Poll

I liked Redemption - but well, the table top roleplaying game based on the Cthulhu stories was what occupied my high school weekends, and I have very fond memories of Orient Express campaigns and library checks - so it gets my vote :-)

I am critical of both these stories for different reasons and gave the nod to "Redemption," since it is better literature. Asimov's story had a grander theme in depicting the awe of the universe. Poe builds a suspenseful investigation of irrational behavior. I don't think Lovecraft gives us more than an entertaining read. If this were a ranking in the specific genre of horror, Lovecraft would get my vote, but as literature it falls short.

I dislike "Redemption" for more selfish reasons. John Gardner was an author, but also a creative writing instructor and critic. Stories of his attacks on other writers and arrogance in the classroom have put me off. Gardner also had a belief that he would achieve greatness in American fiction. Hence when I read Gardner, I often get the sense he is trying too hard. That is my sense in this story. I love the beginning based on the true event in his life but the second part of the horn lessons seems contrived and I feel the author is trying to manipulate me into some kind of understanding which ruins the whole story.

"Redemption" get my vote by luck of the draw. I don't see it going far.

The vote here as of this writing is 4-4. There was another poll (now closed) where the win was by a one point margin (7-6). So I gotta ask: What happens in the event of a tie? Trevor?

I haven't read either recently enough to recall one thing of them, but voted after merely skimming the style of each in order to move on to the next round. Now I want to delete my fraudulent vote. Alas.

David, if there's a tie, I toss a coin. At least, that's what I did last year, and often my story lost!

However, I didn't have a chance to get on and vote yesterday, so this tie was going to go away -- and, indeed, it already has! My vote now just keeps it a bit closer.

And Ctb, this is Mookse Madness. Fraudulent votes totally count!

Neither of these authors is particularly admirable as a person, but I am voting for Lovecraft mostly because what he started in this story has been of interest most of my life. I love his cosmic horror, and the digging into the obscure past where someone stepped into something that caused them to lose their mind.

It looks like this will be the first tie of the tournament. As I mentioned elsewhere, if this happens I just flip a coin. No need for a revote or anything like that. Fate will decide!

I will be asleep before the voting ends (I hope), so I'll deal with this in the morning and see who will go on to Round 2!

Oh boy, I'm tiebreaking! With only fifteen minutes to spare! Can't let it go to random chance :-).

So, I absolutely hated "The Call of Cthulhu" with a burning passion and had resolved to vote against it at any cost.

But then I read Redemption.

And oh my god, I cared so little for it that I'm going to vote for the one that at least provoked an emotional reaction out of me-- even if that reaction was one of wistfulness for the two to three hours of my life I lost trudging through its awful genre-icness and pretty blatantly racist overtones. All said, I hope it burns and dies next round.

So far I haven't missed a single matchup, but let's hope I can keep that up. Definitely count on my eventual, if last minute, vote for all future rounds! This is a really fun tournament, so thanks Trevor for hosting it.

Thanks for helping me avoid invoking Cthulhu to settle this one, Thomas!