Classics of Science Fiction
John Hertz
Conventions have been discussing classics of science fiction. We think that's a swell idea, and we're going to do it ourselves.
Each discussion will take up one story, with a moderator, maybe panelists too. Here's the list so you can pick one, or a few, and be ready to join in.
There could be classics in many forms of art. Paintings, films. We chose stories. There could be a lot of definitions of what makes a classic. Influential? Popular? (Those aren't quite the same, see how hard this is?) Something I really like? Something other people say is important and I can't stand? Well, let's not use that one.
Try this: A classic is a work that survives its own time. After the currents which might have buoyed it up have changed, it remains, and is seen to be worthwhile. If you have a better definition, bring it.
Three of our four stories are novels, one is a novelette. All are fairly easy to find, often reprinted if you don't own a copy and want to buy one new or used, often held in school and public libraries if you want to borrow one.
Three were published only a few years apart: one before, one during, one after World War II. We didn't do that on purpose, but it might be interesting. Two are by U.S. writers, a man and a woman; one English; one French.
Each story is quite famous - but fame is relative in this wide wide world. We don't mean you ought to have heard of or read them (we said we weren't going to use that definition), we just mean there are plenty of people who have, and you might meet some.
As you read these stories, for the first time or re-reading, or as you reflect on them while you pull weeds or wash dishes or walk round the block, think what are their strengths? Do they look better now than decades ago?
Heinlein's "juveniles" might be his best. This one matches the convention's theme, and it's full of wonders. Matt Dodson taking a telephone from his luggage must have been astounding in 1948. That guess held up; others didn't; but how the author treats them!
Written from outside our field, perhaps with many things to teach us. Protest and poetry hold it together. There's warning here; is there hope? Why? What makes the satire sting?
She wrote well with her husband Henry Kuttner; she wrote well alone. This masterly novelette explores beauty and attraction with almost inhuman resonance. It probably could not have been written by a man or in any other genre.
Multiple motion pictures, a Classics Illustrated comic book, and the world's first atomic-powered submarine: not bad for inspiration. Who's the hero? Professor Aronax? Captain Nemo? Ned? Conseil? Why?
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