Date: Mon, 09 Jan 2006 12:56:18 -0500
To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at keithlynch.net>,
        WSFA members <WSFAlist at keithlynch.net>
From: "Mike B." <omni at omniphile.com>
Subject: [WSFA] Re: 5 Best Sf
Reply-To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at KeithLynch.net>

>On Mon, 9 Jan 2006, Michael Walsh wrote:
>
> > In the weekend edition of the Wall Street Journal, Ronald D. Moore,
> > creator of the new Battlestar Gallactica calls these the 5 best:
> >
> > 1. Stranger in a Stange Land
> > 2. Foundation
> > 3. Dune
> > 4. Dragonflight
> > 5. I have No Mouth & I Must Scream (the collection, but in particular
> > the title story)

I think that ANY attempt to name the "n best SF stories" is doomed to
failure if you are interested in any sort of useful answer, unless "n" is
large enough to encompass all stories with any merit at all.  SF covers
such a wide range of sub-genres, tastes, and styles that if "n" is a
relatively small number, which 5 certainly is in this context, you are
going to be forced into an apples and oranges comparison, which is pretty
much meaningless.

What does "best" mean anyway?  Does it mean it sells a lot?  If you are a
publisher, that's certainly a good metric to go by.  Does it mean it is
chock full of symbolism and things you can point at and yell "theme!", or
relate back to one of Shakespeare's plots?  If you are a literature
professor, it may well be.  Does it mean it is full of highly visual
descriptions?  If you are a cover artist, that may well be one of your top
choices for "things to have in a story".  Depending on what you want a
story for, you may well have very specific criteria by which you judge
whether it is in the running for "best" or not, and this may or may not be
similar to anyone else's list of factors.

My personal list of factors has entertainment value and memorableness at
the top of the list for "best"...i.e. did I not want it to end, and can I
recall the plot and characters a few years later in any detail?  Another
method of deciding what makes the cut might be whether I'd go out of my way
to buy a sequel, if one appeared. By that criteria none of the named
stories would make my personal "best 5" list, if I were interested in
making one...though all were worth publishing and reading IMO.

-- Mike B.