First we have Alec reporting on the Top 20 geek novels from blogs.guardian.co.uk. I hope the fact that Alec hasn't read Consider Phlebas doesn't mean that he's ignorant of Iain M. Banks' work.
Meanwhile, over at Slashdot the usual crowd is debating the merits of Space.com's best space movies poll. Like many Slashdotters, I find the concentration on the various Star Trek and Star Wars films is (a) inevitable in today's ADD world, and (b) really sad. If I could add one film to the list, it would be Silent Running, one of the most haunting movies ever made. (I also really enjoyed Serenity; it's a shame that it flopped so badly.)
What we need now is a "top space TV shows with no Star Trek connection" poll. Just think of it: Blake's 7, Space 1999, and more recently Firefly. Of course the top of the list will be Red Dwarf....
Posted by geoff2 at November 20, 2005 11:03 AMYes, I am utterly ignorant of Iain M Banks but that's largely because I've always preferred Iain Banks as an author, notably The Wasp Factory, Espedair Street, Walking on Glass and The Crow Road - the latter being possibly the first novel I ever read with a plausible, empathisable, contemporary and realistic "geek" in it, using plausible technology rather than someone's fevered imaginings - and recently I borrowed "Raw Spirit", his personal homage to the road trip themed around malts. In some ways I am disinclined to attack the "Culture" books as I am many other authors nowadays, since I've developed a vague feeling of not-wanting-any-more-universes-inside-my-head.
There's already middle-earth, hitch-hikers, discworld, ringworld and a selection of other minor ones in there, not to mention the half-dozen pseudoreal zones in which I execute bits of my personality (biker/petrolhead, astronomer, geek, romantic, chef, politician, and "the practical man") - so I've arrived at a state where I don't want to have to engage the construct of an author's created universe in order to understand a story.
I presume it's a phase, I presume it will pass, it's probably not fair (or at least open-minded) - but at the moment I am making up for having buried my head in Kernighan, Bach, Tanenbaum and McKusick for fun, aged 17 thru 26 inclusive. This involves memorising the Screwfix catalogue, learning how to strip an engine, and coming to oneness with the various compositions of concrete.
I presume I'm not the only person to face this challenge?
I always understood that Blake's 7 was a conscious reaction to the (somewhat fascist or Soviet seeming) Federation, so I don't know if that counts as not-Star-Trek.
Posted by: Charlie (Colorado) at November 21, 2005 01:36 AMI agree with the Guardian blog's comment that the real surprises were the lack of interest in John Brunner's two novels.
Reminder to self, must get a new copy of Shockwave Rider, a fellow geek went off with my copy years ago and I have'nt seen him or it since.
Posted by: Jon at November 21, 2005 11:35 AM