The Evolution of Science Fiction discussion

Nominations until 15Sep2021 are for our November BotM. The period is 1920-1939: The Pulp Era.

SF novels or short story collection/anthologies that have not previously been read by the group are eligible. Please check the bookshelf & the nomination rules for further clarification before nominating a book.

Previously nominated books are on this bookshelf. More qualifying authors & books can be found here. Also, both Wells & Verne are eligible for nominations. It's been more than 5 years since we read the first of their books.

Please add your nominated book title as a clickable link directly to the goodreads' book page, with author and year, so it looks like this:
Children of Time
Adrian Tchaikovsky
2015
(If you can't create book links, please include the URL to the book.)

Tell us why you chose the book that you're nominating. Remember that books require seconding now. Each member is allowed to make one nomination & second one other book other than their own.

We'll close this nomination thread on the 15th of September, in order to have plenty of time for poll(s) and then for acquisitions of the winner(s).

Nominations


Nominations with seconds
We by Yevgeny Zamyatin, nom by RJ, 2d by Rosemarie
Heart of a Dog by Mikhail Bulgakov, nom by Ed, 2d by Kristen
Anthem (1938) by Ayn Rand, nom by mod Jim, 2d by RJ

Have we read We by Yevgeny Zamyatin? I see it on the bookshelf but I couldn't find a discussion thread so I wasn't sure if it had been read or just nominated.

Yes, we read We in 2014. That was before I joined this group.
Topic here.

RJ - Slayer of Trolls wrote: "Have we read We by Yevgeny Zamyatin? I see it on the bookshelf but I couldn't find a discussion thread so I wasn't sure if it had been read or just nominated."

If you want to find a discussion, the easiest way is to look in the period's folder at the "What is this folder for?" topic which will be one of the first ones. For the Pulp Age, the topic is here:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

The second message contains almost all the books we've read as a group (It should be all, but I occasionally miss one or forget to update it.) along with a link to the discussion topic. For "We" it is here:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

I nominate Heart of a Dog (1925) by Mikhail Bulgakov.

There has been some discussion of this book here, but it was never a book-of-the-month:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

I'll nominate The Clockwork Man (1923) by E.V. Odle.

Several thousand years from now, advanced humanoids known as the Makers will implant clockwork devices into our heads. At the cost of a certain amount of agency, these devices will permit us to move unhindered through time and space, and to live complacent, well-regulated lives. However, when one of these devices goes awry, a “clockwork man” appears accidentally in the 1920s, at a cricket match in a small English village. Comical yet mind-blowing hijinks ensue.

This is available for free in various text formats on Gutenberg.org here:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/60374
as a free audiobook read by Mark Nelson (one of the best narrators) on Librivox here:
https://librivox.org/the-clockwork-ma...

We did that one in 2017 Jim.
It's hard to find good work from this era we didn't read here yet.

There are some interesting novels to choose from here:
https://www.hilobrow.com/radium-age-100/

(This list includes things from before 1920, so scroll down.)

There were many more short stories at that time. Short story collections can be nominated, too.

Leo wrote: "We did that one in 2017 Jim.
It's hard to find good work from this era we didn't read here yet."

Well, damn. Whoops. "The Clockwork Man" is definitely out of the running.

"We" is pretty influential, the discussion was a long time ago, & the pickings are slim. Should we allow it?

I think We should be allowed since that was more than 5 years ago.

I’m new here otherwise was going to suggest that we reread WE as well. I’ve never read it and recently picked up a copy haha.

I'm ok with allowing "We" to be nominated. Voters can decide what to do with it.

"We" is nominated.

I will second We.

I got myself all confused with the syntax here. My own fault for skimming ...

I'll nominate Anthem (1938) by Ayn Rand.

Rand examines a frightening future in which individuals have no name, no independence, and no values. Equality 7-2521 lives in the dark ages of the future where all decisions are made by committee, all people live in collectives, and all traces of individualism have been wiped out. Despite such a restrictive environment, the spark of individual thought and freedom still burns in him--a passion which he has been taught to call sinful. In a purely egalitarian world, Equality 7-2521 dares to stand apart from the herd--to think and choose for himself, to discover electricity, and to love the woman of his choice. Now he has been marked for death for committing the ultimate sin. In a world where the great "we" reign supreme, he has rediscovered the lost and holy word--"I."

It's more of a novellette which she wrote before her more famous books Atlas Shrugged & The Fountainhead which are both bricks.

It's free on Gutenberg.org in multiple text formats here:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1250

Librivox has 5 different versions here:
https://librivox.org/search?q=Anthem&...
Typically, the later ones are the best narrated.

Nominations
Heart of a Dog by Mikhail Bulgakov, nom by Ed
Anthem (1938) by Ayn Rand, nom by mod Jim

Nominations with seconds
We by Yevgeny Zamyatin, nom by RJ, 2d by Rosemarie

Jim wrote: ""We" is pretty influential, the discussion was a long time ago, & the pickings are slim. Should we allow it?"

Rosemarie wrote: "I think We should be allowed since that was more than 5 years ago."

Chad wrote: "I’m new here otherwise was going to suggest that we reread WE as well. I’ve never read it and recently picked up a copy haha."

Ed wrote: "I'm ok with allowing "We" to be nominated. Voters can decide what to do with it."

Jim wrote: ""We" is nominated."

Rosemarie wrote: "I will second We."

Terrific! Thank you :)

Jim wrote: "I'll nominate Anthem (1938) by Ayn Rand...."

I will second Anthem.

I second Heart of a Dog.

OK, all 3 are seconded. There's still plenty of time for more nominations, though.

By the way, if you record yourself saying "Yevgeny Zamyatin," then play the recording backward, you can clearly hear John Lennon saying: "Paul is dead."

LOL! I remember my cousin spending hours trying to tease that out of the White Album.

Nominations will be closing soon.

The group read poll for a 1920-39, Pulp Era book in Nov 2021 is up. You can find it here:
https://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/2...

We by Yevgeny Zamyatin, so we'll be reading it next month.