>A couple of threads recently have made me curious about something. The
>_Canticles_ thread started with someone saying that he normally finds the
>"must-read classics" in SF to live up to their billing, but not with that
>book. I have often had the opposite reaction upon encountering a
>must-read, especially '60s and later. I noticed that though many of the
>members here seem to adore Phillip K. Dick and Fritz Leiber, a few people
>seem to like them not at all.
>
>So I'm wondering about what writers (as opposed to works) others on
>SF-LIT might consider over-hyped by serious SF fans and critics. That
>is, not who sells more than he deserves or is regarded too highly by
>"mainstream" readers, but who some among us take too seriously. This
>gets back to the "why do you read SF" thread of a while ago, I suppose.
>Frankly I find a lot of the more experimental or allegedly literary SF to
>be overblown, and tend to prefer those who attempt less but do it well.
>
>A few names come to mind, but I'm willing to be corrected--I'd like
>specific recommendations. I haven't read a lot of Harlan Ellison, but
>what I have read hasn't inspired me to want to read more. He seems to
>write in a continual tantrum, which doesnUt thrill, shock, or otherwise
>interest me. But maybe I haven't read the right stuff. What is
>considered his best? Likewise I can only remember the title of one PKD
>novel (Valis), though I know I've read more by him. Obviously I didn't
>find him memorable. What would you consider his essential works? I
>would certainly add Leiber and Moorcock (his SF, not fantasy) to my list,
>but I think I've read enough of them to say they're just not for me.
>
>So, which of the SF emperors has no clothes? And which, if any, of PKD
>and Ellison would you recommend?
>--Duffy Tweedy
>[log in to unmask]
I grant that Ellison has done many things which can be labeled
objectionable without straining at gnats, but final judgment on him should
not be made without first reading "When Jeffty Was Five." The sensitive
humanity in that piece makes me willing to forgive just about everything
that I dislike about Ellison.
Doc Smith
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