SciFi and Fantasy Book Club discussion

I just got back from lunch and put my mooched paperback of Stranger in a Strange Land on my desk and noticed something for the first time. In the upper right-hand corner of the front cover, on the copper colored side-plate where Heinlein's signature scrawls from bottom to top, is the phrase "The Most Famous Science Fiction Novel Ever Written."

Is this just marketing hype? Or is there a list somewhere maintained by a credible organization that has determined this novel to be the most famous one ever? Or at least the most famous as of that particular printing run in 1987?

I must have the same copy.

I've always assumed it was just marketing hype. I see that statement or similar on other books. Its an interesting question though, is there a list maintained by a *credible* source on how many copies were sold in a given year and over the long run? I wonder where Dune stands on that list, if it exists?

Though didn't the Harry Potter books break nearly all printing records?

Lots of questions today... :)

Up above in the topic "Poll results" the question was also brought up which edition we are reading? I guess that one is longer and the other is shorter? Anyone know anything about this? Are they different?

Mine claims that it's "the most famous science fiction novel every written" right under Heinlein's name. It's the Berkley Medallion Edition dated March 1968. It's probably going to disintegrate.

I don't know how anyone but a Marketing Exec would have the gall to make such a claim, so I'd take it with a large dose of salt. I agree it's an imprecise claim, too. Heinlein did win a Hugo for it & holds the current record for the number of Hugos won by a single author, I think. 4, I believe.

I can't imagine that 'Stranger' is better known that 'Frankenstein', 'War of the Worlds', 'The Invisible Man', '20,000 Leagues Under the Sea' or - well, list several other novels by Verne & Wells. Of course, all these may be best known by their movie counterparts, too. In title recognition, I'm sure 'Stranger' wouldn't come in first.

'Stranger' could well have sold more copies in a shorter period of time than any other back then. SF was just getting recognized as 'real literature' & this book was quite a hit with the younger crowd. There were a lot more of them with the money to buy the book than in previous times, too. Overall, I'd still doubt it out sold the classics mentioned above.

Yes, and I'm not sure you could call this a mainstream literary achievement. There are other books that are in the mainstream in addition to Frankenstein etc. 1984 comes to mind. Anything that is read by more than sf fans is probably going to be more "famous." But Bunny is right. The statement "most famous" is actually meaningless. There is no way to test famousness.

The uncut version is about 70,000 words longer. I have just about finished this version. The story is pretty much unchanged.

The uncut verison has a lot more editorializing on the topics of religion and art. While they give a very clear picture of Heinleins views on these subjects, IMHO it did not add to this story.

In Fact, His commentary is controversial even today. But I will get more into that when we start the discussion.