I am so with you on middle to late Heinlein, but let me put in a good word for The Moon is a Harsh Mistress--It's actually a pretty interesting sociopolitical thought experiment and the sexism is kept to a relative minimum (not that this is saying much). There's also some interesting stuff with stable plural marriage. I also found Starship Troopers pretty interesting but a lot of that is because of work I've done on military service and citizenship. If I were going to recommend one over the other I'd definitely go with TMiaHM.
I am with you re: Gaiman. Can I just... okay, this may be blasphemy in some circles, but I honestly think Gaiman is kind of overrated now.
And I'm biased toward Bradbury anyway but think everyone should read The Martian Chronicles. That book is a huge part of why I'm writing the novel I currently am. Same with The Road.
I might give TMiaHM a go, then, if I ever get to the end of my request list at the library. Which is looking more likely than it used to.
I agree with you on Gaiman. I like Sandman an order of magnitude more than his novels - they're good but not great. What he is good at is resonance, which partly explains for me why people get passionate about them - a lot of his books feel familiar and well-loved, with the edges rubbed off as if I'd read them long before, even when I know I didn't read anything like them as a kid.
I've just never really encountered Bradbury aside from Fahrenheit 451. I'll look out for The Martian Chronicles. The Road is apocalypsier than I can handle - I like a glimmer of hope, even if it's a really small one. I really liked the excerpt you posted from your novel a while ago, though.
Sandman was formative for me. That said, I would never try to claim that it's flawless. As far as his books go, honestly the only one that's ever really stuck with me was American Gods. I liked Neverwhere but I've never successfully completed any of his other books. Except Coraline. I loved Good Omens but I honestly think it was more Pratchett than Gaiman that I was responding to.
It's weird: for many years I was solidly on the "fuck yeah Neil Gaiman" train, and then recently I realized that I've only ever taken to a very select few of his things.
I think you're totally right about why people love him. He does have a way of tapping into the Storyness of stories--the elements of them that are timeless and therefore familiar.
The Road... That's a tough one. It's at once one of the bleakest books I've ever read and one of the most uplifting. I don't want to spoil anything, but I will say that the ending both surprised me by how hopeful it actually was, and didn't end up feeling tacked on or incongruous for that
( ... )
He does have a way of tapping into the Storyness of stories--the elements of them that are timeless and therefore familiar.
Yeah, this, exactly. It works well in Stardust and his children's books, but it's not quite enough to hold up a full-length novel.
I read a short description in your LJ once and thought it sounded interesting but too bleak for me, but your longer synopsis (with the tiny glimmer of hope) and the excerpt were really compelling.
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I am with you re: Gaiman. Can I just... okay, this may be blasphemy in some circles, but I honestly think Gaiman is kind of overrated now.
And I'm biased toward Bradbury anyway but think everyone should read The Martian Chronicles. That book is a huge part of why I'm writing the novel I currently am. Same with The Road.
Sayers is just so great.
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I agree with you on Gaiman. I like Sandman an order of magnitude more than his novels - they're good but not great. What he is good at is resonance, which partly explains for me why people get passionate about them - a lot of his books feel familiar and well-loved, with the edges rubbed off as if I'd read them long before, even when I know I didn't read anything like them as a kid.
I've just never really encountered Bradbury aside from Fahrenheit 451. I'll look out for The Martian Chronicles. The Road is apocalypsier than I can handle - I like a glimmer of hope, even if it's a really small one. I really liked the excerpt you posted from your novel a while ago, though.
Reply
It's weird: for many years I was solidly on the "fuck yeah Neil Gaiman" train, and then recently I realized that I've only ever taken to a very select few of his things.
I think you're totally right about why people love him. He does have a way of tapping into the Storyness of stories--the elements of them that are timeless and therefore familiar.
The Road... That's a tough one. It's at once one of the bleakest books I've ever read and one of the most uplifting. I don't want to spoil anything, but I will say that the ending both surprised me by how hopeful it actually was, and didn't end up feeling tacked on or incongruous for that ( ... )
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Yeah, this, exactly. It works well in Stardust and his children's books, but it's not quite enough to hold up a full-length novel.
I read a short description in your LJ once and thought it sounded interesting but too bleak for me, but your longer synopsis (with the tiny glimmer of hope) and the excerpt were really compelling.
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