Discussion:
"Best Modern Science Fiction Authors" by Dan Livingston
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Lynn McGuire
2021-08-31 22:36:59 UTC
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"Best Modern Science Fiction Authors" by Dan Livingston
https://best-sci-fi-books.com/best-modern-science-fiction-authors/

I have read "Little Brother", "Red Mars", "To Say Nothing Of The Dog",
The MaddAdam trilogy, "The Road", "We Are Legion", "Leviathon Wakes",
"Ancillary Justice", "Old Man's War", "The Martian". Ten out of the 23
authors.

Lynn
J. Clarke
2021-09-01 00:10:06 UTC
Permalink
On Tue, 31 Aug 2021 17:36:59 -0500, Lynn McGuire
Post by Lynn McGuire
"Best Modern Science Fiction Authors" by Dan Livingston
https://best-sci-fi-books.com/best-modern-science-fiction-authors/
I have read "Little Brother", "Red Mars", "To Say Nothing Of The Dog",
The MaddAdam trilogy, "The Road", "We Are Legion", "Leviathon Wakes",
"Ancillary Justice", "Old Man's War", "The Martian". Ten out of the 23
authors.
I haven't read anything by David Wong, Jeff VanderMeer, Peter Watts,
or Dennis E Taylor. I found Martha Wells to be OK but her books are
very short for the price.

Given that the author of this list says of "The Road" "emotionally
devastating, You've been warned" and my reaction to it was "when is
that miserable whiny brat going to die" interspersed with "NO you
fucking MORON", I think that his tastes and mine differ.
Moriarty
2021-09-01 00:43:32 UTC
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Post by J. Clarke
On Tue, 31 Aug 2021 17:36:59 -0500, Lynn McGuire
Post by Lynn McGuire
"Best Modern Science Fiction Authors" by Dan Livingston
https://best-sci-fi-books.com/best-modern-science-fiction-authors/
I have read "Little Brother", "Red Mars", "To Say Nothing Of The Dog",
The MaddAdam trilogy, "The Road", "We Are Legion", "Leviathon Wakes",
"Ancillary Justice", "Old Man's War", "The Martian". Ten out of the 23
authors.
I haven't read anything by David Wong, Jeff VanderMeer, Peter Watts,
or Dennis E Taylor. I found Martha Wells to be OK but her books are
very short for the price.
Given that the author of this list says of "The Road" "emotionally
devastating, You've been warned" and my reaction to it was "when is
that miserable whiny brat going to die" interspersed with "NO you
fucking MORON", I think that his tastes and mine differ.
FWIW I had the same reaction to "The Road" that you did. But the list includes several of my all-time favourite SF authors: Iain M Banks, Alastair Reynolds, Peter Hamilton, Neal Stephenson... So all I conclude is that his tastes regarding Cormac McCarthy differ from mine.

The only one I really raised an eyebrow at was Cixin Liu at number 2. I read "The Three Body Problem" and was a little underwhelmed, probably because it had been talked up so much. I'll probably get on to the sequels one of these years.

-Moriarty
Titus G
2021-09-01 02:40:07 UTC
Permalink
snip
Post by J. Clarke
Given that the author of this list says of "The Road" "emotionally
devastating, You've been warned" and my reaction to it was "when is
that miserable whiny brat going to die" interspersed with "NO you
fucking MORON", I think that his tastes and mine differ.
FWIW I had the same reaction to "The Road" that you did. snip
I conclude is that his tastes regarding Cormac McCarthy differ from
mine. snip

I think he is brilliant.
The Border Trilogy.
All The Pretty Horses. 5 stars
The Crossing. 4 stars
Cities of the Plain. 4 stars

