Because this has been bothering me since Wiscon

[starlady]

Poll #7183 Greatest living SF writer?

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 35

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Greatest living SF writer?

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Ted Chiang (source: owner of Dreamhaven Books)
0 (0.0%)

Samuel R. Delany (source: me)
2 (5.9%)

Ursula K. LeGuin (source: me)
28 (82.4%)

Gene Wolfe (source: Neil Gaiman)
0 (0.0%)

someone else I will name below
4 (11.8%)

Write-in candidate?

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I just can't believe someone would put Ted Chiang over the woman who coined the term 'ansible,' but maybe I shouldn't be all that surprised.

Comments

[starlady]

*opens mouth, shuts it again* It's…really hard to characterize The Book of the New Sun, which I think remains his single finest achievement, though some of his other books are also amazing, and some of his other books are godawful. The best I can say is to give the first half of TBoNS a try and see what you think, it's in the U.S. as Shadow and Claw. I think you would probably enjoy it.

I would actually advise you not to start Delany with Dhalgren, brilliant as it is. Nova, The Fall of the Towers, and Babel-17 (which is published with Empire Star in the current edition) are all much fleeter and more obviously SF. Or you could go about it widdershins and start with one of the Neverÿon books, that's what I did.