FREE/BARGAIN — Science Fiction & Fantasy

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by tlc

The top couple of amazon reviews mention some censorship/alteration from the original...

'Censorship' is used too often in place of 'edited' or 'bowdlerized'. The government didn't force changes to the book.

Sadly, 'Way in the Middle of the Air' is not as outdated as the author thought and probably should be included. I do think that once a book is published, it should be left as is. But, at any rate, the changes were made in 1997 while Ray was still alive and kicking and it is the only (legally) available e-book version.

Here's what Wikipedia has to say about the changes made. Only an individual purchaser can decide if the changes are too egregious:

A 1997 edition of the book advances all the dates by 31 years (thus running from 2030 to 2057). (This change counteracts a problem common to near-future stories, where the passage of time overtakes the period in which the story is set; for a list of other works that have fallen prey to this phenomenon, see the List of stories set in a future now past.) This edition includes "The Fire Balloons", and replaces "Way in the Middle of the Air" (a story less topical in 1997 than in 1950) with the 1952 short story "The Wilderness", dated May 2034 (equivalent to May 2003 in the earlier chronology).

[GlenBarrington]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

'Censorship' is used too often in place of 'edited' or 'bowdlerized'. The government didn't force changes to the book.

. . .

Here's what Wikipedia has to say about the changes made. Only an individual purchaser can decide if the changes are too egregious:

A 1997 edition of the book advances all the dates by 31 years (thus running from 2030 to 2057). (This change counteracts a problem common to near-future stories, where the passage of time overtakes the period in which the story is set; for a list of other works that have fallen prey to this phenomenon, see the List of stories set in a future now past.) This edition includes "The Fire Balloons", and replaces "Way in the Middle of the Air" (a story less topical in 1997 than in 1950) with the 1952 short story "The Wilderness", dated May 2034 (equivalent to May 2003 in the earlier chronology).

I personally don't like these sorts of changes, Science Fiction from the 1950s should be read as Science Fiction from the 1950s. All any fiction can do is tell us more about ourselves by following someone else. If the actual age of a work is obscured by editorial changes, we lose all perspective of what the author was trying to do. It weakens the story as a work of art.

We wouldn't want the painting, The Mona Lisa, "updated" with acrylic paint would we?

[Little.Egret]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

'Censorship' is used too often in place of 'edited' or 'bowdlerized'. The government didn't force changes to the book.

Both governments and private organizations may engage in censorship.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Censorship

For example

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film_c...#United_States

The established film industry in the United States began a form of self-censorship in the late 1920s called the Motion Picture Production Code to forestall any possible formation of a federal censoring agency. In 1968, the Production Code was superseded by the MPAA film rating system.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by GlenBarrington

I personally don't like these sorts of changes, Science Fiction from the 1950s should be read as Science Fiction from the 1950s. All any fiction can do is tell us more about ourselves by following someone else. If the actual age of a work is obscured by editorial changes, we lose all perspective of what the author was trying to do. It weakens the story as a work of art.

I don't disagree with you. The Martian Chronicles is a classic and it shouldn't be touched.

On the other hand, the edition available now is the one and only edition available and the changes were made while the author (not a powerless entity himself) was still above ground.

So your options are:

1. Buy the only available edition
2. Don't read the book at all (on your e-reader)
3. Wait for the 'original, uncut' cash-in edition that will likely be published at some vague point in the future

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by Little.Egret

Both governments and private organizations may engage in censorship.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Censorship

For example

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film_c...#United_States

The established film industry in the United States began a form of self-censorship in the late 1920s called the Motion Picture Production Code to forestall any possible formation of a federal censoring agency. In 1968, the Production Code was superseded by the MPAA film rating system.

Censorship, in general discussion has to do with pressure from the government. Even the Hayes code and the Comics Code were enacted to avoid oncoming government censorship.

I just think we are too fast and loose with the word and are in danger of watering it down with inappropriate uses.

Are the Star Wars Special Editions censored?

[ReadingManiac]

Originally Posted by Manabi

Jason Werbeloff's short story, The Cryo Killer, is currently available for free. (Not sure for how long.) These are self-published but I've read it and enjoyed it, as I have pretty much everything Werbeloff has written.

