|
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 19, 2015 17:59:33 GMT -5
If anything, Bester's short stories are better than the two novels, which is really saying something.
(Yes, there was a 3rd novel, a couple of decades after The Stars My Destination. The Computer Connection. So dreadful that it's one of the bare handful of books I've thrown across the room about halfway through, never to crack the cover again. The hero was such a Randian ubermensch that he was unbearable, though I guess Bester could've been satirizing Heinlein's overwhelmingly supercompetent main characters, in which case ... congratulations, I guess.)
|
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 19, 2015 19:04:53 GMT -5
Don't know that I can actually rank them after PKD, but here at least are the 10 sf writers I've read the most titles by (lots of collections as opposed to novels here, especially in the case of #s 7-10), more or less in order --
1) Phil Dick
2) Robert A. Heinlein
3) Isaac Asimov
4) Ron Goulart
5) Keith Laumer
6) Clifford D. Simak
7) Harlan Ellison
8) Robert Sheckley
9) Fredric Brown
10) Ray Bradbury
If I went with novels only, as opposed to collections --
7-9 [tied] John Brunner, Robert Silverberg, Barry N. Malzberg
10) Fritz Leiber
|
|
|
|
Post by Slam_Bradley on Sept 19, 2015 19:10:04 GMT -5
Don't know that I can actually rank them after PKD, but here at least are the 10 sf writers I've read the most titles by (lots of collections as opposed to novels here, especially in the case of #s 7-10), more or less in order -- 1) Phil Dick 2) Robert A. Heinlein 3) Isaac Asimov 4) Ron Goulart 5) Keith Laumer 6) Clifford D. Simak 7) Harlan Ellison 8) Robert Sheckley 9) Fredric Brown 10) Ray Bradbury If I went with novels only, as opposed to collections -- 7-9 [tied] John Brunner, Robert Silverberg, Barry N. Malzberg 10) Fritz Leiber It always makes me happy to see Simak Sheckley and Brown. |
|
|
|
Post by berkley on Sept 19, 2015 22:14:20 GMT -5
Don't know that I can actually rank them after PKD, but here at least are the 10 sf writers I've read the most titles by (lots of collections as opposed to novels here, especially in the case of #s 7-10), more or less in order -- 1) Phil Dick 2) Robert A. Heinlein 3) Isaac Asimov 4) Ron Goulart 5) Keith Laumer 6) Clifford D. Simak 7) Harlan Ellison 8) Robert Sheckley 9) Fredric Brown 10) Ray Bradbury If I went with novels only, as opposed to collections -- 7-9 [tied] John Brunner, Robert Silverberg, Barry N. Malzberg 10) Fritz Leiber Just picking out some of the names I haven't read at all, any particular recommendations for Goulart, Laumer, or Malzberg? |
|
|
|
Post by coke & comics on Sept 20, 2015 15:33:15 GMT -5
Favorite "trial" films:
1. A Few Good Men (1992)
2. 12 Angry Men (1957)
3. To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
4. Anatomy of a Murder (1959)
5. The Rainmaker (1997)
|
|
|
|
Post by berkley on Sept 20, 2015 22:38:47 GMT -5
Favorite "trial" films: 1. A Few Good Men (1992) 2. 12 Angry Men (1957) 3. To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) 4. Anatomy of a Murder (1959) 5. The Rainmaker (1997) There was an interesting Russian movie a few years ago called "12" that was sort of part remake, part tribute to or just inspired by 12 Angry Men. Not a perfect film but worth a look. |
|
|
|
Post by Jesse on Sept 21, 2015 2:25:04 GMT -5
4. Anatomy of a Murder (1959) I'm actually reading Anatomy of Murder now and I can't stop hearing the main character as Jimmy Stewart in my head.  |
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 22, 2015 11:13:53 GMT -5
Don't know that I can actually rank them after PKD, but here at least are the 10 sf writers I've read the most titles by (lots of collections as opposed to novels here, especially in the case of #s 7-10), more or less in order -- 1) Phil Dick 2) Robert A. Heinlein 3) Isaac Asimov 4) Ron Goulart 5) Keith Laumer 6) Clifford D. Simak 7) Harlan Ellison 8) Robert Sheckley 9) Fredric Brown 10) Ray Bradbury If I went with novels only, as opposed to collections -- 7-9 [tied] John Brunner, Robert Silverberg, Barry N. Malzberg 10) Fritz Leiber Malzberg is a very acquired taste -- idiosyncratic as all hell with regard both to plotting & to actual writing style. I'd give, I guess, Galaxies or Herovit's World a try if I were looking into his work for the first time. Goulart's emphasis is comedy, very broadly applied. I'd start with After Things Fell Apart. As for Laumer, my favorite non-series book (i.e. not Retief, Bolo, the Imperium or Lafayette O'Leary ... others may have come up later, after I stopped keeping up with him & for that matter with sf in general) of his is probably The House in November. Others of his I remember pretty fondly are A Trace of Memory, Night of Delusions, The Long Twilight & The Infinite Cage. |
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 22, 2015 11:18:03 GMT -5
