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dustydigger

Posted 2015-02-13 8:05 AM (#9627 - in reply to #9624)
Subject: Re: The Definitive 1950s Reading Challenge

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I finished This Island Earth for 1952,after giving up on Player Piano. Island was good fun,good old fashioned adventure,but with some interesting points.As ever, WWII looms over the book. Jones makes the point that just as in the war small islands with so called ''primitive'' peoples were dragged in to the bigger conflict,and were often left with a wrecked society after their usefulness was done. Here Earth is a very backward planet which can be easily sacrificed in the huge scale of an millennia old interstellar conflict. But our good old engineer who had been used as a sort of factory foreman points out a new tactic.to fight the evil enemy.The book ends there before the tactis are deployed,but it is an optimistic ending. Very enjoyable.
The only books I had read for this year were The Demolished Man,the first award winner in our list,and Foundation and Empire. You all know my feelings about Foundation,but I did enjoy Demolished Man,though it has dated a bit. The typography for the mental speech must have seemed very cool and exciting back in 1952,but it has been done a million times since,so the impact is lost somewhat today. Add that we view much of the book from the anti-hero's point of view and it doesnt rouse much empathy either. I much preferred the pyrotechnics of Bester's Tiger Tiger/ Still,an interesting read.
We are now getting more and more books which are on WWEnd lists . In 1950 Martian Chronicles,on 10 lists,and I,Robot,on 6 lists,towered above the rest. Again in 1951 Day of the Triffids was on on 10 lists,Illustrated Man on 5,with Foundation on 3 lists.In 1952 Demolished Man is on 8 lists,City on 5,and the other books barely show. But from 1953 onwards we see a lot more heavyweight books. Cant wait!-Interesting about which authors get chosen,and who are ignored. I remember back in the 60s Sturgeon was massive,the author young writers aspired to. ,famous for his short stories,but now that people hardly read short stories in the genre he is mostly forgotten,apart from More Than Human,of course

jwharris28

Posted 2015-02-13 8:33 AM (#9628 - in reply to #9627)
Subject: Re: The Definitive 1950s Reading Challenge

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dustydigger - 2015-02-13 8:05 AM
Cant wait!-Interesting about which authors get chosen,and who are ignored. I remember back in the 60s Sturgeon was massive,the author young writers aspired to. ,famous for his short stories,but now that people hardly read short stories in the genre he is mostly forgotten,apart from More Than Human,of course

I totally agree. Systematically going through these 1950s SF books is revealing the true classics. What we need to do is find the forgotten gems and encourage people to read them. For example, today (2/13/15) Amazon has The Dreaming Jewels on sale for the Kindle for a $1.99 - and you can add the Audible edition for another $1.99. That's a good indicator that people are still remembering Sturgeon. There's even a quote on the Amazon page that hooked me:

"I look upon Sturgeon with a secret and growing jealousy." Ray Bradbury

Even though I'm not familiar with this novel, and the plot description is unappealing to me, the glowing reader reviews made me go ahead and buy it. I'm hoping it will be a gem. What I'd really like to do from participating in this 1950's SF reading challenge is find books that will thrill me like SF thrilled me back in the 1960s, when I first discovered SF as a teen.

Edited by jwharris28 2015-02-13 8:34 AM

jwharris28

Posted 2015-02-17 10:12 AM (#9667 - in reply to #9162)
Subject: Re: The Definitive 1950s Reading Challenge

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For 1952 I'm reading The Demolished Man by Alfred Bester. It's good but not compelling, probably because the main character wants to murder someone, and the main theme is about a world where telepaths exist. I just can't believe in telepathy. We hardly ever see telepathy used in science fiction stories anymore, although it was very common in the 1950s. I wonder how many science fictional concepts have become extinct?

Edited by jwharris28 2015-02-17 10:12 AM

mj122955

Posted 2015-02-17 2:26 PM (#9670 - in reply to #9628)
Subject: Re: The Definitive 1950s Reading Challenge

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I enjoyed The Dreaming Jewels. Its populated with a cast of Diane Arbus characters and reads more like an Algernon Blackwood story than a science fiction novel. The gears grind a little when Zena launches into a long unnecessary plot exposition, but thats a minor quibble.

The Sands of Mars has an interesting premise, but the execution seems flat and colorless. Martin Gibson, the protagonist, never comes alive. I cant help but think that Heinlein would have centered the plot on the young crew member Jimmy Spencer and Project Dawn would have become a riveting event. Instead, The Sands of Mars just plods along like a metronome.

jwharris28

Posted 2015-02-21 8:01 PM (#9687 - in reply to #9162)
Subject: Re: The Definitive 1950s Reading Challenge

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I finished Non-Stop by Brian Aldiss today - a 1958 book I read out of order. It's the February book for the Classic Science Fiction Book Club. It was fun, but not great, but I can't really say what it's about with giving spoilers. If you can read it without reading anything about it you'll probably have the most fun figuring things out for yourself.

