyra
1. ENEMIES FROM UP THERE, ENEMIES FROM DOWN HERE
H. G. Wells: War of the Worlds
I’ve read it and watched it and listened to it and it stays with me.
2. ONE WAY OR ANOTHER, WE CONTROL YOUR WORLD
Aldous Huxley: Brave New World
Foundation and empire felt like part of a story as well as being a fix-up. I loved it but don’t feel any need to reread it.
3. AS ABOVE, DROWNBELOW
J. G. Ballard: The Drowned World
C. J. Cherryh: Downbelow Station
I remember reading the drowned world and being taken by the imagery, I’m abstaining
4. THE FIRST CYBERPUNK NOVEL VS. THE FIRST CYBERPUNK NOVEL
William Gibson: Neuromancer
Again, I’ve read and still own The Stars My Destination, but the details don’t stay with me like neuromancer
5. I AM TOTALLY NOT LOST IN THE COMPLEXITIES OF THIS NARRATIVE
Frank Herbert: Dune Just Dune, not the flabby How do I stop? that followed.
6. HATE IS THE PLAN THE PLAN IS DEATH
George Orwell: 1984
James Tiptree Jr.: Her Smoke Rose Up Forever
Can’t decide in this mood.
7. DO YOU GROK ME, MY DROOG?
Anthony Burgess: A Clockwork Orange
Stranger in a Strange Land was too long and self indulgent for its ideas (Not my teenage view)
8. STRANGE PEOPLE, STRANGE DAYS
Samuel Delany: Dhalgren
Did you really match these randomly?
9. NEAR THE BEGINNING AND NEAR THE END
Arthur C. Clarke: Childhood’s End
I like them both. Both adventures, but I think Childhood’s end has bigger ideas and manages to carry them.
10. IS UNDERSTANDING POSSIBLE Y/N?
Ursula K. LeGuin: The Left Hand of Darkness
Stanislaw Lem: Solaris
No. Can’t decide. I can think of why either is a better book, but I want them both.
11. THE MOVIES REALLY DIDN’T DO EITHER OF THEM JUSTICE, HONESTLY
Mary Shelley: Frankenstein
I prefer HHG2U to the restaurant anyway, but Frankenstein beats them both
12. TRAPPED IN A WORLD THEY NEVER MADE
Margaret Atwood: The Handmaid’s Tale
13. LEARNING MORALITY — THE HARD WAY
Theodore Sturgeon: More Than Human
I’ve never understood the veneration for Ray Bradbury. I think his writing is too rooted in an alien culture for me.
14. FAR TRAVELLERS
Iain M. Banks: Use of Weapons
I liked aWiT as a child, but found it heavy handed when I reread it.
15. UM, ALL THIS HAS HAPPENED BEFORE, HASN’T IT?
Walter M. Miller Jr.: A Canticle for Leibowitz
Roger Zelazny: Lord of Light
No, you can’t make me choose!
16. THESE TWO ARE PROBABLY NOT GOING TO GET ALONG
Joanna Russ: The Female Man
The Female man makes me think. Ender’s Game makes me squirm; it’s too easily surface read, and, if you want to go deeper isn’t complete.
1. ENEMIES FROM UP THERE, ENEMIES FROM DOWN HERE
H. G. Wells: War of the Worlds
I haven’t read any of Butler’s novels but I have read an greatly enjoyed quite a bit of her short fiction. I also own a copy of Kindred but have yet to read it as I fear it is a depressing. Read and need to be in the right mood for it.
2. ONE WAY OR ANOTHER, WE CONTROL YOUR WORLD
Aldous Huxley: Brave New World
I love the Foundation books up to a point but BNW is a much more important book in the grand scheme of things.
3. AS ABOVE, DROWNBELOW
C. J. Cherryh: Downbelow Station
My favourite era of Cherryh career although not my favourite novel by her which would be Cyteen.
4. THE FIRST CYBERPUNK NOVEL VS. THE FIRST CYBERPUNK NOVEL
William Gibson: Neuromancer
No contest.
