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« A 'spirituality' query | Main | Right-wing slimeball of the last 15 minutes »

I can live with this result

Category: Books
Posted on: January 27, 2007 2:00 PM, by PZ Myers

I am:

James Tiptree, Jr.
(Alice B. Sheldon)

In the 1970s she was perhaps the most memorable, and one of the most popular, short story writers. Her real life was as fantastic as her fiction.

Which science fiction writer are you?

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Comments

Posted by: theophylact | January 27, 2007 2:05 PM

Stanislaw Lem -- probably because my answers were internally inconsistent.

Posted by: ecostudent | January 27, 2007 2:17 PM

Cool! I'm Gregory Benford.

Posted by: The Science Pundit | January 27, 2007 2:26 PM

Isaac Asimov

Posted by: Rebecca Ore | January 27, 2007 2:32 PM

We are all James Tiptree. At least you, one of the other Philadelphia women SF writers, and I are.

Posted by: Zeno | January 27, 2007 2:34 PM

Jeepers! I turned out to be Kurt Vonnegut!

(Would Kurt say "Jeepers"?)

Posted by: cory | January 27, 2007 2:35 PM

William Gibson, which is ironic because I really was and am no great fan of cyberpunk.

I was hoping for Asimov or Bradbury.

Posted by: Evolving Squid | January 27, 2007 2:46 PM

I got Arthur C. Clarke

----
Arthur C. Clarke

Well known for nonfiction science writing and for early promotion of the effort toward space travel, his fiction was often grand and visionary.
----

Posted by: Johnny Vector | January 27, 2007 4:19 PM

Woo-hoo, I'm Gregory Benford too! Which is extra-nifty because I (occasionally) work with his nephew Dominic.

Posted by: Blake Stacey | January 27, 2007 4:33 PM

Hi ho! I got Kurt "I'm a monopolar depressive, descended from monopolar depressives — that's how come I write so good" Vonnegut.

I guess I can live with this result. If not, so it goes.

#10

Posted by: craig | January 27, 2007 4:54 PM

I got Octavia Butler, who I'm not familiar with.

#11

Posted by: RedMolly | January 27, 2007 5:03 PM

William Gibson. Which I'm going to interpret as Neal Stephenson, 'cause I like him better.

And craig: Butler's "Parable of the Talents" is a terrific book.

#12

Posted by: Krystalline Apostate | January 27, 2007 5:18 PM

I got Arthur C. Clarke. I was hoping for Zelazny or Ellison, but oh well.

#13

Posted by: Keith | January 27, 2007 5:20 PM

I'm Kurt Vonnegut as well, which is not surprising as he is a major influence on my writing and my general outlook.

#14

Posted by: vairitas | January 27, 2007 5:24 PM

how odd, i'm James Tiptree jr as well....

#15

Posted by: dzd | January 27, 2007 5:25 PM

Asimov. Sideburns FTW.

#16

Posted by: JD Kolassa | January 27, 2007 5:34 PM

PZ's a girl? o.O

Oh, and I'm Gregory Benford, by the way. Nice to meet y'all.

#17

Posted by: Graculus | January 27, 2007 5:35 PM

Erm... Samuel R Delany.

I suppose that is only just, being one of the dozen people in existance who 1) finished and 2) liked Dhalgren.

#18

Posted by: PZ Myers | January 27, 2007 5:38 PM

PZ's a girl?

But I'm pretending to be a guy. Nothing confusing about that at all.

#19

Posted by: Kurt | January 27, 2007 5:39 PM

I am Arthur C. Clarke!
Yes!!!!!!!

#20

Posted by: fusilier | January 27, 2007 5:49 PM

I am:

E.E. "Doc" Smith

The inventor of space opera. His purple space war tales remain well-read generations later.

}{}{}{}{}{}
And DAMNED proud of it! - heck, I even married the Red Lensman
fusilier
James 2:24

#21

Posted by: Dark Matter | January 27, 2007 5:52 PM

Her real life was as fantastic as her fiction.

