Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Number 300 Poll

I'm approaching 300 reviewed works on the blog, Pechance to Dream by Peter Lukes being number 293. Like I did with number 100 and 200 I am going to let you decide which book it should be. Since I am taking part in the Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award reading challenge over at Worlds Without End, I will limit your choice to one of those authors.


The rules state I can only read one book per author for the challenge. I have already read books by Poul Anderson, Arthur C. Clarke, Andre Norton, Isaac Asimov, Ursula K. Le Guin, Robert Silverberg, Frederik Pohl, Brian W. Aldiss and Anne McCaffrey. For next month I picked The Listeners by James E. Gunn. I've also decided I am going to read one of Connie Willis' novels although I haven't decided which one yet. That leaves one spot and 17 authors.
  1. Robert A. Heinlein
  2. Jack Williamson
  3. Clifford D. Simak
  4. L. Sprague de Camp
  5. Fritz Leiber
  6. Alfred Bester
  7. Ray Bradbury
  8. Lester del Rey
  9. Damon Knight
  10. A. E. van Vogt
  11. Jack Vance
  12. Hal Clement
  13. Philip José Farmer
  14. Harlan Ellison
  15. Michael Moorcock
  16. Harry Harrison
  17. Joe Haldeman
Just to show how well read I am in the genre, I have read just three books by these fellows. Heinlein's Starship Troopers and Have Spacesuit - Will Travel, and Vance's The Dying Earth (which I didn't like very much).So take your pick in the poll on the right hand side of the screen. Specific titles can be suggested in the comments. I make no promises in regards to titles though. I need to be able to get my hands on it quickly so availability is essential. The poll closes on the 30th of September.

13 comments:

  1. My vote is for Damon Knight. He's the namesake for the award after all. I really should have made reading one from him a requirement for the challenge from the beginning.

    Congrats on the review milestone! An impressive accomplishment for sure.

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    1. Not there yet ;)

      I've never read anything by Knight so it would certainly be an interesting choice.

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  2. It's hard to pick from such an excellent list of authors, who've written excellent books... but Alfred Bester all the way. Both The Demolished Man and The Stars My Destination are excellent, though I prefer the second.

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    1. He did make quite an impression with a very limited number of works, didn't he?

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    2. Oh, I'll second Bester! Can't lose with either book. They're some of my all-time favorites.

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    3. You only get one vote here Dave :P

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  3. I'll vote for Simak. City was my first SF book, back in the 70s and it opened a large new world for me. Simak, Van Vogt and Asimov : that's how I started with SF (plus a bit by C.L. Moore to balance). The French editors and translators weren't so bad ;)

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    1. I think my first science fiction may have been Dune. Not entirely sure though.

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  4. What a milestone! and a great idea for a poll too!

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  5. I vote for Damon Knight. Any of his short story collections will give you a varying experience of his diverse writings. I agree with Dave that we all should (have) read a Knight for the challenge.

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    1. Don't forget to submit your choice in the poll, I see only one vote for Knight so far ;)

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