No Country For Old Men. 5 stars
Blood Meridian. 4 stars
Suttree. 4 stars

I gave The Road 3 stars because I enjoy his writing and found the
conclusion chilling. I accept J. Clarke's specific criticisms posted
here previously. The Road is not a book I would recommend.
J. Clarke
2021-09-01 02:46:41 UTC
Permalink
On Tue, 31 Aug 2021 17:43:32 -0700 (PDT), Moriarty
Post by Moriarty
Post by J. Clarke
On Tue, 31 Aug 2021 17:36:59 -0500, Lynn McGuire
Post by Lynn McGuire
"Best Modern Science Fiction Authors" by Dan Livingston
https://best-sci-fi-books.com/best-modern-science-fiction-authors/
I have read "Little Brother", "Red Mars", "To Say Nothing Of The Dog",
The MaddAdam trilogy, "The Road", "We Are Legion", "Leviathon Wakes",
"Ancillary Justice", "Old Man's War", "The Martian". Ten out of the 23
authors.
I haven't read anything by David Wong, Jeff VanderMeer, Peter Watts,
or Dennis E Taylor. I found Martha Wells to be OK but her books are
very short for the price.
Given that the author of this list says of "The Road" "emotionally
devastating, You've been warned" and my reaction to it was "when is
that miserable whiny brat going to die" interspersed with "NO you
fucking MORON", I think that his tastes and mine differ.
FWIW I had the same reaction to "The Road" that you did. But the list includes several of my all-time favourite SF authors: Iain M Banks, Alastair Reynolds, Peter Hamilton, Neal Stephenson... So all I conclude is that his tastes regarding Cormac McCarthy differ from mine.
The only one I really raised an eyebrow at was Cixin Liu at number 2. I read "The Three Body Problem" and was a little underwhelmed, probably because it had been talked up so much. I'll probably get on to the sequels one of these years.
I'm just hoping they show the whole computer scene in the movie. That
made the book for me. I'm willing to cut him a good deal of slack for
the simple reason that he's working in a totalitarian dictatorship
where saying the wrong thing could be worth his life. Leaves me
wondering what he would be writing if he didn't have that to contend
with. OTOH, he's no Solzhenytsin.
Titus G
2021-09-14 05:18:40 UTC
Permalink
Post by Moriarty
Post by J. Clarke
On Tue, 31 Aug 2021 17:36:59 -0500, Lynn McGuire
Post by Lynn McGuire
"Best Modern Science Fiction Authors" by Dan Livingston
https://best-sci-fi-books.com/best-modern-science-fiction-authors/
I have read "Little Brother", "Red Mars", "To Say Nothing Of The Dog",
The MaddAdam trilogy, "The Road", "We Are Legion", "Leviathon Wakes",
"Ancillary Justice", "Old Man's War", "The Martian". Ten out of the 23
authors.
I haven't read anything by David Wong, Jeff VanderMeer, Peter Watts,
or Dennis E Taylor. I found Martha Wells to be OK but her books are
very short for the price.
Given that the author of this list says of "The Road" "emotionally
devastating, You've been warned" and my reaction to it was "when is
that miserable whiny brat going to die" interspersed with "NO you
fucking MORON", I think that his tastes and mine differ.
FWIW I had the same reaction to "The Road" that you did. But the list includes several of my all-time favourite SF authors: Iain M Banks, Alastair Reynolds, Peter Hamilton, Neal Stephenson... So all I conclude is that his tastes regarding Cormac McCarthy differ from mine.
The only one I really raised an eyebrow at was Cixin Liu at number 2. I read "The Three Body Problem" and was a little underwhelmed, probably because it had been talked up so much. I'll probably get on to the sequels one of these years.
My main gripe is that Dan, as criticised by many previously,
has titles that usually conflict with the list contents. This time the
questionable delerium is MODERN.
The Handmaid's Tale has been in the news recently because of film
publicity but was written in the 1980's. The concept of the MaddAddam
trilogy will predate Orryx in 2003, so is 20 years old still "Modern"?
Iain M Banks, Alastair Reynolds, Peter Hamilton, Neal Stephenson are
also favourites of mine as well but are what they have written be
classified as modern? I don't know but suspect not.
Paul S Person
2021-09-15 15:27:56 UTC
Permalink
On Tue, 14 Sep 2021 17:18:40 +1200, Titus G <***@nowhere.com> wrote:

<snippo>
Post by Titus G
My main gripe is that Dan, as criticised by many previously,
has titles that usually conflict with the list contents. This time the
questionable delerium is MODERN.
The Handmaid's Tale has been in the news recently because of film
publicity but was written in the 1980's. The concept of the MaddAddam
trilogy will predate Orryx in 2003, so is 20 years old still "Modern"?
Iain M Banks, Alastair Reynolds, Peter Hamilton, Neal Stephenson are
also favourites of mine as well but are what they have written be
classified as modern? I don't know but suspect not.
IIRC, in /An Historian's Approach to Religion/, Arnold Toynbee
declared that "Modern" ended with the Guns of August (that is, the
start of WWI).

Everything after 1913, then is Post-Modern.

Clearly, we need a new way to designate these cultural eras ...
--
"I begin to envy Petronius."
"I have envied him long since."
Lynn McGuire
2021-09-01 00:20:01 UTC
Permalink
Post by Lynn McGuire
"Best Modern Science Fiction Authors" by Dan Livingston
   https://best-sci-fi-books.com/best-modern-science-fiction-authors/
I have read "Little Brother", "Red Mars", "To Say Nothing Of The Dog",
The MaddAdam trilogy, "The Road", "We Are Legion", "Leviathon Wakes",
"Ancillary Justice", "Old Man's War", "The Martian".  Ten out of the 23
authors.
Lynn
Where is David Weber, J. K. Rowling, John Ringo, Jack Campbell, David
Drake, Eric Flint, Tom Kratman, L.E. Modesitt, Neal Asher, Allen Steele,
Vernor Vinge ?

Lynn
Amicus Brevis
2021-09-02 17:42:37 UTC
Permalink
Post by Lynn McGuire
"Best Modern Science Fiction Authors" by Dan Livingston
https://best-sci-fi-books.com/best-modern-science-fiction-authors/
I have read "Little Brother", "Red Mars", "To Say Nothing Of The Dog",
The MaddAdam trilogy, "The Road", "We Are Legion", "Leviathon Wakes",
"Ancillary Justice", "Old Man's War", "The Martian". Ten out of the 23
authors.
Lynn
Great list! I haven't read the MaddAdam trilogy. I will check it out.

Regards
Lynn McGuire
2021-09-02 19:39:06 UTC
Permalink
Post by Amicus Brevis
Post by Lynn McGuire
"Best Modern Science Fiction Authors" by Dan Livingston
https://best-sci-fi-books.com/best-modern-science-fiction-authors/
I have read "Little Brother", "Red Mars", "To Say Nothing Of The Dog",
The MaddAdam trilogy, "The Road", "We Are Legion", "Leviathon Wakes",
"Ancillary Justice", "Old Man's War", "The Martian". Ten out of the 23
authors.
Lynn
Great list! I haven't read the MaddAdam trilogy. I will check it out.
Regards
I just reviewed all three books here in the last month.

Lynn
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