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Sunday, September 26, 2010

PORTERA'S P.O.P. QUIZ CENTRAL: PULP WRITERS



Did you break out in a cold sweat every time a teacher hollered, “Pop Quiz!” I know I did! My hope is that these P.O.P. QUIZ CENTRAL “tests” and their results are more insightful than the quizzes, tests and exams you’ve been coerced into taking over the years. Tests are designed not only to assess the progress of the pupil but the teacher, too! Now let’s test the waters over your preferences of pulp writers and pulp genres. What do you prefer freshwater fishing or saltwater fishing?

(Remember, to circle only one name per line. I believe you’ll see a pattern right away.)

1.        Jules Verne or Edgar Allen Poe?
2.        L. Frank Baum or Arthur Conan Doyle?
3.        H.G. Wells or Rex Stout?
4.        Edgra Rice Burroughs or Michael Avallone?
5.        Ottis Adelbert Kline or Gayle Lynds?
6.        Philip Wylie or Lester Dent?
7.        Edmund Hamilton or Walter Gibson?
8.        Andre Norton or Paul Ernst?
9.        Richard Shaver or Richard Prather?
10.     Robert Heinlien or Erle Stanley Gardner ?
11.     Arthur C. Clarke or Dashiel Hammet?
12.     Henry Kuttner or Emile Tepperman?
13.     Harlan Ellison or Stuart Woods?
14.     Ray Bradbury or Sax Roehmer?
15.     Leigh Brackett or Agatha Christie?
16.     Philip K. Dick or Mickey Spillane?
17.     Piers Anthony or Ellery Queen?
18.     Michael Moorcock or William Patrick Maynard?
19.     Jack Chalker or Calvin Daniels?
20.     Tim Salber or Martin Powell?
21.     Ray Cummings or Lee Falk?
22.     Isaac Asimov or Norvell Page?
23.     Thomas Disch or Raymond Chandler?
24.     H. Beam Piper or Ian Fleming?
25.     E.E. “Doc” Smith or Robert E. Howard?
26.     Gardner Fox or Heather Graham?
27.     Clark Ashton Smith or Ross Macdonald?
28.     Theodore Sturgeon or Joseph Tringali?
29.     Jack Vance or Dennis Lynds?
30.     Mark Ellis or Will Murray?

Now that was easy, wasn’t it? How long did it take you to find the rather obvious pattern? All the writers that wrote mostly science fiction were on the left while those on the right are best known as mystery writers. So what were your results? Do like science fiction or prefer a good who-done-it?  Maybe you like both! Of course, there’s the chance you found yourself acknowledging the writers you’re familiar with. At the least, you’re left with a list of authors whose books you can now be on the look out for?