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Logan 
Forum & Site Admin Group
Site Admin
Joined: April 05 2006
Location: @ wicker man
Status: Online
Points: 32620
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 Posted: March 17 2016 at 14:52 |
 The.Crimson.King wrote:
Vonnegut for me. I love all his early stuff but reread Breakfast of Champions every few years to remind me of how completely absurd living in America really is  |
Haha. I love that novel too; great and weird satirizing of a weird and not so great culture. Love Kilgore Trout. Expect Tom Robbins and John Irving were quite influenced by it.
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Man With Hat
Collaborator
Jazz-Rock/Fusion/Canterbury Team
Joined: March 12 2005
Location: Neurotica
Status: Offline
Points: 166178
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Posted: March 17 2016 at 15:18 |
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I love Dick.
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Dig me...But don't...Bury me
I'm running still, I shall until, one day, I hope that I'll arrive
Warning: Listening to jazz excessively can cause a laxative effect.
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BaldFriede
Prog Reviewer
Joined: June 02 2005
Location: Germany
Status: Offline
Points: 10261
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Posted: March 18 2016 at 02:06 |
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Lem did not see himself as an SF-author, by the way. He criticized the genre vehemently in "Fantasy and Futurology", one of Lem's philosophical works. It is a two volume edition of literary criticism of SF-literature. He exempted Dick though.
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 BaldJean and I; I am the one in blue.
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BaldFriede
Prog Reviewer
Joined: June 02 2005
Location: Germany
Status: Offline
Points: 10261
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Posted: March 18 2016 at 04:18 |
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My favourites from these authors (of Lem I mention only SF)
Lem:
Memoirs Found in a Bathtub
The Futurological Congress
Peace on Earth
Observation on the Spot
Fiasco
Eden
Fiasco
Dick:
The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch
Ubik
A Scanner Darkly
Valis
The Divine Invasion
The Transmigration of Timothy Archer
Vonnegut:
Cat's Cradle
Slaughterhouse Five
Galapagos
Player Piano
Recommendations:
"Sewer, Gas and Electric" by Matt Ruff. A brilliant satire settled in 2023, featuring electronic reincarnations of Ayn Rand and Abbie Hoffman, a 183-year old female veteran of the civil war, eco-terrorists and a giant white shark named "Meisterbräu" who lives in the sewers are just some of the weird characters in this extremely satirical SF-novel. I generally recommend Ruff; he has a great way of
"Die andere Seite" ("The Other Side") by Alfred Kubin. Best known as graphic artist and illustrator, his only novel is a kind of retrograde SF. It has many elements of horror as well, but I see it as a dystopian novel. The main protagonist and his wife are invited to a "dream empire" by his old school friend Claus Patera, who acquired incredible wealth and created said empire. All things modern (the novel was published in 1908) are banned from this empire, and the people there live in a kind of dream state. But the dream soon turns into a nightmare, especially when Hercules Bell, an American of similar wealth as Patera, arrives. The novel is kind of a cross between Gustav Meyrink and Franz Kafka.
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BaldJean and I; I am the one in blue.
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The.Crimson.King
Forum Senior Member
Joined: March 29 2013
Location: WA
Status: Offline
Points: 4591
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Posted: March 18 2016 at 10:11 |
Logan wrote:
The.Crimson.King wrote:
Vonnegut for me. I love all his early stuff but reread Breakfast of Champions every few years to remind me of how completely absurd living in America really is |
Haha. I love that novel too; great and weird satirizing of a weird and not so great culture. Love Kilgore Trout. Expect Tom Robbins and John Irving were quite influenced by it. |
I agree. Read Tom Robbins "Skinny Legs and All" many years ago and it definitely reminded me of Vonnegut. Speaking of Kurt, how could I not post my favorite bit of wisdom from his greatest creation, science fiction writer extraordinaire Kilgore Trout.
"1492. The teachers told children that this was when their continent was discovered by human beings. Actually, millions of human beings were already living full and imaginative lives on the continent in 1492. That was simply the year in which sea pirates began to cheat and rob and kill them." - Kilgore Trout
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Son.of.Tiresias
Forum Senior Member
Joined: October 23 2014
Location: Northern Hemisp
Status: Offline
Points: 441
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Posted: March 23 2016 at 03:00 |
Logan wrote:
Son.of.Tiresias wrote:
Stanislaw Lem is the man. "Solaris" is the best Sci-Fi ever written, and the Andrei Tarkovsky film equals Stanley Kubrickīs 2001, quite differently though. I really like Russian language, although Polish as the original language could have been a more appropriate ?
Does "Solaris"īs expression and content perhaps suffer when translated into English ?
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Tarkovsky's Solaris and Kubrick's 2001 definitely have considerable similarities. I love both. Lem disliked Tarkovsky's adaptation, but that's common with writer's when others adapt their works. Lem said that Tarkovsky didn't make Solaris at all, he made Crime and Punishment. Personally, I prefer Tarkovsky's Stalker to Solaris, but so what.... |
Yes I know Lem didnīt like Starkovskyīs film. He didnīt like "Star Trek" either (grin). Donīt get me wrong, I do like the original series very much. I like both 2001 and "Solaris" as much really, the Tarkovsky "Solaris" film is kinda antithesis to action Sci-Fi, so to speak. Personally, nothing surpasses "Solaris", both in literature and film. "Stalker" film is THE antithesis to all action Sci-Fi, lol. Thantīs why I like it so much. It has nothing on the original novel by the Strugatski Bros. though. Their "Difficult to Be a God" from 1964 is a great novel as well, btw.
