Decision-making by DW Poll

[dira]

So, one of the ways in which I am a ginormous nerd is that in the last couple of years, since I started keeping track of what I read, I have started assigning myself goals for the books I read--not just a number of books, but within that a number of non-fiction books, a number of books of poetry, a number of books published in the current year, and so on.

One of my assignments for this year is to read five past award-winning SF/F books, and to keep myself from getting totally overwhelmed I decided to target books from years ending in 1. The first four books I read for the assignment were the Hugo winners I hadn't read before (1981 - Joan D Vinge's The Snow Queen, 1971 - Larry Niven's Ringworld, 1961 - Walter Miller's A Canticle for Leibowitz, and the 1951 Retro Hugo - Robert A. Heinlein's A Farmer in the Sky) and that leaves me without an obvious choice for my fifth book.

So, obviously time for a poll! My selections are taken mostly from truepenny's list of SF/F/H award-winners, 1953-2009, plus the Wikipedia entries for the winners of the Lambda Literary Award and the Gaylactic Spectrum Award, minus books I've read before, already know I don't want to read, or can't get through my local library system. That still leaves thirteen books I know very little about except that they've won some sort of award in a year ending in 1, so feel free to give your opinions in the comments if your feelings are not sufficiently expressed by clicking a radio button!

Poll #7840 Help me pick a book to read!

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 48

View Respondents

Which of these books should I read first?

View Answers

A Woman of the Iron People, by Eleanor Arnason
10 (20.8%)

Timescape, by Gregory Benford
5 (10.4%)

Jumping off the Planet, by David Gerrold
1 (2.1%)

The Gilda Stories: a novel, by Jewelle Gomez
3 (6.2%)

White Queen, by Gwyneth Jones
0 (0.0%)

Thomas, the Rhymer, by Ellen Kushner
10 (20.8%)

Only Begotten Daughter, by James Morrow
5 (10.4%)

Declare, by Tim Powers
3 (6.2%)

The Dark Beyond the Stars, by Frank M. Robinson
1 (2.1%)

Ship of Fools, Richard Paul Russo
0 (0.0%)

Point of Dreams, by Melissa Scott and Lisa A. Barnett
6 (12.5%)

Galveston, by Sean Stewart
4 (8.3%)

Stations of the Tide, by Michael Swanwick
0 (0.0%)

Comments

[ellen_fremedon]

A Woman of the Iron People is fantastic anthropological SF-- it's that increasingly rare beast, a first-contact story that's not a tragedy! I would say it's not quite as good as Arneson's Ring of Swords, which is also anthropological SF with some fascinating gender stuff and lots of politics, but it's still very good.

(Of the others, I've read Thomas the Rhymer, which was beautifully written but not particularly surprising, and Stations of the Tide, which has some memorable moments but at this remove I couldn't tell you what it was actually about. And I saw a play based on The Gilda Stories once, which I quite enjoyed, but I have no idea how loose an adaptation it was.)

[dira]

Oooh, thank you for the input! I am definitely up for non-tragic first-contact anthropological SF!

[iamshadow]

Totally voted for Galveston because it's the only one I've read. IT is good, though.

[dira]

I really, really liked some of Sean Stewart's novels before Galveston, so I have genuinely been Meaning To Read That since it came out. Eleven years ago. *g*

[iamshadow]

I've read Galveston, Mockingbird and Firecracker (aka Perfect Circle), and I like them all. I also own Nobody's Son and The Night Watch, but with the latter I have to get a copy of Resurrection Man before I can read it.

[dira]

Nobody's Son owned my soul so hard when I was fifteen that I'm scared to ever reread it, because I know it just won't be the same. But I'm confident that it's still quite a good book. *g*

[reginagiraffe]

I haven't read any of these books. I picked Timescape mostly because I like time travel-type books.

[dira]

I will weigh your vote accordingly. ;)

[reginagiraffe]

Probably wise.

