Your Top Ten Science Fiction Writers, and then some.

[Ian Mackinder]

Re: Your Top Ten Science Fiction Writers, and then some.

 

Picked up my copy of SGW's 'Martian Odyssey' cheap, long ago. Unashamed to say that his stories impressed me a lot.

 

Stanley G Weinbaum and H Beam Piper - if I could alter history, giving both those guys more time for extra writing would be high on my To-Do List.

[RexMundi]

Re: Your Top Ten Science Fiction Writers, and then some.

 

H. Beam Piper is one of those Authors that from glancing at the covers, I had zero interest in heading home with the book (Which was Little Fuzzy). Fortunately for me, I went through one of my phases where I spurn all mediums of entertainment, not of the written word, or on a radio or on a stage, and in a big box of books I picked up at a yard sale, was pretty much every paperback publication of H. Beam Piper's work. I grabbed Space Viking off the top of the pile, and that was it. Guy was a phenomenal writer, and I was an idiot for passing up his books because they looked "cutesy" from the covers. His copy writes were allowed to lapse so Project Gutenberg snatched a lot if not all of it, http://www.gutenberg.org/browse/authors/p#a8301 . Sometimes it pays to pick up that copy of something that initially didn't appeal.

 

~Rex

[Nyrath]

Re: Your Top Ten Science Fiction Writers, and then some.

 

Piper's SPACE VIKING and THE COSMIC COMPUTER (aka JUNKYARD PLANET) would make outstanding Star Hero campaigns

[RexMundi]

Re: Your Top Ten Science Fiction Writers, and then some.

 

Hell both of those would work as Published Settings Really. The Depth is that good.

 

~Rex

[Xavier Onassiss]

Re: Your Top Ten Science Fiction Writers, and then some.

 

Re: Weber. I consider his Honor Harrington novels my 'guilty pleasure' in SF reading. I know it's not great writing, but it's so entertaining I don't care. No, he doesn't make my top 10, but back when I was into military SF, he might have.

 

The trouble with top ten lists and the ensuing debates is that they inevitably come down to "Well if he's so great, how do you explain the fact that I don't like him, Mr. Smarty-pants?"

 

Don't blame me,

Xavier Onassiss

[Nyrath]

Re: Your Top Ten Science Fiction Writers, and then some.

 

The trouble with top ten lists and the ensuing debates is that they inevitably come down to "Well if he's so great' date=' how do you explain the fact that [i']I[/i] don't like him, Mr. Smarty-pants?"

which invites the response "Well, obviously because you are an uncultured low-brow", a flamewar erupts, and the moderator locks down the thread.

[Sundog]

Re: Your Top Ten Science Fiction Writers, and then some.

 

I find it interesting that no East European writers have made anyone else's lists.

[RexMundi]

Re: Your Top Ten Science Fiction Writers, and then some.

 

Ah. But this is just the Broad Strokes with a brush thread, as can be seen in the title and in the opening commentary, so it doesn't have to be Great, just what you like, real quick, off the top of your head. Remember the arguments don't come from the "Well if he's so great, how do you explain the fact that I don't like him Mr. Smarty Pants?"

 

It comes from this:

 

Poster: "It's moronic not to appreciate the total awesome uber skill with a pen, as possessed by Karel Capek!" (Makes a generalist statement because he likes the writing of the guy that invented the term Robot) (EASTERN EUROPEAN WRITER! *scores points*)

 

Reader: WHAT?! How dare that Nerd call ME a MORON! (Infers a direct attack, because he can't read in Czech and doesn't care for plays written by a Czech, but because he KNOWS he's smart, this other poster, must be attacking him for some reason).

 

Reader Posts: How dare you try and force your Czech Propaganda down my throat and call me a Moron you Pea Brain! *proceeds to slice and dice everything out of context to support his inferred reasoning*

 

Original Poster: Huh? You OK dude? I just thought the guy had mad skills?

