SF Masterwork series continued...

[Fried Egg]

Indeed! I just went and checked on my shelf and you're absolutely right. Meh.... I may not get that one again but then again I don't want to break the sequence of not owning the entire Masterworks set...BAH!

As I understand it, they are starting the series numbers back from 1 again so it doesn't even follow on...don't know why.

I was surprised to see Heinlein's "Star Beast" there. I've had that on my to read shelf for a while now and just assumed it was one of his minor works. I may have to bump it up a bit...

 

[iansales]

The first few from the original Masterwork series are already out, so does that mean the ones listed above follow on numerically from those? While I plan to buy the ones Egg lists, it's shame they're rebooting the numbering...

 

[Fried Egg]

I don't know about the numbering. That list was drawn from Amazon and it doesn't say.

 

[GOLLUM]

If they reboot the numbering that sucks I tell ye!.....

 

[Connavar]

I'm glad to see different writers less mainstream sf ones like Jack Finney,Joanna Russ, M. J. Engh. It was getting boring to see the same 5-10 authors dominate series.

I can try sf authors i havent read or even heard and see if they wrote a masterwork.

 

[Fried Egg]

I'm glad to see different writers less mainstream sf ones like Jack Finney,Joanna Russ, M. J. Engh. It was getting boring to see the same 5-10 authors dominate series.

I wouldn't say that there's five to ten authors who dominate the series. It's only PKD who's over represented, and perhaps ACC. Here's a list in order of number of entries in the series (excluding those yet to be released):

Philip K. Dick 14
Arthur C. Clarke 5
Frederik Pohl 4
Ursula K. Le Guin 3
Robert Silverberg 3
H.G. Wells 3
Alfred Bester 2
Walter M. Miller, Jr. 2
Richard Matheson 2
James Blish 2
Samuel R. Delany 2
Olaf Stapledon 2
Michael Moorcock 2
Greg Bear 2
Joe Haldeman 1
Frank Herbert 1
Robert A. Heinlein 1
Larry Niven 1
John Wyndham 1
Roger Zelazny 1
Gene Wolfe 1
Cordwainer Smith 1
George R. Stewart 1
John Brunner 1
Kurt Vonnegut 1
Jack Vance 1
John Sladek 1
Daniel Keyes 1
Gregory Benford 1
Theodore Sturgeon 1
M. John Harrison 1
Brian W. Aldiss 1
Keith Roberts 1
Ward Moore 1
Sheri S. Tepper 1
Larry Niven 1
Geoff Ryman 1
Hal Clement 1
Poul Anderson 1
Lucius Shepard 1
Kate Wilhelm 1
Boris Strugatsky 1
Walter Tevis 1

 

[iansales]

Did you count the hardback editions as well? Because The Forever War appears in both.

 

[Fried Egg]

Did you count the hardback editions as well? Because The Forever War appears in both.

I'm counting the hardbacks but if the same book appears in both I've only counted it once.

[EDIT] Oops...I've counted "The Forever War" twice!

 

[GOLLUM]

Either way F.E. illustrates the point I was going to make. Namely that on balance the Masterworks series does provide a fairly democratic spread of authors notwithstanding PKD, Clarke or Pohl as the highest multiples.

 

[Fried Egg]

Mind you, H. G. Wells is going to take his tally up to six (if we can count "The Time Machine") which seems a bit excessive and Brian Aldiss up to three once these new ones are out soon.

 

[AE35Unit]

Good grief 14 PKDs! Talk about over representation!

 

[Connavar]

To me 3-5 books by Silverberg,Le Guin,ACC,Pohl is also way too much. This year and next they are adding more books by Clarke,Heinlein,Aldiss. Like those authors need help publishing their books.

It shouldnt be a place only for the most famous,important sf authors.

More writers like Joanna Russ meaning writers that have written one important book that must be in the series.

 

[Fried Egg]

To me 3-5 books by Silverberg,Le Guin,ACC,Pohl is also way too much. This year and next they are adding more books by Clarke,Heinlein,Aldiss. Like those authors need help publishing their books.

