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This has been bothering me for awhile now and googling hasn't resolved anything, because all of my search terms are weird and vague. I dimly remember reading a book in probably... 2000 or 2001 that had a similar plot conceit to the movie The Village. In the book, the protagonist was a young girl (maybe 13 or 14?) living in this apparently old-time community who discovers that she actually lives in what is sort of a historical reenactment community after everyone begins to get sick and she has to flee to the modern world to get medicine or something like that. I don't remember much about it. I remember when The Village came out in 2004 thinking "oh, that blatantly ripped off that book I read awhile back" and for some reason, I misremembered the book as "Fever 1793" by Laurie Halse Anderson. Looking at the Amazon description tonight, I don't think that's it. This would have been a "young adult" book, possibly affiliated with Scholastic because at the time, I was in middle school and read a lot of weird books that Scholastic fairs donated to classrooms.
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Jan 16, 2009 05:00
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This looks like it http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2004/aug/10/news1
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Jan 16, 2009 05:24
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That's it! Thanks, I don't know how I didn't find it on my own.
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Jan 16, 2009 07:26
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I'm trying to remember a far-future sci-fi universe (or book). It takes place on a huge scale, with humans being pretty insignificant. I remember specifically that throughout the universe there are areas with different laws of nature, such as different speeds of light, which support different levels of intelligence. The thing is, I never read it, just the wikipedia article. Any ideas? I'm pretty sure it's not Uplift or Revelation Space, but that's all I know.
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Jan 19, 2009 02:10
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Vernor Vinge, A Fire Upon the Deep and A Deepness in the Sky? vvvv  vvvv
Runcible Cat fucked around with this message at 08:12 on Jan 19, 2009 |
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Jan 19, 2009 02:17
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holy jesus that was fast. thank you.
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Jan 19, 2009 02:29
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This is a book I read as an adolescent, so my memory is vague. Forgive me It's a fanasy novel involving a band of mercenaries. Part of what struck me so much about it was how adult themed it was- there were rapes (male and female) vicious murders, plenty of foul language and few, if any archetypical heroes. The novel featured a variation on a Candiru, or a parasitic catfish that swam up a character's urniary tract and had to be surgically removed. But what I really remember most was the bottle. There was a magic bottle that contained a series of rooms inside it; one could enter it somehow and remain inside for weeks thanks to the well stocked larder. Part of the plot involved a shred character who stole it and then barricaded himself inside. I must have read this book between the years of 1985 and 1990. Thanks!
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Jan 21, 2009 10:26
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There was a short story I read quite a while ago about a dystopian future where everyone is the same. Ballerinas all wear masks so that no one is prettier than anyone else, and they all wear sandbags so that none are more graceful than the others. The main character is exceptionally intelligent, so he has something in his ear that periodically scrambles his thoughts. He and his wife are watching a ballet on TV when someone comes into the ballet hall. He has apparently escaped from jail, and he's covered in chains due to his copious muscle matter. He ends up taking one of the ballerinas as his bride, and they began to dance, unmasked, on live television. Regrettably, some authority figure comes in and kills them both immediately. The man watching television realizes that it's his son on TV, but his thoughts become scrambled before he can completely realize it.
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Jan 21, 2009 17:41
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Iraff posted:There was a short story I read quite a while ago about a dystopian future where everyone is the same. Ballerinas all wear masks so that no one is prettier than anyone else, and they all wear sandbags so that none are more graceful than the others. The main character is exceptionally intelligent, so he has something in his ear that periodically scrambles his thoughts. Kurt Vonnegut, can't remember the name of the story, but it's the same as the name of the man that gets taken by the police. I think it's from Welcome to the Monkey House. Edit: Harrison Bergeron is the name of the story.
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Jan 21, 2009 17:55
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EXACTLY. God, thank you so much. This killed me for years.
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Jan 21, 2009 17:57
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Iraff posted:EXACTLY. God, thank you so much. This killed me for years. Aren't they making a movie based on this short? Edit: NM, they already did, in 1995 apparently.
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Jan 21, 2009 23:51
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Mikey Purp posted:Aren't they making a movie based on this short? No, you're right, there's a short film coming out this summer based on the '95 made-for-TV movie.
