Author Topic: Should story publication dates be mentioned in the podcast?  (Read 3477 times)

Ocicat

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In discussion of "Me and My Shadow", someone mentioned that they wished they had known before listening that the story was over 20 years old, as it would have given them a different perspective on things.  I seconded the motion.  To my surprise, some other folks disagreed.

So I thought I'd make a poll to see what people think, just to satisfy my curiosity.  Steve is in no way obligated to obey the results.   :)



gelee

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Reply #1 on: December 14, 2007, 05:45:19 PM
I feel like I should justify my vote:
I say yes because I do want to fix a time in my head when this was written.
I read "Stranger in a Strange Land" for the first time a couple of years ago.  If I hadn't known how old it was, I would have tossed it after about 4 pages and missed out on what has become my personal favorite sci-fi novel.  I knew what I was reading, and I was prepared for some dated ideas out society, Mars, and some rather dusty-sounding language.
I would hate to think that I'd critique a story as "dated, worn, derivative," and then have the story turn out to be 30 years old, when a given trope might still have been fresh or edgy.



DKT

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Reply #2 on: December 14, 2007, 06:19:36 PM
It doesn't really matter to me either way :)  Although, usually when I hear the name of an author like Silverburg or Resnick, I expect it to be one of their older pieces.  So I guess it's pretty similar to getting a date at the beginning.