One Hit Wonders (SFF Authors that are noted for just one story)

Connavar said:
I meant it today, i did say the genres were connected more in 1800s and early last century.

Horror today is way too big,different to be a subgenre of fantasy.
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That was my point, Connavar -- there are a huge number of such books being written today; it isn't something that has stopped (or even slowed down) by any means. Horror (at least when it deals with the supernatural in any fashion) is a subset of fantasy, though not -- as you rightly point out -- closely allied to what most people think of as "contemporary fantasy". But even that is a misapprehension, as there are a lot of different types of fantasy being written (and published) today; they just aren't as well known; and many of these are much more closely related to horror, such as some of the "dark fantasy" works out there.

Certainly, I would class all of W. H. Pugmire's books (as one example) as fantasy as much as horror; a fair amount of Ramsey Campbell's work falls into the same category, as does Thomas Ligotti's and, from what I gather, that of Laird Barron. Michael Shea's work fits that idea, too, as does that of Caitlin R. Kiernan. Even some of Brian Lumley's work remains such (cf. his Tales of the Primal Land or the Clock of Dreams sequence, or such individual tales as "Dylath-Leen", for example). Karl Edward Wagner's work was almost entirely of this sort. The list is really quite extensive....
 
iansales said:
Cordwainer Smith was a sf author. His other works were non-fiction, and published under his real name. (AFAIK)

Vonnegut and Atwood have written a number of sf novels, although both are known as mainstream novelists.

A couple more examples:
Owen Sheers (Resistance)
Sarah Hall (The Carhullan Army)
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Smith wrote and published some non genre fiction under different names, as well as non-fiction. Look on the left side of this page:

http://www.cordwainer-smith.com/

I actually read his Psychological Warfare book when I was a government contractor. Cool stuff.

Ian, we seem to have three discussions going on here. One hit wonders, "mainstream" authors that have published a SF book or two, and I think authors who have published a lot but are well known for one book? I didnt mean to suggest that everyone I mentioned was in the same category. Was watching The Wire while I made that last post. Sorry if I took shorcuts.
 
Omphalos said:
Smith wrote and published some non genre fiction under different names, as well as non-fiction.
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I didn't know about those. I wonder if they're any good...

Omphalos said:
Ian, we seem to have three discussions going on here. One hit wonders, "mainstream" authors that have published a SF book or two, and I think authors who have published a lot but are well known for one book? I didnt mean to suggest that everyone I mentioned was in the same category. Was watching The Wire while I made that last post. Sorry if I took shorcuts.
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Ah well, that's the nature of conversations...
 
Ive heard that Atomsk is pretty good from a source I trust. Generally, anyway. But I read a blurb once and it seemed kind of tame to me.
 
There are some Utopia books too. In the categories of writers who hit with the odd utopia book are Walden II by BF Skinner, and The Machine Stops, by EM Forster. Ecotopia by Earnest Callenbach - that guy wrote a few sequels that came to nothing, but I loved the first one. Samuel Butler wrote Erehwon, and I think a sequel, and I believe that was all the utopian fiction he wrote. Seems to me like there are lots of others.
 
manephelien said:
Did Mary Shelley publish anything after Frankenstein?
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Absolutely. I've got here collected fiction or at least a volume that collects a goodly portion of it, although it's somewhat variable in quality for what I've so far read.

I don't have the time to go into too much detail at the moment....so if you are interested, please check this wiki link out. It provides a handy summary of Shelley and her work....

Mary Shelley - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Cheers...:)
 
manephelien said:
Did Mary Shelley publish anything after Frankenstein?
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GOLLUM said:
Absolutely. I've got here collected fiction or at least a volume that collects a goodly portion of it, although it's somewhat variable in quality for what I've so far read.

I don't have the time to go into too much detail at the moment....so if you are interested, please check this wiki link out. It provides a handy summary of Shelley and her work....

Mary Shelley - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Cheers...:)
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This may make it a bit easier to follow:

Mary Shelley bibliography - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Frankenstein was actually her first work, written when she was still a teenager....

I have read several of her novels: The Last Man, Valperga, and Mathilda (though I would classify that last more as a novelette than a full novel); as well as a volume titled Collected Tales and Stories of Mary Shelley (not a complete set of her shorter works, but it does have quite a bit in it). From these, I'd say she was somewhat uneven. At times she could be rather pedestrian; at times quite brilliant. I found most of it at least of interest, some of it quite enjoyable; some I will revisit more than once, I'm sure. I'd also like to get my hands on the rest of her works (including travelogues, letters, diaries, etc.), as I find she had a very interesting mind, and I rather admire the lady.

But, unfortunately, Frankenstein (worthy novel though it is) is about the only thing she is remembered for by anyone except students of the literature of the period, or fans of Mrs. Shelley in particular.....
 
j. d. worthington said:
This may make it a bit easier to follow:

Mary Shelley bibliography - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Frankenstein was actually her first work, written when she was still a teenager....

I have read several of her novels: The Last Man, Valperga, and Mathilda (though I would classify that last more as a novelette than a full novel); as well as a volume titled Collected Tales and Stories of Mary Shelley (not a complete set of her shorter works, but it does have quite a bit in it).
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Well I was rushed for time hence the initial link I posted.

Anyway, I've got all of those books/works you mention and then some and as per my comments she's definitely a little uneven but still worth seeking out beyond Frankenstein, that's for sure.
 
Thanks Gollum & jdw!

Actually, I found Frankenstein difficult to read, I don't like books where the author keeps preaching a particular moral. Stories with morals can be great, as long as the reader's left to discover them for him or herself. Somehow, from the long-winded style it was also obvious that she wrote the book in longhand rather than typing it.

But she's definitely best known for Frankenstein.
 
It occurred to me earlier this morning in the coffee shop that the book I was reading, THE MAN WHO AWOKE, could very well be considered a "one hit wonder." Never seen anything else by Laurence Manning.
 
EDIT: Sorry, was thinking of Steve Gallagher not Steve Wilson.
 
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