SF Novel poll: Playoffs week 6

[Ocicat]

Last week it was Dune by a landslide!  Sandslide?  Whatever.  We had wormsign the likes of which God has never seen.  Ringworld never had a chance.

Two more classics this week!  Kind of dystopia vs. utopia, I suppose - but Foundation does have a fair bit more going on.  Oh, and apparently it's due to be a movie soon - by Roland Emmerich.  So kind of a horror movie take.  Well, I'm horrified anyway.

[Bdoomed]

oh man whyd you have to pit these two against each other?  1984 was one of my awakenings into good literature/sf back in 8th grade.  Foundation was my awakening into Asimov and I loved it so.

I'll have to think on this one... I want to say Foundation but 1984 just played a big part in my education.

[lowky]

it was a little easier for me as (ducks flying bricks, books,etc and prepares to run from the angry mob) I am not an Asimov fan.  Some of his stories are ok, but I have never been an overall big fan.  I guess I like more dystopia in my SF.  Primarily I like more horror in my SF.

[kibitzer]

Agree with Bdoomed, this is tough stuff!! Ocicat, you run great polls because one really has to think about the novels in question and why one thinks they're good.

Also: Argh.

[tinroof]

I don't really think of 1984 as science fiction, exactly, but I tend to prefer Asimov's shorter work. Foundation didn't really grab me. So 1984 it is.

[kibitzer]

I don't really think of 1984 as science fiction, exactly...

At the time it was a speculative future dystopia which fits quite nicely into sci-fi. But I know what you mean -- by that definition V for Vendetta counts as sci-fi. Let's just say, the borders are elastic :-)

[eytanz]

I never read Foundation - I really should, I think. But I'll sit this one out because while in a 10-novel poll I'm happy to vote just for ones I read, it seems inappropriate in a head-to-head.

[gelee]

Honestly, I consider both of these somewhat academic reads.  Both are old enough that they are badly dated in their style, and neither would pass muster on an editors desk today.  That said, I love them both, but I'll have to choose Foundation's vast scope over 1984's powerful message.

[kibitzer]

...and neither would pass muster on an editors desk today...

I'm genuinely curious about this comment... why?

(PM me if that's a better way to do it)

[CryptoMe]

I have read both books and thought they were both okay, but I cannot bring myself to vote for either one. I guess neither one really grabbed me enough to make me care.

[gelee]

...and neither would pass muster on an editors desk today...

I'm genuinely curious about this comment... why?

Just the style of the writing, really.  1984 holds up better, but would still come across as a bit formal and stilted.  Foundation is full of expository monologues.
Sci Fi has just developed so quickly, from a style point of view, that many of the classics don't hold up so well as simply a fun read today.  Honestly, Dune suffers from the same problems, right down to the mustache-twirling villain.  I still enjoy these works, but their age is obvious.  It would seem that almost any piece of popular literature has the same problems.  See Shakespeare and Dickens for further examples.

[Heradel]

...and neither would pass muster on an editors desk today...

I'm genuinely curious about this comment... why?

Just the style of the writing, really.  1984 holds up better, but would still come across as a bit formal and stilted.  Foundation is full of expository monologues.

This is why Neil Stephenson can't get published anymore these days.

[gelee]

That's another issue entirely   I've only read Snow Crash and Anathem by Stephenson, but Anathem seemed to have a lot more exposition than Snow Crash.  WAY too much, honestly.  He might not have been so prone to it earlier in his writing.  Hemmingway, King, and Bradbury did get or are getting away with stuff later in their careers that never would have flown when they were unknowns.
When I say that Foundation and 1984 feel dated, I don't mean it as a slight.  They are dated.  Times change, and styles of writing change with them.

[kibitzer]

I've yet to read Anathem so I'll withhold judgement there. But in general I've loved everything of Stephenson's I've read -- though I've yet to succeed with the Baroque Cycle.