[Search for users] [Overall Top Noters] [List of all Conferences] [Download this site]

Conference noted::sf

Title:Arcana Caelestia
Notice:Directory listings are in topic 2
Moderator:NETRIX::thomas
Created:Thu Dec 08 1983
Last Modified:Thu Jun 05 1997
Last Successful Update:Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:1300
Total number of notes:18728

428.0. "Where of where has the good SF gone" by HOTH::LUBART () Thu Jan 08 1987 17:17

    Is it me? or has there been very little activity from my
    favorite authors lately?
    
    I havent seen much in the last few months from
    
    Piers Anthony (since BaRS)
    Jack Chalker (maybe another Jon-Tom, not his best stuff)
    Roger Zelazny (since Trumps of Doom)
    Larry Niven (I didnt even like Integral Trees)
    Robert Heinlen (what was his last good novel published?)
    
    The list goes on, but basically, Im starting to buy stuff that
    Ive turned my nose up at for years because I dont see any exciting
    new stuff coming out.
    
    Am I imagining this?  Anybody else feel this way?
    How often do most of these authors put out stuff?
    I know Anthony used to have books out all the time.  Is he
    really doing a sequal to Blue Adept like he said in GitG?
    
    /Dan
T.RTitleUserPersonal
Name
DateLines
428.1ROCK::REDFORDOn a pure caffeine highThu Jan 08 1987 18:4510
Try some of the newer authors:

Bruce Sterling - Schismatrix
William Gibson - Neuromancer, Count Zero
Michael Swanwick - In the Drift, Vacuum Flowers

or find the more obscure books by prolific authors like Vance, 
Cherryh, or Brunner.

/jlr
428.2patienceCACHE::MARSHALLhunting the snarkFri Jan 09 1987 09:0131
    I think expecting a new book from an author every few months is
    a little unreasonable. 
    
    Zelazny, anyway, has the next Merlin book out, _Blood_of_Amber_.
    It is hardcover, though, so I haven't read it yet.
    
    Niven has a sequel to _Integral_Trees_ that is currently being
    serialized in _Analog_, called _The_Smoke_Ring_. The first installment
    was better than _Integral_Trees_.
    
    (BTW it is _Wielding_a_Red_Sword_, WaRS [!] not BaRS)
    Piers Anthony came out with the conclusion to _Bio_of_a_Space_Tyrrant_
    since WaRS was released. Anthony has also recently released _Ghost_
    (which I haven't read, hardcover again), and before that _Steppe_. He 
    appears to still be a pretty steady stream of stories.
    
    Chalker, sequel to _Soul_Rider_ series called _Children_of_Flux_and_
    Anchor_. The first book of a new series has been out for a year:
    _The_Lords_of_the_Middle_Dark_, the next should be out soon (I hope).
    There was also _The_Messiah_Choice_ and _War_of_Shadows_ in the
    past year.
    
    Heinlein is a lamentable case, his last ten books have all been
    re-writes of the same plot, the same characters, the same message.
              
                                                   
                  /
                 (  ___
                  ) ///
                 /
    
428.3Oldies but goodies!DROID::DAUGHANI love it when you talk Hi-Tech.Fri Jan 09 1987 14:266
    re .0: You're right.  Try note 246 (BEST BOOKS) for recommended
    titles you may have missed.  Some get reissued periodically and
    there's always the used book stores.
    
					Don ICEMAN::Rudman
    
428.4Publisher's hibernate?ULTRA::BUTCHARTSun Jan 11 1987 11:206
    Maybe it's just me, but I've noticed what seems to be a lull in
    new book releases in the winter, with a big blast of new stuff in
    the late spring/early summer.  Maybe things will get better in a
    bit.
    