5. I AM TOTALLY NOT LOST IN THE COMPLEXITIES OF THIS NARRATIVE
Frank Herbert: Dune
The only story I remember reading in Ellison was A Boy and His Dog which is good but hardly enough to beat Dune. Dune has it all from great world building, interesting characters and complex themes tackled intelligently .
6. HATE IS THE PLAN THE PLAN IS DEATH
James Tiptree Jr.: Her Smoke Rose Up Forever
This was a tough one I just reread 1984 and Animal Farm recently and loved how concise a story they were and how the themes still apply today and will sadly still apply in the future. HSRUF is probably one of the best short fiction collections in SF.
7. DO YOU GROK ME, MY DROOG?
Null vote haven’t read either of them.
8. STRANGE PEOPLE, STRANGE DAYS
Samuel Delany: Dahlgren
I haven’t read any Wilhelm’s novels but a bit of her short fiction.
9. NEAR THE BEGINNING AND NEAR THE END
Arthur C. Clarke: Childhood’s End
Love the Verne and kinda feel guilty about not voting for the only French man on the ballot but
20,000 isn’t Verne’s best and Childhood is a far better novel.
10. IS UNDERSTANDING POSSIBLE Y/N?
Ursula K. LeGuin: The Left Hand of Darkness
Both are seminal work but LeGuin had more impact on me when I first read it.
11. THE MOVIES REALLY DIDN’T DO EITHER OF THEM JUSTICE, HONESTLY
Douglas Adams: The Restaurant at the End of the Universe
12. TRAPPED IN A WORLD THEY NEVER MADE
Margaret Atwood: The Handmaid’s Tale
13. LEARNING MORALITY — THE HARD WAY
Theodore Sturgeon: More Than Human
14. FAR TRAVELLERS
Iain M. Banks: Use of Weapons
I just read A Wrinkle in Time with my youngest and it really holds up rather well but against one of the better Banks books it had no chance.
15. UM, ALL THIS HAS HAPPENED BEFORE, HASN’T IT?
Null vote.
Haven’t read either although I have a hazy memory of reading a portion of A Canticle for Leibowitz maybe as a standalone novella? I just purchased LOL and it’s on TBR pile.
16. THESE TWO ARE PROBABLY NOT GOING TO GET ALONG
Null vote.
Haven’t read Russ and did not care for the Card.
Only voting for matches where I’ve read both sides:
2. ONE WAY OR ANOTHER, WE CONTROL YOUR WORLD
Aldous Huxley: Brave New World
5. I AM TOTALLY NOT LOST IN THE COMPLEXITIES OF THIS NARRATIVE
Frank Herbert: Dune
7. DO YOU GROK ME, MY DROOG?
Anthony Burgess: A Clockwork Orange
10. IS UNDERSTANDING POSSIBLE Y/N?
Ursula K. LeGuin: The Left Hand of Darkness
11. THE MOVIES REALLY DIDN’T DO EITHER OF THEM JUSTICE, HONESTLY
Mary Shelley: Frankenstein
14. FAR TRAVELLERS
Iain M. Banks: Use of Weapons
I was away from my computer most of the day; hope it’s not too late.
1. ENEMIES FROM UP THERE, ENEMIES FROM DOWN HERE
This one is hard. I love the Butler, but I’m an old time radio fan, and have to give it to HG because of Orson. It’s a Wells conspiracy!
2. ONE WAY OR ANOTHER, WE CONTROL YOUR WORLD
I wanna vote for TJ Bass’ The Godwhale! And I can because you said I could! So there!
3. AS ABOVE, DROWNBELOW
Downbelow Station, even though I voted for The Claw of the Conciliator over it for the Hugos.
4. THE FIRST CYBERPUNK NOVEL VS. THE FIRST CYBERPUNK NOVEL
Web of Angels. Web of Angels. Web of Angels. Go Mike Ford!
