Hugo & Nebula Awards: Best Novels discussion

“Uncommon Sense” by Hal Clement [Astounding Sep 1945] winner
“The Ethical Equations” by Murray Leinster [Astounding Jun 1945]
“The Waveries” by Fredric Brown [Astounding Jan 1945]
“What You Need” by Lewis Padgett (aka: Henry Kuttner and C. L. Moore) [Astounding Oct 1945]
“Correspondence Course” by Raymond F. Jones [Astounding Apr 1945]

The Waveries is good. Sometimes I think of it when the world seems over-technologic

I had The Waveries when I was a kid, in an anthology called Invaders of Earth. The only one of this group of stories I’ve read.

I've jumped ahead and read “Uncommon Sense” and “The Waveries”. Both are similar in imagining unusual alien life, but if the former plays a narrower story with a hint of classic detective mystery (where the reader is presented with all clues and then the investigator tells what/how happened). Brown's piece is much more social and as a story for the re-read it works much better IMHO

I love the Waveries best of course because Frederic Brown. He's better than anybody at short stories, even my man Heinlein and Asimov. (But maybe not Larry Niven, who writes great short stories and (mostly) only OK novels IMHO)

what you need and correspondence course were both stories that had a big twist in them. I liked them both because I love it when I get fooled. But I guess correspondence course wins out for 2d-the twist was just so cool-(view spoiler)[I should have figured out about the armadillo. (hide spoiler)] I can't believe I missed it, it was right there.

Then what you need for 3d. (view spoiler)[ He wrote that journalist just right. So unlikeable that you didn't care what happened to him even though he was the main guy. (hide spoiler)]

I really liked The Ethical Equations too. Maybe it should be second. (view spoiler)[I loved what the kid did. I always love it when people do the right things even in the face of adversity (hide spoiler)]

The Clement I really liked, but I don't think his writing is as flowing as the other guys, so I guess I will put it last. What a cool idea, though the science is "huh"

these were all great stories, I thought. Hard to rate them unlike some of the other years

I am closing this thread because (if you haven't already heard) we have started a whole new group that is reading short fiction. If you are interested, come join us at ORBIT, (a/k/a Otherworldly Reads, Bold Ideas, and Tales. SF & F Short Stories and Novelettes) here:

https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...