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



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Location: UK		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

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