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Jan 22, 2009 00:15
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Vilipede posted:This is a book I read as an adolescent, so my memory is vague. Forgive me Wizard War, a.k.a. The Wizards and the Warriors, by Hugh Cook.
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Jan 22, 2009 07:01
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fritz posted:Wizard War, a.k.a. The Wizards and the Warriors, by Hugh Cook. A tip of my hat to you sir. Amazon even has used copies for a penny.
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Jan 22, 2009 07:50
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Vilipede posted:A tip of my hat to you sir. Amazon even has used copies for a penny. That's one of my favorite books of all time  Amazon also has one of the sequels for a cent: http://www.amazon.com/Oracle-Wizard-War-Chronicles-IV/dp/0445209143/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1232607529&sr=1-9
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Jan 22, 2009 08:01
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fritz posted:Wizard War, a.k.a. The Wizards and the Warriors, by Hugh Cook. I thought it rang a bell. I used to love Hugh Cook stuff, but it's been a long, long time since I read any (like 15 years or so) and have no idea if I'd still like it now. The Walrus and the Warwolf was my favourite, I recall that it was pretty funny in a comedy of errors kind of way as well.
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Jan 22, 2009 15:40
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Hello Pity posted:I thought it rang a bell. I used to love Hugh Cook stuff, but it's been a long, long time since I read any (like 15 years or so) and have no idea if I'd still like it now. The Walrus and the Warwolf was my favourite, I recall that it was pretty funny in a comedy of errors kind of way as well. Three of the first four (Wizard War, Oracle (Women and the Warlords), Walrus and the Warwolf) do (I haven't read the other in years, I'd probably better fix that soon). I don't really have any desire to re-read the others in the series (although maybe I'll try #5 again someday).
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Jan 23, 2009 01:29
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When I was in middle school like 6 years ago, I read a book that was for the most part, about a boy the main character (a girl) knew who was becoming sick due to neglect by his father. That's really vague I know, but one thing that should help is that there was a another character in the story who was actually a bird turned human for a reason that escapes me right now. She had a name like Althea (don't think it actually was that though) and had tawny streaked hair because she was part hawk?? I can't remember too much else except that the book was pretty sad. Thank you!
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Jan 23, 2009 02:38
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Rain Brain posted:The book I'm looking for I read in the mid-90s. It was science fiction, about a technologically advanced matriarchal society. The twist was that they weren't organically matriarchal, instead the men had to follow all these rules designed to keep them placated and secondary. I specifically remember that the men were required to go to a special church (?) and scorge themselves until they bleed, as a way to work off their 'warlike' impulses. There was a very vivid description of the blood of all the men in the temple running down to a drain set in the middle of the floor. I also think that there may have been one of those gods-who-turn-out-to-be-satellite deals going on.... That's the Homecoming Saga by Orson Scott Card. The scene you're describing takes place in either the first or second book of the series: so it's either The Memory of Earth or The Call of Earth. Mine is one I read six or eight years back... it's about a girl living in a fantasy sort of world (magic in gifted individuals, some higher technology that's been mostly forgotten). She lives on a plantation or something like it and is the daughter of the owner, so she's like upper middle class (at least in the country). When she's a young teen she gets sent to the capital city to be a servant girl of the queen (or maybe the princess). Then there's a revolution by the common people against the king and queen and nobility in general, and the girl is left to fend for herself on the streets after the palace gets torn apart. There's a really bad winter, some other bad things go down while the city is in turmoil. She becomes tough and street smart... then the new government set up by the usurpers to the throne turns militaristic and crazy and she tries to escape the city. She has to make it past these ancient smart machine things that have been awoken... Sorry it's vague. Also, if this helps, the cover was a picture of the girl, standing in a torn up dress, looking like she had big fairy wings. But the 'wings' are just an artifact of the perspective... it's really just a big ornate wrought iron gate that's broken off its hinges and is sitting at an odd angle behind her. Thanks!
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Jan 23, 2009 06:21
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Prolonged Priapism posted:Mine is one I read six or eight years back... it's about a girl living in a fantasy sort of world (magic in gifted individuals, some higher technology that's been mostly forgotten). Illusion, by Paula Volsky.
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Jan 23, 2009 13:58
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Holy poo poo, you're right. Well done. Thanks a bundle.
