Thursday, October 04, 2007

Sputnik: My Part in its Downfall

Amidst all this fiftieth anniversary stuff, I've been trying all morning to think of a way of standing up that headline. But I can't. Though, a few years later, I do remember thinking too much fuss was being made about all such projects in view of what had been happening in sci-fi for decades. So perhaps my dandyish indifference was my part in Sputnik's downfall. Anyway, that gives me a chance to recommend, in case I have not done so already, the works of Stanislaw Lem, the second greatest SF writer after H.G.Wells. Everybody knows Solaris, of course, but try Fiasco, a compelling and utterly weird read.

4 comments:

  1. But I thought it was a catapult shot from your back garden that sent Sputnik careering wildly off course and set the Russian space effort back by years. You're too modest, Bryan.

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  2. Surprised to see the unwholesome appearance of gun fetishism on this blog.

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  3. I don't think too much fuss has been made about Sputnik. Sattelite communication has transformed the world and forms a huge industry. All the money the USSR and America shot into space is falling back down in the form of GPS and sattelite TV.

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