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WE DOIN IT NOW posted:OK this has been bothering me for the last few days and no amount of googling or looking through my bookshelf seems to help. The first thing that popped into my head was Jack L. Chalker's Well World series http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Well_World
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Nov 7, 2008 21:55
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Elohssa Gib posted:The first thing that popped into my head was Jack L. Chalker's Well World series
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Nov 7, 2008 22:17
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WE DOIN IT NOW posted:OK this has been bothering me for the last few days and no amount of googling or looking through my bookshelf seems to help. Pretty sure this is House of Leaves or The Raw Shark Texts
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Nov 8, 2008 01:46
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Elderling posted:Pretty sure this is House of Leaves or The Raw Shark Texts Ahh, it's gotta be House of Leaves. Not sure how I forgot that. Now I just gotta figure out where in the book it is. Thanks man.
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Nov 8, 2008 03:41
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WE DOIN IT NOW posted:Ahh, it's gotta be House of Leaves. Not sure how I forgot that. Now I just gotta figure out where in the book it is. Thanks man. I'm pretty sure that's not in either book; House of Leaves definitely doesn't have anything with more than a few character "on screen" at once and typically there's a lot of isolation.
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Nov 8, 2008 07:55
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WE DOIN IT NOW posted:OK this has been bothering me for the last few days and no amount of googling or looking through my bookshelf seems to help.
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Nov 8, 2008 11:06
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timeandtide posted:I'm pretty sure that's not in either book; House of Leaves definitely doesn't have anything with more than a few character "on screen" at once and typically there's a lot of isolation. It was a dream
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Nov 9, 2008 03:39
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Ok, I remember this book from like 5th grade that I never finished. I really just want to know how the book ends, but I can never remember its title. All I remember is that it was about a family that ended up on an alien planet. There were green jellyfish and transluscent plants. If anybody can figure out which book this is, I will be amazed.
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Nov 9, 2008 06:38
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It's a sci-fi novel or novella. It begins with a research ship of some sort coming to investigate a planet on which the native intelligent alien species seem to have staged mass suicide some time in the past. If I recall correctly the only structures on the planet are believed by the team to be some sort of disintegrators used by the aliens. After some time investigating the planet, a ship of unknown hostile aliens appears. There's one scene in particular I half-remember from right around this point, the hostile aliens transport one of the crew members from the human ship to theirs where he immediately begins to asphyxiate as the atmosphere isn't breathable, and then one of the aliens pulls off his lip and swallows it.
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Nov 9, 2008 10:17
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TheLoquid posted:Ok, I remember this book from like 5th grade that I never finished. I really just want to know how the book ends, but I can never remember its title. Maybe The Green Book, by Jill Patton Walsh? I can't recall if the plants are translucent, but they are described as glass-like (ie very brittle and sharp).
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Nov 10, 2008 08:50
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wheatpuppy posted:Maybe The Green Book, by Jill Patton Walsh? I can't recall if the plants are translucent, but they are described as glass-like (ie very brittle and sharp). Yeah, the trees were translucent; they didn't need windows when they built their houses because some of the light came through them. And I think they had to be cut long-ways down the length of the tree as opposed to across the trunk like we would expect. Also, it was a group of people in an escape pod of sorts from Earth. I don't remember the jellyfish tho but I haven't read it since 5th grade either.
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Nov 10, 2008 14:02
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I have been trying to find this book from my childhood for years. It is a collection of short stories for young adults, but the only one I remember is about how a girl gets this evil doll and it turns on her and forms an army of moving, talking toys. In one part it ties her up and rips off her arm, then rips off its own arm, and puts her arm in the plastic socket. It described this VERY vividly. If it's any help, I remember that the cover was one of those soft but slightly grainy textured ones, the kind that you would stare off and stroke without thinking. I'm pretty sure there was green or gray or cream there, and there was definitely some sort of cat. Unless I am completely falsifying this memory because my mom tells me she doesn't remember ever letting me own a book like that, someone has to know what I'm talking about. The title I think was 4 words and started with "The," but I'm not 100% on that. I read it when I was about 7 (in 1997), and it seriously freaked me out, which is why I remember it so vividly and would really love to find it. EDIT: THE DAYDREAMER BY IAN MCEWAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Smai fucked around with this message at 16:09 on Jul 5, 2009 |
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Nov 11, 2008 07:57
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wheatpuppy posted:Maybe The Green Book, by Jill Patton Walsh? I can't recall if the plants are translucent, but they are described as glass-like (ie very brittle and sharp). Holy poo poo, that's it! I am in awe. You are a scholar and a gentleman, sir.
