It's been rumored that on Tue, 16 Feb 1999, Jfvirey@aol.com wrote:
>I think one of the problems with the fiction books which have been selected in
>the extropian reading list is that they tend to have been included for their
>themes and ideas more than for their literary qualities. (Is it because most
>extropians are scientists with a stunted esthetic sensibility?) But you can
>get ideas and science in a more rational presentation in non-fiction books, so
>why go through the tedium of reading poorly plotted novels with flat, boring
>characters and an execrable style? ("Give us the facts, Ma'am, just the
>facts.") Novels should be literary, and I don't see the point of reading junk
>novels just because they deal with issues that are dear to us.
Um...lemme point out that while I greatly enjoyed most of the books on the list, I can't read Attanasio at all, because the writing appears to be so dense. The same goes for most of Ayn Rand's stuff.
>In the original Extropian fiction list, I personally consider Sterling's
>*Schismatrix*, Walter Jon Williams' *Aristoi* and Ayn Rand's *Atlas Shrugged*
>to be the only three truly great novels. The others are either average or
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