    /Dave
428.5New Chalker is an oldie...CHEV02::GREGORYDon Gregory @ACIThu Jan 15 1987 23:332
    re .2: Chalker's _A War of Shadows_ is copyrighted 1979 (which is
    when I bought it).
428.6when's next _Lord_of_the_Middle_Dark_?CACHE::MARSHALLhunting the snarkFri Jan 16 1987 09:0214
    re .5(_A_War_of_Shadows_):
    
    oops. re-releases are so confusing. Anyway, the point stands that
    Chalker has actually been churning out a good number of books recently
    (Soulrider, River of Dancing Gods, Lords of the Middle Dark). A lull
    of a few months is not unreasonable. 
                                        
    What about _Messiah_Choice_?
                                                   
                  /
                 (  ___
                  ) ///
                 /
    
428.7Heinlein's "Mistress"THEBAY::WOODRIGynotikolobomassophileSat Jan 17 1987 00:427
Re: < Note 428.0 by HOTH::LUBART >

>>>>	Robert Heinlen (what was his last good novel published?)

His last good novel was "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress."	:-)
_______
Richard
428.8Was It Really??SSDEVO::YOUNGEROxygen starvation does strange things...Sat Jan 17 1987 01:004
    well, the ending wasn't great, but I guess _Moon_ was it.
    Spontaneously dead AI isn't my kind of good ending.
    
    Elizabeth a-e         
428.9Here They Are!BOOVX1::HURSTFri Feb 13 1987 16:335
    You might try two books I read recently and enjoyed:
    Native Tongue and Native Tongue II
    
    Oh and I almost forgot, Always Coming Home by Ursula K. LeGuin
    
428.10Native Tongue is Good Stuff.NINJA::HEFFELTracey HeffelfingerWed Feb 25 1987 12:4110
    	Another vote for Native Tongue as Good literature and an
    interesting read.  (Prepare to be angry a lot though!)  I just saw
    the sequel last week and picked it up, when I got a chance I reread
    Native Tongue (finished just last night) and I started The Judas
    Rose (The title of the sequel) today.  NT was even better than I
    remembered.  Can't wait to see what she's got in store for us in
    JR!                                     
    
    tlh
    
428.11Pirates of Thunder releasedOPUS::LUBARTPardon me, Earthling, Have you seen my Eludian K-32 Explosive SpThu Mar 19 1987 13:597
    re .2
    Well, The next book of the Rings of the Master saga is out by
    Chalker.  Its called Pirates of Thunder.  Its good too.
    
    Thats all for now
    
    /Dan
428.12Extra copy for saleREGENT::GETTYSBob Gettys N1BRMSat Mar 21 1987 20:278
                Re .11
                
                I have accidentaly purchased two copies of Pirates of
        Thunder, so I would like to sell my extra copy (unread). It
        sells for $3.50 so I would like $2.00. I'm located in the Mill
        and can be reached at 223-6897 or by mail at REGENT::GETTYS.
                
                /s/     Bob
428.13SEND IN THE WORD PROCESSORS WITH AIUSMRW2::KSHERMANFri Jul 31 1987 17:0726
    Re: .0:
    
    I couldn't agree more. The quantity AND quality of SF has taken
    a precipitous dive since the 60s. The last SF book I REALLY enjoyed
    was A Day for Damnation (Gerrold's second of three books in the
    War Against the Chtorr trilogy), and that was several years ago.
    
    Heinlein is clearly a lost cause. For the past 15 years all he's
    written are the daydreams of an apparently sexually frustrated
    middle-aged man. HIS last good book was Tunnel in the Sky.
    
    I find each month's offerings of the Science Fiction Book Club
    sadder than the last. It has fallen to reprinting stuff that wasn't
    that good when it was NEW (which often was 20-30 years ago).
    
    And as for most new authors -- PLEASE! Give me a break! (and give
    them writing lessons!). Most of this stuff wouldn't earn a C in
    Creative Writing 101 at Belchfire Community College.
    
    
    KBS
    
    (p.s. I heard from David Gerrold recently via SFSIG - his third
    Chtorr book will probably be out next year -- he's five chapters
    from the end. More precisely, he said: "I'll finish it when I'm
    good a bleepin' ready!")
428.14Some Excellent New SF AuthorsMILVAX::SCOLAROFri Feb 12 1988 23:419
    Without even trying very hard I can name two, new, excellent 
    authors:
    
    Orson Scott Card:  Enders Game, Speaker for the Dead
    
    David Brin:  Sundiver, Startide Rising, Uplift War, Postman, Practice
    Effect
    
    Tony