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They'd Rather Be Right
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{{Short description|1954 novel by Mark Clifton and Frank Riley}} {{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}} {{Infobox book | | name = They'd Rather Be Right | title_orig = | translator = | image = Theyd rather be right.jpg | caption = Dust-jacket of the first edition | author = [[Mark Clifton]] & [[Frank Riley (Author)|Frank Riley]] | illustrator = | cover_artist = W. I. van der Poel | country = United States | language = English | series = | genre = [[Science fiction]] | publisher = [[Gnome Press]] (1957 novel) | release_date = 1954 (as a serial), 1957 (as a novel) | english_release_date = | media_type = Print ([[Hardcover]]) | pages = 189 | preceded_by = | followed_by = }} '''''They'd Rather Be Right''''' (also known as '''''The Forever Machine''''') is a [[science fiction]] novel by American writers [[Mark Clifton]] and [[Frank Riley (author)|Frank Riley]]. ==Plot== Two professors create an advanced [[cybernetic]] brain, which they call "Bossy." Bossy can "optimise your mind...and give you eternal youth into{{sic}} the bargain, but only if you're ready to abandon all your favourite prejudices."<ref name=RottenApple>[http://www.ansible.co.uk/sfx/sfx168.html ''Rotten Apple''], by [[Dave Langford]], from [[SFX (magazine)|''SFX'']] #168, April 2008, archived at ansible.co.uk</ref> However, when given the choice of admitting they were wrong and therefore being able to benefit from Bossy's abilities, most people would rather be right, and Bossy's ability to confer immortality is almost made ineffective by humanity's fear of "her."<ref>{{cite web|last=Clute|first=John|title=Clifton, Mark|url=http://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/clifton_mark|publisher=Gollancz}}</ref> <!-- Anyone else want to fill this out to a real synopsis? --> ==Reception and significance== ''They'd Rather Be Right'' somewhat controversially won the [[Hugo Award]] for best novel in 1955, the second Hugo ever presented for a novel.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thehugoawards.org/hugo-history/1955-hugo-awards/|title=1955 Hugo Awards|date=26 July 2007|publisher=|accessdate=8 August 2016}}</ref> In a brief 1982 review of a contemporary reprint of the novel, author [[David Langford]] wrote that "though it contains an interesting idea, the book seems an implausible award-winner. It's fine (...) to postulate a machine giving immortality, youth and a perfect complexion to those and only those who can cast aside preconceptions and prejudices (...) The idea, though, is flattened into the ground by the authors' reluctance to do the work which would make it convincing."<ref>{{cite web|last=Langford|first=David|title=Mark Clifton and Frank Riley: They'd Rather Be Right|url=http://ansible.co.uk/writing/ratherbe.html|publisher=Ansible}}</ref> Langford has also addressed [[conspiracy theory|conspiracy theories]] attributing ''They'd Rather Be Right''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s win to [[Scientology]], saying it is more likely that Clifton was popular for his short stories.<ref name=RottenApple/> ''[[Galaxy Science Fiction]]'' reviewer Floyd C. Gale faulted the novel, saying, "although a passably workmanlike job, loose ends outnumber neat knits in this yarn."<ref name="glxsf58">{{cite news |first=Floyd C. |last=Gale |title=Galaxy's 5 Star Shelf |work=[[Galaxy Science Fiction]] |url=https://archive.org/stream/galaxymagazine-1958-07/Galaxy_1958_07#page/n107/mode/2up |date=July 1958 |page=107}}</ref> In 2008 [[Sam Jordison]] described the novel as "appalling," the "worst ever winner [of the Hugo Award]," and "a basic creative writing 'how not to,'" saying that its win "by public vote (...) raises serious questions about the value of a universal franchise."