Edited by jwharris28 2015-02-21 8:02 PM

gallyangel

Posted 2015-02-23 12:56 AM (#9693 - in reply to #9687)
Subject: Re: The Definitive 1950s Reading Challenge

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jwharris28 - 2015-02-21 6:01 PM

I finished Non-Stop by Brian Aldiss today - a 1958 book I read out of order. It's the February book for the Classic Science Fiction Book Club.

These days, when I think of Non Stop, the SF channel's Ascension comes immediately to mind. Or is that to much of a spoiler? I'm sure there was some inspiration there.

jwharris28

Posted 2015-02-23 7:08 AM (#9694 - in reply to #9693)
Subject: Re: The Definitive 1950s Reading Challenge

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gallyangel - 2015-02-23 12:56 AM

These days, when I think of Non Stop, the SF channel's Ascension comes immediately to mind. Or is that to much of a spoiler? I'm sure there was some inspiration there.

I had heard there was a TV show using that idea. Unfortunately, I don't have cable. I wonder if they use the same basic plot that Aldiss and Heinlein used? I just checked, and Ascension is available for streaming from Amazon for $7.99.

dustydigger

Posted 2015-02-24 6:21 AM (#9706 - in reply to #9694)
Subject: Re: The Definitive 1950s Reading Challenge

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Not quite sure what the timescale is for this challenge. One year a fortnight,or a month? I have some sort of vague notion that we are going to do one year a fortnight,thus neatly taking two years to do al l50 years. Am I right in thinking we should be reading a 1953 book now? Dont want to get too far ahead if it is one year per month,so I am going to read Hamilton's City at the End of Time, Campbell's Black Star Passes,and Van Voght's Weapon ships of Isher alongside the current book. I have to say though that I have already finished Hal Clement's Iceworld for 1953,so I had better read those others while waiting for you all to catch up! Though I do see mamajulie has also finished 1953. Better get your skates on,you slackers! lol

jwharris28

Posted 2015-02-24 7:00 AM (#9707 - in reply to #9706)
Subject: Re: The Definitive 1950s Reading Challenge

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dustydigger - 2015-02-24 6:21 AM
Not quite sure what the timescale is for this challenge. One year a fortnight,or a month? I have some sort of vague notion that we are going to do one year a fortnight,thus neatly taking two years to do al l50 years.

I've covered 1950, 1951 and 1958, and I'm reading 1952 now. So I'm at the fortnight pace. But I doubt many people will want to keep that pace for 50 books.

By the way, I found this at Goodreads

Classic Science Fiction 1950-1959

They have lists for many decades. And it's interesting to compare their lists to mine. One advantage to these lists is they are ranked by reader voting. Fahrenheit 451 is their top book for the 1950s.

DrNefario

Posted 2015-02-24 7:37 AM (#9708 - in reply to #9162)
Subject: Re: The Definitive 1950s Reading Challenge

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I've just started City, for 1952. I think I'm going to count it as a collection. It's always tricky with fix-ups, but this one is looking like it might be disjointed enough.

There's no great rush, unless you want to get on to the 60s.

pizzakarin

Posted 2015-02-26 1:19 PM (#9730 - in reply to #9162)
Subject: Re: The Definitive 1950s Reading Challenge

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I, like a few others, chose The Martian Chronicles as my 1950 book. I put up a full review, but would just like to say that I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to get over the "dated" bits and just enjoy the book as it is. I also highly recommend the audiobook read by Stephen Hoye (the one on Audible). By delivering it a little pulpy, but also very evenly so, he mitigates some of the cheesiness that might have resulted from a straight print reading on my own.

Next up: 1951 - The Day of the Triffids, though it is a bit down my list because of a couple of challenges that end mid-year

dustydigger

Posted 2015-02-26 2:03 PM (#9731 - in reply to #9730)
Subject: Re: The Definitive 1950s Reading Challenge

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The only bit of The Martian Chronicles that was a bit jarring to me,didnt fit into the lyrical style of the book,was the section about the House of Usher . It was a little too dark and gruesome for the book IMO,though it is darkly funny,and to fans of Poe there are lots of fun allusions to his work.. I just thought the theme of censorship was not quite in line with the rest of the stories.

jwharris28

Posted 2015-02-26 2:05 PM (#9732 - in reply to #9731)
Subject: Re: The Definitive 1950s Reading Challenge

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dustydigger - 2015-02-26 2:03 PM

The only bit of The Martian Chronicles that was a bit jarring to me,didnt fit into the lyrical style of the book,was the section about the House of Usher . It was a little too dark and gruesome for the book IMO,though it is darkly funny,and to fans of Poe there are lots of fun allusions to his work.. I just thought the theme of censorship was not quite in line with the rest of the stories.