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Nov 12, 2008 18:51
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There was a short story I read about 5 years ago that I cannot remember the title of. It was set in Russia, where a group of young children is being led around a city, eventually being told to create a snowman each. The story is focused on one child in particular; he creates an almost allegorical figure of his father rising out of the oppressive mines, conquering-like. I think the author or one of the characters is called Nagarian? Or something like that. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
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Nov 13, 2008 00:08
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I read a review of a sci-fi book a few years ago but forgot the title... The basic plot is that aliens contact humans on Earth. However, the "souls" of the aliens and humans are analogous to the male & female of a species. The souls of the aliens and humans mate(?), and leave as a new form of life. Afterwards, the humans (and aliens, too, I guess) gradually begin to die off, since they no longer have a purpose for living. The book sounded fairly recent, but I remember the details of the plot much better than the publishing date, author, etc...
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Nov 13, 2008 16:27
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nuvan posted:
I didn't see a response to this, so I'll answer it: It's the "Pandora's Planet" series by Christopher Anvil. You can check some of the stories out at: http://www.webscription.net/chapters/0671318616/0671318616___1.htm
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Nov 14, 2008 07:10
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Reposting this to see if anyone can get it. It has been bugging me for years. I read this compliation of short stories at least 10 years ago I would think. One of them was about a world where Vampires had pretty much taken over, but a bunch of humans were holed up in a church. At the end, the Vampires get in and a human tricks the main one into drinking consecrated wine from a pop can, which kills him since its the blood of Christ. Another one of the short stories was about a guy that started molding his wifes skin like clay and ended up horribly, might have been called something like Softer? There were a few others in the book as well, but those are the two that I can remember.
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Nov 15, 2008 06:29
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Does anyone remember a book or web story like thing about some advanced people, where Earth was just a simulation, a game they played. And people with like, I think brown eyes, or hazel eyes, were essentially NPC's. The book(or web story? I really don't know) opens with the main character going to work I believe, he's thinking about his girlfriend and he's killed my a car. He wakes up and is told that someone higher up in what I assume is the societies government wants to talk to him. Anyone have any idea what this might have been? It's been so long since I first saw it online.
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Nov 15, 2008 10:14
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pbpancho posted:Reposting this to see if anyone can get it. It has been bugging me for years. Could be this? It has a story called 'Softer' that sounds a bit like the one you remember.
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Nov 15, 2008 13:38
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sintaxi posted:I didn't see a response to this, so I'll answer it: That's it, thanks! current list: 1. group of people are on a ship orbiting mars. segregated by gender, they are given some sort of serum or drug to allow for very fast genetic mutation. they are being prepped to be the first martians. I think that at the end of the story they rebel against their creators 2. a group of people, possibly the entire population of a planet, have taken to having all their sensory organs replaced with functional artificial equivalents, that are controlled through a central box. this gives them all completely controllable synesthesia. a big part of their education is learning to control the box. the main character (a girl, if I remember right) experiments with turning more and more of her senses off entirely, eventually shutting them all down Identified as (The Star by Arthur C. Clarke) by Rocambole Tentatively identified as (Gemini God by Garry Kilworth) by Rocambole Identified as (Diaspora by Greg Egan) by Hobnob Identified as (Pandora's Legions by Christopher Anvil) by sintaxi
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Nov 15, 2008 14:39
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Unkempt posted:Could be this? It has a story called 'Softer' that sounds a bit like the one you remember. Wow, I think that might be it. I will have to hit the library and see. Thanks!
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Nov 16, 2008 18:02
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nuvan posted:
Aside from the conscious stars part, and the main character's gender, I'd guess this to be Time for the Stars by Robert Heinlein.
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Nov 17, 2008 09:03
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I have another one, though I think this one is much easier and less obscure. It's a childrens' story featuring small brown herbivorous animals that live underneath a city subsisting on moss until they eventually go into the upper world, where we discover that humans are gone but the damage they've done to the planet (teardrop) remains and that plant life, though struggling, is determined to survive.
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Nov 17, 2008 09:53
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I read a Dean Koontiz (spelling??) book when I was about 12 that featured a womans ex-husband die, but then turn into some weird monster thing and chase her around trying to kill her. For the life of me now I can't remember the name of it, or even if thats the right author, i've looked at booklists from him and not found anything that sounded right. I want to read it again after my grandma took it away saying it was evil and handed me a Daniel Steele book in return years ago. Any ideas?
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Nov 17, 2008 15:24
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nuvan posted:
Actually this seems more like Robert Silverberg's Starborne. At least all the details match (telepathic twin, sentient stars).
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Nov 17, 2008 16:50
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Atimo posted:I read a Dean Koontiz (spelling??) book when I was about 12 that featured a womans ex-husband die, but then turn into some weird monster thing and chase her around trying to kill her. If it was Koontz, and you do manage to find it and read it, you'll just end up posting about it later in the "Horrible Books" thread. Serious.
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Nov 17, 2008 17:15
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Atimo posted:I read a Dean Koontiz (spelling??) book when I was about 12 that featured a womans ex-husband die, but then turn into some weird monster thing and chase her around trying to kill her. Sounds like Shadowfires by Koontz.
