Comments on: My Favorite Science Fiction Story: John DeNardo

By: Carl V.

Carl V. — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 22:26:11 +0000

That is great! I love the concept of two authors sharing the stories that inspired them or meant something to them when they were younger.

By: Rusty

Rusty — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 18:23:41 +0000

Carl, I agree, the sentimentality of the story is one of the things that makes it so good. Incidentally, did you know that The World Turned Upside Down is available for free online? Yep, check out The Fifth Imperium.

By: Carl V.

Carl V. — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 15:52:57 +0000

A friend bought a copy of the World Turned Upside Down anthology recently and told me that The Cold Equations was the best short story he had ever read (and this is a guy that has 50+ years of sci fi reading under his belt). So of course it is the first one I read.

I loved it. I actually enjoy the sentimentality of it, it is one of the things I enjoy in stories anyway and I felt it was used to great effect in this story.

Coincidentally enough I pulled the story back out last Thursday night and read it aloud to my wife and she loved it as well.

This was certainly a great choice and I hope it inspires others to check out this great story.

By: Blue Tyson

Blue Tyson — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 03:33:33 +0000

Diamond Dogs is definitely a great, cool story.

By: Rusty

Rusty — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 01:35:38 +0000

Thanks Steven, That sounds like a very cool story. I had never heard of it, but it sounds like it was good enough to be nominated for a few awards. I'll have to see what I can do about reviewing that one!

By: Rusty

Rusty — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 01:30:41 +0000

Nathan,

Yes, it is true that stories from that time era had a different style, and “The Cold Equations” certainly fits the bill. But I guess they have their place, because although I enjoy reading contemporary science fiction stories the most I still find it fun to read the classic ones too – despite their sometimes overly dramatic style.

By: Steven Brandt

Steven Brandt — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 20:56:23 +0000

My favorite short story is “Unaccompanied Sonata” by Orson Scott Card. I read it decades ago in Omni magazine.

It was a future utopia / dystopia tale about a man in a talented man in perfect job who loses everything because of the lure of forbidden knowledge.

By: Nathan Zeldes

Nathan Zeldes — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 19:27:44 +0000

Ah, haven’t thought of The Cold Equations for a while… certainly a classic. My only (minor) gripe with it is the blatantly sentimental style, but then it does serve to get the idea across, and the story does come from a different, more innocent era…