Vinge vs. Willis - Round 1

About 5% of the time, SF fans can’t make up their minds.  That’s where I come in.  As Supreme Arbiter, I’ll settle for all time, which book was really deserving of the Hugo Award.

I will be the first to admit that in 1993, there were at least 3 stellar, deserving titles to choose from.  For myself, I’d have had a hard time not picking the Nebula winning Red Mars, but I absolutely understand the desire to pick either of these two.  They were both fantastic.  In refereeing my second deathmatch, I’ve decided to allow the candidates do battle prior to writing their individual reviews…because I fancy doing so and I can.  As with the last time, I’ve randomly picked five topics that seemed worth comparing and I’ll do one or two rounds every couple of days, I hope you’ll all weigh in and invent some great new cheers to lob at me when it seems my strike zone is a little off.  With the preamble concluded…

A Fire Upon the Deep

vs.

Doomsday Book

Round 1: Travel

A Fire Upon the Deep

Okay… wow…  why did I pick this first?!

Vinge is renowned for his Zones of Thought.  I admit that when I first cracked the cover and saw the diagram of The Unthinking Depths, The Slow Zone and The Beyond, I was a little confused.

I’m not sure it’s necessary to explain in greater detail than to say that each zone represents very different characteristics of chronology, psychology, physics, and .  Especially in the case of computers, but in other kinds of tech also, the further one gets from The Unthinking Depths, the greater the complexity that can be achieved.

This is what allows for faster-than-light travel in some zones, and not in others.  Even reaching speeds approaching Light in other zones requires different technology completely and if you take the wrong ship into the wrong zone, well, you’re probably up a creek.

While the idea of FTL travel is always fun, I don’t think it would ordinarily qualify as anything extra special.  In this case, Vinge has drawn up such a complicated and original process, it gets extra-high marks.

Doomsday Book

Doomsday Book is easy.  Time Travel in the most conventional sense, which I’m all for.  Willis hints at some pretty serious scholarship governing “The Net”, but doesn’t get into it in too much detail.  Once the net is opened, one is suddenly transported into whatever year has been targeted…but there are some quirks.  Primarily, there’s the problem of the slippage.

Oh the slippage.

You see, despite the amount of time and attention given to ensuring The Drop is correctly adjusted to the target date and location.  I like this addition.  When my favorite Will Smith character, “J”, tunes his time machine into a date, he doesn’t have to worry about not being transported to exactly where he intended, but in Doomsday Book, it’s not that simple.  In fact, the further one travels back in time, the greater the likelihood of slippage, both spatial and/or temporal.

In this case, Kivrin (another good cat name? J) is attempting a drop into Oxford, in 1320.  Let’s just say travelling this far into the past makes the chance for missing the intended date…significant.

But then, as long as you don’t turn off the net, you won’t lose the drop location and it won’t be a problem right?  Well, if you remember anything about the fourteenth century, you’ll remember there was a concerning little world-wide health incident called the black plague.

There are some more fun elements that I could go on about, but I think this sums up what makes Doomsday Book fun.

The Call

I loved Willis’ time travel.  Srsly.  But my first inclination is to give this one to Vinge because of its complexity.  I guess I could imagine someone being turned off by how conceptual Vinge’s zones of thought can be, but I was sufficiently impressed.  On the other hand, “the net” was so fun and so laboriously revealed that I had a hard time putting Doomsday Book down.

Both authors took something that has been done before and made it their own.  That is pretty awesome and makes this hard to judge.  In the end, I think this round has to go to Vinge because it is not only such an intricate imagining of something that has been done so many times, but it is also a part of the very fabric of the rest of the book’s tension.  While the same could be said about Doomsday Book, I think the best parts of the story are to be found in subsequent rounds…

A Double-header Master of the Precious/Gravity Well Post-strava-ganza

For those of you hop-ons who haven’t been a part of a Master of the Precious ceremony yet, it’s pretty simple.  Each decade (with the exception of the 2010’s, but they haven’t closed out yet), some author has one the Hugo Award multiple times.  Until now, SF has suffered over the indecision regarding which of the author’s titles was the better book.

After reading through each decade, I alone have acted as the supreme arbiter of taste and reason.  Much as I do in the case of the three Deathmatches, I bring the world the most important answers. 

