Comments on: ‘The twenty science fiction novels that will change your life’—plus a pulp novel by a convicted murderer http://www.teleread.org/blog/2008/03/01/the-twenty-science-fiction-novels-that-will-change-your-life-plus-a-pulp-novel-by-a-convicted-murderer/ News & views on e-books, libraries, publishing and related topics Fri, 21 Nov 2008 07:19:04 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.2 By: Errata Corrigendum http://www.teleread.org/blog/2008/03/01/the-twenty-science-fiction-novels-that-will-change-your-life-plus-a-pulp-novel-by-a-convicted-murderer/#comment-727569 Errata Corrigendum Mon, 03 Mar 2008 03:33:03 +0000 http://www.teleread.org/blog/2008/03/01/the-twenty-science-fiction-novels-that-will-change-your-life-plus-a-pulp-novel-by-a-convicted-murderer/#comment-727569 Commenting on the Survey article Mike Cane said “I guess you didn’t notice you have mystery/thriller TWICE?” That gives me an excuse to respond jocularly to a separate comment that Cane made above about the list of science fiction novels “Bruce Sterling should be on it. Odd that Gibson isn’t”. I guess you didn’t notice that Pattern Recognition by William Gibson is on the list. Sophie Habash’s makes the following comment above “pond is right. Any list without “The Dispossessed” is incomplete!” The Dispossessed by Ursula LeGuin is on the list. Pond said that he was baffled by the choice. In conclusion, reading carefully and correctly requires considerable practice because it is impossible. Commenting on the Survey article Mike Cane said “I guess you didn’t notice you have mystery/thriller TWICE?” That gives me an excuse to respond jocularly to a separate comment that Cane made above about the list of science fiction novels “Bruce Sterling should be on it. Odd that Gibson isn’t”.

I guess you didn’t notice that Pattern Recognition by William Gibson is on the list.

Sophie Habash’s makes the following comment above “pond is right. Any list without “The Dispossessed” is incomplete!”

The Dispossessed by Ursula LeGuin is on the list. Pond said that he was baffled by the choice.

In conclusion, reading carefully and correctly requires considerable practice because it is impossible.

]]> By: Mike Cane http://www.teleread.org/blog/2008/03/01/the-twenty-science-fiction-novels-that-will-change-your-life-plus-a-pulp-novel-by-a-convicted-murderer/#comment-727354 Mike Cane Sun, 02 Mar 2008 20:50:57 +0000 http://www.teleread.org/blog/2008/03/01/the-twenty-science-fiction-novels-that-will-change-your-life-plus-a-pulp-novel-by-a-convicted-murderer/#comment-727354 I, Robot (1955), by Isaac Asimov -- sorry, I couldn't finish it! Why not the Foundation trilogy? I read that! Kindred (1979), by Octavia Butler -- read ages ago. Didn't change me at all. Cryptonomicon (2000), by Neal Stephenson -- sigh, still to read Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom (2003), by Cory Doctorow (M, F) -- ditto Haven't read the others (yeah, well, Frankenstein when I was a wee one with a head full of mush). Eejit list. Bruce Sterling should be on it. Odd that Gibson isn't (not that I want him there; can't stand his characters!). Oh hell, yes, PKD should be on it! Damn, *every* book of his impacted me. Oh, hell, Bester should be on that list too! I, Robot (1955), by Isaac Asimov
– sorry, I couldn’t finish it! Why not the Foundation trilogy? I read that!

Kindred (1979), by Octavia Butler
– read ages ago. Didn’t change me at all.

Cryptonomicon (2000), by Neal Stephenson
– sigh, still to read

Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom (2003), by Cory Doctorow (M, F)
– ditto

Haven’t read the others (yeah, well, Frankenstein when I was a wee one with a head full of mush). Eejit list. Bruce Sterling should be on it. Odd that Gibson isn’t (not that I want him there; can’t stand his characters!). Oh hell, yes, PKD should be on it! Damn, *every* book of his impacted me. Oh, hell, Bester should be on that list too!

]]> By: Cerebus http://www.teleread.org/blog/2008/03/01/the-twenty-science-fiction-novels-that-will-change-your-life-plus-a-pulp-novel-by-a-convicted-murderer/#comment-727250 Cerebus Sun, 02 Mar 2008 17:25:08 +0000 http://www.teleread.org/blog/2008/03/01/the-twenty-science-fiction-novels-that-will-change-your-life-plus-a-pulp-novel-by-a-convicted-murderer/#comment-727250 What, did the decades before 1980 never happen? Was there no "life-changing" SCIFI in those years? Dick's _The Man in the High Castle_ launched me into interesting philosophic realms, and Lem's _Solaris_ changed my very perception of what "alien" even *means*. What, did the decades before 1980 never happen? Was there no “life-changing” SCIFI in those years? Dick’s _The Man in the High Castle_ launched me into interesting philosophic realms, and Lem’s _Solaris_ changed my very perception of what “alien” even *means*.