And as tragic as well...

A sample of her writing-

Love is the Plan The Plan is Death

#22

Posted by: Janice in GA | January 27, 2007 5:52 PM

Hey, I'm Hal Clement! Cooooool.

#23

Posted by: Masklinn | January 27, 2007 5:55 PM

I'm William Gibson.

As a computer geek, that makes me feel all warm inside.

#24

Posted by: Sir Craig | January 27, 2007 5:57 PM

How odd...I seem to be the only person who turned out to be Ursula LeGuin. The only book of hers I've read is Left Hand of Darkness, which I don't even remember (having read it some 20+ years ago for a sci-fi appreciation class to fulfill an English requirement).

Still, she seems to be popular and talented...

#25

Posted by: marghlar | January 27, 2007 6:02 PM

Ack! I'm Vonnegut. I mean, he's okay, but it's really not what I would have picked. Why couldn't I be Philip Dick, or William Gibson, or Frank Herbert? Ultimately, I have a fairly low tolerance for Vonnegut, especially after reading Breakfast of Champions.

That being said, I bet Vonnegut would have responded similarly to being told he was himself. So maybe this makes sense, even if it is depressing.

#26

Posted by: marghlar | January 27, 2007 6:03 PM

And the really sad part? Was that I kept trying to change different answers, to see if I could get a writer I like better, and as long as I stayed within the range of things I actually thought, I couldn't manage it. It kept giving me V.

#27

Posted by: rlrr | January 27, 2007 6:12 PM

Erm... Samuel R Delany. I suppose that is only just, being one of the dozen people in existance who 1) finished and 2) liked Dhalgren.

I got Gregory Benford. And I must be one of the 12 because I finished and enjoyed Dhalgren...

#28

Posted by: Jim D | January 27, 2007 6:58 PM

Hal Clement (Harry C. Stubbs)

A quiet and underrated master of "hard science" fiction who, among other things, foresaw integrated circuits back in the 1940s.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Interesting. If anyone would like to see if that stands up, take a look at my SF Novel (downloadable for free): http://www.communionofdreams.com

#29

Posted by: George | January 27, 2007 6:58 PM

Who the heck is Olaf Stapledon?

#30

Posted by: brightmoon | January 27, 2007 7:01 PM

gregory benford ..i suppose ill have to read him now ....ironically ive read all of the others

#31

Posted by: andy | January 27, 2007 7:31 PM

William Gibson. Which is strange, because I don't like cyberpunk all that much.

#32

Posted by: PZ Myers | January 27, 2007 7:32 PM

You don't know who Olaf Stapledon is? You must not be any kind of True SF Fan then. Last and First Men, Starmaker -- classic space opera on an immense scale.

#33

Posted by: Odonata | January 27, 2007 7:40 PM

I got Cordwainer Smith. Now I'm going to have to read his work.

#34

Posted by: Michael M. | January 27, 2007 7:55 PM

Samuel R. Delaney also, which is cool 'cause he's one of the only possibilities I've actually met (though I didn't sleep with him). Probably has something to do with the "opposite sex" question. You didn't mention the survey had a heterosexual bias.

#35

Posted by: justawriter | January 27, 2007 7:59 PM

U.K. LeGuin. I can certainly live with that.

#36

Posted by: Zarquon | January 27, 2007 8:01 PM

Cordwainer Smith is great! Manimals (called Underpeople)! Stroon! Norstrilia! After you've read the stories, have a look here for illustrations.

#37

Posted by: Nix | January 27, 2007 8:21 PM

It appears to be reliable, if it's the same one that was around a few years ago. Hal Clement took the test...

#38

Posted by: Baratos | January 27, 2007 8:32 PM

I am Spartacus. :|

#39

Posted by: Krystalline Apostate | January 27, 2007 8:34 PM

Cordwainer Smith is great!
Of the Cordwainers, I prefer Bird.
Hehehehe.

