13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A great reading guide to SF, November 9, 2009
This review is from: 100 Must-read Science Fiction Novels (Bloomsbury Good Reading Guide S.) (Paperback)
First of all, with a book like this it hardly matters if the editors get it 100% correct. In fact, I think they get it wrong, a lot. What matters is whether or not they make a persuasive case for their understanding of the field, whether they introduce you to new titles, whether you add new books to your reading list, whether you love to argue with them about their list. In this case the book succeeds splendidly. I have a list of SF books that I want to read and I added a slew of new titles. Some I had heard about but hadn't considered reading, some were new to me, some were books by authors I already knew but had only considered reading other books.
There are some huge gaps, but spotting the gaps is often half the fun. No Octavia Butler? None at all! How is that possible? And there are some strange options. H. G. Wells's THE ISLAND OF DR. MOREAU instead of THE TIME MACHINE? A. E. Van Vogt's THE VOYAGE OF THE SPACE BEAGLE instead of the far better THE WORLD OF NULL-A or SLAN? Brian Aldiss's HOTHOUSE instead of the Helliconia books or NON-STOP? Two different J. G. Ballard novels instead of his short stories? Where is Cheryhh's CYTEEN? No Poul Anderson? No -- and here is a huge one -- James L. Tiptree Jr.? I mean, seriously, Tiptree belongs on the shortest list of great writers of short stories in the genre. She is also the person who lent her name (well, her fake name) to the name of the major award given to SF dealing with gender issues. I have no trouble with Stephen R. Delaney's NOVA, but what about DHALGREN, TRITON, and STARS IN MY POCKET LIKE GRAINS OF SAND. There are also a lot major novels by serious writers that are omitted, like Margaret Atwood's THE HANDMAID'S TALE and Marge Piercy's WOMAN ON THE EDGE OF TIME. And why make it about novels? Why not books instead? As Christopher Priest points out in the foreword, until the fifties SF novels were actually relatively rare. And even after the fifties much of the best work continued to be short stories. But see, none of this matter. The value of a book like this is the way it makes you argue with it. Books like this that are dumb you just dismiss.
By the way, I loved the foreword. Christopher Priest's biases are almost exactly like my own. I agree with him that we should just omit Isaac Asimov and Robert Heinlein from such lists. They are bad writers. They have poor prose styles and cardboardish and superficial characters. And I agree with him that many writers like E. E. "Doc" Smith truly do belong in museums (although I disagree with him on Jack Williamson -- I still find enjoyment in THE HUMANOIDS). Priest's complaint is with the explicit rejection of good writing by SF through the fifties. SF was supposed to be about "the big idea." A story or a novel was supposed to focus on a neat idea and ignore things like character development. Mainstream readers might find this difficult to conceive or assume that I'm exaggerating, but I'm not. Many, many SF fans were suspicious of literary qualities. This bias is part of the reason that SF contains so much bad writing. I mean, someone reading Asimov's CAVES OF STEEL who is not especially a fan of SF would be utterly agog at how badly written it is. No mainstream publisher would have published such a poorly written book. But SF at times has not only tolerated but celebrated bad writing, as long as there was a "neat idea" at the heart of things. As long as there were good ideas, nothing else mattered. But there are a very large number of very good SF novels that not only contain "neat ideas" but are well written. You can recommend Le Guin's THE LEFT HAND OF DARKNESS to any high brow, just as you can Lem's SOLARIS or Piercy's WOMAN ON THE EDGE OF TIME.
That really is my only complaint with the book. Too many weak books are included, mainly because the book tries to cover all historical periods, even though not all periods are created equal. But see, this is my point. In saying why the book is wrong at points you end up saying what is important in your own conception of SF. Between this book and the recently published FIFTY KEY FIGURES IN SCIENCE FICTION by Mark Bould and others, I've had a ton of fun. And ultimately, that is what this is about. Having fun and discovering new books to read.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Exellent for finding the best of what's out there!, May 3, 2009
This review is from: 100 Must-read Science Fiction Novels (Bloomsbury Good Reading Guide S.) (Paperback)
This book, 100 must-read sci-fi novels, is a concise and too-the-point reference on classic and contemporary sci-fi. It reviews the most popular novels to come our way and gives it's opinion on each choice without giving away too much of the plot or story-line. They start with the earliest and most classic novels, also giving what other readers have felt about them over the years.
Instead of including every great novel from any particular sci-fi novelsit, the book decides to include only one or two of his/her best works. They review each book with flair and honesty, and explain why the peice is considered a quality one. It wisely explains what made the particular novel so popular to the sci-fi community.
Also, at the end of each review it gives alternates written by that same author and gives examples of other pieces that are simliar in idea, style and genre. All in all, it is an easy read that gets to the point in helping the beginner or the pro sci-fi reader become aware and identify which books would fit best on their library shelves.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
so little time..,, August 21, 2007
This review is from: 100 Must-read Science Fiction Novels (Bloomsbury Good Reading Guide S.) (Paperback)
This book is a huge help to SF novice readers who are otherwise well read. Mr Andrews' introduction is wise and whip smart and links the reviewed books to their historical and literary contexts as well their cultural cousins in music and film. I've been encouraged to explore books I would not have known about,or known where to start with, many thanks for that. I cannot comment on how Sf purists recieve this book but I strongly recommend it to the general reader.
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