Science Fiction

[moopet]

SF has a bad rap. SF novels are never considered for any of the big literary awards. Far from reaching the quarter-finals of the Booker Prize, they have to settle for back-pats from their own peers. In literary terms, the Hugo or Nebula awards are the equivalent of the wooden spoon you get for coming last in the parents'-day sack race in front of

Comments

[rotweiler]

Well, David Eddings is a good writer, I certainly like him anyway (Got 18 of his books), but not sure he deserves his own shelf. Terry Pratchett, yes - David Eddings, not so sure. And as for all those "pointless" Star Wars novels you mention, although I don't own any myself, lots of people do actually buy them, so to say nobody can see the point of them is somewhat of an exaggeration ;)

[moopet]

I liked Eddings' first books when I was a kid. Now they don't even hold nostalgia value to me. And shush about the Star Wars. I'm making a point, dammit, I have to have something to pick on!

[addict_yin]

Wooooooooooooah, don't even get me started. If I had a camera I'd show you m y reading pile, it's got to be a good 8 books deep by now. I've been chewing through sci fi at a huge rate at the moment, especially Iain M Banks and Peter F Hamilton when I can get 'em.

I've not seen you in a good year or two, why don't we meet up sometime and compare notes?

[moopet]

I think that's an excellent plan. IM me sometime when we're both awake.

[slane]

Most modern Sci Fi panders to the Star Trek crowd, lightweight and mostly pointless Asimov rewrites. The golden age is long dead. A lot of the books written in the 50's were an attempt to avoid the McArthy era. Have you read le Guin's Orsonian Tales or The Disposessed? Heinlen's Stranger in a Strange Land had something like 20,000 words censored.

Sadly Le Guin writes pap fantasy now, squeezing Earthsea for every cent she can get.

I know you've read KSR's Mars series, I think that was the last Sci Fi I enjoyed and he's one of the few decent Sci Fi authors to emerge in the past 20 years next to Dan Simmons.

Finally, Orson Scott Card should not be allowed near a pen.

[moopet]

I'm glad someone else doesn't like OSC but fwiw, I thought all of Heinlein's books that were thicker than half an inch sucked balls.

[thepussykat]

I have an ongoing grumble with the Southampton Borders that the management is more than aware off regarding the mixing up of Sci-Fi and Fantasy books in one section. There really is no comprehension within the company of how wrong that is and no interest in sorting it out. Maybe it's an America thing?

The rest of the shop's good though!

[mpire667]

ours are sorted just fine, thanks.

[moopet]

Is Borders-the-bookshop American?

[mpire667]

Yarr.

Looks like Books etc. is British and they were bought by Borders.
I started reading a lot more these days.
Got a Sony Reader at Christmas. Love that thing.

[technoid]

Because of the appearance of the fans?