[extropy-chat] School libraries and skiffy

[Damien Broderick]

At 12:08 AM 11/10/2006 -0500, Ben G wrote:

>When I pointed out to my son some of the gems among older SF novels
>(Lem, Dick, Williamson, Clarke, etc.), he read and enjoyed them.

Williamson? Really? Which?

Writers I liked as a kid whom I can't read any longer would include, 
say, Cliff Simak and Asimov. Sheckley's brilliance has been overtaken 
by time and stylistics, and all the filching by Douglas Adams. But 
crazy, dream-struck van Vogt still works, even if I have to grit my 
teeth. I wonder if a kid today could bear to read SLAN or the Weapon 
Shops books? I imagine Alfie Bester might still strike a spark or 
three, again making allowance for the last 50 years of lifestyle 
change. Sturgeon's still very readable, at his best.

Damien Broderick