tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8259460772864393968.post8806132575828658046..comments2024-03-26T21:58:50.501-04:00Comments on MPorcius Fiction Log: Three Tales of The New Mind: Lafferty, Malzberg, and GreenMPorciushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15515742639389937221noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8259460772864393968.post-47825072994879055502014-05-22T11:16:12.574-04:002014-05-22T11:16:12.574-04:00I've never read anything by Effinger; maybe I ...I've never read anything by Effinger; maybe I will give it a try.MPorciushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15515742639389937221noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8259460772864393968.post-4696199876281854762014-05-22T07:18:14.670-04:002014-05-22T07:18:14.670-04:00I'm curious about what you think of the Effing...I'm curious about what you think of the Effinger story in the collection. I have yet to read any of his short work but I found his novel What Entropy Means to Me (1972) transfixing...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8259460772864393968.post-67256473837808259432014-05-20T14:48:06.131-04:002014-05-20T14:48:06.131-04:00I always enjoy your reviews. Thank you for posting...I always enjoy your reviews. Thank you for posting them, and please continue!<br /><br />I've never encountered this particular bundling of the Lafferty stories, though I have read each separately. Looking at them together, I think you're right about the overarching theme of rebuke for the hubris of playing God. Mild rebuke, really, and God seems to get a chuckle out it. I also love the wicked fun he pokes at politics and politicians. <br /><br />Your last comment about "Space to Move" reminded me of something I've often ruminated over. It seem that in the 70s, a lot of SF turned dark and nihilistic. The stylistic explorations of the New Wave led to experimentation with greater emotional impact and darker themes. I also wonder if the zeitgeist of the country at that time was tired and a bit wobbly, with the wind-down of the Viet Nam war and Watergate, etc. Of course I remember the mid '70s as a joyful time, but I was an elementary school student at the time, and I had a fairly cheerful family. Nonetheless, it's often a joy when reading through the anthologies of the era, Alpha, Universe, New Dimensions, Orbit, etc, to stumble across a story written with joy and optimism. Kevin Cheekhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17615258563790520320noreply@blogger.com