If I had a category for "If all your friends jumped off a cliff, would you?" this would be in it. The Sciblings are doing it, so I must.
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I am:Gregory Benford A master literary stylist who is also a working scientist. |
It's oddly apposite. Benford is one of my favourite SF writers, the only real practitioner of what I call SF these days. I grew up with Asimov, Clarke, and the oldies. My first novel read, at age 8, was Brave New World, followed by First and Last Men, and thereafter I was hooked. I read Amazing Stories, and waited breathlessly for that little known film director to complete his joint work with Arthur Clarke, based on a short story I had read when it was first published, called "The Sentinel". Basically I was screwed from the start. Benford strikes me as in that mold. I even liked his Foundation novel.
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John, if you really understood Brave New World at age 8, your precocity went well beyond the intellectual.
Delany. My beard is shorter than his but just as white, and I'm a tad older than he is. I read him a long time ago, though not recently.
Hal Clement.
But I agree with you about Benford. Timescape, for me, is one of the best attempts to grapple with the problems of time travel.
Don't forget Kornbluth and van Vogt, though.
I didn't say I understood BNW, just that I read it at 8. I reread it at 14, and it made a lot more sense.
I like Benford, but he ain't no literary stylist. Bruce Sterling writes far prose in my opinion.
Minor correction: it's Last and First Men, John. Stephen Baxter wrote a novel recently in a similar vein, Evolution which wasn't bad.
I came up as Benford too in the quiz.
Huh. All these years I had it the other way round. Must reread it sometime, if I can find a copy.
Sirius was the first novel I cried while reading...
Not read Sirius. Cried at Flowers For Algernon though. Mind you, if you don't cry at that you're a cold, cold soul...
Both Last and First Men and the equally imaginative Star Maker are in print in the SF Masterworks series (vol 11 and 21 respectively). Your friendly neighbourhood Dymocks or Angus & Robertson ought to be able to help. In fact, here it is: Last and First Men at Dymocks
Eeewww...
I'm Ayn Rand. Rather ironic, considering I stopped adhering to her philosophy in college.
I'm Olaf Stapledon, apparently. Excellent...
FWIW, this post reminded me of the enjoyable time I spent reading Benford's 'Galactic Centre' novels as a teenager. I think I may track them down again and see if they're as good as I remember!