A Sci Fi Reading Odyssey - 50 Novels

It really should be 42, shouldn't it? :D

Interesting list though. Might be useful to highlight in a different colour the one's you've already read?
 
For comparison: Hugo Winners 1953 - 85: None before 1953 (unless you look at Retro Hugos.)

1953 - The Demolished Man by Alfred Bester
1954 - No awards given - Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury won at Retro Awards event in 2004
1955 - They'd Rather Be Right by Mark Clifton and Frank Riley (also known as The Forever Machine)
1956 - Double Star by Robert A. Heinlein
1957 - No best novel award
1958 - The Big Time by Fritz Leiber
1959 - A Case of Conscience by James Blish
1960 - Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein
1961 - A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller, Jr
1962 - Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein
1963 - The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick
1964 - Way Station by Clifford Simak
1965 - The Wanderer by Fritz Leiber
1966 (tie)- And Call Me Conrad by Roger Zelazny (also known as This Immortal)
1966 (tie) - Dune by Frank Herbert
1967 - The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein
1968 – Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny
1969 - Stand on Zanzibar by John Brunner
1970 - The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin
1971 - Ringworld by Larry Niven
1972 - To Your Scattered Bodies Go by Philip José Farmer
1973 - The Gods Themselves by Isaac Asimov
1974 - Rendezvous With Rama by Arthur C. Clarke
1975 - The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin
1976 - The Forever War by Joe Haldeman
1977 - Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang by Kate Wilhelm
1978 - Gateway by Frederik Pohl
1979 - Dreamsnake by Vonda N. McIntyre
1980 - The Fountains of Paradise by Arthur C. Clarke
1981 - The Snow Queen by Joan D. Vinge
1982 - Downbelow Station by C. J. Cherryh
1983 - Foundation’s Edge by Isaac Asimov
1984 - Startide Rising by David Brin
1985 - Neuromancer by William Gibson
 
Last edited:
Matt H. said:
Sorry, what do you mean?
Click to expand...
Ah. May be a more obscure reference than I realised! According to Douglas Adams (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy) the answer to "Life, the Universe and Everything", is... 42. (Evidently an obscure computer coding reference, I believe.)

42 would also be twice the size of your original list... but you can always make it 50. :D
 
Hobbit said:
Ah. May be a more obscure reference than I realised!...
Click to expand...
No, even a Sci Fi dumb dumb like me knows that one. :) But I didn't connect it to discussion.
42 would also be twice the size of your original list... but you can always make it 50. :D
Click to expand...
You know, I actually would like to round it up to 50. :) It should keep me going for a year and a half. Lots of lovely morsels in there... Ever heard of this guy, Roger Zelazny? :) Whether I love them or not, I'm very curious about them. Had to add Lord of Light on its sheer rep! Any comments on the list? Recommend any switcheroos?
 
Last edited:
Hobbit said:
For comparison: Hugo Winners 1953 - 85: None before 1953 (unless you look at Retro Hugos.)
...
Click to expand...
Thanks, useful. I rather like how my list compares to it. It's sprinkeled with some Hugo winners, to the right extent...
 
Matt H. said:
Thanks, useful. I rather like how my list compares to it.
Click to expand...
I thought so - me too! To go earlier - Retro Hugos:

1939 - The Sword in the Stone T H White
1941 - Slan AE van Vogt
1943 - Beyond This Horizon Robert A Heinlein
1944 - Conjure Wife Fritz Leiber
1945 - To be decided at this year's Awards
1946 - The Mule Isaac Asimov (Foundation)
1951 - Farmer in the Sky Robert A Heinlein
1954 - Fahrenheit 451 Ray Bradbury.


Looking through that first list, I really liked The Snow Queen.... and Startide Rising...
 
