It was published as a book in 1957, and a heavily cut version was released the following year under the title The Forever Machine. They'd Rather Be Right was first published as a four-part serial in Astounding Science Fiction from August 1954 to November 1954. Sometimes those things worked and sometimes they didn't. In 2008 Sam Jordison described the novel as 'appalling,' the 'worst ever winner ,' 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.' Similarly, author Lawrence Watt-Evans has stated that They'd Rather Be Right is 'the usual cited' as the 'worst book ever to win ', and author Rick Cook has responded to the question of 'Is the book any good?' with 'No,' going on to explain its origins as 'one of those tailored-to-order serials for the old Astounding. Gale faulted the novel, saying, 'although a passably workmanlike job, loose ends outnumber neat knits in this yarn.' Langford has also addressed conspiracy theories attributing They'd Rather Be Right's win to Scientology, saying it is more likely that Clifton was popular for his short stories. 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.' 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. They'd Rather Be Right somewhat controversially won the Hugo Award for best novel in 1955, the second Hugo ever presented for a novel. Note: Include any additional information that you want to, such as plot summary / Cliff Notes, list of characters, etc. (Content Ratings Click on Explicit Ratings for details.)

They'd Rather Be Right by Mark Clifton