Antidotal stories
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No, that's not an error for "anecdotal."

In a discussion on an email list, I casually suggested that one SF novel might be read as an antidote to another. It occurred to me that this might be a useful concept for readers who put down a book and think "that's enough of that – I need something completely different." The implication is not necessarily that the first one is bad – some of those I list in the left-hand column are very good indeed – but that it does something to you that you'd just as soon undo.

Here are some possible examples. I hope the reasons are clear.


Story read


Suggested Antidote

Ender's Game (Orson Scott Card) A Wrinkle in Time (Madeleine L'Engle)
On the Beach (Nevil Shute) A Canticle for Leibowitz (Walter M. Miller, Jr.)
Dinosaur Summer (Greg Bear) The Lost World (Arthur Conan Doyle)
The Lost World (Michael Crichton) The Lost World (Arthur Conan Doyle)
Valis (Philip K. Dick) Good Omens (Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett)
Down and Out In the Magic Kingdom (Cory Doctorow) Dream Park (Larry Niven & Steven Barnes)
Donovan's Brain (Curt Siodmak) The Master Mind of Mars (Edgar Rice Burroughs)
Foundation trilogy (Isaac Asimov) Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy trilogy (Douglas Adams)
an overdose of Lensman books (i.e., more than one) (E.E. "Doc" Smith) The Mote in God's Eye (Larry Niven)
Footfall (Larry Niven) Neutron Star (Larry Niven)
Day of the Triffids (John Wyndham) Little Shop of Horrors (Frank Oz; Rick Moranis, Steve Martin) (Or, if you must: Roger Corman; Jonathan Haze)
I, Robot (Isaac Asimov) We Can Build You (Philip K. Dick)
We Can Build You (Philip K. Dick) The Night Life of the Gods (Thorne Smith)
The Stars My Destination (Alfred Bester) The Adventures of the Stainless Steel Rat (Harry Harrison)
The Adventures of the Stainless Steel Rat (Harry Harrison) The Stars My Destination (Alfred Bester)
Ubik (Philip K. Dick) Three Hearts and Three Lions (Poul Anderson)
1984 (George Orwell) Stand on Zanzibar (John Brunner)
Stand on Zanzibar (John Brunner) On the Beach (Nevil Shute)
God Emperor of Dune (Frank Herbert) The Incompleat Pogo (Walt Kelly) (sometimes it takes even stronger medicine)
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