Reading early RAH is about as easy as sliding into a warm bath. As much as he was a significant part of my introduction to the genre he is perhaps overrepresented? On the other hand I would not attempt your list without some occasion for relaxation. Heinlein could be a way to lay back after authors who take a lot more work.
 
pogopossum said:
Reading early RAH is about as easy as sliding into a warm bath. As much as he was a significant part of my introduction to the genre he is perhaps overrepresented? On the other hand I would not attempt your list without some occasion for relaxation. Heinlein could be a way to lay back after authors who take a lot more work.
Click to expand...
Pogo, thanks. Yeah, I got 4* RH books...Wouldn't mind considering alternatives, (I'm not an *automatic* Heinlein fanatic, see my review of Double Star), but for the specific years I wanted to fill in... seemed it was either Heinlein, PKD or ERB! (years in 40's and 50's)

(added)
Btw, agree that Heinlein is an easy and enjoyable writer to read. It's been years since I read several of his. Looking forward so much to Puppet Masters! Also agree on point about alternating lighter books with heavier ones. I've been trying to do that in my reading so far...as well as alternating styles and themes too.

(added)

Mark recommended Startide Rising. I assume Brin has a somewhat distinctive style/theme/approach that would add to my "gallery of styles" ?

(added)
Would love to work in one by Brian Aldiss too. Options? (self-contained, pre 1985, not too long)
 
Last edited:
Matt H. said:
Mark recommended Startide Rising. I assume Brin has a somewhat distinctive style/theme/approach that would add to my "gallery of styles" ?
Click to expand...
It's a style that to me epitomises the big bold SF of the 1980s. An early precursor to the epic blockbusters of Peter F Hamilton, Alastair Reynolds and co today.

Matt H. said:
I bet ya doubloons, that's going to be Martian Chronicles, right? How could it not be?
Click to expand...

Nominees for 1945 are:

  • The Golden Fleece (Hercules, My Shipmate), by Robert Graves (Cassell)
  • Land of Terror, by Edgar Rice Burroughs (Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc.)
  • “Shadow Over Mars” (The Nemesis from Terra), by Leigh Brackett (Startling Stories, Fall 1944)
  • Sirius: A Fantasy of Love and Discord, by Olaf Stapledon (Secker & Warburg)
  • The Wind on the Moon, by Eric Linklater (Macmillan)
  • “The Winged Man”, by A.E. van Vogt and E. Mayne Hull (Astounding Science Fiction, May-June 1944)

Don't forget: the 1945 Hugos are for books published 1944. Not as clear-cut as you might think.

Later edit: Aldiss is quite varied. I would suggest a collection like Galaxies Like Grains of Sand, or his first novel Non-Stop; award winning Hothouse or Greybeard.
 
Hobbit said:
It's a style that to me epitomises the big bold SF of the 1980s. An early precursor to the epic blockbusters of Peter F Hamilton, Alastair Reynolds and co today.
Click to expand...
Sold me. Adding it...

...
Don't forget: the 1945 Hugos are for books published 1944. Not as clear-cut as you might think.
Click to expand...
Opps, I didn't think of that. Of course. So looks like a Foundation book beat MC? That I guess I can swallow... Still I'm sure that MC was ultimately far more influential than The Mule. Also I think you could say that Bradbury's prose is probably more beautiful, as prose, than Asimov. Nothing at all against the writing ability and unbeatable imagination of Isaac! What do you think?
Later edit: Aldiss is quite varied. I would suggest a collection like Galaxies Like Grains of Sand, or his first novel Non-Stop; award winning Hothouse or Greybeard.
Click to expand...
I think will add one (unsure which) A book for 1960 (Hothouse, fills a year in the chron)

Boy oh boy, it'll take me far more than 1.5 yrs, lol... Not a fast reader or a fast review writer.

A fun thing about the expanded list is now there could be 43 unread classics that others could sync with. (Or Bookclub?) Would be a kick to see someone else write a Blank Slate-style review. We could do them blind and thus have a neat little experiment. Hahaha.. In five years when this is done, we can start the story project.

Have the group here hash out a unique story list - essentially create an collaborative antho. You guys create it, I read it (and/or others) The "Students", write up a short response on each one, and we do it blind. I guess it's a little like a loose, spontaneous, group-taught class. We might end up with a pretty damn good antho. :) ...and for each choice a set of responses.

