Comments on: Truth (happily) stranger than fiction

By: Tom Scheinfeldt

Tom Scheinfeldt — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 12:21:32 +0000

@Kenz Thanks for reminding me that R.B. is still kicking! I remember now that he’s even still publishing, most recently a sequel to Dandelion Wine, I think (though I haven’t read it). And a big apology to the man himself! I wish him all the best.

@Sterling I haven’t tried my hand at fiction. To tell the truth, I don’t have a ton of patience for writing, which is why the relatively short form blogging is such a nice fit for me. But maybe this will inspire me.

I like the 20th C. classics (Asimov, Clarke, etc.), of which Bradbury was my favorite as a kid. But I think newer stuff by Kim Stanley Robinson and Neal Stephenson resonates with me even more than those books of my childhood ever did. Maybe I’m regressing. In the end, however, except for the period I covered in my dissertation on popular science and uses of sceince’s past in the 1920′s and 30′s, I’d consider myself more of a fan and casual observer of SF more than a historian.

Many thanks, all, for reading.

By: Sterling Fluharty

Sterling Fluharty — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 07:32:43 +0000

Have you thought of giving yourself permission to try your own hand at writing a science fiction novel? It just might help you become a better historian of this genre. Who are your favorite SF authors, by the way? Mine was Asimov when I was a kid.

By: Kenz

Kenz — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 03:33:21 +0000

Small note – Ray Bradbury is alive. He’s 88 years old.

Interesting thoughts on his book though – I am not the biggest fan of his but I think I like him a little bit more for referencing the old spiritual “Ezekiel Saw the Wheel” in the title of the chapter you’re discussing. I never knew that.

Great site btw! As a public historian, I try to keep up as much as I can. Thanks!