Classic Sci-Fi New Author Challenge 2007

It would be almost impossible to quantify what my ownership of the Yahoo reading group, Classic Sci-Fi, has meant to me in terms of the exponential growth of the breadth and quality of my reading in this particular genre.

Oh sure ... when I was a young boy, I cut my teeth on the core mainstream authors of the genre - Isaac Asimov, Robert A Heinlein, Arthur C Clarke and Frank Herbert! And, I'm grateful to them. I loved sci-fi from the very get-go and I never looked back. But odd as it may sound to more widely read afficionados, until very recently I had never read some of the other sci-fi giants - Clifford D Simak, Andre Norton and Ray Bradbury. Heck ... I'd never even heard of Hal Clement (Mission of Gravity and Starlight!)

So, after almost 3 years of watching these wonderful nominations for group reads come and go and reading the ravings of the members about how wonderful all of these authors are, I've decided to set myself a challenge (as if I needed another reading challenge)!

Over the 12 months beginning May 1, 2007, I've set myself the task of reading six examples of classic sci-fi novels from authors that I have never read before. Culled from the suggestions and the discussions on the reading group, here's my selected list:


1. Lest Darkness Fall - L Sprague de Camp
2. The Voyage of the Space Beagle - AE van Vogt
3. A Mirror for Observers - Edgar Pangborn
4. The Best of Stanley Weinbaum - Stanley Weinbaum
5. Earthman's Burden - Poul Anderson and Gordon Dickson
6. Triplanetary - EE "Doc" Smith

and three alternates to accomodate that miserable ol' DNF possibility because of personal taste:

7. Dying Inside - Robert Silverberg
8. Tales of the Dying Earth - Jack Vance
9. Cities in Flight - James Blish

Does anyone out there care to join me?