Anyway, thanks much again for all the help!
 
Last edited:
img061.jpg


The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin [1974]
Ace
323 pages
Reader Response by Matt H. [v 1.28] from Reading Odyssey
Rating: Not entirely recommended, ambitious but often dry

Story Summary

Thousands of years in the future, humans have spread to other star systems. The civilizations of these systems have formed an organization called the Ekkumen to promote benevolent cultural exchange and commerce between humanoid worlds. The Ekkumen has sent a single individual, according to its tradition, as Envoy to a particularly remote and ice-bound world called Gethenia. It is the task of the Envoy, Genly Ai, to encourage the inhabitants of Gethenia to become part of the Ekkumen.

Of all known humanoid races, the people of Gethenia are singular. Certain aspects of their reproductive cycles and biology are exceedingly unusual. This strangeness opens up gaps of psychological understanding between Gethenians and other humans. Also, this difference in biology means that history and culture have followed a unique path of this planet. It is an intricate civilization and rich with inscrutable considerations of honor and obligation. Though violence is not uncommon, war as a large-scale endeavor is unknown. Though they have, in many ways, an industrialized, technologically modern society, they have a different rhythm; they see no point in hurrying.

Genly has spent two years on Gethenia in the nation of Kharhide, a willfully archaic monarchy with an insecure and unstable king. He has had a chance to partly explain his mission, but there is intrigue in the kingdom. The noble, Estraven who apparently favored Genly is disgraced. Genly heads out on a journey to the rival state of Orgoreyn, stopping on the way at a monastery “fastness” to receive an oracle from Faxe, a priest of the Handratta religion. When Genly arrives in Orgoreyn at first it seems a markedly more advanced nation than Kharhide, socially and economically. But there too he discovers secrets - awful political abuses, and he meets with treachery. Some claim he is a hoax or a spy. He endures a terrible and dangerous imprisonment but is eventually rescued.

But before Genly Ai can finally complete his mission as Envoy, he must undertake an almost impossible journey with Estraven hundreds of miles across the terrible glacial ice. The future of the planet’s course is at stake. In the end, the oracular verdict of the Handratta is fulfilled.

Critical Reader Appraisal

From the first paragraph of this book, with its dry, abstract, aphoristic tone something fairly screams “this is not going to be fun!” And it’s mostly true. This is a lofty and ambitious work, and it is simply not kind to the first-time reader. Of course it’s also absolutely fair to consider the book’s large accomplishments, its charms (it does have some), and its impressive scope.

In deeply imagining a truly alien, though human, culture, the book is impressive indeed. It’s not just a detailed imagined historical evolution, but a highly plausible alien psychology. It is all deftly re-enforced with myth and scripture, often with an admirably authentic feel. At its best, Le Guin’s prose has a stony, mystic beauty. Her short, Anglo-Saxon words, and simple sentences are pattern-made for legend and folklore. This is clearest of all in the pure myth sections. The tales told are absorbing, puzzling and fit well with the fictional culture described in the main story. They also have the peculiar strangeness of real folklore. Heroes are also anti-heroes, taboo-breakers. Events are often more strange than just wonderous, and the rules of causality are often vexed.

Lots of tantalizing resemblances to existing culture, myth and religion are apparent. One religion is non-dualist, the other about oneness -shades of Zen Buddhism and Hinduism and perhaps some Taoism too. There’s lots more -- with neat smatterings of Near, Middle and Far East political philosophies, customs and social phenomena. But perhaps most immediate is a Germanic, and Celtic myth feelings. Shifregor in some superficial ways resembles Chivalry.

But let’s get to the not-so-good stuff. The beginning of the novel I personally found surprisingly non-engaging. That can harm a book. The story picked up some here and there, but always slid into a maddening digressiveness. I wouldn’t fault the narrative technique on it’s own. But it is more complex than usual and adds some choppiness (Two merging first person narratives, interspersed with myths and Ekkumen reports). I rather like this method in theory, the big problem was that it added a level of difficulty to an already difficult read. When you dive into this book you will be immediately smacked with a ton of fictitious words, mostly names, but some verbs and concepts too. You will also be smacked with the burden, hardest of all, of interpreting the hinted symbolic relation of fictional myth (with its own fictitious names) to a fictional mythic narrative. It’s a hec of a lot to ask a poor reader. Bluntly, am I supposed to be getting all this?