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Jan 24, 2009 02:01
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Prolonged Priapism posted:Holy poo poo, you're right. Well done. Thanks a bundle. It's one of those books that sticks in my head v  v
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Jan 24, 2009 02:25
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This was a young adult book. It was about a girl who's parents took in a tenant who just happened to be a vampire. This vampire sexually assaulted her, and well as slowly changing her into a vampire. The girl in question was about 13-16. Near the end, the guy starts doing it to her younger brother as well, and she burns the house down while only the vampire was in there. He almost got out until she shot him or something similar. It was probably written late 80's early 90's. That book is solely responsible for making me feel uneasy around men for 4 years. Who put's that kind of book on an Accelerated Reader list for kids in Grade 4?
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Jan 24, 2009 19:04
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OK, this is way to vague for me to expect an answer but I have to try. My elementary school library collection (c. 1985) had a trilogy (or, at least three books from series) of juvenile mystery novels. They were hardbacks of the Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew verity with wraparound cover art done all in purple tints. Probably from the 50's (early 60's at the latest) they were about the adventures of 3 children; there was an older (early teen) boy and girl and a small boy -- the younger brother of the girl, I think. The adventures were all New England-y; the one I remember most vividly took place on the coast with lighthouses and a cove that you could only enter at low tide. Proto The Goonies, sort of. Christ, now I type it up that's even more than I thought. I've checked the children's section of every library and used bookstore I've ever been to without result though. Sucks when all you have to go on was "they were purple."
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Jan 24, 2009 19:35
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King Plum the Nth posted:OK, this is way to vague for me to expect an answer but I have to try. My elementary school library collection (c. 1985) had a trilogy (or, at least three books from series) of juvenile mystery novels. They were hardbacks of the Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew verity with wraparound cover art done all in purple tints. Probably from the 50's (early 60's at the latest) they were about the adventures of 3 children; there was an older (early teen) boy and girl and a small boy -- the younger brother of the girl, I think. The adventures were all New England-y; the one I remember most vividly took place on the coast with lighthouses and a cove that you could only enter at low tide. Proto The Goonies, sort of. This sounds a lot like the Three Investigators, except they were all boys. So, probably not.
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Jan 25, 2009 15:24
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Sarinnanashi posted:This was a young adult book. It was about a girl who's parents took in a tenant who just happened to be a vampire. This vampire sexually assaulted her, and well as slowly changing her into a vampire. The girl in question was about 13-16. Near the end, the guy starts doing it to her younger brother as well, and she burns the house down while only the vampire was in there. He almost got out until she shot him or something similar. It was probably written late 80's early 90's. Is it Look for Me by Moonlight by Mary Downing Hahn?
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Jan 26, 2009 02:13
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Maybe now I can figure out the names of these books that have been bothering me for ages. Both are series; both contain books I remember reading in grade/middle school in the early/mid nineties. Definitely sure they were published before than, though. First series was a tween/teen horror series, if I remember right. Kinda struck me as being published in the 70's, had that kinda vibe. There were three main characters that I remember - a kinda pudgy boy, maybe in his early teens, a girl (same age, maybe a little older), who I remember was always described as really thin, wore glasses, and had long black hair that (I think?) was described as parted down the middle. The third one was the girl's grandmother/great-aunt who usually was the hero of the books, because she was able to exorcise/fight off the demons that the kids encountered. In one book, the boy came to acquire a medallion that was possessed by a demon, and it gradually got more and more control of him as the book went on. I think the girl was more of a background character in this book, but the old woman helped him fight off the demon of the medallion. I cannot remember the plot of the second book, but I do remember that the girl and the old woman are the main characters, and in this one the boy's a background character. About the only detail I can remember about the other book is when the girl and the old woman are at the gas station, and the author writes that the girl always likes to go to the gas station, because she likes the smell of gasoline and she likes to see the numbers on the pump spin around. Then, as they're driving back, the old woman falls ill (possibly because of demon attack?), and the girl has to drive her truck back, and there's a snippet of her struggling with the gears of the truck. Second series was definitely written for kids, and I think it was probably written in the 60s. Took place in the 50s/60s time period. Was kind of a slice of life/kids growing up series. Of the two books I remember, the first one had a boy as the main character (early teens), a neighborhood girl that was his kinda-girlfriend (same age), and the girl's bratty little sister (six or seven). I don't remember if it had an overall plot; I just remember it composing of little vignettes over the course of the book. In one, the kid's trying to come in first place in the school magazine/newspaper drive, and he's riding all around town on his bike towing a red wagon that's carrying the newspapers. There was a description of the different magazines he was hauling around, and he notes that his favorite to carry around are the NatGeos, because they were compact and didn't slide around in his wagon. In some of the vignettes, he outwits his girlfriend's bratty little sister using her love of pretend, I think in one he makes her pretend she's a monkey so she won't mess around with his stuff, and in another (at the end of the book) he has her pretend she's a robot so he can ride away from her on his bike so she stops pestering him. In another book, the bratty little sister is the main character, and has just started high school (middle school? In any case, she's older). I didn't get far enough to get the main plot of the book, but I remember that she cracks an egg on her head during lunch on a dare, thinking it was hard-boiled, but it wasn't, and she had to spend the rest of the day with hair covered in egg yolk. Whew! I hope somebody out there has the patiences to read that wall of text and remembers the same inane and irrelevant details that I do. I'd like to know the names of the second series just because I forgot it, but I remember the books in the first series as being genuinely creepy (at least when I was a kid - beat the pants of off Goosebumps, and didn't make me feel like a two-dollar whore when I was done with them).
