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Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!bonnie!akgua!mcnc!unc!wfi
From: wfi@unc.UUCP (William F. Ingogly)
Newsgroups: net.sf-lovers
Subject: Re: Metropolis and Brunner
Message-ID: <216@unc.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 16-Mar-85 13:05:29 EST
Article-I.D.: unc.216
Posted: Sat Mar 16 13:05:29 1985
Date-Received: Mon, 18-Mar-85 01:48:09 EST
References: <topaz.980>
Reply-To: wfi@unc.UUCP (William F. Ingogly)
Organization: CS Dept., U. of N. Carolina at Chapel Hill
Lines: 31
Summary: 

>Also who wrote THE SHEEP LOOK UP , ( an english guy ?) , the Best
>SF Book of all time .

>>No.  The best SF book of all time is LORD OF LIGHT by Roger Zelazny.
>>It is also the best English Language book written in the twentieth
>>century.  

>>>The best English language book of the 20th century is very probably 
>>>Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings".  

Why so many people in this group and others feel compelled to make 
statements about the "best X of all times" is beyond me. Have you people 
read every SF book ever written, and read them critically so you're 
prepared to defend statements like this? How many books outside the SF 
genre have you read? Do you sincerely think ANYONE (professional critics 
included) is qualified to talk about "the best English language book of 
the 20th century?" At least the last poster qualifies his/her claim of
excellence with 'probably.' But probably in what sense? Because s/he
thinks it's the best? Because it's generally acknowledged to be the
best book of the century by critics, friends, other SF fans, or what?

Please, people, you're just begging for flames with postings like
this. Each of us has books/films/songs that he or she is particularly
fond of, but personal preference may have little to do with how well a
particular work is received by other readers/viewers/listeners.  You
can save yourself trouble by qualifying your claims with a simple "in
my opinion" or "the best I've ever." Enough said.

                           -- Cheers, 
                                       Bill Ingogly
                                       University of North Carolina