[Horace Slatz]

I'm reading Norstrilia by Cordwainer Smith. It's entertaining and funny but I don't quite understand why it's hailed as such a masterwork. Any Ideas? :confused:

[Hobbit]

This thread (http://www.sffworld.com/forums/showthread.php?t=484) might fill in some of the gaps.

A lot of the respect given to the novel (but perhaps more to his short stories) is that they were very different to most SF published at the time they were written. They were not always easy to read, not always plot driven, perhaps in the eyes of some, more 'grown up'.

Nowadays his style and ideas are more integrated into others work.

Hobbit

[knivesout]

Im a huge Cordwainer Smith fan. I'd say that his real masterpiece is the bodt of short stories collectively known as the Rediscovery of Man. The novel makes more sense after reading these - not only do they fill in a lot of backstory, they also make the the themes of this work more vivid. But I personalkly consider Norstrilia more as a pendant to one of the finest sequences of short stories in or out of the genre.

[Archren]

Knives- Have to agree with you there. When I first read Norstrila (at a fairly young age), I hadn't read the short story stuff and I really didn't get it. I could see that there was something I was missing. After reading "Rediscovery of Man," now one of my all-time favorite works of SF, it fleshed out a lot for me. I highly recommend the short story collection. Amazing work.

Now that you mention it, I think It's been too long since I last re-read that stuff. I need to get back to it soon and see how much more I get out of it now that I'm older. Smith's works really do mature with age. (like a fine wine... but with paper) :D

[chocky]

I am currently reading Norstrillia and I like it very much. I wish I had seen this thread earlier cause I bought The Rediscovery of Man at the same time, but decided to read the novel first. I enjoy reading novels over short stories,(I've had Dangerous Visions for over a year and still have only read the first couple of stories) but in this case I probably would have read the short stories first. Oh well, I am really enjoying Norstrillia anyway and now have The rediscovery of Man to look forward to.

[Lowlander]

Recently read "Ballad of Lost C'Mell" and thought is was one of the best SF short stories I ever read.
It was so good I'am now busy buying Cordwainer Smith
story collections.

[Mr Snow]

I discovered Cordwainer Smith when I was real young. I was about ten and I found his Rediscovery of Man series in my local library. I fell in love with it and ever since then I've been interested in Sci-Fi.

I would recommend him to anyone. Did anyone else know that Cordwainer Smith is not his real name and that in real life he worked for U.S. intellligence as an expert on China?

[Hobbit]

Did anyone else know that Cordwainer Smith is not his real name and that in real life he worked for U.S. intellligence as an expert on China? It's mentioned in the link above, Mr Snow! ;)

Hobbit

[knivesout]

Dang, it's nice to see Cordwainer Smith getting so much love. :)