After that, I think I’ll throw in the Gravity Well too.  Why not.

The 1980’s brought us a near-record number of repeat winners.  Somehow I was able to procrastinate this long without talking about any of these so here goes, the ultra-super-mega MoP showdown featuring C.J. Cherryh, David Brin, and Orson Scott Card.  Some of these comparisons will be easier than others and I’ll start with the easiest.

C.J. Cherryh:

1982 – Downbelow Station

1989 – Cyteen

This one is a no-brainer.  Do I need to justify it?!  Alright then…

Cyteen is now one of my *all-time* favorites.

Cyteen scored of the few perfect HEP scores of 25 that I have ever given out.

Cyteen is a million times more compelling.

I actually cared about Cyteen’s characters whereas I can’t name very many from Downbelow Station anymore.

When it comes to C.J. Cherryh’s Hugo winners from the 1980’s:

Cyteen is clearly the Master of the Precious.

And while I still admit Downbelow deserves a re-read, I have to say it:

Downbelow Station is just a stupid, fat Hobbit.

David Brin:

1984 – Startide Rising

1988 – The Uplift War

This one is a bit harder.

The goofy factor is a tough one, but I think I have to give it to the Dolphins of Startide Rising.

Future-gadgetry, alien-ness, and all-around coolness of stuff is really hard to call.  The Orca was pretty BA in Startide Rising, but that’s about the only thing that clearly surpasses Uplift War.  So I’m giving that non-category to The Uplift War.

HEP scores are tied!

The tie breaker has to go to The Uplift War for the more intense depiction of another species struggling with the most horrific and depressing aspects of the human condition, if you can call it that anymore.

I really hate to have to call this one, but you know I must.

When it comes to David Brin’s Hugo winners from the 1980’s:

The Uplift War is the Master of the Precious.

Which of course means (and no one is allowed to be mad at me for saying this):

Startide Rising is just a stupid, fat Hobbit.

Orson Scott Card:

1986 – Ender’s Game

1987 – Speaker for the Dead

And the hardest of all.

Ender’s Game wins on HEP scores.

Speaker for the Dead was clearly more intellectually stimulating.

One time when I was listening to Ender’s Game, I was so impressed that I was pounding the passenger seat in the car.

Another time when I was listening to Speaker, I actually said, “wow” all extra breathy and reverentially (to be fair, then I asked myself, “did I just say that?”).

This is starting to feel like comparing apples and oranges.

I listened to both of these as audiobooks and while both were pretty high quality, Ender’s Game was the clear winner.

Ender’s Game had more of a page-turner factor.

Speaker for the Dead kept making me think of the Foundation series.

Speaker for the Dead elicited very strong emotions.

Hey people.  I don’t know how to do this so I’m gonna call it like this: in the future, if I’m going to pick up a OSC title to re-read, it is very unlikely that it will be Speaker for the Dead.

Before I say it, know that these are two very different books and very hard to compare.  Nevertheless, I can’t have history waffling over this for centuries so here goes.

When it comes to Orson Scott Card’s Hugo winners from the 1980’s:

Ender’s Game is the Master of the Precious.

Insert frantic qualifier:

Speaker for the Dead is just a stupid, fat Hobbit.

##    ##    ##

So, I normally dedicate an entire post the Gravity Well Award, but this one is a little more clear cut than is usual.  As you know, this can mean different things in different decades but the winner of the 1980’s Gravity Well covers just about any possible meaning.

There were a number of titles that were pretty hard-hitting or gritty or depressing or philosophical or depressingly philosophical or hard science or (what you might call) hard theology or just plain difficult to read.

Only one title captured all of that.

Cyteen, as you know, destroyed my precious reading schedule (though it may have had help from my stupid training schedule and I think I might read it faster next time).  Maybe less theological discussion than others, but certainly as emotionally draining as anything I’ve ever read.  There are few books that I can confidently place within my top-5 of all time, but this is one of them.

I still can’t get over the concept of tape sessions and deep sets.  I actually regularly refer to really thorough examinations/investigations of any kind as deep sets now (even if only to myself).