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You may see a smile on Tony Banksī face but thatīs unlikely.
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Guy Guden
Forum Senior Member
Joined: November 07 2014
Location: California
Status: Offline
Points: 2499
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Posted: March 23 2016 at 17:42 |
dr wu23 wrote:
I like all 3....I suppose P K Dick would be my favorite but that's because I was lucky enough to receive a letter from him once when I was looking for a copy of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep which became Blade Runner for the film.
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extremely cool, doctor wu. extremely cool.  being in communication with, or hanging amongst writers one admires is pure Bliss. your list also shows the admirable taste of the Celestial mind.  it would appear we are the two who voted three. cheers!
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dr wu23
Forum Senior Member
Joined: August 22 2010
Location: Indiana
Status: Offline
Points: 20451
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Posted: March 24 2016 at 09:55 |
Guy Guden wrote:
dr wu23 wrote:
I like all 3....I suppose P K Dick would be my favorite but that's because I was lucky enough to receive a letter from him once when I was looking for a copy of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep which became Blade Runner for the film.
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extremely cool, doctor wu. extremely cool. being in communication with, or hanging amongst writers one admires is pure Bliss. your list also shows the admirable taste of the Celestial mind. it would appear we are the two who voted three. cheers! |
I've read all 3 authors but a bigger fan of PK than the others though there are a couple of books by Lem that I really like. There's one called 'The Investigation' by Lem that is a study of an investigation into some missing corpses that has a central paranormal theme but the true answer is never resolved....I've read it several times and I'll probably read it again. It resonates with me for some reason. The letter from PK was a happy accident.....but it was nice receiving it. I have read most of his novels...but there are a couple and some short stories I still haven't read. I'm saving those since there won't be anymore. The last few years been reading a lot of supernatural action fiction.....Repairman Jack series, Nightside series by Green , Secret Histories series by Green, Harry Dresden series by Butcher, and the Sandman Slim series by Kadrey.
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One does nothing yet nothing is left undone.
Haquin
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Guy Guden
Forum Senior Member
Joined: November 07 2014
Location: California
Status: Offline
Points: 2499
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Posted: March 24 2016 at 20:29 |
dr wu23 wrote:
I've read all 3 authors but a bigger fan of PK than the others though there are a couple of books by Lem that I really like. The last few years been reading a lot of supernatural action fiction |
good to know, Doctor Wu. I felt the answer should include all 3 writers. "All the books..." as Cyril Cusack says to Oskar Werner in FAHRENHEIT 451. Like you, I prefer PKD. I certainly have more titles by him in my library, Vonnegut the second most in quantity and Lem the smallest. Continued good searching in speculative fiction. As I believe I mentioned earlier, I had been reading a lot of Huxley, Orwell and Bradbury. My enthusiasm for authors of all time periods remains undiminished. the 60th Anniversary edition of Bradbury's FAHRENHEIT 451 was quite enjoyable; much supplemental material. My mood swings may lead me to rereads and rediscoveries like John Wyndham, A.E. Van Vogt, and others of the '50s period with a philosophical mindset, satire and irony mixed with the fear and loathing. A J.G. Ballard phase is creeping in perhaps. Re-ordered Cronenberg's CRASH and am looking forward to the HIGHRISE film. I thought THE END OF THE TOUR was a wonderful film about DAVID FOSTER WALLACE and INHERENT VICE stoked the Pynchon acquaintance. Jules Verne is knocking at the door as well. A pleasure to talk books along with the music. They are hand in hand in my reality. Thank you and Best to you.
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dr wu23
Forum Senior Member
Joined: August 22 2010
Location: Indiana
Status: Offline
Points: 20451
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Posted: March 24 2016 at 22:56 |
Guy Guden wrote:
good to know, Doctor Wu. I felt the answer should include all 3 writers. "All the books..." as Cyril Cusack says to Oskar Werner in FAHRENHEIT 451. Like you, I prefer PKD. I certainly have more titles by him in my library, Vonnegut the second most in quantity and Lem the smallest. Continued good searching in speculative fiction. As I believe I mentioned earlier, I had been reading a lot of Huxley, Orwell and Bradbury. My enthusiasm for authors of all time periods remains undiminished. the 60th Anniversary edition of Bradbury's FAHRENHEIT 451 was quite enjoyable; much supplemental material. My mood swings may lead me to rereads and rediscoveries like John Wyndham, A.E. Van Vogt, and others of the '50s period with a philosophical mindset, satire and irony mixed with the fear and loathing. A J.G. Ballard phase is creeping in perhaps. Re-ordered Cronenberg's CRASH and am looking forward to the HIGHRISE film. I thought THE END OF THE TOUR was a wonderful film about DAVID FOSTER WALLACE and INHERENT VICE stoked the Pynchon acquaintance. Jules Verne is knocking at the door as well. A pleasure to talk books along with the music. They are hand in hand in my reality. Thank you and Best to you.