#40

Posted by: jufulu | January 27, 2007 8:47 PM

Fank Herbert? I got so tired of Dune.

#41

Posted by: Monado | January 27, 2007 8:51 PM

I'm Hal Clement; but if I change one answer I was iffy on, I'm Ursula K. Le Guin.

Octavia Butler was a wonderful writer of wierd and strong-minded tales. Unfortunately, she died last year at a relatively young age. Here's my post from that time: Octavia Butler.

#42

Posted by: kad | January 27, 2007 9:01 PM

Note to marghlar - you have to reload the page and then re-enter all answers to get a different response - if you just hit the back button and change a few answers you will always get the same writer that you did the first time.

Initially I got Cordwainer Smith. Like all these things many of the questions have no single satisfactory answer. Doing various combinations of responses that I thought were more or less appropriate I got: William Gibson, Kurt Vonnegut, Octavia Butler and Ursula LeGuin.

I was also able to select answers that produced a Philip K. Dick outcome. However, as much as I admire his writing, actually being like Dick is not a fate I would wish on anyone.

#43

Posted by: Monado | January 27, 2007 9:05 PM

Here's Fantastic Fiction UK's author page for Octavia E. Butler.

I really like this as a resource for science fiction, and in the last couple of years it has branched off into mystery and then just about everybody. It seems to concentrate on living authors.

#44

Posted by: Monado | January 27, 2007 9:07 PM

Thanks for the link to "Love is the Plan the Plan is Death." That's one of my favourite stories.

#45

Posted by: The Ridger | January 27, 2007 9:10 PM

kad and marghlar - that's not true. Or at least, wasn't true for me in Firefox; just changing one answer radically gave me a different answer... Not that I objected to my assignment, mind you: Olaf Stapledon! How cool! (But I wouldn't have minded Cordwainer Smith, either.)

#46

Posted by: Todd Adamson | January 27, 2007 9:17 PM

PK Dick. That's rather disturbing. I don't remember trying for that answer. Maybe it wasn't me.

#47

Posted by: fyreflye | January 27, 2007 9:26 PM

I turned out to be one of the many Greg Benfords. Which is strange only in that I, and probably most of the posters here, did not vote for George in 1990 and I'd think Benford did.

BTW, considering the number of science fiction writers there've been it's strange that our results keep overlapping among a few dozen and a half. Are there really no Bob Heinleins, Stanley G Weinbaums or, god forbid, H P Lovecrafts among us?

#48

Posted by: pluky | January 27, 2007 9:26 PM

Oh no!! I'm Ayn Rand. Tell me it isn't so.

#49

Posted by: wistah | January 27, 2007 9:31 PM

Gregory Benford. Now if only I knew who he was....

#50

Posted by: marghlar | January 27, 2007 9:31 PM

Thanks for the tip, kad -- I was able to rig it to give me PFD, Gibson and Lem (all acceptable outcomes) without having to put in answers that were ridiculous for me.

But I'm still depressed that my natural tendencies lead to KV.

And to whoever said that getting picked as Dick is unpleasant, given his life (not his writing) -- how ironic is it (given his portrayal of Lincoln's depressed simulacrum in We Can Build You) that he was the first human to have an android simulacrum, even if it wouldn't be up to the standards of the Rosen Organ Co.? I think he would have found that far more depressing than anything in his life (except maybe the events leading up to the afterword of A Scanner Darkly).

#51

Posted by: Wally Whateley | January 27, 2007 9:34 PM

I got Vonnegut. Damn and blast, I hate Vonnegut. :/

#52

Posted by: fyreflye | January 27, 2007 9:37 PM

...did not vote for George in 1990...

I meant of course to write 2000. I must have had a Philip K Dick moment.

#53

Posted by: Joel | January 27, 2007 9:51 PM

I got John Brunner....

"His best known works are dystopias -- vivid realizations of the futures we want to avoid."