Slavery, cloning, sex crimes, murder, planetary sabotage, genetics, raising a horse, children in live-ammo military training.  I’m not sure I can even think of everything that qualifies this one, but man.  Just…man…

I’d be happy to admit that there were actually quite a few titles from the 1980’s that would have been fighting pretty hard for the Gravity Well.  The 1980’s, apart from being the decade of the 600+ page book, was also the decade of debilitating tension and anxiety.  SF was really livin in the 80’s.

Still, Cyteen was really something else and I have no trouble naming it, The Gravity Well.

The Impeachable

We all know the rules and grading and just about everything on this blog has been a moving target.  After last week's book, To Your Scattered Bodies Go, it became apparent that simply keeping a list of the Hugo Award's paragons of SF was ignoring and really unintentionally discriminatory against those miraculously bad Hugo's that, against all odds, continue to exist.  This also fails to capitalize on my ability as Supreme Arbiter over the Hugos to issue proclamations as I see fit.  So with that in mind...

~ ~ ~

Proclamation

Whereas, there exist SF titles, which despite winning a Hugo Award, release a stench upon the world so foul as to offend the noble and refined literary palettes of the SF world; and

Whereas, the SF genre has been inundated with repugnant garbage since the very ancient times in the history of the genre; and

Whereas, the Supreme Arbitor wields a staff of literary justice with grace and compassion heretofore unseen in the blogosphere; and

Whereas, the Hugo Endurance Project is insignificant enough that no one will care if there favorite book gets panned; and

Whereas, however, the Hugo Endurance Project maintains the authoritative record of the worthiness of the Hugo winners; and

Whereas, my logic is undeniable;

Let it be known on this 17th day of July in the year 2012, that the Hugo Endurance Project will initiate a record, known hereinafter as "THE IMPEACHABLE", which will highlight the most foul, reprobate and maladroit titles in the history of the Hugo Awards.

~ ~ ~

How's that for an announcement.  Okay, I may have gone a little overboard... and a little silly, but I do intend to "hereinafter" maintain a counterpart to the Paragons for books such as... Well, you'll just have to wait and find out, won't you?  I should have it up in a couple days.  Look for it.

Zelazny...

I have been dreading this post for a long time now.  It should have been weeks ago that I arbitrated over yet another Master of the Precious determination.  The contenders: This Immortal v. Lord of Light.  They were two very different experiences and I willingly admit that this forum of blazing through books each week was not conducive to an appropriate and fair reading of LoL.  So how do I make this determination?

I will make note of a couple of things.  First, TI has aged very well.  I recall that it was difficult to get into, but now my only recollection is that it was insanely fun.  I am confident that TI would re-read very well.  LoL has also aged well, though not even close to TI and while I think it would fare much better in a re-read, it will definitely require some time to mull over.  LoL was thick not in size but in concepts, theology, mysticism and mythology.  In that way it would appear LoL is at an advantage since TI was a much more straight-forward and plain story.  I just can’t get over how much fun TI turned out to be though.

I’m reluctant to get too deep into this one since it seems LoL is clearly the better fighter in this match, but as a result didn’t train thoroughly enough.  With EXTREME RELUCTANCE I have to call this a TKO by This Immortal.  If you never got around to reading the review (or the book for that matter), do it now.  It doesn't feel right to say, but I guess that means in this case, LoL is just a stupid, fat hobbit.just a stupid, fat hobbit.

I know this will disappoint some, but I have to base my decision on my experience during the challenge, and with that in mind LoL was left lacking.  I’d put money on Lord of Light in a rematch though…

1966 DEATHMATCH Final Rounds

Round 4 Anathema…Explosion

Okay, evil dudes – you’re up.

Dune

You saw the picture of Baron Harkonnen from round 1.  He is great.  Harkonnen is the definition of dangerous.  He will kill members of his own family.  He will kill members of your family if he needs to.  Do not let him near little boys.  Absolutely do not do that.  He’s also enormously gigantically fat so really he’s even a danger to himself right?  He is such a despicable character, you are just begging for him to struggle with something or fail in any way, but he is too resilient and insanely smart for his own good.   A feint within a feint within a feint.

When it comes to evil, Baron Harkonnen and the entire Harkonnen family rate about as high as they come on the vile-o-meter.  And if you don’t have a vile-o-meter, rating high means you’re about as gigantic a dick as they come, which in HEP DEATHMATCH terms, means you’re hard to beat.

