9 ms·
Good list, but a few notable gaps. Not a lot of people know, perhaps, that Gene Wolfe was a fantastic short story writer. Among my favourites are "Hero as Were
by atombender 6y ago
Good list, but a few notable gaps.
Not a lot of people know, perhaps, that Gene Wolfe was a fantastic short story writer. Among my favourites are "Hero as Werewolf" and "The Island of Doctor Death and Other Stories" [1], the latter a pitch-perfect analysis of why we need to read stories.
R. A. Lafferty is also notably absent. If he needs to be known for just one short story, it's "Thus We Frustrate Charlemagne" [2]. Probably the funniest time-travel story ever written.
[1] http://www.gbv.de/dms/goettingen/591130106.pdf http://www.gbv.de/dms/goettingen/591130106.pdf
[2] http://24.130.149.112:82/get/pdf/2256 http://24.130.149.112:82/get/pdf/2256
- ghaff 6y agoI've never tried his short fiction, but Gene Wolfe has always been a writer that I knew I was supposed to appreciate as literary SF but never really could. Maybe I should try his shorter fiction.
- atombender 6y agoAbsolutely. Of his novels, I always recommend The Fifth Head of Cerberus as a starting point. It's relatively short (it was expanded from a short story), and it marks the point when Wolfe's fiction matured. It's as deep as anything else he has written. If you end up liking it, you will almost certainly love The Book of the New Sun, his masterpiece.
- User23 6y agoThe book I have is titled The Island of Doctor Death and Other Stories and Other Stories[1]. Makes the meta element a bit clearer. [1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Island_of_Doctor_Death_and_Other_Stories_and_Other_Stories https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Island_of_Doctor_Death_a...
- atombender 6y agoYep. The book has three variations: * The Island of Doctor Death and Other Stories * The Death of Dr. Island * The Doctor of Death Island
- JKCalhoun 6y agoI suppose "The Gold Bug" by Edgar Allen Poe is more "mystery", but it seems of the same pedigree of some of Bradbury's stuff.... An excellent story regardless. Just throwing that in the ring.