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This reads like a Robert Sheckley short story. I never understood the fuss about Hitchhiker's Guide to Galaxy. To me, Robert Sheckley is the master of witty, pr
by b0rsuk 6y ago
This reads like a Robert Sheckley short story. I never understood the fuss about Hitchhiker's Guide to Galaxy. To me, Robert Sheckley is the master of witty, provocative sci-fi short form. Douglas Adams is seems like random absurd for the sake of absurd. And yes Douglas Adams openly said he was inspired by Sheckley.
- hhjinks 6y agoSome people enjoy absurd humor.
- b0rsuk 6y agoI do. You can't enjoy Monty Python without enjoying absurd. Everyone draws the line in a different spot I suppose.
- Fellshard 6y agoProbably a form of 'acquired taste', where the kind you become accustomed to tends to be very narrow. One person's absurd is another's nonsense, in a way?
- b0rsuk 6y agoI remember a lot of "Hitchhiker's Guide" being random floating out-of-place objects. It stops feeling creative after a while. Even characters soon stopped commenting on them.
- Fellshard 6y agoI'd definitely say I prefer Monty Python and Terry Pratchett's take on absurdism over Douglas Adams'; I do have a soft spot for some of the higher-level gags Adams sometimes included, as opposed to the moment-to-moment there-and-gone gags.
- nyhc99 6y agocan you recommend anything in particular by Robert Sheckley? I'd be interested to check out his style.
- Andrew_nenakhov 6y agoAny short stories collection, really. If you want something particular, out of top of my head: Lifeboat mutiny, Seventh victim, A ticket to Tranai, A problem with natives.
- b0rsuk 6y agoPolish short story collections sometimes differ in content, but my favorites were: - Ticket to Tranai ... and another one which included two separate stories with machines in name, one of which was more less "Machine Which Didn't Like To Repeat". I also loved the one with a planet where all animals had green fur :D
- rmidthun 6y agoThere is a distinct drop in quality as time passes, anything written in the 50s is golden (Untouched by Human Hands, Store of Infinity) , in the 60s is mixed but still some good stuff (Can you Feel Anything When I do This?). After that is pretty hit or miss (Options), including a collaboration with Zelazny that I found quite disappointing.