This Immortal

This is an interesting one.  Conrad is committed to keeping Vegans from Earth.  So much so that he is literally dismantling the major historic monuments to convince them there is nothing worth their while here.  Committed.  But they weren’t so much the immediate threat that the Harkonnen’s were for Paul.  They were dangerous, not in terms of possibly doing violence to Conrad but that they might move to Earth and make humans into second-class citizens.

The other threat facing Conrad was even more mysterious.  Conrad, though he suffered the Vegan’s presence that he was escorting, he was committed to keeping him safe on their tour of Earth.  Someone in their group though was out to kill the Vegan, or maybe even Conrad.  He couldn't know but it caused their entire trip to be the most unsettling journey ever.  When he wasn’t battling mutants or robots he was playing detective and trying to figure out who was trying to kill him.

I guess what This Immortal lacked in single-source antagonism, it made up for in blanket mystery and planet wide threats.  I guess if you can’t get more evil than Baron Harkonnen, your best bet is to expand your coverage, cast a wider net?

Round 5 Desert Thunder

This is kind of a strange category, but you have to admit that both of these books take place in deserts.  I mean, you have to admit it.  And given that fact, we must now force those two deserts to battle each other until someone’s brains are splattered on the wall.

Dune

Arrakis is such a crazy planet.  It is both terrifying and deadly, but also extremely intriguing and inspires fierce loyalty.  The worms, the giant worms are pretty awesome too.  I think though that what is coolest about Arrakis is actually the adaptations that both the Fremen and the spice traders have developed.  I’ve mentioned Stillsuits.

Hmm.  I guess I thought Dune would put up more of a fight here but well, I don’t know what else to say.  Reading about the desert planet is captivating and of all the desert planets it is probably the most popular.  Maybe the only thing it has going for it is that it has holds this incredible transformative power.  Not only does it physically, mentally and emotionally change a person when they go out there (if they survive), but it also holds deep within an opportunity to become a green, wet planet and that is something people will die for.

Okay, so I thought Dune was down and out but had something of a comeback.  Was it enough though?

This Immortal

If you’ve ever seen The Hills Have Eyes you know exactly what to picture when you picture earth after The Three Days.  Cobalt bombs have destroyed most everything that isn’t an island and maimed, disfigured and mutated anything that survived.  The result was a landscape so treacherous and unpredictable that it was hard not to be on the edge of your seat.

Literally turning the corner from a perfectly safe area, you might find a Satyr or a group of mutants in a religious cult or maybe a sea-monster.  You really don’t know what to expect other than some kind of grotesque monstrosity.  Actually they weren’t always grotesque.  Conrad’s immortality is reportedly the result of his mutation and his dog, Bortan, is a kick-ass mutant.  But when you get out into the wild desert areas, the rules just don’t apply.

I really didn’t think it was possible that This Immortal would come close to Dune in this respect, but this is actually looking like a tight race for ruler of the universe’s desert power.

So that about wraps it up.  I’m gonna take a day or two to deliberate and if you have any thoughts, now’s your time to contribute.  I’m about the crown the winner for all time.

1966 DEATHMATCH Rounds 1 & 2

Without further ado...

ROUND 1 QUOTE SMASH

Here we have two books told in very different formats.  This Immortal uses extensive dialogue to advance the plot and as such, the “quotes” are not so much fortune cookie sound bites as they are funny or terrible exchanges.  You’ll notice they all include Conrad.  I posted an Epic Quote while I was reading this which dealt with Conrad’s attitude – which was mostly pretty hilarious.  Sure they probably won’t make you stop and think the way Dune’s quotes might, but for me these moments stuck in my mind.  Dune on the other hand was excessively quotable and it was difficult to choose only four to use in battle.

This round is not so much about which book was more quotable though so as Supreme Arbiter, I’ll only be comparing whatever my fickle desires direct me to at the completion of the Deathmatch.

Dune

There is probably no more terrible instance of enlightenment than the one in which you discover your father is a man – with human flesh.

From Collected Sayings of Muad’Dib by the Princess Irulan

This Immortal

“I am a body guard, Karagee.”

