Not really. I was planning to read the New Sun first, but I couldn't find a good deal, so I opted to start with the Long Sun. It was published first after all, wasn't it?
No,
The Book of the New Sun came out first (1980-87),
Long Sun (1993-?).
GOLLUM: You asked for some feedback on Day 1. Well, there are several there I've not read, but they sound good, anyway. As for those I have read (whether an author or a particular book):
Moon-Flash - Patricia McKillip
The Gray Prince - Jack Vance
Encyclopedia of Fantasy - John Clute *Always wanted to own a copy of this legendary publication
Charwoman's Shadow - Lord Dunsany
Pleasures Of A FuturoScope - Lord Dunsany
Lord Byron's Novel - John Crowley
Towering Jehova - James Morrow *Winner of World Fantasy Award
Yellow Sign and Other Stories (Collected Weird fiction of Robert W. Chambers)
New Worlds - Edited by Michael Moorcock
Collected Short Fiction Of C.J. Cherryh
Alphabet Of Thron - Patricia McKillip
Ports Of Call - Jack Vance
Rediscovery Of Man - Complete short fiction of Cordwainer Smith
Second hand...
Behold The Man - Michael Moorcock *SF Masterwork
Damnation Alley - Roger Zelazny
The Dream Master - Roger Zelazny
While I've not read either of these by McKillip, I've been very impressed with her work overall, so I'd expect good things there. "Year's Best" anthologies -- those depend on who is editing, but there's usually some very good things in them. I've not read
Futuroscope by Dunsany yet, but I've heard it's a bit uneven... but still Dunsany, and therefore well worth reading. (
The Charwoman's Shadow is definitely one of the fantasy classics!) Vance and Crowley ... do you really
need feedback here?
Not read
The Dream Master, and it's been a very, very long time since I read
Damnation Alley... but I recall liking the book quite a bit, and Zelazny is almost always interesting stylistically, at very least.
Behold the Man... that one polarizes people, both because of the subject matter and the style. While I like it, I think
Breakfast in the Ruins is a much richer book, both thematically and stylistically. But
Behold the Man is nonetheless well worth reading on various levels. And shouldn't that be
Towing Jehovah? In which case, I've not read, but I've heard nothing but good things about it, from people whose opinions I've learned to respect. The Cordwainer Smith and Cherryh... if you like either writer, I'd think you'll find these definitely to your taste. I've known a fair number who don't really care for Cherry's work, but I'm certainly
not one of them. I think she has a wide variety of stylistic approaches, and has some
very interesting work; while Smith is one of the great Golden Age writers. As for the Clute... I need to get a copy, eventually. I've dipped into it now and again and (as is the way with Clute) it's opinionated and a bit acerbic at times... but very informative, and an excellent reference work (but some of the opinions should be checked against the original material, or against other writers' opinions, nonetheless).
And then there's Chambers. Don't know how much of his work you've read, but I think you'll find this volume very uneven. Some of the work there is absolutely brilliant, some of it is seminal work in the field... and some of it borders on (or lapses into) hackwork. However, he's a very important voice in the field, and I think overall you'll be pleased.
As for me... I received my copy of
The Door to Saturn, by Clark Ashton Smith:
Night Shade Books - Books
Once again, it looks like a beautiful book in all ways....