 

New Reader: WHAT THE HELLS!? How dare this moron claim Karel Capek was Mad! He was perfectly Sane! I'll Show Him! *Types away*

 

Original Poster: *Flees from the flame war that erupts, and cowers behind his Toy Robot collection*

 

New Poster: "Hey guys calm down, We can fix all the hate with a Tesseract from Madeline L'Engle's "A Wrinkle In Time"

 

Original Poster Returns and reads new Posters Reply: "You Freaking Idiot! You are made of Epic Fail! Even though my Knowledge of Science comes from The Legion of Super Heroes Comic and Wikipedia, even I know that a Tesseract is a 4 Dimensional Analog to a Cube!"

 

New Poster (who hates Cubist Art): What? You want me to look at Cubist Art?! This Means WAR!!!!! *Prepares to go to town on the original Poster with every thing ever Written by Arthur C. Clarke*

 

~Rex.....thinks every writer mentioned above in the Forum-Drama, deserves a mention as well. In the end, isn't it ALL about a guilty pleasure anyway?

[Nyrath]

Re: Your Top Ten Science Fiction Writers, and then some.

 

I find it interesting that no East European writers have made anyone else's lists.

 

Ever hear about the Ugly American and the Not-Invented-Here syndrome? I get the impression that the bulk of the poster here are from the States.

[Susano]

Re: Your Top Ten Science Fiction Writers, and then some.

 

I find it interesting that no East European writers have made anyone else's lists.

 

I don't know any Eastern European writers other than Stanislaw Lem.

[RexMundi]

Re: Your Top Ten Science Fiction Writers, and then some.

 

I'm trying to think of a few. Russia seems to dominate the Eastern European Sci Fi market. Here in the USA, a lot of the Really great Eastern European Writers, ended up over here anyway. I know I got some somewhere but it's a matter of Remembering the names and remembering David Brin, is easier for me then remembering Arkady and Boris Strugatsky who wrote the The World of Noon series back in the 60's (like 10 books or so, and the subject of another James Cameron may be giving someone else some money and credit thing like Terminator). Hmmm ...Asimov was born in Russia does he count as an Eastern European writer. The Eastern Euro's need to Speak! Inform us of your Great Sci Fi. *Unleashes Hordes of Finn's and Swedes to do the grunt work*......

 

On a side note somewhat related because he's one of my Author picks in a quick off the top of your head way. E.E. Doc Smith's Lensman was snatched up movie rights wise in 2008 by Ron Howards production company with J. Michael Straczynski doing the script. Methinks that could get a few movies.

 

So other then Stanisław Lem, and Arkady and Boris Strugatsky, and place of origin mentioned Asimov, who else do we have from the other side of the Iron Curtain?

 

~Rex

[Curufea]

Re: Your Top Ten Science Fiction Writers, and then some.

 

No one has mentioned any asian writers either - For shame! Can't you guys be more politically correct and appease everybody?

[Susano]

Re: Your Top Ten Science Fiction Writers, and then some.

 

No one has mentioned any asian writers either - For shame! Can't you guys be more politically correct and appease everybody?

 

Okay, Masamune Shirow and Katsuhiro Otomo.

[RexMundi]

Re: Your Top Ten Science Fiction Writers, and then some.

 

Does manga Count? I suppose an Author is an Author. I shall ponder for a few more honorable mentions.

 

~Rex

[Susano]

Re: Your Top Ten Science Fiction Writers, and then some.

 

Does manga Count? I suppose an Author is an Author. I shall ponder for a few more honorable mentions.

 

~Rex

 

I think certain comics and manga count. Will Eisner considers it graphic storytelling.

[RexMundi]

Re: Your Top Ten Science Fiction Writers, and then some.

 

Will Eisner works for me (The Spirit works in any Genre. ). Still though there is so many in that field, that I think I'll start a separate thread for it later this after noon. I'll have to chop it up by Genre and word it carefully if I want to post over in Troll Land, Still, If folks can keep it Genre Specific, I do believe stuff like Masanume Shirow's work, would work here as well.

 

~Rex

[Curufea]

Re: Your Top Ten Science Fiction Writers, and then some.

