(urth) Other SF writers?

[David Duffy]

On Mon, 12 May 2008, Russ Allbery wrote:

> "Dan'l Danehy-Oakes" <danldo at gmail.com> writes:
>
>> I would recommend, with slight hesitation, James Blish, and especially
>> his four-volume trilogy (and that's not a paradox) "After Such
>> Knowledge." The first book (_Doctor Mirabilis_) is a historical novel
>
> I consider _A Case of Conscience_ to be one of the worst, perhaps the
> worst, SF novel I have ever read both in terms of quality of writing and
> quality of plot, so opinions definitely differ on the score -- to be fair,
> I've not read any of the rest of Blish, nor read Blish in the time and
> place when he was originally writing.
>
>> As an alternate take on some of the themes in _Case of Conscience_, one
>> should also read _The Sparrow_ by Mary Doria Russell, an astonishing
>> book in its own right and one that may appeal to Wolfe fans specifically
>> for a number of reasons.
>
> This recommendation, on the other hand, I will definitely second.
>

Well as usual, YMMV.  I would reverse these recommendations -- if _CoC_ is 
less than satisfactory in terms of being a _setup_, _The Sparrow_ made me 
grit my teeth for the same reason doubled (there is a r.a.sf thread on it 
just at the moment, where it certainly evokes some venomous responses). 
And _CoC_ allows Blish to show off another of his interests (Finnegan's 
Wake) ;).  Best intro to Blish: _Jack of Eagles_.

David Duffy.