[frostfire]

POINT OF DREAMS POINT OF DREAMS but, um, maybe first Point of Hopes? Although I read Dreams first even though it was out of order, so it's not like a serious problem or anything. There is gayness! And worldbuilding! And a world where--okay, it's like, women are the more powerful gender, but in this fairly subtle way that reads like once upon a time they really were, and now it's sort of equalizing a little. And there's--theater! And the main characters are just these two guys, not like heroes or anything, except for how they TOTALLY ARE, but mostly they are just these two guys--one's a cop and the other's an ex-soldier, and they are actually for reals together. (Fair warning, because this drove me nuts: you do not actually get to see them get together; in the first book they get to know each other, and in the second book they're dating.) ANYWAY. EVERYTHING BY MELISSA SCOTT. QUEER SPECULATIVE FICTION FTMFW.

[arduinna]

These two books are also distantly based on a fandom -- they're not directly fanfic per se, but most of the main characters are avatars of characters from The Professionals. Which is pretty cool if you're a Pros fan. *g*

[kindkit]

You know, I've heard people say that before and I really don't see it. Has Scott said so herself?

I like Pros and I love PoH/PoD, I just don't see the resemblance; actually there's another of Scott's novels with a much stronger Pros resemblance.

[arduinna]

(eta: wow, sorry, I hadn't realized this was so gigantic!)

I don't remember if Scott has said it, but I think it's definitely there. I missed it entirely my first time through PoH, but when I reread before PoD, I spotted a lot more. They're not AU versions of B&D, so fans looking for a Pros AU will be disappointed, but I can see the origins in the avatars, right down to Cowley.

Rathe (whose physical description matches Doyle's, down to the "starred" scar/mark on his cheek to match Doyle's battered cheekbone) is a rare honest pointsman in a generally corrupt system, refusing to cater to that corruption, whose honesty and dedication are nearly politically ruinous for his career but also bring him to the notice of the surintendant, who uses him for special jobs (sort of like an A-squad *g*).

Eslingen again matches Bodie's physical description, and a lot of Bodie's (at least fanonical) vanity and desire to dress as fashionably as possible on a restricted budget. His background and thinking/mindset is military, not police/points, but his skills mesh really well with Rathe's; they make a good team. (Not a *great* team, yet, but they barely know each other.)

Surintendent Fourie is the Cowley avatar, the commoner who rose to the ranks of the powerful on his own merits and brilliancy. I found the post I made to the Pros-Lit list a few years back about this, and I quoted a paragraph there because it read so much to me like Doyle standing in front of Cowley ready to be briefed:

"Rathe did as he was told, his eyes on the surintendent. Rainart Fourie was a merchant's son from the docks of Point of Sighs, had begun by buying his place as an adjunct point, but had risen to chief on his own merit, as even the most grudging critics were forced to admit. His appointment was still something of a novelty -- until him, the surintendancey had generally been held by gentry, the sons of landames and the like whom the queen owed favors -- and he was sometimes more aware of the politics of his situation than Rathe felt was good for either him or his people. At the moment, Fourie was dressed very correctly, the sober tailored black of the judicial nobles, his haircut as close as a Sofian renunciate's. Though that, Rathe added silently, probably had less to do with devotion or politics than with the fact that his mouse brown hair was thinning rapidly, and the fashionable long wigs would look ridiculous on his long, sharp-boned, and melancholy face. Fourie lifted an eyebrow, as though he'd guessed the thought, and Rathe schooled himself for whatever was to come."

Fourie is a wily, sharp triple-thinker, like Cowley, and both fond of Rathe (and through him, Eslingen) and ruthlessly willing to use him/them to do what's needed.

Aha, okay, going back to pros-lit to find the writeup I did of this, I found someone else who said she "emailed the authors and recieved a response. It not escapes me as to which author responded, but she confirmed that yes, Eslingen & Nico Rathe are based on Bodie & Doyle respectively."

It really is subtle, though; Nico and Philip are absolutely their own characters, in their own world.

[kindkit]

Thanks for the response. I can see where you're coming from, but I don't find the resemblances as strong as you do (their personalities, especially, are very different from Bodie and Doyle's in my opinion) and I think it's just coincidence.

[terrio]

Ooh, which one?

[kindkit]

The Shape of Their Hearts, which has a couple of police partners who are kinda sorta in love with each other, but don't dare to pursue a relationship because same-sex relationships are against the rules.