It shouldnt be a place only for the most famous,important sf authors.

Well, from what I've read of Silverberg and Le Guin, I think they are both greats of the genre and three books apiece isn't really over-representing them in my opinion. I haven't read any Pohl so I can't comment on him.

Heinlein is considered one of the greats of the genre so only having one entry was probably a bit under-representative. And there's hardly any of his books currently in print in the UK. As for Aldiss...I'm not sure I would put "Greybeard" in there but "Helliconia" definitely deserves a place (what a mammouth volume that's going to be). He doesn't actually have that much in print at the moment either.

Ultimately, it comes down to what you think this series is supposed to be doing. Is it about simply making a list of the best SF has to offer or is it to give greater weight to those authors who aren't so widely known and/or have little in print these days?

 

[Connavar]

Well, from what I've read of Silverberg and Le Guin, I think they are both to be considered greats of the genre and three books isn't really over-representing them in my opinion. I haven't read any Pohl so I can't comment on him.

Heinlein is considered one of the greats of the genre so only having one entry was probably a bit under-representative. And there's hardly any of his books currently in print in the UK. As for Aldiss...I'm not sure I would put "Greybeard" in there but "Helliconia" definitely deserves a place (what a mammouth volume that's going to be. He doesn't actually have that much in print at the moment either.

Ultimately, it comes down to what you think this series is supposed to be doing. Is it about simply making a list of the best SF has to offer or is it to give greater weight to those authors who aren't so widely known and/or have little in print these days?

I'm not a SF newbie anymore i know how important those writers are.

I mean i think the series if you look at the books they have published are both Legendary writers along with lesser known ones that have written important books that belong in the list.

It shouldnt only who is the most classic writers,the biggest books rep wise.

 

[Fried Egg]

I'm not a SF newbie anymore i know how important those writers are.

I mean i think the series if you look at the books they have published are both Legendary writers along with lesser known ones that have written important books that belong in the list.

It shouldnt only who is the most classic writers,the biggest books rep wise.

Oh I agree. It's a question of where the balance should lie. And I think that, with the exception of Dick and Clarke, they have the balance about right. Although you and I may be well familiar with most of these authors, there's still plenty of people that will have never even heard of them.

Even for authors you are aware are highly regarded, it's good to have this series as an indiciation of which ones to try first.

 

[AE35Unit]

I think 3 books by each author is sufficient,and bear in mind that one of the Pohl books is a collaboration(and one I want to read!)
Aldiss I would recommend Hothouse- Greybeard I couldn't get into and I've yet to read Helliconia.
But 14 books by a sub par overrated author is pushing things too far! I've read about 4 PKD books and the only one I would read again was Flow My Tears.
Clarke I could recommend about 10 but I'm biased but really 3 good ones would be Rendezvous With Rama, 2001 and City and the Stars.

 

[iansales]

I think Heinlein is more highly-regarded in the US than he is in the UK, and the Masterworks are from a UK publisher. But I agree with Conn that there are important, if not especially popular, novels which belong in the series. Particularly when you consider that popular novels are likely to be still in print anyway - I mean, how many editions of Dune are there now?

 

[Quokka]

I think 3 books by each author is sufficient,and bear in mind that one of the Pohl books is a collaboration(and one I want to read!)
Aldiss I would recommend Hothouse- Greybeard I couldn't get into and I've yet to read Helliconia.
But 14 books by a sub par overrated author is pushing things too far! I've read about 4 PKD books and the only one I would read again was Flow My Tears.
Clarke I could recommend about 10 but I'm biased but really 3 good ones would be Rendezvous With Rama, 2001 and City and the Stars.

I really liked Fall of Moondust and Fountains of Paradise as well but is there really 14 PK Dick books now

 

[AE35Unit]

Yea and not one Bob Shaw-surely his Palace of Eternity deserves to be in there! Also no JG Ballard-I loved his Drowned World.

 

[iansales]

There was a Ballard in the original Masterworks series: No 17 The Drowned World.