James Tiptree Jr. vs Robert Silverberg

But yes, late 60s 'New Worlds'/'New Wave' SF best period ever for SF. Even a pretty dull writer like Silverberg got good 'under the influence' - I remember 'Dying Inside' being particularly fine. Tiptree I'm less familiar w/ - really a woman named Alice Sheldon or something? - but seem to remember she had a wicked story in one of the 'Dangerous Visions' anthologies.

Oh and if you're googling Mr Harlan Ellison - you're a wanker.

Underrated sci-fi novelist: Christopher Priest - Inverted World is great fun and The Glamour is very spooky. It got reissued as a 'proper novel' a while back but to not much avail.

Did Silverberg do that trilogy about the wooden spaceships? That passed the time.

i saw no mention of this belief in his obits, tho psycho got much play

that period of SF (c.1960-75) is a GRATE LOST ART FORM

agreed however; i was obsessed with this phase of sf during my writerly days of yoof. there was a basic level of invention and in(s) anity that no amout of cyberpunky foofera could match.

Phil in agrees-with-Mark-S shocker! Stand on Zanzibar, Stars in My Pocket Like Grains of Sand -- these are books I ate up as a kid of nine or so, and I suspect they hold up.

I very much like Ellison, btw, though I know he's not perfect (and what did happen to Dangerous Visions 3?). "I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream", "Run For the Stars", "A Boy and His Dog" -- all have my seal of approval, especially the first and last.

Another classic. Aldiss - 'Brothers Of The Head' (ideally in non- illustrated version). Great eerie central conceit. Atrocious fake punk lyrics! 'Cryptozoic' had a wicked cover with a man with a sun for a head and a great title but I can't remember much about the book. Someone (Trevor?) was going great guns for Helliconia on another thread but while loving the idea I found it a bit stodgy.

Did Bob Silverberg actually write ANYTHING?

it wasn't for years that i realised this might have been awkward nay tactless had anyonbe decided NOT to overlook my youth

I h8 Jerry Cornelius (and Elric of Melniboné can suck my cock till i cum blood): Moorcock = dead-close of this era, and start of entry into full-on fantasy, which was how SF escaped its responsibilities as GRATE ART FORM after all.

I actually reread the original four Jerry C. books earlier this year to kill time in airports. They were very random in the end, weren't they?

James Tiptree Jr's short stories >>>>>>>> ANYONE ELSES SHORT STORIES EVER, but her novels are mostly crappy and Silverberg has at least a half-a-dozen stone-cold classics.

7 years late but Brightness Falls From The Sky aka

a great murder mystery sci-fi sleaze novel set around some kind of once-in-a-lifetime solar event thing - shamefully I cannot remember the title or any of the particulars except that it involved a troupe of intergalactic porn stars.

the Stars Tears drink is referenced in other short stories so it was really great to read a novel length treatment of the aftermath, it's much better than Up The Walls Of The World. She's up there with all my other favorites - Butler, Rucker, Dick, Sterling, all of them. So much good writing.

sorry, that's "Brightness Falls From The AIR"

I'm about a third through Her Smoke Rose Up Forever, and it is so so good—literally every story so far has been excellent. I think this is now my go-to recommend-to-anyone sci-fi. Pity to hear her novels aren't great, but ime sci-fi generally excels in short form: one sharp idea explored well but not exhausted.

is this really the only Tiptree thread? such a genius, my appreciation increases over time.

it's the only one with the name Tiptree in the title. I didn't put much more effort into searching though (and I don't think I've ever read any Silverberg)

Tiptree >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Silverberg

ha got it. I read "And I Have Come upon This Place by Lost Ways" and "The Women Men Don't See" (probably a cliche to note this, but my god her talent for titles) in fairly quick succession and was just astounded by her range.

Silverberg started as a hack and to hack he did return but in the middle managed to amp himself up crank himself up to writing some good stuff and was and remains a pretty good historian of sf and what makes it tick. Tiptree on the other hand wrote some completely deep original sui generis stuff so Tiptree.

Yeah, Tiptree was good with titles and has a lot of entries on this thread: This Be The Pocket Universe: Post Here When You Realize Or Are Reminded That An SF Title Is From The Canon Of English Poetry

Tiptree ftw, can’t imagine ever getting around to reading Silverberg. I have a horrid looking 90s mass market paperback of his called The Alien Years or something that I’m sure is terrible lol

can't remember much of her smoke... except for the screwfly solution, which i have read more than once and operates on levels most of her peers could barely dream of. guess i should revisit the rest of the collection.