The Best Unfairly Obscure Books of the 1980s

[james_davis_nicoll]

Once a year, a question gets asked on rec.arts.sf.written: what were the best books of a given decade? So far this has been asked about the '50s, '60s and '70s so I am going to compile a list of candidates for the next time. I'd like to single out the best books that -aren't- commonly known or which at least saw lousy distribution.

My top two are the Rosinante trilogy (Alexis Gilliland)[1] and The Dragon Never Sleeps by Glen Cook, which got buried by Warner thingie (Questar?) when they had it. I should go look at the copyright on my George Turners. I am sure he did Drowning Towers back then, but Beloved Son is too early.

What books would you folks push?


1: Which I will count as a single because! that's why! Just Because!

Comments

[rysmiel.livejournal.com]

It's not so much that it tanked then that annoys me, as that everything else of Martin's appears to be getting rereleased on the strength of Song of Ice and Fire's success and I'd really like to see Armageddon Rag doing so too. I mean, I can easily think of a dozen people for whom I would personally buy copies, for a start.

To be fair, I can see how it might be a difficult book to place in order to get it to the range of people who might like it.

[shsilver.livejournal.com]

Bantam is re-releasing Armageddon Rag next month. They sent me an advance copy, but as I already had it, I passed it along to a Martin fan at my office.

[papersky.livejournal.com]

Oh how wonderful!

[j-shelbourne.livejournal.com]

Hurray!

I remember dinner with him at a con in Waterloo, lo these many years ago, and he mentioned that when he did readings he always did Froggie with a special voice. He then demonstrated, but I can't possibly duplicate it here.

(Of course, now I will be attributing Froggie to the wrong book...)

[beamjockey.livejournal.com]

In fact, every time you mention Armageddon Dreams I think you're talking about Armageddon Rag. Sometimes I figure out that you're not, and sometimes I just move on.