NP but LAST AND FIRST MEN

[Paul Cray]

Brian W. Aldiss in "Trillion Year Spree" calls "Star Maker" "the one great,
grey holy book of science fiction" and he is right.

The whole of the history of humanity explicated in "Last and First Men" is
reduced to a mere tick in the cosmic clock in "Star Maker". The sheer
imaginative force and scope of both works though is breathtaking. That they
have stayed in print indicates that Stapledon's obscurity is relative, It's
very likely that TRP would be acquainted with his work, but Aldiss says
that Stapledon neglect by the mainstream is "inexplicable".

The early sections especially of "Last and First Men" might seem dated
today, but this isn't an issue with "Star Maker". It's a lot shorter than
"Last and First Men", but is presented on an exponentially bigger stage and
is certainly worth anyone's time to peruse. It should be generally
recognised as what it is, one of the very greatest novels of the C20th.

Stapledon's "Odd John" and "Sirius" are also well worth reading.

Paul

On Wed, 22 Jun 2022 at 04:00, David Morris <fqmorris at gmail.com> wrote:

> For a speculative future historian, having a “Vision” would seem a
> requirement. I read SciFi as light stuff between more “serious” stuff. But
> really good SciFi can be very thought provoking. And reading stuff from the
> 30’s can be mind-blowing in how far-reaching and correct their vision can
> be.
>
> Let me know if this one is worth reading
>
> On Wed, Jun 22, 2022 at 5:35 AM Mark Kohut <mark.kohut at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > Olaf Stapledon wrote a couple famous SF novels
> > before Tom was even born...but they have stayed
> > in print because they are good and still read, it seems.
> >
> > I have wanted to read them but never have. I came across
> > a copy of them and have opened the one in the subject header.
> >
> > I wanted to share this definition of "vision" from his intro
> > to the original American edition because I often write
> > of TRP's vision and ask myself if I could define vision
> > if challenged since I too know detailing what Pynchon "believes"
> > about real life things is a fool's game. But a vision is not that.
> >
> > "But visions, if they are to be permanently helpful, must embody
> > the whole breadth and depth of experience. They must not be crude,
> > extravagant, lopsided. They must be conceived not only with originality
> > but with sanity, even if sanity has to take up a new orientation in
> > consequence
> > of the new vision."
> >
> > But I only decided to write and send this because of a later paragraph
> from
> > him in his
> > earlier-written Preface. Will follow very soon.
> > --
> > Pynchon-L: https://waste.org/mailman/listinfo/pynchon-l
> >
> --
> Pynchon-L: https://waste.org/mailman/listinfo/pynchon-l
>