5. I AM TOTALLY NOT LOST IN THE COMPLEXITIES OF THIS NARRATIVE
Ouch. Dune kept me reading So Many Sequels that were So Bad for So Long, so I guess I have to go for that one. (Seriously, I found 3 copies of Children of Dune when I was packing my library, and I don’t even LIKE that book.)
6. HATE IS THE PLAN THE PLAN IS DEATH
A hard choice, but I’ll go with 1984 for the cultural significance.
7. DO YOU GROK ME, MY DROOG?
Clockwork Orange. It gave me nightmares.
8. STRANGE PEOPLE, STRANGE DAYS
Dhalgren. I don’t understand it even while I’m reading it, but I’ve read it many times. Whereas as a clone I have to give the Wilhelm a side-eye. Clones Don’t Work Like That. Humph.
9. NEAR THE BEGINNING AND NEAR THE END
Mysterious Island! Mysterious Island! Ignore the bit with Nemo at the end and go with Mysterious Island!
10. IS UNDERSTANDING POSSIBLE Y/N?
Left Hand of Darkness. I bounced off the Lem in high school mumble years ago and never tried it again. Maybe it’s great, but I wouldn’t know.
11. THE MOVIES REALLY DIDN’T DO EITHER OF THEM JUSTICE, HONESTLY
Frankenstein. SO much more complex then the movies.
12. TRAPPED IN A WORLD THEY NEVER MADE
Atwood; I read half of Ubik and couldn’t finish it. The same goes for a lot of Philip K Dick, actually; he just doesn’t seem to speak to me.
13. LEARNING MORALITY — THE HARD WAY
Fahrenheit 451. I thought for DAYS as a teenager about what book I’d memorize, before I realized that my rote memorization skills were sh!t.
14. FAR TRAVELLERS
Ooh, a hard one. Banks, I guess?
15. UM, ALL THIS HAS HAPPENED BEFORE, HASN’T IT?
LITTLE BIG by John Crowley! LITTLE BIGLITTLEBIGLITTLEBIG!
16. THESE TWO ARE PROBABLY NOT GOING TO GET ALONG
Russ. No question.
(Voting is definitely still open. The Group of 16 is still anyone’s game!)
Will you post the Group of 16 in a future Pixel Scroll, or will the Brackets be confined to this one? (I don’t care either way; just curious)
It’s a shame it’s not the Group of Seventeen. I’d be Loyal to that.
Jim: *orchestra swells* The New Sun’ll come out / tomorrow….
It’s a shame it’s not the Group of Seventeen. I’d be Loyal to that.
You are speaking in unapproved phrases.
2. Asimov, but it’s close
3. No vote; only read the Cherryh and I can’t even remember it.
4. Gibson
5. Herbert, even though he and McCaffrey are poster children for “Won an award and decided they could ignore their editor”, because this is the award-winner and it deserved it.
6. Tiptree
7. Heinlein, because of the two slang terms in the header here, which one has stuck? Sure, the ACW movie is widely known, but is it actually widely watched?
9. No vote. I’ve only read the Clarke, once and long ago for a college SF class, and didn’t like it – it was the only book on the syllabus that I had to force my way through. Something about the way people reacted to just about everything felt off.
13. Bradbury, for an awesome book about censorship, even though he says that’s not what it’s about. Riiight.
14. L’Engle. Banks is good, but I saw the twist coming, and who can forget Camazotz?
15. Zelazny. Canticle hasn’t aged well. I made my way through it because it was a classic and I felt I ought to, while LoL had ideas *and* was entertaining (aside from That Pun, which I still resent having had pointed out to me.)
16. Russ, because the book version of Ender’s Game? Meh. Card works best in short stories where the emotional impact is a short sharp jab. And I didn’t identify with Ender’s coming of age story in any way so it doesn’t even get that.
> “Will you post the Group of 16 in a future Pixel Scroll, or will the Brackets be confined to this one? (I don’t care either way; just curious)”
Actually just saw an e-mail from Mike Glyer asking me a similar question about My Intentions. 🙂 I’m currently liking the conversational feel of leaving it in a single thread’s comments, so I’ll do that unless people feel differently for whatever reason.