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2008/jan/29/aliteraryargumentagainstde |title=A literary argument against democracy |first=Sam |last=Jordison |authorlink=Sam Jordison |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |date=29 January 2008}}</ref> Similarly, [[Lawrence Watt-Evans]] has noted that ''They'd Rather Be Right'' is "the usual [book] cited" as the "worst book ever to win [the Hugo Award]",<ref>{{cite web|url=http://groups.google.ca/group/rec.arts.sf.written/msg/5fe7e3c8698a1d05?hl=en&dmode=source|title=Google Groups|publisher=|accessdate=8 August 2016}}</ref> and [[Rick Cook (writer)|Rick Cook]] responded to the question of "Is the book any good?" with "No," going on to explain that it originated as "one of those tailored-to-order serials for the old ''[[Astounding]]''. Sometimes those things worked and sometimes they didn't. This one didn't."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://groups.google.ca/group/rec.arts.sf.written/msg/83991e83e92b0ad6?hl=en&dmode=source|title=Google Groups|publisher=|accessdate=8 August 2016}}</ref> ==Publication history== [[Image:ASFAug55.jpg|thumb|left|Cover of August 1954 edition of ''Astounding Science Fiction'' in which the story was first serialized.]] ''They'd Rather Be Right'' was first published as a four-part serial in ''[[Astounding Science Fiction]]'' from August 1954 to November 1954. It was published as a book in 1957, and a heavily cut version was released the following year under the title ''The Forever Machine''. The novel has been reprinted a few times in the decades since, including at least two foreign language translations.<ref>{{cite web|title=Bibliography: They'd Rather Be Right|url=http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?186614|publisher=Al von Ruff}}</ref> ''They'd Rather Be Right'' is a sequel to "Crazy Joey" by Mark Clifton with Alex Apostolides (August 1953, originally published in ''[[Astounding Science Fiction]]'') and "Hide! Hide! Witch!" by Mark Clifton with Alex Apostolides (December 1953, originally published in ''[[Astounding Science Fiction]]''). The stories "Crazy Joey" and "Hide! Hide! Witch!" appeared without ''They'd Rather Be Right'' in ''The Science Fiction of Mark Clifton'', edited by Barry N. Malzberg and Martin H. Greenberg (Southern Illinois University Press; December 8, 1980).<ref>{{cite web|title=Bibliography: They'd Rather Be Right|url=http://www.omphalosbookreviews.com/index.php/reviews/info/302}}</ref> {{ISBN|978-0809309856}} In 1992, Carroll & Graf Publishers confusingly re-issued ''They'd Rather Be Right'' with its two prequel stories, "Crazy Joey" and "Hide! Hide! Witch!", under the title ''The Forever Machine.'' In this volume, the stories "Crazy Joey" and "Hide! Hide! Witch!" comprise the first section, entitled "Crazy Joey," while the novel ''They'd Rather Be Right'' makes up the second section, entitled "Bossy."<ref>{{cite web|title=Bibliography: They'd Rather Be Right|website=Amazon |url=https://www.amazon.com/review/R2WQS6EJGHFMO4}}</ref> {{ISBN|978-0881848427}} ==References== {{Reflist}} ==Sources== *{{cite book | last=Chalker | first=Jack L. | authorlink=Jack L. Chalker |author2=Mark Owings | title=The Science-Fantasy Publishers: A Bibliographic History, 1923-1998 | location=Westminster, MD and Baltimore | publisher=Mirage Press, Ltd.| pages=306 | year=1998}} ==External links== * {{ISFDB title|186614}} * [http://www.ansible.co.uk/writing/ratherbe.html 1982 Review of ''They'd Rather Be Right'' (Starblaze Editions, 1982) by Dave Langford] {{ISBN|978-0898651652}} {{Hugo Award Best Novel 1953–1960}} [[Category:1954 American novels]] [[Category:1954 science fiction novels]] [[Category:American science fiction novels]] [[Category:Collaborative novels]] [[Category:Hugo Award for Best Novel–winning works]] [[Category:Works originally published in Analog Science Fiction and Fact]] [[Category:Novels first published in serial form]] [[Category:Gnome Press books]]
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