4 ms·

It is interesting to see how a handful of writers (especially Phillip K Dick!) really dominated the genre. Also a few forgotten gems I am going to have to rere

by daoboy 3y ago

It is interesting to see how a handful of writers (especially Phillip K Dick!) really dominated the genre. Also a few forgotten gems I am going to have to reread now.

kramerger 3y ago
I feel this was the winter of sci-fi. I enjoyed Dune and Androids but the rest are mostly meh. A lot of DNF books for me (including Slaughterhouse-Five, which I know has its fans but I really disliked)
- aardvark179 3y ago
  I couldn’t disagree more. The new wave is where SF starts to get interesting for me, and is when a lot of my favourite authors got started.
- sctb 3y ago
  I'm curious to hear more about why you feel this was the winter of sci-fi! Can you share some more besides personal preference? (I'm not a huge Vonnegut fan or even big reader in general and Slaughterhouse-Five and Cat's Cradle were pretty far from DNF for me.)
- ajmurmann 3y ago
  I feel similarly. However, I absolutely love Vonnegut, but don't see his work as scifi. Sure it has all the elements, but the themes are mostly different. To me the best scifi is about a technology that could exist and plays through all the consequences. Slaughterhouse Five isn't that, it's about WWII. (From my definition one might guess correctly that I see space opera as a derogatory term)
  - kramerger 3y ago
    I heard that his writing could have been a way to process what he went through during the war. That could explain the darkness. There is a modern fantasy writer that writes quite dark stories. I read that this is because of a very sick family member, and some of his best books have been written in a hospital room. While I applaude both for turning something bad into something good, these sort of books are just not my cup of tea. And I think a lot of people are like me. We read books to get away from the problems of real life, not dive into other people's troubled minds.
    - ajmurmann 3y ago
      "And I think a lot of people are like me. We read books to get away from the problems of real life, not dive into other people's troubled minds." That certainly makes sense and is of course also a subjective preference. To me great insights lie in the darkness, but it isn't for everyone and not at any time.
PaulHoule 3y ago
I like the list. It's the kind of list an English professor might make, not necessarily a sci-fi fan. In particular, Dick's genius was recognized only after his death. Even though sci-fi sometimes rises above other genre literature, it's not taken that seriously by literary types. Baudrillard talks a lot about Dick and Ballard and that's it. Stanislaw Lem (whose Cyberiad ought to be on that list instead of The Futurological Congress) himself said that Phillip K. Dick was on a whole other level than other sci-fi writers. Notably the list subverts the category of "novel" by adding a lot of things (comic books, concept albums) that aren't really novels. I think Fred Pohl is missing (say Gateway) and also Joe Halderman (Worlds!). I'd rather see any Frank Herbert book but Dune (say Whipping Star or The Santaroga Barrier.) For that matter I'd like to see something from Heinlein before he had the stroke like The Moon is a Harsh Mistress or Glory Road. I'd also want to see Niven's Neutron Star (a set of short stories that read like a novel) but despite some "new wave" sensibilities Niven comes across as reactionary today because the Tor Books revival (Forge of God and Enders Game) of sci-fi in the 1980s liked Heinlein and Niven and Doc Smith better than LeGunn, Dick, Ballard, Herbert, etc. On the other hand, put a sci-fi fan in charge of making this list and it's no doubt they'll add a stick of books from some author who is a "no account" in literary circles like Piers Anthony -- still I would try to slip him in at his most psychedelic.
- routerl 3y ago
  > Dick's genius was recognized only after his death. Which we should give credit for: I only found PKD due to Jonathan Lethem's advocacy. PKD fans are likely to enjoy Lethem's sci-fi, especially Gun, With Occasional Music. The crew of writers responsible for elevating PKD from pulp to cult deserve some attention, especially from PKD fans (aka "Dick-heads", which is just the most perfect name for a fandom). > I'd like to see something from Heinlein before he had the stroke like The Moon is a Harsh Mistress Plus one for The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. That's probably the best of Heinlein's work.
  - getwiththeprog 3y ago
    Very rarely can I say with all sincerity "I am a Dick-Head"
mbb70 3y ago
Pkd was a genius, an addict, and most importantly, got paid by the page. Jonathan Letham's Amnesia Moon (mentioned at the bottom) is my favorite "how pkd would write if he weren't ripped on speed 24/7" Guess it's time to reread it. And ubik, and fmytps, and the lathe of heaven, and hyperion, and embassytown and...
- sonofhans 3y ago
  If you haven’t, check out “Philip K Dick is Dead, Alas,” by Micheal Bishop. Same vibes — Dick without the speed :)

by daoboy 3y ago

It is interesting to see how a handful of writers (especially Phillip K Dick!) really dominated the genre. Also a few forgotten gems I am going to have to reread now.