Going to the new bracket once every ~24 hours “feels” about right to me, so that’s tentatively how I’ll work it.
1. ENEMIES FROM UP THERE, ENEMIES FROM DOWN HERE
H. G. Wells: War of the Worlds
Octavia Butler: Kindred2. ONE WAY OR ANOTHER, WE CONTROL YOUR WORLD
Isaac Asimov: Foundation and EmpireAldous Huxley: Brave New World
3. AS ABOVE, DROWNBELOW
J. G. Ballard: The Drowned WorldC. J. Cherryh: Downbelow Station
4. THE FIRST CYBERPUNK NOVEL VS. THE FIRST CYBERPUNK NOVEL
William Gibson: NeuromancerAlfred Bester: The Stars My Destination
5. I AM TOTALLY NOT LOST IN THE COMPLEXITIES OF THIS NARRATIVE
Harlan Ellison: The Beast That Shouted Love at the Heart of the World (the collection)
Frank Herbert: Dune6. HATE IS THE PLAN THE PLAN IS DEATH
George Orwell: 1984
James Tiptree Jr.: Her Smoke Rose Up Forever7. DO YOU GROK ME, MY DROOG?
Robert Heinlein: Stranger in a Strange LandAnthony Burgess: A Clockwork Orange
8. STRANGE PEOPLE, STRANGE DAYS
Kate Wilhelm: Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang
Samuel Delany: Dhalgren9. NEAR THE BEGINNING AND NEAR THE END
Jules Verne: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
Arthur C. Clarke: Childhood’s End10. IS UNDERSTANDING POSSIBLE Y/N?
Ursula K. LeGuin: The Left Hand of Darkness
Stanislaw Lem: Solaris DAMMIT KYRA! ABSTAIN!
11. THE MOVIES REALLY DIDN’T DO EITHER OF THEM JUSTICE, HONESTLY
Douglas Adams: The Restaurant at the End of the UniverseMary Shelley: Frankenstein *whimper*
12. TRAPPED IN A WORLD THEY NEVER MADE
Margaret Atwood: The Handmaid’s Tale
Phillip K. Dick: Ubik13. LEARNING MORALITY — THE HARD WAY
Ray Bradbury: Fahrenheit 451
Theodore Sturgeon: More Than Human14. FAR TRAVELLERS
Iain M. Banks: Use of WeaponsMadeleine L’Engle: A Wrinkle in Time
15. UM, ALL THIS HAS HAPPENED BEFORE, HASN’T IT?
Walter M. Miller Jr.: A Canticle for Leibowitz
Roger Zelazny: Lord of Light16. THESE TWO ARE PROBABLY NOT GOING TO GET ALONG
Joanna Russ: The Female Man
Orson Scott Card: Ender’s GameUPDATES AT THE TOP OF THE FOURTH QUARTER:
In a surprising late-game press, War of the Worlds has surged ahead of Kindred, coming from behind to a 3-goal lead!
A similar surge for Huxley has brought Brave New World up to an exact tie with Foundation and Empire.
Downbelow Station is now ahead of The Drowned World, moving from a tied game to a 3-goal lead.
Dhalgren has significantly boosted its lead over Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang, aided by clone-led protest votes against Wilhelm.
The Handmaid’s Tale has swept ahead of Ubik, surging from a tie to a 4-goal lead.
More Than Human briefly moved up to tie with Fahrenheit 451, but then the Bradbury moved ahead again into a 3-goal lead.
In all other brackets, those previously in the lead have either maintained that lead or slightly increased it.
(Props have been duly given The Godwhale and Mysterious Island, and Web of Angels has the strongest “off the grid” vote at 3 goals in someone else’s game. Little, Big has also won support, and I will note that if I ever eventually get around to doing a fantasy bracket, the chances that Little, Big will feature in such a bracket is, well, quite high.)
Voting is, of course, still open.