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Message started by Gary A. Markette on Aug 23^rd, 2010, 12:21am

Title: THE FINAL FOUR--LIST AND MATCH-UPS
Post by Gary A. Markette on Aug 23^rd, 2010, 12:21am

The idea started well: Sixty-four series matched against one another to determine the best series of all time. Voting was never intense, burt we sometimes got 5 regulars casting their ballots for the favorites among the brackets. Interest waned as we got further along and we wound up with only 4 regular voters--appropriate for our Final Four--but disappointing. Our list of four finalists appears below. I have to admit being surprised by three of the four (I'll let you guess which one doesn't surprise me). I've matched them up for our penultimate round. Two of these move on to the Finals next week. Meanwhile, copy the list and erase the losers. Results next Monday (30 August 2010). C'mon AR readers! Gimme some voting here:

Final Four and Match-ups

1. JRR Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy
2. L. Frank Baum Oz series

1. Fritz Leiber's Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser series
4. Robert Heinlein's Future History series

Title: Re: THE FINAL FOUR--LIST AND MATCH-UPS
Post by ente per ente on Aug 23^rd, 2010, 3:03am

My votes here...eh,eh :)

1. JRR Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy

4. Robert Heinlein's Future History series

:)

Title: Re: THE FINAL FOUR--LIST AND MATCH-UPS
Post by Webbie on Aug 23^rd, 2010, 7:28am

1. JRR Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy

1. Fritz Leiber's Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser series

Title: Re: THE FINAL FOUR--LIST AND MATCH-UPS
Post by J. Davidson Hero on Aug 23^rd, 2010, 2:52pm

1. JRR Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy

4. Robert Heinlein's Future History series

Title: Re: THE FINAL FOUR--LIST AND MATCH-UPS
Post by Jeangoldstrom on Aug 23^rd, 2010, 6:46pm

L. Frank Baum Oz series

Robert Heinlein's Future History series

-- Jean

Title: Re: THE FINAL FOUR--LIST AND MATCH-UPS
Post by Jeangoldstrom on Aug 23^rd, 2010, 6:51pm

I am having my doubts about this contest. How can one compare, for example, Lord of the Rings and Heinlein's Future History? One is pure fantasy, one is pure s-f. The two are not in competition with each other in any way, at least IMO.

Plus, it has occurred to me as this contest has been running its course, I question whether the greatest science fiction ever found its way into novel form. S-f was born in the pulps, and in the pulps it grew, thrived, flowered, and...died with the pulps? Sad to say, again in my opinion, I think this is so. Who is writing s-f today to compare with the Lords Of The Pulps? Where is today's Heinlein? Bradbury? Brackett? Cordwainer Smith? Theodore Sturgeon? And these people did not, for the most part, write novels -- they wrote short stories, novellas and novelets. But not novels, because until the 1950s there was NO market for s-f novels, and very little after that.

Maybe I'm waaay off the track here. What do the rest of you think?

-- Jean

Title: Re: THE FINAL FOUR--LIST AND MATCH-UPS
Post by Gary A. Markette on Aug 24^th, 2010, 1:02am

You're probably right about the contest. I just thought it might be a cool idea to try a "brackets-style" competition ala the NCAA March Madness format. Looking back on it, I probably should have tried something like "Best (or worst) villain of all time" instead. That would have avoided--or at least mitigated--the sci fi/fantasy problem you so correctly point out.

Another problem: only five folks participated--but they were pretty faithful. And this is by no means a scientific (or science fictionic) poll. So five folks in an ezine think these series are the best; so what? It's been fun, but it would have been more fun with more participants.

To address your last point, about the only folks I can think of who might approach the masters you metion are King, Koontz, and Card. King wrote a whole bunch of short stories and novellas for mags like Cavalier. Don't know about Koontz and Card, but I'd bet they sold their share of shorts on their way to the best seller lists. I'm more concerned about who will lead into the future. PLEASE don't tell me that the best we have to look forward to are teenage fantasies about hunky werewolves and vampires.

Title: Re: THE FINAL FOUR--LIST AND MATCH-UPS
Post by Webbie on Aug 24^th, 2010, 7:19am

Gary A. Markette wrote on Aug 24^th, 2010, 1:02am:

PLEASE don't tell me that the best we have to look forward to are teenage fantasies about hunky werewolves and vampires.

That is a horror story!!!!

I think the lack of readers/magazine markets has a lot to do with this as well. Not to mention the general death of creativity as well. Etc, etc.