The Greatest Classic Sc Fi Writer – Thesis Question, participation appreciated!

[tegeus-Cromis]

I don't think "greatest" has to be "entirely subjective," though that may be how some responders take it. I do think that a lot of fuss could be avoided if people who propose topics such as this one would provide criteria at the outset to help to guide the discussion. In this case, I think criteria can be suggested according to which the discussion would be more than just an exhibition of fans naming their faves.

"Greatest" could be understood as (in this context -- the discussion of an sf writer) meaning: the writer whose work intriguingly explores a wide range of what have come to be established sf concerns, earning recognition from a wide range of readers (numerous countries, and differing generations) for that, and deploys the literary skills that multiple generations have found, and continue to find, to be effective. I should hardly need to say, after offering that definition, that my nominee is H. G. Wells.

Wells isn't the first sf writer, and perhaps some would argue that any one of his stories is surpassed by some greater work,* but he was the first writer who really made sf his own, writing standard works that remain fresh and compelling not just to me, but to you, to a Czechoslovakian university student in the 1960s, to a Canadian veterinarian on the prairie in the 1920s (these are hypothetical, but believable, readers), etc.

*Thus someone might argue that (___) is a greater invasion-from-the-planets story than The War of the Worlds, (____) is a greater time travel story than The Time Machine, (____) is a greater tale of a startling invention or discovery that demonstrated things about the human moral condition, (____) is a greater horror story of tampering with biology than The Island of Dr. Moreau, "_____" is a great tale of the glimpse, through a mysterious alien artefact, of a weird world than "The Crystal Egg," (_____) is a greater evocation of space travel to a new world and of an alien culture than The First Men in the Moon -- and so on. But these were early and fresh ventures in these categories and they are very well written; evidently they translate well, by the way. Now what other author has an achievement like this?

For all these reasons, I'd actually pick Verne. But I love both. Grew up reading both of them.

 

[JimC]

In no particular order
Heinlein
Clarke
DeCamp
CL Moore
Kuttner
Anderson
Simak
Clement
Blish
Vance
Shiras

 

[Elckerlyc]

I hardly dare to vote after having skim-read the discussion about it on the first 2 pages. Interesting comments. It will be hard to find anyone willing to defend it as a certified List of the Truly Greatest. Even aside from its subjectiveness.
'Greatest' for most people is mostly based on their personal reading experiences and appreciation.

However, if I were forced to vote, my vote probably would go to my vote-enforcer´s favorite.

 

[KGeo777]

I would say it is a duel between Mary Shelley and HG Wells for the top spot if we go by historical importance and influence.
I am torn in casting my vote.
Frankenstein ranks probably the highest in idea and cultural impact and The Last Man also has had some legacy for the post-apocalyptic genre even if it is not cited much for that. You have a man-made creature and the end of the world/human species--two very big concepts.
On the other hand, HG Wells had a few extremely iconic ideas too--on time travel and invisibility and alien invasion and genetic engineering.
He may not have invented the ideas but he refined them in such a way that would place him in the highest ranking.
Verne might be the closest contender but he didn't pursue the relationship to Nature and human identity like those two authors did and I think that gives them the edge.
I just can't choose between them.
Wells had more ideas but Shelley had two biggies.

 

[Guttersnipe]

I went with H.G. Wells, but it was difficult for me to reach this decision.

Mary Shelley wrote the first sci-fi, and could very well be the Mother of Science Fiction, but she wasn't very prolific.
H.G. Wells: without him, where are alien invasion and (modern, scientifically/pseudo-scientifically explained) time travel stories?
Jules Verne practically invented the submarine.

Isaac Asimov is a great writer who left a huge mark on fiction about robots, but he came many years later, and robots aren't exactly a new idea (however, they were upgraded from automatons of mythology by a certain playwright, who, by the way, coined the term, but they weren't made of metal). Gernsback and Wyndham, I just don't know a lot about, though I am familiar with the latter's short stories and have heard of The Day of the Triffids. Again, aliens, time travel, etc. wouldn't have come about the same were it not for the top three I've listed.

 

[Bick]

Hah - folk still responding to this thread! I think the OP has probably finished the thesis he was starting 16 years ago! The list upon which to vote is very silly, and there are about 19 other threads covering the same topic. Just sayin'!

 

[BAYLOR]

Asimov
Williamson
Niven
Clark
Kornbluth
Tiptree
Heinlein
Vinge
Banks
Chandler
Saberhagen
Dickson
Dick
Lem
Shelley
McCaffrey
Laumer
Siodmak
Pohl
Pournelle
Wolfe
Sturgeon
Ellison
Spinrad
Bester
Verne
Stewart
Miller Jr
Finney
Kuttner
Swanswick
Weinbaum
Drake
Simak
Zelazny
Sheffield
Lindsey
Hoyal
Whyndham
Brin
Budry
Cordwainer Smith
Aldiss
Anderson
Kuttner
Blish
BurroughsCcampbell

 

[BAYLOR]

Slight typo above long list

Burroughs
Campbell

more to sdd
Merritt
Norton
Brackett
Lovecraft