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I have of course read Asimov, Bradbury, Huxley, Herbert, Verne, Orwell, AEVan Vogt, Zelazny, Simak, Niven, Heinlein, Clarke, and many others many years ago....did a Ballard course of reading in the 80's. I spent many years exploring all the great sci-fi authors. I tried Infinite Jest but couldn't get through it...will try it again one day. I read Crying Of Lot 49, V, and Gravity's Rainbow many years ago ....need to pick up another Pynchon one day; any recommendations ? Haven't read a 'deep' book for some time now and I seem to be in a supernatural fiction mode the last few years. It can be hard to find that special book to read. I like strange but thought provoking books that have a sci-fi or paranormal edge to them but are well written.....any suggestions for newer authors since I have read all the old timers? btw if you like well written literate space opera I recommend Iaan Banks 'Culture Series'. It's similar to Asimov's Foundation series but imho more interesting.
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One does nothing yet nothing is left undone.
Haquin
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Guy Guden
Forum Senior Member
Joined: November 07 2014
Location: California
Status: Offline
Points: 2499
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Posted: March 25 2016 at 04:00 |
dr wu23 wrote:
I read Crying Of Lot 49, V, and Gravity's Rainbow many years ago ....need to pick up another Pynchon one day; any recommendations ? Haven't read a 'deep' book for some time now and I seem to be in a supernatural fiction mode the last few years. It can be hard to find that special book to read. I like strange but thought provoking books that have a sci-fi or paranormal edge to them but are well written.....any suggestions for newer authors since I have read all the old timers? |
I bought Pynchon's latest BLEEDING EDGE right when it came out. It put me through a rollercoaster of emotions not unlike dating someone who is very attractive, but glaringly wrong for you. When he got serious the book was brilliant; like he was telling us what was really out there and scared him. Then he would dilute it with comedy of the lowest par, stuff I or the Firesign Theatre would have rejected as puerile. It seemed like he got scared being "too deep." I won't lie and pretend I've read everything Pynchon has done. My last Pynchon I added to the library was MASON & DIXON, which really did feel like a Firesign Theatre album. Pynchon was in California when David Ossman of the Firesign Theatre did his thing and I did SPACE PIRATE RADIO in Santa Barbara. Paths have been crossed and as MAD MAGAZINE said, "Small minds run in the same gutter." I've never read GRAVITY'S RAINBOW or VINELAND. The only new cat I'm considering reading is Bruce Wagner with his contempt for the Industry of Hollywood, which I share. Not traditional sci-fi, but then again? And he makes me want to read Saul Bellow. It's like bathing in Coen Brothers atmosphere. My age pulls me to nostalgia, but new sci-fi, especially in graphic novels of the Vertigo school appeal. I'm torn between Dostoevsky and Charles Beaumont; Hesse and Rod Serling... A pleasure, Doctor Wu. Good reading to you
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dr wu23
Forum Senior Member
Joined: August 22 2010
Location: Indiana
Status: Offline
Points: 20451
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Posted: March 25 2016 at 16:23 |
^Thanks for the ideas.....I have read several Vertigo series over the years .I'll see what's at the local comic shop...........btw what was Space Pirate Radio in Santa Barbara...? ps: Have you ever read a comic series called The Invisibles by Grant Morrison?
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One does nothing yet nothing is left undone.
Haquin
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Guy Guden
Forum Senior Member
Joined: November 07 2014
Location: California
Status: Offline
Points: 2499
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Posted: March 25 2016 at 18:02 |
dr wu23 wrote:
^Thanks for the ideas.....I have read several Vertigo series over the years .I'll see what's at the local comic shop...........btw what was Space Pirate Radio in Santa Barbara...? ps: Have you ever read a comic series called The Invisibles by Grant Morrison? |
Indeed, I have. The entire series is bagged and boarded in the archives, a scant distance as we speak. SPACE PIRATE RADIO was my (humbly) (for better or worse) life's contribution to this environment we now romp & frolic. There's lengthy discussion by some on this board, which ultimately forced me out of my reclusive, yet Hermetic lifestyle, to set the record straight (an ongoing process). If interested, as the learned person I've grown to respect here, might I suggest a visit to The Melting Watchtowre, the diary and repository of all things SPACE PIRATE RADIO and my multiple enthusiasms, serious and satiric and surreal. guyguden.blogspot.com is the portal, I believe. I recommend earlier year entries for detailed insights into the show itself, which, for the record, introduced eccentric, eclectic and electronic import music to U.S. ears on commercial FM Freeform radio. 1973-1974. All mixed with my peculiar art and philosophy. ecstatic interference. *the cosmic giggle* sacre et profane.  there is also twit air account under Guy Guden. (and the Green Neon Motel). please forgive my blustering and appearing gripped in an elderly arrogance. I am SO VERY proud of my offspring. And I'm happy to say, the twins are coming home for the holidays. With much respect, I thank you and wish you the best.
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Dick, Vonnegut, Lem