The Evolution of Science Fiction discussion

Are there any Brian Aldiss fans among us? I have always meant to give him a proper try and will some day. This article on his eight best works looks like a good place to start? Do you agree these are pretty good?

https://theportalist.com/brian-aldiss...

I am a 100% fan, because so far I read only one Aldiss book, Hothouse, but I gave it 5 stars. For me one of the most intriguing SF books I read. I have Helliconia waiting for me for far too long now.

Randolph wrote: "I I think there was an equally ludicrous sequel Dracula Unbound."

And don't forget the third follow-up called 'The Mummy Unwound.'

I got a couple of his paperbacks back in the 70s somehow, but never managed to get into either one.

I really like The Island of Dr. Moreau and was thinking of giving Aldiss's sequel a try, but now reading of what he did to poor Mary Shelley's work....

I own a copy of Non-Stop, but found I had no problem stopping the several times I started it, always in the first few pages. I also own a copy of The Saliva Tree/Born with the Dead, but even though it's short I've never managed to finish it. I think I'll give Hothouse a try based on Leo's endorsement and hope it isn't strike three.

Thanks for the assist, friends!

Hm. I thought I had some mm pbs of his on my shelves, but I guess not. I do want to read Non-Stop but it's not in my library and probably not worth buying.

I've read one of his novels and really liked it, but checking through the wiki list of his works I cannot find it. I planned to read more

I read A Tupolev Too Far and Other Stories last year, and it is the only Aldiss I've read. You can easily find my review on that page, since it is one of only 2 reviews.

In the title story, a guy from an alternate reality gets transported into our reality, in Russia in the time of Brezhnev. A nice twist on the usual story which goes from our reality to some other one. But basically the guy doesn't seem to care which reality he is in as long as he can have sex with some woman other than his wife, no matter how dirty and smelly she is.

The story "A Day in the Life of a Galactic Empire" is pretty good. But ultimately it is just another story of a paranoid despot. The fact that it takes place in a SciFi setting doesn't really matter.

I read a lot of science fiction back in the 60's and 70's. I'm sure Aldis was among them but for the life of me, I can't remember a one. More recently, I have only read Non-Stop. It's the story of people living on a generation ship without knowing it. I found it to be pretty good; rated it four stars.