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Nov 17, 2008 18:12
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TheLoquid posted:I have another one, though I think this one is much easier and less obscure. It's a childrens' story featuring small brown herbivorous animals that live underneath a city subsisting on moss until they eventually go into the upper world, where we discover that humans are gone but the damage they've done to the planet (teardrop) remains and that plant life, though struggling, is determined to survive. Any of this synopsis seem familiar? Ballsworthy posted:If it was Koontz, and you do manage to find it and read it, you'll just end up posting about it later in the "Horrible Books" thread. Serious. Runcible Cat fucked around with this message at 18:31 on Nov 17, 2008 |
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Nov 17, 2008 18:27
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Encryptic posted:Sounds like Shadowfires by Koontz. That appears to be the right one, thanks!
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Nov 17, 2008 18:32
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When I was around 12 I remember reading a book about a boy who lives in a subway station, earning money for food by selling discarded newspapers. I distinctly remember a line like "...and he settled on the stairs with all the other worthless lumps who had come to rest thus" in it, but not too much else. To my 12 year old brain it was a really complicated book with a lot of hard words but I don't know if that helps. Anyone know of it?
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Nov 18, 2008 15:12
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Hobnob posted:Actually this seems more like Robert Silverberg's Starborne. At least all the details match (telepathic twin, sentient stars). That's it, thanks! Identified as (Starborne by Robert Silverberg) by Hobnob
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Nov 19, 2008 04:56
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TheLoquid posted:I have another one, though I think this one is much easier and less obscure. It's a childrens' story featuring small brown herbivorous animals that live underneath a city subsisting on moss until they eventually go into the upper world, where we discover that humans are gone but the damage they've done to the planet (teardrop) remains and that plant life, though struggling, is determined to survive. This might be "Wump world" by Bill Peet, the first science fiction book I ever read. http://www.amazon.com/Wump-World-Bill-Peet/dp/0395311292
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Nov 19, 2008 16:12
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Yep, it's the Wump World. Thanks, you guys are awesome.
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Nov 20, 2008 01:50
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yaffle posted:This might be "Wump world" by Bill Peet, the first science fiction book I ever read. I was hoping as soon as I'd read his request that nobody had answered it, because this one I actually knew! drat....  Bill Peet wrote some fun stuff, though.
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Nov 20, 2008 10:17
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nuvan posted:6. aliens invade earth. we start a guerilla war against them. they run their standardized intelligence test on us (which they weren't supposed to do) and find out we're smarter than they are, they just had/have better tech. Found it. It's Pandora's Legions, available in the Baen Free Library.
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Nov 23, 2008 18:34
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Ballsworthy posted:A book or story in which a son is forced by his (rich) father to eat strawberries wrapped in gold foil. I think it's something I've read within the last few years. I'm not really looking to re-read it or anything, I've just been bugged because I can't remember what the hell it's from. Reposting this because it's still bugging me. A couple more details: the scene above is a flashback, and boy becomes very ill.
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Nov 25, 2008 18:01
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When I was young, I had this red, large hardbound (but thin) collection of Christmas stories. One of the stories I particularly remember is about this man and his pet (polar?) bear. They come across some guy who's leaving his house because every Christmas a bunch of trolls show up and wreck the place. The man with the bear offers to stay, the trolls come in and think his bear is a kitten and then the bear wrecks their poo poo.
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Nov 26, 2008 00:55
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I've been trying to identify this sci-fi novel. I can only give some main features of the story: 1. People wear symbiotic masks that allow them to breathe the polluted air of earth without any ill-effects. These masks can feature what ever designs you want 2. There is a returned soldier of some war who has not seen earth for some time. He gets a mask that features a skull pattern. 3. He also gets a telepathic implant that allows him to communicate to everyone else who also has the implant. 4. At some stage there is a super-tough android that is immune to disease. The returned soldier comments that somthing like this would be handy in the war-zone as a sex slave, as they would not be able to contract VDs. They are the main features I remember. Mordialloc fucked around with this message at 08:43 on Nov 27, 2008 |
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Nov 27, 2008 08:38
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This series is from when I was way younger, and I can't remember the name. They're young teenager-level books, and they're set in a world where people aren't allowed to have more than two children due to the government - third children are taken away and never heard from again. The story itself follows the life of one of these third children, who lives his whole life hiding in his parents' house, basically, watching his two brothers get to actually go live life and such. Eventually he somehow meets another third child (who is a girl) and she doesn't buy into all the propaganda about the government can find you if you use a computer and this and that, they do stuff for a while, etc. Then she tries to get him to go to a third children rally somewhere but he doesn't and she does and then she dies at the rally. That was the first book, anyway, I don't really remember the others. I don't even want to reread it, it's just been bugging me that I can't recall the name of this.
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Nov 27, 2008 20:34
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That's one of the Shadow Children books by Margaret Peterson Haddix. I can't remember which one, but some of the titles are: Among the Hidden, Among the Impostors, Among the Betrayed, Among the Free, Among the Brave, and Among the Barons.
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Nov 28, 2008 08:25
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