kramerger 3y ago

I feel this was the winter of sci-fi. I enjoyed Dune and Androids but the rest are mostly meh. A lot of DNF books for me (including Slaughterhouse-Five, which I know has its fans but I really disliked)

aardvark179 3y ago
I couldn’t disagree more. The new wave is where SF starts to get interesting for me, and is when a lot of my favourite authors got started.
sctb 3y ago
I'm curious to hear more about why you feel this was the winter of sci-fi! Can you share some more besides personal preference? (I'm not a huge Vonnegut fan or even big reader in general and Slaughterhouse-Five and Cat's Cradle were pretty far from DNF for me.)
ajmurmann 3y ago
I feel similarly. However, I absolutely love Vonnegut, but don't see his work as scifi. Sure it has all the elements, but the themes are mostly different. To me the best scifi is about a technology that could exist and plays through all the consequences. Slaughterhouse Five isn't that, it's about WWII. (From my definition one might guess correctly that I see space opera as a derogatory term)
- kramerger 3y ago
  I heard that his writing could have been a way to process what he went through during the war. That could explain the darkness. There is a modern fantasy writer that writes quite dark stories. I read that this is because of a very sick family member, and some of his best books have been written in a hospital room. While I applaude both for turning something bad into something good, these sort of books are just not my cup of tea. And I think a lot of people are like me. We read books to get away from the problems of real life, not dive into other people's troubled minds.
  - ajmurmann 3y ago
    "And I think a lot of people are like me. We read books to get away from the problems of real life, not dive into other people's troubled minds." That certainly makes sense and is of course also a subjective preference. To me great insights lie in the darkness, but it isn't for everyone and not at any time.

PaulHoule 3y ago

I like the list. It's the kind of list an English professor might make, not necessarily a sci-fi fan. In particular, Dick's genius was recognized only after his death. Even though sci-fi sometimes rises above other genre literature, it's not taken that seriously by literary types. Baudrillard talks a lot about Dick and Ballard and that's it. Stanislaw Lem (whose Cyberiad ought to be on that list instead of The Futurological Congress) himself said that Phillip K. Dick was on a whole other level than other sci-fi writers. Notably the list subverts the category of "novel" by adding a lot of things (comic books, concept albums) that aren't really novels. I think Fred Pohl is missing (say Gateway) and also Joe Halderman (Worlds!). I'd rather see any Frank Herbert book but Dune (say Whipping Star or The Santaroga Barrier.) For that matter I'd like to see something from Heinlein before he had the stroke like The Moon is a Harsh Mistress or Glory Road. I'd also want to see Niven's Neutron Star (a set of short stories that read like a novel) but despite some "new wave" sensibilities Niven comes across as reactionary today because the Tor Books revival (Forge of God and Enders Game) of sci-fi in the 1980s liked Heinlein and Niven and Doc Smith better than LeGunn, Dick, Ballard, Herbert, etc. On the other hand, put a sci-fi fan in charge of making this list and it's no doubt they'll add a stick of books from some author who is a "no account" in literary circles like Piers Anthony -- still I would try to slip him in at his most psychedelic.

routerl 3y ago
> Dick's genius was recognized only after his death. Which we should give credit for: I only found PKD due to Jonathan Lethem's advocacy. PKD fans are likely to enjoy Lethem's sci-fi, especially Gun, With Occasional Music. The crew of writers responsible for elevating PKD from pulp to cult deserve some attention, especially from PKD fans (aka "Dick-heads", which is just the most perfect name for a fandom). > I'd like to see something from Heinlein before he had the stroke like The Moon is a Harsh Mistress Plus one for The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. That's probably the best of Heinlein's work.
- getwiththeprog 3y ago
  Very rarely can I say with all sincerity "I am a Dick-Head"

mbb70 3y ago

Pkd was a genius, an addict, and most importantly, got paid by the page. Jonathan Letham's Amnesia Moon (mentioned at the bottom) is my favorite "how pkd would write if he weren't ripped on speed 24/7" Guess it's time to reread it. And ubik, and fmytps, and the lathe of heaven, and hyperion, and embassytown and...

sonofhans 3y ago
If you haven’t, check out “Philip K Dick is Dead, Alas,” by Micheal Bishop. Same vibes — Dick without the speed :)