]]> By: Sophie Habash http://www.teleread.org/blog/2008/03/01/the-twenty-science-fiction-novels-that-will-change-your-life-plus-a-pulp-novel-by-a-convicted-murderer/#comment-726605 Sophie Habash Sat, 01 Mar 2008 20:32:01 +0000 http://www.teleread.org/blog/2008/03/01/the-twenty-science-fiction-novels-that-will-change-your-life-plus-a-pulp-novel-by-a-convicted-murderer/#comment-726605 pond is right. Any list without "The Dispossessed" is incomplete! pond is right. Any list without “The Dispossessed” is incomplete!

]]> By: pond http://www.teleread.org/blog/2008/03/01/the-twenty-science-fiction-novels-that-will-change-your-life-plus-a-pulp-novel-by-a-convicted-murderer/#comment-726542 pond Sat, 01 Mar 2008 18:13:00 +0000 http://www.teleread.org/blog/2008/03/01/the-twenty-science-fiction-novels-that-will-change-your-life-plus-a-pulp-novel-by-a-convicted-murderer/#comment-726542 I like the list in general, and like the idea of the list even more. I do have a couple quibbles with it: why so many books published in the last 10 years? Are we in some sort of golden age of science fiction, or is the author of the piece simply not an authority on sf's history? Generally speaking it is unwise to label anything recent as a classic, let alone call it 'life-changing.' I was also a bit baffled why Ursula LeGuin's The Dispossessed made it, but that book's clear 'father' --- Robert Heinlein's The Moon is a Harsh Mistress --- did not. And yet many in the US Libertarian movement cite that book as totally changing their notion of the State and the individual's relationship to it. (Indeed, almost all of Heinlein's earlier young-adult sf novels could be added to this list.) I like the list in general, and like the idea of the list even more. I do have a couple quibbles with it:

why so many books published in the last 10 years? Are we in some sort of golden age of science fiction, or is the author of the piece simply not an authority on sf’s history? Generally speaking it is unwise to label anything recent as a classic, let alone call it ‘life-changing.’

I was also a bit baffled why Ursula LeGuin’s The Dispossessed made it, but that book’s clear ‘father’ — Robert Heinlein’s The Moon is a Harsh Mistress — did not. And yet many in the US Libertarian movement cite that book as totally changing their notion of the State and the individual’s relationship to it. (Indeed, almost all of Heinlein’s earlier young-adult sf novels could be added to this list.)

]]> By: Ficbot http://www.teleread.org/blog/2008/03/01/the-twenty-science-fiction-novels-that-will-change-your-life-plus-a-pulp-novel-by-a-convicted-murderer/#comment-726533 Ficbot Sat, 01 Mar 2008 17:39:32 +0000 http://www.teleread.org/blog/2008/03/01/the-twenty-science-fiction-novels-that-will-change-your-life-plus-a-pulp-novel-by-a-convicted-murderer/#comment-726533 I loved "The Sparrow." It definitely deserves to make the list. I would put Doctorow's short stories before his novels, though. And no John Wyndham? I loved “The Sparrow.” It definitely deserves to make the list. I would put Doctorow’s short stories before his novels, though. And no John Wyndham?

]]> By: Garson O'Toole http://www.teleread.org/blog/2008/03/01/the-twenty-science-fiction-novels-that-will-change-your-life-plus-a-pulp-novel-by-a-convicted-murderer/#comment-726525 Garson O'Toole Sat, 01 Mar 2008 17:19:30 +0000 http://www.teleread.org/blog/2008/03/01/the-twenty-science-fiction-novels-that-will-change-your-life-plus-a-pulp-novel-by-a-convicted-murderer/#comment-726525 The copyright status of “We” by Yevgeny Zamyatin was discussed back in 2005 here at TeleRead. Branko Collin supplied <a HREF="http://www.teleread.org/blog/2005/12/13/how-to-find-free-copyrighted-books-from-project-gutenberg/" rel="nofollow">some information on the complicated copyright status of the novel (see the comment section)</A>. David Rothman links to the Wikipedia page on “We” and a quick scan of the page reveals a link that illustrates Stewart Brand’s aphorism "Information wants to be free.” But the full quote is "Information wants to be free. Information also wants to be expensive ... That tension will not go away." Addendum: David Rothman asks “Why isn’t this 1921 work digitized for the public domain”? Apparently the original 1921 version is in Russian and there is a link labeled “The full text of We (Russian)” on the Wikipedia page. The copyright status of “We” by Yevgeny Zamyatin was discussed back in 2005 here at TeleRead. Branko Collin supplied some information on the complicated copyright status of the novel (see the comment section).

David Rothman links to the Wikipedia page on “We” and a quick scan of the page reveals a link that illustrates Stewart Brand’s aphorism “Information wants to be free.” But the full quote is “Information wants to be free. Information also wants to be expensive … That tension will not go away.”

Addendum: David Rothman asks “Why isn’t this 1921 work digitized for the public domain”? Apparently the original 1921 version is in Russian and there is a link labeled “The full text of We (Russian)” on the Wikipedia page.

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