And another thing about books!
Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game was also mentioned by several people as a science fiction work that should be regarded as real Literature. One person even said he had read it 20 times! I, on the other hand, had a hard time getting through it as a recorded book. It just didn't strike me as convincing on any level. Apparently taht is a minority opinion.
Card, however, has redeemed himself by writing an essay confirming one of my deepest personal prejudices: that post-modernism is total bull-whaa. And he should know - he was working on his PhD in English when introduced to it in '82 and did extensive reading in the field. He even read an entire work by Jacques Derrida*. Anyway, his essay is worth reading.
BTW, if anyone out there disagrees about Ender's Game I'd love to hear from you. My wife read the whole Ender series and liked them.
*which makes me feel even sorrier for him than the guy who read Ender's Game 20 times.
posted by Clemens @ 12:07 AM
7 comments
7 Comments:
I enjoyed it the last time I read it, but a friend of mine at work really dislikes it. This is partly because he's a doctrinaire progressive and Card definitely isn't. But he also pointed out the recurring "poor oppressed me, I never have any choices but lashing out with violent force against my oppressors" theme, which is a good point.
I think I posted my reasons for not liking it some time ago. I just didn't think it was real, for lack of a better word.
Start reading Samuel Delaney if you want to see some Literature. Dhalgren is his magnum opus, but you might want to start with some of his short stories, just to get warmed up.
Stephen Donaldson's Chronicles of Thomas Covenant (ok fantasy not sci fi) certainly cannot be accused of emotional immaturity.
And what about the old masters like Ray Bradbury?
Never read any of those, Maire, although I have heard several people talk up the Thomas Convenant series. And I did have the old EC comics version of some of Bradbury's Martian stories, drawn by Joe Orlando.
Never read Bradbury?? I am surprised -- but then Dandelion Wine was required reading in 7th grade English for me. The Martian Chronicles are cool, but I read them in High School so I can't comment on them as Literature. Something Wicked this Way Comes is a children's book, but what a children's book. I've read a fair number of his short stories as well, but again, a long time ago.
Donaldson - dark and dangerous. Excellent author. Also consider Peter Hamilton's 'Night's Dawn' Trilogy and, of course, anything by Philip K Dick. Iain M Banks (as opposed to Iain Banks - same guy, different genre)
Well, as long as I keep dropping by your house, I am going to have to become acquainted with ALL these authors! 8)
At one time it seemed like I read little sci-fi paperbacks every couple of days, but somewhere along the way I stopped. Now I can remember some of the books quite well, but don't remember who wrote them. I could even remember a book Elliot mentioned from forty years ago!
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