Don't know that I can actually rank them after PKD, but here at least are the 10 sf writers I've read the most titles by (lots of collections as opposed to novels here, especially in the case of #s 7-10), more or less in order -- 1) Phil Dick 2) Robert A. Heinlein 3) Isaac Asimov 4) Ron Goulart 5) Keith Laumer 6) Clifford D. Simak 7) Harlan Ellison 8) Robert Sheckley 9) Fredric Brown 10) Ray Bradbury If I went with novels only, as opposed to collections -- 7-9 [tied] John Brunner, Robert Silverberg, Barry N. Malzberg 10) Fritz Leiber It always makes me happy to see Simak Sheckley and Brown. I should note that including Brown in an sf list is something of a cheat on my part, since mysteries constitute probably at least 60 percent of what I've read by him. Offhand, I can't think of a writer comparably adept at both genres, though I suppose Kate Wilhelm belongs in that conversation. Robert Bloch, too (who of course was above all a true master of horror). In which vein I should note that Laumer wrote a hardboiled detective novel, Deadfall (a/k/a Fat Chance), that I liked a lot when I came across it on the library shelves as a kid; it marked my intro to that subgenre. The book was filmed in 1976 as Peeper, starring Michael Caine & Natalie Wood. |
|
|
|
Post by Slam_Bradley on Sept 22, 2015 14:15:40 GMT -5
It always makes me happy to see Simak Sheckley and Brown. I should note that including Brown in an sf list is something of a cheat on my part, since mysteries constitute probably at least 60 percent of what I've read by him. Offhand, I can't think of a writer comparably adept at both genres, though I suppose Kate Wilhelm belongs in that conversation. Robert Bloch, too (who of course was above all a true master of horror). In which vein I should note that Laumer wrote a hardboiled detective novel, Deadfall (a/k/a Fat Chance), that I liked a lot when I came across it on the library shelves as a kid; it marked my intro to that subgenre. The book was filmed in 1976 as Peeper, starring Michael Caine & Natalie Wood. Leigh Brackett would be my go-to answer for someone who came close. |
|
shaxper
CCF Site Custodian
Posts: 22,872
|
Post by shaxper on Sept 22, 2015 15:52:24 GMT -5
Best cereals from your childhood that they don't make anymore:1. Smurf Berry Crunch:  Never cared for the show, but those flavors were amazing. 2. C-3POs:  I honestly can't remember what this tasted like anymore, but I remember being crazy about the flavor back in the day. 3. Frosted Rice Krispies:  Still around seasonally, but I want it all year! 4. Vanilla Cookie Crisp:  5. Morning Funnies:  The cereal wasn't all that good, but the concept was certainly innovative, in which the back of the box opened up into a full three page cardboard comics section. Unfortunately, the comics on the box didn't change all that often, so at no point was this actually a viable alternative to the morning paper. Just a cool idea that didn't really work. 6. Batman Cereal:  Surprisingly delicious for a licensed cereal that had no colors nor marshmallows. 7. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Cereal:  Really delicious, and I loved collecting those bowls. 8. Nintendo Cereal:  I honestly don't remember if I ever ate this, but the box concept was really cool, in which you got two different cereals from two different sides of the box. I remember a Nerds cereal that later followed suite. 9. Dino Pebbles:  Another one that was just REALLY delicious. Seems like this should be a Top 10, but I honestly have nothing else. What about you?
|
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 22, 2015 16:28:54 GMT -5
I go down the cereal aisle about as often as I fly to the moon, but I suppose they still make Alpha-Bits. But I'll bet they don't still come with a playable cardboard Monkees single on the back of the box.
Or maybe it was Sugar Smacks. But I like Alpha-Bits a lot more, so I'll stick with that (pseudo) memory.
|
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 22, 2015 16:31:34 GMT -5
Actually, some guy has come up with a discography of all the cereal-box singles by, well, everyone, apparently. Looks like the Monkees had 3, split among Alpha-Bits, Honeycomb & Rice Krinkles. Without doing any research, I'm going to bet that Rice Krinkles are loooooooooooong gone. I liked them, if memory serves. |
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 22, 2015 17:25:16 GMT -5
I love Batman and Dino Pebbles Cereal - I really missed those cereals!
|
|
shaxper
CCF Site Custodian
Posts: 22,872
|
Post by shaxper on Sept 22, 2015 18:25:27 GMT -5
Actually, some guy has come up with a discography of all the cereal-box singles by, well, everyone, apparently. Looks like the Monkees had 3, split among Alpha-Bits, Honeycomb & Rice Krinkles. As much as I miss the days of cheap promotional records that came on cereal boxes, with mail-away action figures, and even from Burger King drive thru windows accompanied by an Alf puppet, one has to wonder what kind of havoc those records were wrecking on the stylus. |
|
