Re: Timely message to all

[Bob La Londe <none@none.com99>]

On 3/26/2020 7:47 PM, Jim Davis wrote:
> On Thursday, March 26, 2020 at 12:39:13 PM UTC-4, Bob La Londe wrote:
>>
>> Interestingly as an avid Science Fiction reader who has literally read
>> thousands of books, (maybe tens of thousands), I have never read Atlas
>> Shrugged.
>>
>> (The pun was just a happy accident.)
>
> I miss Asimov ( Foundation, I Robot and too many others to mention) and Robert Heinlein( Methuselahs Children Do you remember his recurring character Lazarus Long? How about Stranger in a Strange Land ?), Arthur Clark ( Childhoods End the movie was Terrible! ), Ray Bradbury ( Fahrenheit 451), Frank Herbert. Dune (Terrible Movie)
>
> Modern SyFi just stopped being interesting to me about 15/20 years ago when it shifted to swords and dragons and half animal people. I got tired of  The only injection of SyFi I get now is from TV where very rarely is there anything of substance for me. I got tired of the never ending Star Wars Blah Blah Blah, after the third movie on.
>
> Atlas Shrugged is a fictionalized narrative of Ayn Rand's Philosophy. At the very end it slips into a little bit of Science Fiction but 98% of the book is ( in my opinion) a prediction of exactly what is happening to Capitalism today.
>
> I have to say that her books helped me to be more productive and contented with my achievements and many other aspects having to do with productivity.
>
> Basically, --It doesn't make any difference what you do (work wise) just be the best at it as you can.

Larry Niven has continued to pop out a book or two.  Lots of
collaborative work.  I have a copy of Goliath Stone (2013) sitting on my
desk waiting for a day or three to sit back and read.

Orson Scott Card has been fun for those who got into the Ender universe.
  Children of the Fleet was publish in 2017.  Copy sitting next to the
copy above.  The Ender universe has been hugely successful financially
for him, but its not the only thing he wrote.  Wyrms comes to mind.

I liked (and also didn't like) that just about everything Asimov ever
wrote tied back into the same story line in the end.  My favorite
character though was Elija Bailey.  The final choice... the only one
that allows you to change your mind if your wrong.

Heinlien pissed me off.  I like a lot of his work.  Read all of it, but
when he wrote The Number of The Beast he wet off the deep end.  Then The
Cat Who Walks Through Walls was back to the Heinlien I enjoyed...until
it turned not a sequel to Number of The Beast.  Yuck!  I like the
classic Stranger in a Strange Land, but some of his lesser known work
were among my favorites.  Farmer in the Sky, Friday, Moon is a Harsh
Mistress.

Clarke produced a lot of interesting stuff, but some was just tragic
futility.  Can you honestly say there was any redeeming quality to
Rendezvous With Rama?

Some I have not seen in a long time, but read all I could back in the
day included Gordon R Dickson (more space army than sci fi), Pol
Anderson, Fred Saberhagen...

How about Harry Harrison.  Stainless Steel Rat was classic, but I admit
the rest of that series was more profiteering off the success of the
first book.

I can't recall the author off hand but how about Mutineer, Pirate, &
Statesman.

A few years ago (10+) my wife gave me a subscription to Science Fiction
Classics and a subscription to Science Fiction Signed First Editions.  I
was amazed that I had not read about a 1/3 of the classics.  The signed
first editions was all (mostly) classic science fiction, but modern.
Some of it was quite good.  Others felt like the author was trying to
cover their mortgage payment.  I'd say about 50% would have been
considered good in the classic age of science fiction.  It was worth it
in my opinion.

Oh, come on.  You don't like a good old magical fairy tale?  How about
Magic Kingdom for Sale or The Practice Effect.  Then what about Dragon
Riders of Pern?  Seems like total fantasy... and then it turns into
science fiction in the end after 20 books or so.  LOL.