Paradoxically, for a book of so varied and apparently rich, there is also an unpleasant sterility at times. This manifests as a almost never-ending barrage of aphoristic wisdom, mini-epiphanies and deep abstractions. At times it seems there are 2 or 3 in every paragraph. It’s not bad material, but it creates a certain cumulative dryness. A writing teacher would also say—it lacks concreteness.

Almost a third of the book, is dedicated to a long journey through the polar ice regions. During that whole 100 pages, not much happens, except Estraven and the Envoy become very close personally. Surprisingly, the book begins to become a romance. Granted it’s an interesting romance and an original situation -- owning to the difference in sexual outlook of the two. But it’s rather drawn out, and gets a little mushy in its prolongation, especially within a survival story. The ice journey does have some nice descriptive passages. The prose itself is good, but it sounds much like an Antarctic explorer’s log, so it’s not particularly Sci Fi per se. It’s just like any ice journey on earth today; and again, it’s about 100 pages.

A minor stick-out was when the Envoy is asked if women are mentally inferior. He replies – I don’t know, but they don’t make good mathematicians or musicians. They’re not exactly stupid but… So the answer kinda seems like “yes”, women are mentally inferior? Oopsa-daisey. There goes the “enlightenment” of the Envoy and his squeaky-clean Ekkumen. It’s a weird passage for this otherwise inclusively-themed, empathetic-seeming book.

“Warning! For advanced readers only!” Sorry, that doesn’t fly here. This book, for all its amazing, deep imagination, its originality, its poetic prose, great use of primary sources, pithy observations, still failed for me overall as a book. With all these attributes there is still a displeasing lack of concreteness, an indulgent digressive looseness of story and parts. For a “blank-slate” reader, it’s a whole lot of work. Various beautiful rewards are certainly there, but that doesn’t mean they are beautifully integrated as a story.
 
Last edited:
Does anyone see anything on this Wikipedia list that floats your boat? I'd love to get a 1985 novel for my list to make it symmetrical 1935-1985. Again - self-contained, not too long. Does anyone like The Time Wanderers, by the Strugatskies? Please let me know if you see any worthy gems on this list for 1985. (let's avoid any more hugo, nebula, etc. winners)

Got my review of Left Hand done. Comments welcome. I'm about 100 pages into Neuromancer (Vince, you're making me nervous! lol). Let me break my critique rules (I always do) and say (as I always do when I can't help it), it's damn good so far! No pressure Matt, but your review better be brilliant! :)

(added) Why is Ender's Game under 1985? Thought it was 1977.
 
Last edited:
From the first paragraph of this book, with its dry, abstract, aphoristic tone something fairly screams “this is not going to be fun!”
Click to expand...
And that is exactly my prob with LeGuin, 9/10ths of the time. DRY is the magic word. By Gad she is so dry.My other prob , is that very often I don't see the point of her telling her stories in a SF vein. They seem like stories that could often be told in our own world. The Dispossessed reads like a Cold War espionage novel to me.

Having said that, this book is okay, and about a topic that was not discussed at the time, so major kudos for that.
I mentioned this elsewhere - everyone/anyone see the Star Trek NG ep that essentially is a thematic lift from this book?
The Outcast
 
ArthurFrayn said:
And that is exactly my prob with LeGuin, 9/10ths of the time. DRY is the magic word.
I mentioned this elsewhere - everyone/anyone see the Star Trek NG ep that essentially is a thematic lift from this book?
The Outcast
Click to expand...
Thanks, Arthur! Not sure if I've seen that Star Trek or not. I will look into it. Thanks for pointing out that connection with LHD. Connections are what it's all about.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Sponsors


We try to keep the forum as free of ads as possible, please consider supporting SFFWorld on Patreon


Your ad here.

Latest posts

Back
Top