That's weird because I just last week picked up a used copy of Stand on Zanzibar -- I wonder if this means I'll like it?

#54

Posted by: Paguroidea | January 27, 2007 9:58 PM

Isaac Asimov. Ooh. I like his books.

#55

Posted by: Torbjörn Larsson | January 27, 2007 10:32 PM

Asimov.

Boooring, but I like his versatility otherwise. (Oh, what the heck, who am I kidding - I have the entire Foundation and Robot series, and some of his short stories kick major speculative ass.)

Not that I have his fright for flying or parachuting; I love it, next to a fast car.

#56

Posted by: Keith Douglas | January 27, 2007 10:36 PM

Asimov for me too.

I like that, given his non-fiction works. (I have a few of those, too.)

And my father was/is a chemist (what does one say about retirees?), so that sort of works ...

#57

Posted by: QrazyQat | January 27, 2007 10:39 PM

Before Tiptree's identify was made public, around late 70s, a prominent critic made the observation that for the decade before all the most interesting SciFi writers were female, except for Tiptree. :)

#58

Posted by: cebm | January 27, 2007 11:16 PM

I think I'm gonna cry. I got Heinlein. I thought he was great, when I was 12.

#59

Posted by: Zeno | January 27, 2007 11:56 PM

Ha! Heinlein thought he was great when he was 12, too!

#60

Posted by: coturnix | January 27, 2007 11:57 PM

I should have taken the questions more seriously - I got Heinlein, too.

#61

Posted by: DuWayne | January 28, 2007 12:31 AM

And I am Ursala LeGuin. Though I would have been happy to be nearly (Ayn Rand?!?!) everyone listed in this thread, I have to say, that I find being Ursala quite satisfying.

#62

Posted by: afarensis, FCD | January 28, 2007 12:55 AM

I got Cordwainer Smith. Now I'm going to have to read his work.

I am soooo jealous!

#63

Posted by: RBH | January 28, 2007 1:14 AM

A second Delany, which works for me: my beard is a dab shorter than his, but just as white.

#64

Posted by: Hank Fox | January 28, 2007 1:15 AM

Vonnegut.

I'd rather be Terry Pratchett!

#65

Posted by: Fedaykin | January 28, 2007 1:33 AM

Frackin' right on; I got Frank Herbert. Now look at my name.

2+2

#66

Posted by: LiberalDirk | January 28, 2007 1:47 AM

I am Arthur C Clarke

#67

Posted by: Radi | January 28, 2007 2:17 AM

I'm Asimov :) I learnt to delight in well-written science fiction with a story of Asimov's that we had in English class, I think I was in the third or fourth grade - "The fun they had" - that, and "The Foghorn", by Ray Bradbury, were my introduction to the world of science fiction.

#68

Posted by: Leslie in CA | January 28, 2007 2:42 AM

Ursula K. LeGuin. Talented and popular? Okay, works for me.

#69

Posted by: James In Ottawa | January 28, 2007 2:59 AM

I must be the outlier here...

I'm Ayn Rand

Then again I am an economist :-)

#70

Posted by: JM | January 28, 2007 3:55 AM

I got Hal Clement, and I've read hardly any of his writing. I guess I shall have to try something else of his now!

I wanted to get the result "Arthur C. Clarke" - what would I answers would I have to have given? For a start, for Arthur, question 1 would have had to have the answer "Contact with extra-terrestial intelligence".

#71

Posted by: Thony C. | January 28, 2007 5:50 AM

I just had a very strange experience with this particular piece of webb insanity. Whilst scrolling through the last 24 hours list of Science Blogs I stumbled over several of the "What Science Fiction Writer Are You" posts.Without knowing what it was about I speculated about myself whilst scrolling and came up with the answer; Samuel R Delany. Then finally I arrived here and discovered that the whole thing was one of those idiot webb multipul choice tests, so being an idiot I did the test and what came up as an answer? You've guessed it Samuel R Delany!