I agree, that story really didn't fit in with the others.

Weesam

Posted 2015-02-28 2:31 AM (#9746 - in reply to #9162)
Subject: RE: The Definitive 1950s Reading Challenge

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Hi, I haven't posted before but thought I might join the discussion.

My first book for 1950 was Cosmic Engineers. I picked it because I love Simak's Way Station, and thought I'd try some more of his. It wasn't as good as Way Station, but it was kinda fun.

I've just finished my challenge book for 1951, The Day of the Triffids. I know I've read it before because we had to read it at school, but that was over 35 years ago, so I thought it would be interesting to revisit it, particularly as the only thing I remembered about it is that it had creepy people-eating plants.

I was surprised to find that the book was much better than that. In fact the people-eating plants were really such a small part of the book, with the focus being more on people, their reactions, and their struggle to put society back together again. And of course, there was also plenty of killer-plant carnage.

Weesam

Posted 2015-02-28 2:34 AM (#9747 - in reply to #9746)
Subject: Re: The Definitive 1950s Reading Challenge

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Oops, that last post by 'Guest' was by me, Weesam. Somehow I became un-logged in.

DrNefario

Posted 2015-03-02 7:32 AM (#9796 - in reply to #9162)
Subject: Re: The Definitive 1950s Reading Challenge

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I finished City yesterday. It was OK, but wouldn't really have been my pick as a Masterwork. I think Simak's stories hold up for the same reason that Bradbury's do: because of their emotional depth, which still resonates even when the science is dated, but City has too many of the flaws of a fix-up to really work for me. I've never really been able to love collections like I do novels. The stories are all related, here, even if they occasionally look like they might not be, but it still has the feel of a collection, to me, and on top of that I just didn't really buy some of the ideas.

Childhood's End is next up for me, one of the headliners, and the highest-placed book on the Locus Best SF list that I haven't read. It seems like this is real gap in my SF education, but I've always struggled a bit with Clarke. I have mixed feelings about this one ahead of time. I'm not sure when I'll get round to starting it.

jwharris28

Posted 2015-03-02 8:46 AM (#9797 - in reply to #9796)
Subject: Re: The Definitive 1950s Reading Challenge

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DrNefario - 2015-03-02 7:32 AM

I finished City yesterday. It was OK, but wouldn't really have been my pick as a Masterwork. I think Simak's stories hold up for the same reason that Bradbury's do: because of their emotional depth, which still resonates even when the science is dated, but City has too many of the flaws of a fix-up to really work for me. I've never really been able to love collections like I do novels. The stories are all related, here, even if they occasionally look like they might not be, but it still has the feel of a collection, to me, and on top of that I just didn't really buy some of the ideas.

I often wonder if the age of when you first reading a classic science fiction novel is important. Yes, City is just a collection of stories fixed up to "seem" like a novel, but its a clever way to tie the stories together. I first read City as a kid, and I think its enchantment power is more potent then. When I reread it now, it has nostalgia potency. On the other hand, the older the book gets, I imagine the more dated it will seem, which is an anti-nostalgic effect.

Yet, the idea that humans have moved on and the Earth is populated with intelligent dogs and robots, is top level sense of wonder image. I wonder if a modern writer could still turn that idea into a novel and make it work?

DrNefario

Posted 2015-03-03 7:29 AM (#9809 - in reply to #9162)
Subject: Re: The Definitive 1950s Reading Challenge

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I have updated this challenge to add Reading Levels. Participants will need to adjust their settings.

mj122955

Posted 2015-03-03 8:45 AM (#9810 - in reply to #9162)
Subject: Re: The Definitive 1950s Reading Challenge

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Piano Player was disappointing. It's hard to feel much empathy for the protagonist, Paul Proteus. He's a hopeless milksop who reminds me of the Og Oggilby character in the movie The Bank Dick. I kept thinking of W. C. Fields comment to Og: "Don't be a luddy-duddy! Don't be a mooncalf! Don't be a jabbernowl! You're not those, are you?" Paul seems to stumble through life, professing to love his wife Anita even though she is a hectoring busybody. It's tough to build a compelling story on the shoulders of such a weak character.

Piano Player is filled with disconnected people, places, and events that don't seem to serve any purpose in furthering the plot. Paul buys Gottwald House, an old fashion farm, but loses interest after one day of farm work. The Shah of Bratpuhr character is so broad that his outsider's viewpoint is diminished. Doctor Lawson Shepherd, Paul's second-in-command, is a matinee villain, flat and one-dimensional. The plot detours into an encounter with the Cornell football coach, a checker playing machine named Checker Charley, and a black cellmate who is straight out of a minstrel show.