“No, Hasan.  You are the son of a dyspeptic Camel.”

“What is ‘dyspeptic,’ Karagee?”

“I do not know the Arabic word, and you would not know the Greek one.  Wait, I’ll find another insult. –You are a coward and a carrion-eater and a skulker up alleyways, because you are half jackal and half ape.”

Conrad Nomikos and Hasan

Dune

There is no escape – we pay for the violence of our ancestors.

Paul Muad’Dib

This Immortal

“I do not want to kill you, Karagee,” he said.

“I share this feeling.  I do not wish to be killed.”

“But we must fighttomorrow.”

“Yes.”

“You could withdraw your challenge.”

“You could leave by Skimmer.”

“I will not.”

“Nor will I withdraw my challenge.”

I stood then and moved off toward the place where I had cast my pack.

“I am sorry that I must kill you in the morning,” he called after me.

Conrad Nomikos and Hasan before their duel

Dune

No more terrible disaster could befall your people than for them to fall into the hands of a Hero.

Pardot Kynes

This Immortal

Then: “Look at me!  I am going to put the blade in very slowly.  I am going to dine on you one day.  What do you think of that?”

I laughed.  It was suddenly worth laughing at.

His face twisted, then it straightened into a momentary look of puzzlement.

“Has the fear driven you mad, Commissioner?”

“Feathers or lead?” I asked him.

He knew what it meant.  He started to say something, and then he heard a pebble click about twelve feet away.  His head snapped in that direction.

He spent the last second of his life screaming, as the force of Bortan’s leap pulped him against the ground, before his head was snatched from his shoulders.

My hellhound had arrived.

Moreby and Conrad Nomikos

Dune

Deep in the human unconscious is a pervasive need for a logical universe that makes sense.  But the real universe is always one step beyond logic.

From The Sayings of Muad’Dib by the Princess Irulan

 

ROUND 2 FAN BLAST

One of my favorite takes on Baron Harkonnen as imagined by Edward Pun at Art of Edward

I always enjoy what fans do and create to add to their favorite fictions so I had to include it in the Deathmatch.  This one is fun… but totally lop-sided.  Dune is one of the most popular SF titles ever and has spawned feature length movies and TV series.  Clearly it is much easier to find Dune-inspired fan-things.  At this point I think This Immortal practically bows out of this round unless anyone can point me in the right direction, in which case they will surely win a large degree of my favor.

This Immortal

I’m not sure this counts but it is my favorite cover:

Dune

Dune has inspired so many people that it’s hard to compete with.  Of course there are the film/television adaptations, but I’m not sure that counts as fan creations.  The following blog includes the artwork from a number of artists and is completely Dune related.  Oh and there’s a TON of great work there, so check it out.  Here's one my favorites at Project Sand but there is a lot of other extraordinary work there so please go check it out.

Original artwork from WO"DZGN on Project Sand

And let’s not forget the "progressive metal" band SHAI HULUD

I’m not a fan of the music and I wanted to link it up, but I just couldn't bring myself to assault you with that so you'll have to poopgle it yourself.  You have to admit it's a damn good name for a metal band.

So what do you think so far?  I'll reserve my final judgement until all 5 rounds are complete but whaduya say, wanna double down on those bets?

Place Your Bets

1950's: Covers and Cut Fingers

I'll be honest - there were at least a couple times I really felt I would never leave the 1950's.  But after all, IT'S OVER!  So now it's time for the mini-retrospectives.  Let's begin with Art & Experience shall we?

Excepting Farmer in the Sky and F451, I only used pictures from the actual books I had on my person.  As a result, I got a grab bag of the old, the new, the academic, the strange and for the most part - the boring.  I didn't necessarily end up with the most exciting covers or artwork.  Though I'm not sure it counts, I think my favorite artwork came from the esper party in The Demolished Man (see the pics here).  Frankly I didn't find myself all that impressed by any of them and my patience to sit here and examine them is already gone.  Still, I suppose we've got to figure out which cover is actually best so I'll chop the field in half and let you all decide!  How fun is that? (not much)

I'll leave the poll up for a while and we'll see who sucked least.

In terms of experience, it is a little harder to quantify.  Let's see...

