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What is the greatest title ever used for a science fiction story?
Submitted by Capt. Xerox on November 20, 2009 - 8:47pm.
T
he Guardian Books blog posits an interesting question: name the greatest science fiction title. No, not the greatest book or story, but the greatest title. The name of the work that is printed on the cover. It suggests some good names, such as Harlan Ellison's I Have No Voice, and I Must Scream, but my choice is another one of his stories: Adrift Just Off the Islets of Langerhans: Latitude 38° 54’ N, Longitude 77° 00’ 13. What's your choice?
While on the subject of top lists, a neverending source of interest for science fiction readers, have you checked out Amazon's Best Science Fiction Books of 2009? I am so out of touch that I only recognize one title, although upon close examination of the list, 70% have been published within the last three months.
I'm much more au courant with the entries on this list of 10 notable pulp magazines. I'm even familiar with most of the entities listed on this collection of 10 noteworthy speculative fiction magazines.
A much more entertaining list is this roundup of the greatest swashbuckling heroes from the last century of science fiction books. There are some good choices there. My faves are John Carter of Mars and "Slippery" Jim DiGriz aka The Stainless Steel Rat, although I do have a soft spot for Duncan Idaho, mostly for his incongruous name compared to the other characters in Dune.
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SF titles
Not your fault (the error is in the Guardian blog), but that Ellison title should be "I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream". That's a much more powerful title than the Guardian's garbled version, which makes it sound like the statement of someone who woke up with laryngitis!
- Phil
www.bradburymedia.co.uk
I must scream
Not your fault (the error is in the Guardian blog), but that Ellison title should be "I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream".
I thought it was wrong, but didn't follow up on it. I figured it was The Guardian. They must know what they're talking about! I guess I should think twice. Thanks for clarifying it.
C.X.
It's all in the title...
Ok, I scanned my books to see what great 'titles' I have in my collection. I confess that it was often hard not to be influenced by the contents in those cases where I read the material. So aside from those already named, here are a few other contenders, IMHO:
Adams: The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy
Surprised not one mentioned it already. Without knowing anything about Adams, one could wonder if this was some sort of astronomy guidebook, or star chart. I guess "So long, and thanks for the Fish" is right up there as well.
Bradbury: Fahrenheit 451
The greatness in this title of course only becomes evident once the relevance is divulged. I've never bothered to check the accuracy, (wouldn't different paper blends all have different combustion temperatures?), but it's the thought that counts.
Dick: Flow my Tears, the Policeman Said
Again, an author who had a lot of great titles (Now Wait for Last Year, The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch, etc), but this one title captured my imagination once I heard about it and it also eluded me for years in my book hunts, which may have been a factor in my selecting it.
Dickson: Soldier, Ask Not
This is one of the books I have not read, but the title has always inspired me. Practically a motto for the 'perfect' soldier, and it practically screams out the conflict that must be at the core of the story. Am I right?
Farmer: To Your Scattered Bodies Go
This title was a bit freaky to me and I couldn't make heads or tails of it. I was more than glad when I finally read the book. One of my all time favorites.
Finney: Invasion of the Body Snatchers
This was the one title, that for me was pure Science FIction. Not inspirational for the adult mind, but it did wonders for me as a kid. I confess that it was as a movie title (that I did not see until much later in life) that I first got acquainted with the title, but it was a novel first, so it counts. What was a body snatcher? How did they snatch bodies. My imagination just flourished. This is also a case where the revelation did not disappoint!
Gernsback: Ralph 124C 41+
I always found the gimmick of aphanumerically coding "Want to foresee, for one plus" amusing and makes the title unforgettable.
Gotschalk: A Growing Up in Tier 3000
This infamously bad novel (it was brought up again at a panel at Worldcon last summer) has a title to match. Some of you may recall in my review of this novel a few years back that the preface had the author nearly admitting that it wasn't that great a book (but one that he felt compelled to publish none the less). IThe novel itself was so weird that I confess it has become somewhat stuck in my brain. But what the hell is Tier 3000? As confusing as the book, thus a great title!
Heinlein: The Unpleasant Profession of Jonathan Hoag
Sounds more like a horror title. But it evokes a lot of questions, or more accurately, it makes the reader think up some possible 'professions' that he may be refereing to. A good example of "read the book if you want to find out..."
Resnick: The Three-Legged Hootch Dancer
One of the titles in Resnick "Sideshow" alien circus series. The third leg puts it in the SF realm. (Unless your into morbid human curiousities).
Sheckley: The Alchemical Marriage of Alistair Crompton
A terrible novel from an otherwise great novelist. But it does have a great title.
Wilhelm: Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang
The title was always a great mystery to me. But it's another case where I'm glad I read the book. Still can't make heads or tails of the title though.
~ Lazarus ~
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