Player Piano is a jumbled mess.

dustydigger

Posted 2015-03-03 4:14 PM (#9812 - in reply to #9810)
Subject: Re: The Definitive 1950s Reading Challenge

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Lol! MJ,at least you managed tp finish the book. I gave up only part way throiugh.It was so drab and dull in this particular world,and I couldnt connect with any of the characters at all.
There seems to be a common thread about labour relations in several books of this period,anxiety about unions,the frustrations of workers etc. I came across it in various forms in Player Piano,This Island Earth,The Forever Machine. A general unease with technology and man's relationship to machines seems to be widespread.And that is not including the huge fear of scientists and the atom bomb,the greatest bugbear of the time,where every other book makes dire predictions of destruction.

jwharris28

Posted 2015-03-03 4:23 PM (#9813 - in reply to #9810)
Subject: Re: The Definitive 1950s Reading Challenge

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mj122955 - 2015-03-03 8:45 AM

Piano Player is filled with disconnected people, places, and events that don't seem to serve any purpose in furthering the plot. Paul buys Gottwald House, an old fashion farm, but loses interest after one day of farm work. The Shah of Bratpuhr character is so broad that his outsider's viewpoint is diminished. Doctor Lawson Shepherd, Paul's second-in-command, is a matinee villain, flat and one-dimensional. The plot detours into an encounter with the Cornell football coach, a checker playing machine named Checker Charley, and a black cellmate who is straight out of a minstrel show.

Player Piano is a jumbled mess.

I can't read old Vonnegut. I wonder why it's still in print? I guess fans of later Vonnegut want to read his older stuff. Evidently publishers in the 1950s were so hard up for content they'd publish almost anything.

Ultimately, I hope we all can distill a list of SF books from the 1950s that are still worth reading today. I can't believe Library of America included The Space Merchants in their Classic American Science Fiction Novels of the 1950s http://www.loa.org/sciencefiction/ . That's another story that really hasn't aged well. I guess it's very hard to separate reputation from readability.

Rhondak101

Posted 2015-03-03 6:53 PM (#9815 - in reply to #9162)
Subject: Re: The Definitive 1950s Reading Challenge

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The only Vonnegut I've read is Cat's Cradle and Slaughter-house Five. I read Cat's Cradle in a SF class in college and hated it. I just taught Slaugher-house a couple of years ago in a class about historical metafiction. The students liked it. I have Sirens of Titan on this year's reading list. When I finish it, I might say I'm done with Vonnegut.

I read The Space Merchants for the first time 5 or 6 years ago. I really liked it because I think it has a lot to say about consumerism that is still relevant--at least in a philosophical sense.

dustydigger

Posted 2015-03-04 2:14 AM (#9819 - in reply to #9162)
Subject: Re: The Definitive 1950s Reading Challenge

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Its half a century since I read Space Merchants and now have little recollection of it but do remember it made a big impact on me back then,such that even now when I think of that little library collection in my small town,that title springs to mind automatically.I may have to try to fit in a reread........shoehorn it in somehow!

mj122955

Posted 2015-03-04 2:18 PM (#9823 - in reply to #9813)
Subject: Re: The Definitive 1950s Reading Challenge

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I just finished reading The Space Merchants. Mitch Courtenay is an ad agency wonk that happily generates lies and deceit about a planned mission to colonize Venus. A shadowy organization known as "The Consies" opposes the powerful corporations intent on fueling the rampant consumerism causing widespread human suffering and environmental disaster. When Mitch finds out his wife Kathy is a Consie, he calls her "...a lying fanatic and a bitch." When he explains the Consie manifesto to his boss Fowler Schocken, Fowler says "...you're talking like a Consie" and Mitch replies "Why, so I am. That's terrible." Seven pages later, Mitch takes over the ad agency after Schocken's death and immediately reveals "...I had learned to despise everything for which it stood." Like a light switch, no soul searching, no epiphanies, no insights into Mitch's momentous decision. Such an about-face seems clumsy and unbelievable.

Emil

Posted 2015-03-05 9:48 AM (#9824 - in reply to #9162)
Subject: Re: The Definitive 1950s Reading Challenge

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I've read Fury for 1950 and The Puppet Masters for 1951. I'm reading Vonnegut's Player Piano as the 1952 choice. Both Fury and The Puppet Masters were a tad disappointing. The "Heinlein Voice" was a bit much for me, and his depiction of female characters were ... well ... 1950-ish. I struggled with the theme of Fury and could not accept the protagonist's character, of what he was, even considering the basic premise of the story that made Sam utterly ruthless. I just couldn't identify with him. Maybe Kuttner went a little over the top in his characterizations here. The last line of the book, in the context of everything, is brilliant. That, at least, filled me with a sense of wonder(ing) ...

I'm hoping Player Piano will restore some faith in the old 1950's classics.

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