A Case of Conscience had such a hard covering from the FGCU library and the edges were so sharp that it was actually painful to read.  My poor baby fingers L

Something about the heft of a hardcover always makes me happy, so even when it wasn’t going too well, I enjoyed picking up They’d Rather Be Right.

The Demolished Man was also hardcover and stunk like an old library.  It was also actually good so that helped to.  But I get pretty frisky with a good hardcover while I’m reading them so this one had Jeremy all over it by the time I was through with it.

The Big Time and Farmer in the Sky were both E-Books and pretty much horrible to read on the computer.  Maybe if I had a tablet or Kindle it wouldn’t have been so bad.  Too late now.

In light of Carl V.’s post of a few days ago over at Stainless Steel Droppings on the Art of A Princess of Mars, I wish I had made more of an effort to look for art other than the covers each week, but I guess now I have a new goal for the 60's.

My favorite reviews to write were The Demolished Man and They’d Rather Be Right.  Just writing about them got my heart pumping.  But I’ll be talking more about the reviews in the next retrospect…

All in all, I’d say I’m feeling pretty uninspired by my experience of the 1950’s in general.  Sad.

Master of the Precious

Okay, it’s time to hand out the most important unofficial title in the world:  The Master of the Precious.  This probably shouldn’t require any explanation, but there are a number of occasions throughout this challenge in which one author received two awards in the same decade.  Clearly the interweb not only needs but desires that I exercise my authority as supreme arbiter and make a final determination as to which of those titles is the real Master of the Precious.

Let’s take a closer look at the HEP SCOREs.

Here, DS apparently won by exactly one point.  In fact, every score is actually the same except DS received one more point (‘5/5’) for the Social/Political Climate than FITS.  The nature of the looming political collapse, the kidnapping by rival political factions and the difficulty everyone had adjusting to Lorenzo’s presence all justified the higher score.

Every other HEP SCORE was identical, even the scientific wonders, which was kind of surprising.  There was one category though in which one book clearly outshone the other.  I have remarked before that one of Heinlein’s crowning achievements is his ability to create characters that I want to marry, so it’s only fitting that the characters should be the category to really tip the scales.  Both books received ‘5/5’ scores, but if my feet were really put to the fire (or whatever that saying is), I’d have to say DS had the more solid ‘5’.  This is a clear win because The Great Lorenzo was a wildly more dynamic character than Bill, who is really kind of flat (but still a fun guy to read about).  Also DS’s Martians were pretty awesome dudes.

DS: M of the P

 So there it is.  When it comes to Heinlein’s 1950’s Hugo Winners, Double Star is the true Master of the Precious and Farmer in the Sky is just a stupid, fat Hobbit.

Prelude

I decided to start this blog because this year I challenged myself with two ambitious goals: 1) to run my first marathon (something I’ve always thought I could do, but have never tried to prove) and, 2) to read every title from a book list (something it seems like my mother was always trying to get me to do when I was young).  Since I started reading science fiction in college I have only come across one or two that I didn’t love, but I still don’t know much about the genre so it seemed to make sense to completely overwhelm and irritate myself with the stuff now.

The Hugo Awards were the easy victim because Robert Heinlein is the most frequent winner and I figure if every other winner blows goats, I’ll at least be assured of six or seven great books.  My marathon goal will be the Space Coast Marathon because it is 1) In Florida and 2) Does a space themed marathon not make sense?  Whether I will be able to actually accomplish either one of these goals, let alone simultaneously, is doubtful and probably ludicrous but I’m going to give a crap.

Friends and family have suggested I read through the Hugos chronologically but I cannot resist the opportunity to submit myself to the fate of the many-sided die.  The method therefore, is as follows: Each decade will be numbered 1 – 10 with ties sharing a number and being read successively.  A roll of the decahedral die will determine the order for each decade.  As a result of three ties (’66, ’93, ’10), there will be three deathmatches over which I will rule as supreme arbiter and my judgments will result in a Colbert-Bump-like jettisoning of one title over the other FOR ALL TIME.  I'll start a new book every Sunday and I'll try to post a couple times a week.

I think the challenge of trying to read a book a week and training for a marathon in one of the most dangerous pedestrian areas of the country should provide enough hijinks/tragedy to make this blog fun.

Thank you for visiting my blog.  Enjoy!