[everbright]

I second this recommendation!

[dira]

Curses, my library doesn't have Point of Hopes! I will have to read Dreams first and then decide whether I want to go digging through abebooks or ILL for the others. :)

[dira]

Oh, and, hey, speaking of Melissa Scott--have you read A Choice of Destinies, the one where Alexander goes west? Because I did get that from abebooks and I am a little disconcerted by the laser-shooting space fortress thing on the cover. Is that just ... an eighties Baen cover being an eighties Baen cover, or does Alexander wind up also conquering ALIENS?

[frostfire]

Ahahahaha, well--I read it a while back, and it's not my favorite of her books, but I do remember that the space fortress thing comes from the fact that, because Alexander goes west, he doesn't die young, and his empire remains stable, and there doesn't end up being a Dark Ages, and so people end up in space in like the 1700s, still under the governmental system started by him. There are these little interludes where she sketches out what's happening in the empire at various points after his death. :)

[dira]

Okay! That makes more sense than Alexander fighting aliens, at least. :)

[northern]

I voted for Kushner, but Scott and Barnett is also good!

[dira]

Yeah, Point of Dreams has been recommended with enough enthusiasm that it is definitely on the shortlist. :)

[blueswan]

Timescape is science-y SF with time-travel, ecological disaster looming and scientists who are actually people and not cardboard cutouts. It's pretty good, as I recall.

[dira]

Oooh, interesting!

[kindkit]

Hi--I hope you don't mind a random person dropping in to comment. I haven't read enough of these books to vote, but I have an anti-rec for Tim Powers's Declare. It starts out strong--I loved about the first 1/3 of the book--and then it collapses into a tedious mess with bonus homophobia, sexism, and what looks a lot like Christian proselytizing. (Plus, Powers, a US-ian, didn't bother to get a Brit-pick for a novel whose POV characters are mostly English.)

[dira]

Hey, no, anti-recs are also good. I didn't want to specifically ask for them lest I get a flood, but thanks for the warning. :)

[sage]

I'm so glad you posted this poll! I've heard of a number of these, and the Kushner has been on my to-read list for months so I'm happy to see the comments about it. *loves book recs*

[dira]

Yay! I'm glad to share the riches. :)

[keerawa]

I'm rather shocked to report that I'm no help here, since I haven't read ANY of these books.

*blinks repeatedly* Apparently there's still a lot of old sci-fi for me to delve into.

[keerawa]

And, 20 minutes later, it appears that almost none of them are available through the public library system. Odd. And aggravating! But I've got some Melissa Scott on Hold.

[dira]

There is always more out there than you think there is. :)

And as far as being surprised about not being able to get it through your library--I'm working with a fairly large urban system, so I can get more than most. (But check if your library does interlibrary loan! They might still be able to get the books for you. *g*)

[resonant]

I've only read two on that list: Thomas the Rhymer (which I just finished a couple of weeks ago) and A Woman of the Iron People (which I read ten years ago and don't remember very clearly).

I'm cautious of Tim Powers and Michael Swanwick because of reading books of theirs not on the list that I found disappointing. (Not offensive or anything; just disappointing.)

So Thomas the Rhymer is getting my vote, but not with any wild enthusiasm.

[dira]

Thomas the Rhymer is on the short list, but I think--on the basis of Ellen's specific rec above--Woman of the Iron People is going first. :)

poll

[veritas6_5]

I had to vote for Timescape by Gregory Benford. I think Mac always writes books that appeal to me on a lot of levels. I haven't read many of the others, but now have a new reading list (thank you). I can also recommend, not because it's tied to any of your reasons, pretty much anything by Shari S. Tepper, starting with either Grass, or The Gate to Women's Country. All of her other books are good, too, but those two are my favorites.

Re: poll

[dira]

I think I read Grass back when it was newish. Gate to Woman's Country is one of those that's been sort of floating around in my consciousness as Something I Ought to Read for a long time. :)

[terrio]

You should totally read "Only Begotten Daughter" so you can tell me how it is. :-)

[dira]

FWIW, Iulia really liked it. :)

[amalthia]

The Dark Beyond the Stars was my vote. :) The story stays with you.

[dira]

Good to know!