• Amazon (US, UK & Australia)
• Smashwords (International)

Still free today on Amazon UK.

[ZodWallop]

To get back on topic: Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein is $1.99 at Amazon.

Luckily, this classic book has never been revised after publication

[dwig]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

I don't disagree with you. The Martian Chronicles is a classic and it shouldn't be touched.

On the other hand, the edition available now is the one and only edition available and the changes were made while the author (not a powerless entity himself) was still above ground.

So your options are:

1. Buy the only available edition
2. Don't read the book at all (on your e-reader)
3. Wait for the 'original, uncut' cash-in edition that will likely be published at some vague point in the future

I fully agree, though there is a 4th option: scour used book stores to find an old, pre-altereation edition.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by dwig

I fully agree, though there is a 4th option: scour used book stores to find an old, pre-altereation edition.

Of course, you can't read those used bookstore copies on your Kindle, which is what (on your e-reader) was meant to address.

This is the Deals section of the E-Book forum after all.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

To get back on topic: Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein is $1.99 at Amazon.

Luckily, this classic book has never been revised after publication

Really? I have two editions of Stranger in a Strange Land. The original I read back in the late 60's had a good chunk of the content removed to shorten the book and remove what the publisher considered to be objectionable material. In the early 90's, the uncut edition was published. Having read both editions, I find myself preferring the 60's version. For the most part, the older edition has paragraphs shortened removing excessive verbiage which does cause a rather jumpy reading experience once you compare it to the uncut version.

See Heinlein Society: Stranger vs. Stranger for more information.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by DNSB

Really? I have two editions of Stranger in a Strange Land. The original I read back in the late 60's had a good chunk of the content removed to shorten the book and remove what the publisher considered to be objectionable material. In the early 90's, the uncut edition was published. Having read both editions, I find myself preferring the 60's version. For the most part, the older edition has paragraphs shortened removing excessive verbiage which does cause a rather jumpy reading experience once you compare it to the uncut version.

See Heinlein Society: Stranger vs. Stranger for more information.

Dude! 'twas a joke. A joke! Hence the little winky face. Irony does not carry well across the internet.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

Dude! 'twas a joke. A joke! Hence the little winky face. Irony does not carry well across the internet.

Sorry I missed the winky. My bad. My second humblest apologies whilst tugging forelock.

[Richwood]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

To get back on topic: Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein is $1.99 at Amazon.

Luckily, this classic book has never been revised after publication

I disagree as I have a 1991 copyright hardcover edition which says on the dust jacket "For the first time the original uncut stranger in a strange land" The original released 1961 version had several editor requested cuts made which were restored in the 1991 edition. 160,000 words in the originally published version and circa 220,000 words in the 1991 released version per one googled source.In 1961, when originally published, a science fiction book of the original manuscript length was unheard of. By 1991 long SF and fantasy stories were much more common.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strang...a_Strange_Land

http://www.heinleinsociety.org/rah/w...sstranger.html

[Richwood]

Publisher revisions of things like the Hardy Boys stories for the 10 to 14 or so age group are common. The listed author is a fiction and the actual writers are unknown usually. I remember reading pre WW2 versions of several as a kid and the brothers and friends were riding Harleys, Indians and Henderson motorcycles. In a 1990s or so printing I glanced at in a bookstore they were on Harleys, Hondas and Kawasakis as I recall. Got to keep it contemporary for the kids. Is that censorship?

I agree though, to change dates in near contemporary science fiction to try and keep it in the future is dumb and will seldom work. Need a total rewrite to introduce technology advances like personal computers, internet, cellular telephones etc. In 10 years or less need to include self driving cars and who knows what new technology. Science fiction can be so wrong about the future. I remember stories from the 1930s through the 1960s which had engineers in space still using slide rules for doing calculations and huge computers, some still analog. A current cellular phone has far more calculating power than the huge vacuum tube computer I worked on circa 1965, and it was already long obsolete even then.

[salty-horse]

Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky is $0.99 on Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00SN93AHU/

The story spans thousand of years and has two threads: Humans who go out into space looking for a new home after the destruction of their civilization, and the rise of a civilization of uplifted spiders.
It won the 2016 Arthur C. Clarke award.