 

Joke guys!

I don't expect people to know every major language, or that all scifi has been translated into your own.

 

I just found the silliness of "European authors" to be non sequitor to the thread.

[Sundog]

Re: Your Top Ten Science Fiction Writers, and then some.

 

I'm trying to think of a few. Russia seems to dominate the Eastern European Sci Fi market. Here in the USA, a lot of the Really great Eastern European Writers, ended up over here anyway. I know I got some somewhere but it's a matter of Remembering the names and remembering David Brin, is easier for me then remembering Arkady and Boris Strugatsky who wrote the The World of Noon series back in the 60's (like 10 books or so, and the subject of another James Cameron may be giving someone else some money and credit thing like Terminator). Hmmm ...Asimov was born in Russia does he count as an Eastern European writer. The Eastern Euro's need to Speak! Inform us of your Great Sci Fi. *Unleashes Hordes of Finn's and Swedes to do the grunt work*......

 

On a side note somewhat related because he's one of my Author picks in a quick off the top of your head way. E.E. Doc Smith's Lensman was snatched up movie rights wise in 2008 by Ron Howards production company with J. Michael Straczynski doing the script. Methinks that could get a few movies.

 

So other then Stanisław Lem, and Arkady and Boris Strugatsky, and place of origin mentioned Asimov, who else do we have from the other side of the Iron Curtain?

 

~Rex

 

Well, Yevgeny Zamyatin comes to mind (We), and Sergey Lukyanenko (best known for his Nightwatch series in the West) has made some rather good hard sci-fi stuff - only some of which has been translated, alas.

[RexMundi]

Re: Your Top Ten Science Fiction Writers, and then some.

 

Yeah the stuff needs to get translated dagnabit. I actually liked the way Lukyaneko's material turned out, in that "other" genre that we REALLY want a Genre Supplement for (Starts the Bring back Horror Hero chant). Haven't seen the Zamyatin stuff though. There is some epic Asian Sci Fi I read awhile back but, at work, multi tasking, and I just can't remember the title or Author. I'm sure it will come to me half way through the drive home. when I'm no where near a computer to add it to the list heh.....

 

~Rex

[Ian Mackinder]

Re: Your Top Ten Science Fiction Writers, and then some.

 

Joke guys!

I don't expect people to know every major language, or that all scifi has been translated into your own.

 

I just found the silliness of "European authors" to be non sequitor to the thread.

 

NOW look what you've done!

[RexMundi]

Re: Your Top Ten Science Fiction Writers, and then some.

 

Indeed, such things, are bad to do on a Forum you know. After all if you say you like the color Blue, you will inevitably be attacked by someone that "I like Blue!" translates in their brain as "If you don't like Blue you are made of Epic Fail!"

 

STILL though, it's a valid Mystery, and interesting as it pertains to the topic, so If folks come up with ssome good ones I for one, would be willing to go out and look for them.

 

~Rex

[Susano]

Re: Your Top Ten Science Fiction Writers, and then some.

 

Indeed, such things, are bad to do on a Forum you know. After all if you say you like the color Blue, you will inevitably be attacked by someone that "I like Blue!" translates in their brain as "If you don't like Blue you are made of Epic Fail!"

 

STILL though, it's a valid Mystery, and interesting as it pertains to the topic, so If folks come up with ssome good ones I for one, would be willing to go out and look for them.

 

~Rex

 

But I like the color blue....

[RexMundi]

Re: Your Top Ten Science Fiction Writers, and then some.

 

HOW DARE YOU MOCK THOSE THAT DO NOT LIKE BLUE SIRRAH!!!!!!!

 

~Rex

[Old Man]

Re: Your Top Ten Science Fiction Writers, and then some.

 

I like blue. I also like red, green, and orange. It's those people who like purple that are really freaks.

[Kristopher]

Re: Your Top Ten Science Fiction Writers, and then some.

 

On the topic at hand, I find that, just as I tend to like songs rather than bands, I tend to like stories rather than writers.

 

That said, I like a lot of Niven, and a lot of Bujold.