#72

Posted by: Magnum | January 28, 2007 6:38 AM

Stanislav Lem.

I read Solaris several years ago (a translation of course) and loved it. I've watched the almost 4hr Russian version (sans subtitles) and actually quite enjoyed it. I'm also one of few who liked Soderbergh's movie version too.

#73

Posted by: G. Tingey | January 28, 2007 8:02 AM

Olaf Stapledon got me into SF _ I read my father's pre-war copy when I was 9 .....-

Erm, Arthur C. Clarke is still alive!

#74

Posted by: Pat K | January 28, 2007 9:23 AM

I turned out to be Philip José Farmer. My, my!

(I'm another person read and enjoyed Dhalgren, years ago. Haunts me still.)

#75

Posted by: Graculus | January 28, 2007 9:29 AM

I'm also one of few who liked Soderbergh's movie version too.

It wasn't bad, it just bore no resemblence to Solaris ;-)

By going through and fidddling with a few iffy answers I came up with Lem and Clement.

#76

Posted by: Magnum | January 28, 2007 10:50 AM

Yeah, Tarkovskiy's version was much closer to the book. I'd have loved to be able to follow the dialogue, but as I say, there weren't even subtitles. I really enjoyed it though, I actually got off on the 10-minute long scenes just lingering on the roiling planet.

The Hollywood version (with Clooney) was weird enough to have followed some of the original story at least, but had too much happy-ending thrown in (which is to be expected).

#77

Posted by: Selma | January 28, 2007 12:06 PM

Ayn Rand, which I'm taking as a huge compliment!

#78

Posted by: David Harmon | January 28, 2007 12:55 PM

Bah, it keeps insisiting I'm Wiliam Gibsonm and I gave up on his work.

#79

Posted by: speedwell | January 28, 2007 3:06 PM

Isaac Asimov, which was complimetary. I should have gotten Ayn Rand, and I wanted,/i> Heinlein.

#80

Posted by: Tristram Shandy | January 28, 2007 3:11 PM

Ursula K. LeGuin. Appropriate, since we're both anarchists.

#81

Posted by: Mary | January 28, 2007 3:31 PM

I was Tiptree, too.

I cheated and looked at the code. What, no Ellison? And why the hell was Mickey Spillane even an option?

#82

Posted by: Chris Ho-Stuart | January 28, 2007 3:38 PM

I turn out to be Gregory Benford. The page also provides a lovely bit of additional detail about Benford:

The real Greg Benford once took this quiz, and it told him he was Arthur C. Clarke.

#83

Posted by: Dawn O'Day | January 28, 2007 5:45 PM

Ayn Rand! Which was astonishing because she is one of my all-time favorite authors. I disagree with her politics, but believe she's a brilliant (and I mean BRILLIANT) writer. I believe that if she were a guy she'd be way more respected than she is. Also, if she were writing in the 19th century, when big narratives were more popular and respected.

I also think the sf elements of her work have been underrecognized.

Dawn

#84

Posted by: bernarda | January 28, 2007 6:21 PM

"Ultimately, I have a fairly low tolerance for Vonnegut, especially after reading Breakfast of Champions."

That is a Great Book! If you don't like that, you probably won't like another great book by Vonnegut, Deadeye Dick.

I came out as Stanilaw Lem, whom I've never heard of.

#85

Posted by: andy | January 28, 2007 7:22 PM

First time I did it I got William Gibson. Second time I got Olaf Stapledon. Both I've heard of, but haven't read anything by.

#86

Posted by: Russell Blackford | January 28, 2007 8:17 PM

Surprisingly (to me) I came up as Hal Clement.

#87

Posted by: Kristine | January 28, 2007 9:08 PM

Yeah, well guess who I got. Samuel Delany for pete's sake. Into the Star Pit with space opera queen here, I was hoping for Le Guin or at least Stanislaw Lem. That's what you get, Kristine, for being a smartass. ("I am the opposite sex"! ha, ha! I'll choose that!)

