Quote:
Originally Posted by Greg Anos
Is popularity the best judgment of quality? or interest?
How much "good art" fell by the wayside? Does that make "bad art"?
Example. There were two writers working in a classified project in world War II. One in the European Theater, one in the Pacific Theater. Both then became writers. One is a household name today, one ended in obscurity. Yet, if you read their works, I can't say that either one was a better writer.
It seems to me, a thread on Old Masters of S/F should be inclusive of those writer who did good work, but fell by the wayside of popularity.
Dated? Of course! But so is Dumas, Mark Twain, and Doyle. One has to put themselves in the spirit of the times to appreciate their works. Same for the S/F magazine writers. I sort of wanted to start a conversation on that period, to compare and contrast, and maybe provide some reading tips for those looking to dip into that writing period. |
Withstand the test of time is one of the definitions of classics. Of course, Ian Fleming is well know, but it's more because of the movies (James Bond and Chitty Chitty Bang, Bang) than because people still read his books.
When one starts to talk about some of the Old Masters who have become less remembered there are a number of changes both from a style point of view, changes in technology and a move from short stories to novels among others. The same changes can apply to other genres as well.
I'm fond of The Worm Ouroboros, E.R. Eddison's classic. But I also understand why it's not exactly a current best seller. Certainly not like 10,000 Leagues under the Sea or The Three Musketeers, and let's not talk about the Sherlock Holmes stories or some of the Agatha Christie stories.
I tend to find it as interesting to consider why certain stories are still popular after such a long time while other stories are not.
One author that I really like who was published by Campbell was H Beam Piper. The Gunpower God/Lord Kalvin of Otherwhen was his most famous book, though Fuzzy is pretty famous as well. A number of his books have gone into PD, though Lord Kalvin of Otherwhen isn't.