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Jan 26, 2009 03:06
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ModernDayDiogenes posted:Second series was definitely written for kids, and I think it was probably written in the 60s. ... Those were by Beverly Cleary: http://www.beverlycleary.com/books/henry_books.html
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Jan 26, 2009 03:16
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ModernDayDiogenes posted:First series was a tween/teen horror series, if I remember right. Kinda struck me as being published in the 70's, had that kinda vibe. There were three main characters that I remember - a kinda pudgy boy, maybe in his early teens, a girl (same age, maybe a little older), who I remember was always described as really thin, wore glasses, and had long black hair that (I think?) was described as parted down the middle. The third one was the girl's grandmother/great-aunt who usually was the hero of the books, because she was able to exorcise/fight off the demons that the kids encountered. In one book, the boy came to acquire a medallion that was possessed by a demon, and it gradually got more and more control of him as the book went on. I think the girl was more of a background character in this book, but the old woman helped him fight off the demon of the medallion. I cannot remember the plot of the second book, but I do remember that the girl and the old woman are the main characters, and in this one the boy's a background character. About the only detail I can remember about the other book is when the girl and the old woman are at the gas station, and the author writes that the girl always likes to go to the gas station, because she likes the smell of gasoline and she likes to see the numbers on the pump spin around. Then, as they're driving back, the old woman falls ill (possibly because of demon attack?), and the girl has to drive her truck back, and there's a snippet of her struggling with the gears of the truck.
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Jan 26, 2009 03:56
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fritz posted:Those were by Beverly Cleary: http://www.beverlycleary.com/books/henry_books.html Wow, I remember these books pretty well too. The bratty younger sister is Ramona, and she was the main character of quite a few books. The older sister was nicknamed Beezus (Beatrice?), and the boy was Henry (he's got a dog named Ribsy, there's a book or two about them). It's been over 20 years since I read any of those (grade school), but I remember enjoying them. I should probably look into getting copies of those for my kids.
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Jan 26, 2009 09:23
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Action Jacktion posted:Probably the books of John Bellairs. it might be this one: http://www.amazon.com/Letter-Witch-Ring-Lewis-Barnavelt/dp/0140363386
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Jan 26, 2009 11:36
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Vilipede posted:it might be this one: Seconding this. There were 3 books in that series featuring the pudgy kid and his friend the girl: The House With A Clock In Its Walls: The Figure In The Shadows: That was the one with the cursed medallion. The Letter, The Witch and The Ring: This was the one with the girl going on an adventure with the old woman (the witch) and the gas station/having to drive the car by herself when the old woman gets sick.
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Jan 26, 2009 16:54
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Thank you, all of you. Yes, reading through the summaries of the Beverly Cleary books, Henry and the Paper Route is definitely one of the books I remember. After reading the description of the John Bellairs books, I'm 95% certain this is my other mystery series. The cover to The Letter, The Witch and the Ring available on Amazon doesn't quite match what I remember from my teacher's copy, but that was also over a decade ago. That, and the name "Mrs. Zimmerman" definitely rings a bell.