Magnum, we love Solaris and we have the version with subtitles, so come on over sometime. Have you seen Stalker?

#88

Posted by: Ron Sullivan | January 28, 2007 9:16 PM

I'm Hal Clement too. Odd.

I'm also one of the putative twelve who read Dhalgren -- more than once, and the second time I started and finished somewhere in the middle, just to see if it worked -- and I join the chorus of praise for Butler. I'd start with the Pattern series, though. I think she wrote Mind of My Mind first. Or start with the short collection Bloodchild.

I read Tiptree/Sheldon's biography last fall, and it's a good read. Funny, you'd think I'd end up as her on an Internet quiz. And I even answered "I am the opposite sex."

#89

Posted by: Gravculus | January 28, 2007 9:47 PM

Yeah, Tarkovskiy's version was much closer to the book. I'd have loved to be able to follow the dialogue, but as I say, there weren't even subtitles.

My copy is subtitled. I should digitize it soon.

A friend of mine took Russian literature (in Russian) and sat through the un-subtitled Tarkovsky three times. She didn't get it at all, which is no suprise, as her favourite authors are the Bronte sisters. I saw he Tarkovsky first in the local rep theater when it was finally released here.

Also a shout out for the brothers Strugatsky. Russian SF is quite interesting.

I think the trick to getting Delaney is being a middling asshole.

#90

Posted by: Tristram Shandy | January 28, 2007 10:09 PM

I believe that if she were a guy she'd be way more respected than she is. Also, if she were writing in the 19th century, when big narratives were more popular and respected.

Alternatively, she could have achieved respect by writing for the BDSM crowd, for whom scenes of strong-willed women who have their wills broken by guys with the initials H.R. in a completely unnecessary quasi-rape scene are a positive plus.

#91

Posted by: Kristine | January 28, 2007 11:44 PM

Hey, I changed one answer (not the gender-bender one) and got Gregory Benford! Okay, now I can sleep tonight.

#92

Posted by: marghlar | January 29, 2007 1:58 AM

I came out as Stanilaw Lem, whom I've never heard of.

Well, you should check him out; it's good stuff.

I've liked other Vonnegut fine (Cat's Cradle, Hocus Pocus), but B of C was insufferable. I'm actually quite curious what you found enjoyable about it. I couldn't believe that I had waded through that entire book only to find that a substantial portion of the ending involved the omniscient narrator describing his own "world record" penis.

#93

Posted by: bernarda | January 29, 2007 6:16 AM

As it has been some years since I read B of C, marghlar, it is difficult for me to give you a detailed reply. I just looked to make sure I still had it on my shelves. Maybe I'll get to it again.

It is a book in the style of the theater of the absurd. It is in the line of pataphysics(from Alfred Jarry). I can understand not liking the book if that is not your cup of tea, but I find it hilarious. Disparate elements linked together in finally a consistent narrative that makes "sense" in its particular world.

Other types of books in this genre are Ishmael Reed's "Mumbo Jumbo" and books by Boris Vian, "Autumn in Pekin", "Heartsnatcher", and "Froth on the Daydream". The last one is originally "L'écume des jours", which I think would be better translated as "the froth of life" or "the froth of our days".

#94

Posted by: Rupert | January 29, 2007 6:36 AM

Arthur C Clarke. Which, seeing as I'm an Englishman from the West Country, is only fitting. (Incidentally, anyone visiting London can see a small permanent exhibition of ACC's bits and pieces in the space gallery of the Science Museum).

What I want to know is - why has Childhood's End never been made into a movie? C'mon, chaps, we've got computers that draw: I know that the sequence on the Overlord's home world doesn't do anything for the plot (and isn't it interesting how you never notice things like that when you're ten), but since when has that worried H'wood?

#95

Posted by: ArtK | January 29, 2007 7:37 PM

William Gibson, whom I can't stand.

I'd much rather have been "Doc" Smith.