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Jan 26, 2009 22:45
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Science fiction. Two supremely nasty short stories 1: in a future where nanotech can repair all bodily damage, a woman has a small boy (son? about 2 years old) whom she systematically tortures and kills on a daily basis. Nano machines repair him each time. He doesn't age because of the nano tech. This is not seen as particularly unusual in her society. I think there's a thing about her doing this because she hates men. 2: a long space mission involving a small all male crew. After spending too long in deep space they go loving nuts and decide that one of their number is pregnant, and it will be necessary to perform a caesarian section to get the baby out. They arrive home shortly after completing it. I'd love to know who wrote these and what they're called so I can find out which collections they've been reprinted in.
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Jan 27, 2009 04:40
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I remember listening to The House with Clocks in its Walls when I was kid, never knew it was part of a series. Are the other two books as good? I recall liking the horror element it had, as well as the humor. Also, for those interested, apparently Bellairs wrote one single adult novel in his life, an underrated and overlooked fantasy called Face in the Frost.
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Jan 27, 2009 04:49
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Two kids books: 1 - A story about some kids who live next door to an old woman they suspect is a witch. They sneak into her house and find some sort of magical food (brownies or something) that have different effects depending on how much you eat: One bite lets you hear animals talk, two bites lets you talk back to them, three bites turns you into a cat. Something like that. 2 - A book of weird short stories. I think they were illustrated. Wasn't Roald Dahl or Paul Jennings. Some of them I remember include: a) A story about three princes who want to get a wish granted, and to do so they need to climb to the top of a huge tower. One tries to take the elevator and dies, the next starts using the stairs but is mean to a woman he meets cleaning the stairs and never progresses, the third helps the cleaning woman and reaches the top in no time. b) A really poor kid finds a button/badge that says "Kick Me" and thinking it's stupid, kicks it over a fence. He then goes home to discover his family has become really rich and live in a nice house. But they end up more miserable than when they were poor.
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Jan 27, 2009 04:51
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timeandtide posted:I remember listening to The House with Clocks in its Walls when I was kid, never knew it was part of a series. Are the other two books as good? I recall liking the horror element it had, as well as the humor. I liked them. I also liked the Johnny Dixon and the Anthony Monday ones, although I grew out of them/lost interest around the time of The Trolley To Yesterday. I think even at that age I was pretty leery of Brad Strickland, so I never read a any of his books. In any case, a significant part of the appeal of Bellairs for me was his subject matter coupled with Edward Gorey's illustrations. It was a gothic one-two punch, right in the kisser. Does anyone remember this? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAmGsM4Dids
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Jan 27, 2009 05:37
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When I was a little youth (late eighties) I read a series of sci-fi books - or, if not a series, then books written by the same author, that were really good. One was a group of prisoners crash-land on a planet: there is a motley crew, with the protagonist being a young Highland Scot who has been imprisoned maybe for political reasons. There is also a girl, of course, and a really bad guy. The crash has destroyed a lot of trees, and one of the party can't go near the forest because of the noise of the damaged trees screaming. The trees might have brains of some sort, and creatures of some kind that protect them. Other creatures try to eat the brains. The other one was an evil empire which had at its centre a writhing mass of telepathic tentacles, and anyone who had fallen within its grasp had a piece of tentacle warpped around their forehead that controlled them. When the tentacle was removed it was really agonising and could destroy the mind. Oh, and another series of books for teens about a WWI fighter pilot called Martin Falconer, which I remember as being really excellent. Ah - google informs m that they are by one John Harris.
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Jan 28, 2009 23:41
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therattle posted:The other one was an evil empire which had at its centre a writhing mass of telepathic tentacles, and anyone who had fallen within its grasp had a piece of tentacle warpped around their forehead that controlled them. When the tentacle was removed it was really agonising and could destroy the mind. e: come to think of it the first one you mentioned could be Hill's Colsec series, but I don't remember much about that.... vvvv e2: vvvv
Runcible Cat fucked around with this message at 00:23 on Jan 29, 2009 |
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Jan 28, 2009 23:46
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Morlock posted:I think this is Douglas Hill's Last Legionary series. (There's separate synopses for each book linked from the Wikipedia page.) Yes and yes! That's it! Awesome, and awesomely quick.
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Jan 29, 2009 00:17
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