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dms666 posted:Okay, I've got a pretty tough one. I saw this book on Amazon ages ago but never got around to ordering it...now I'm interested again. If I remember, it was a fairly modern book (or series of books) about a traveling American folk hero who may or may not have also been a musician. I think he was sort of a Johnny Appleseed/Davy Crockett character who encountered all sorts of legendary and outrageous characters throughout the book. First thing that came to mind was the "Alvin Maker" series by Orson Scott Card. Seventh Son is the first book, I think there were six in the series.
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Apr 7, 2011 06:59
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This is a long shot, but it's been bothering me for years, so I might as well try. It's a young adult book I first read as a kid in the late 80's, early 90's. It's a novel set in contemporary times, with a private detective trying to track down some kind of evil zombie/mummy type character. I seem to recall a scene in a nightclub where the mummy throws an ax at the detective (?). I'm pretty sure the words "Magic Man" appear throughout the book for some reason, possibly as a name for the mummy. To make matters worse, the book was in French and was set in France. I must be getting some of the details mangled but I'm sure the book exists in some form. Or I just had a really weird dream, I dunno. What makes it so difficult is that the drat thing was in French.
nemesis_hub fucked around with this message at 09:23 on Apr 7, 2011 |
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Apr 7, 2011 08:24
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dms666 posted:Okay, I've got a pretty tough one. I saw this book on Amazon ages ago but never got around to ordering it...now I'm interested again. If I remember, it was a fairly modern book (or series of books) about a traveling American folk hero who may or may not have also been a musician. I think he was sort of a Johnny Appleseed/Davy Crockett character who encountered all sorts of legendary and outrageous characters throughout the book. Did he play a guitar or a banjo or something? I kinda remember a series where a guy was walking around the US and it was sorta folk hero-ish but I can't remember the exact name. For some reason Johnny Cash pops in my head, but I know he isn't in the book? 
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Apr 7, 2011 08:24
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dms666 posted:Okay, I've got a pretty tough one. I saw this book on Amazon ages ago but never got around to ordering it...now I'm interested again. If I remember, it was a fairly modern book (or series of books) about a traveling American folk hero who may or may not have also been a musician. I think he was sort of a Johnny Appleseed/Davy Crockett character who encountered all sorts of legendary and outrageous characters throughout the book. Ed: ah, here we go. Some of them are online as part of the Baen giveaway CDs: Wellman's stuff starts at chapter 3. (Note that the paper version doesn't have the Wellman stories in, but you should easily be able to find Wellman's collections second-hand.) vvv Go me! Enjoy! They're great stuff - my favourite's The Desrick on Yandro, with its various Appalachian monsters. vvv Runcible Cat fucked around with this message at 15:20 on Apr 7, 2011 |
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Apr 7, 2011 12:21
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Engelbrecht posted:Manly Wade Wellman's Silver John/John the Balladeer series? He plays a silver-stringed guitar and deals with a lot of folk-ballad-derived problems. Amazing, thank you! This is exactly it.
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Apr 7, 2011 14:06
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I need help with a couple children's books. I don't know when any of them were written, but I grew up in the mid-late 80's and early 90's if that helps narrow it down. One is about a little monster who thinks there is a human under his bed or had a nightmare about one or something? He keeps bothering his parents about it, and I think they live in a cave. The other one is about a kid named Nicholas or Alexander, I can't remember which, and it is about bedtime. That's all I can remember though.  I think he might have been some kind of rodent, but I'm not completely sure. I remember loving it as a kid.
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Apr 7, 2011 23:36
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Moms Stuffing posted:I need help with a couple children's books. I don't know when any of them were written, but I grew up in the mid-late 80's and early 90's if that helps narrow it down. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Monster_Bed for the former..not sure abt the other.
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Apr 8, 2011 04:30
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It's at least 20 years old (I want to say maybe even 30-40 years old). It was a sci-fi book about some kind of a new energy. The particular hardcover version I read had a white background with these bubble looking orbs on the cover. And I think the title is synonymous or has something to do with the word "Orb". I don't think I remember the main plot correctly, but from my faint impression, the protagonist in the book is working towards some kind of a new energy source, some kind of an orb thing, and different factions are trying to get to him/the energy source. The factions involved with the main plot includes the Catholic church, some kind of a military unit, something to do with a Communist & Catholic Polish soldier who was helping the main character in the book. The Communist part is what's reminding me about this book, because at one point in the book, the Communist Polish guy is explaining to a non-Communist Westerner why a Catholic would be helping Stalin (the Communists being anti-religion and all). I believe the setting is Europe during the Cold War. I apologize if this is just a lot of vague details, and I feel like an idiot for being vague... but Googling words like "Sci Fi Orbs Communist Catholic" didn't get me very far. Thanks in advance.
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Apr 8, 2011 09:17
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brishen posted:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Monster_Bed I found it! Thank you so much. http://www.amazon.com/Nathan-Nicholas-Alexander-Lulu-Delacre/dp/0590415735/ref=lh_ni_t_
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Apr 9, 2011 16:44
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nemesis_hub posted:This is a long shot, but it's been bothering me for years, so I might as well try. It's a young adult book I first read as a kid in the late 80's, early 90's. It's a novel set in contemporary times, with a private detective trying to track down some kind of evil zombie/mummy type character. I seem to recall a scene in a nightclub where the mummy throws an ax at the detective (?). I'm pretty sure the words "Magic Man" appear throughout the book for some reason, possibly as a name for the mummy. To make matters worse, the book was in French and was set in France. I must be getting some of the details mangled but I'm sure the book exists in some form. Or I just had a really weird dream, I dunno. What makes it so difficult is that the drat thing was in French. I don't have a name, but could it be related to this series of books? http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Poulpe_%28collection%29 It's a series of supernatural-exploitative crime fiction, and what you mention sounds like it could come from there. There seem to be a few involving mummies or zombies as the bad guy. Edit: never mind, hadn't read the 'young adult' part. Saxon X. Seaworthy fucked around with this message at 06:27 on Apr 10, 2011 |
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Apr 9, 2011 19:09
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Saw it in a bookstore today, but forgot to make a note of it. Story is set in near future (around 2065) about a guy living in a world post-economic collapse. He knows who masterminded the collapse 20-odd years ago, and now China is invading the US for some reason. Help? e: pretty sure it was by someone with an asian name.
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Apr 10, 2011 09:40
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Dead Alice posted:Saw it in a bookstore today, but forgot to make a note of it. This is the first book of the new release of David Wingrove's Chung Kuo, called Son of Heaven. I just finished reading it 
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Apr 10, 2011 10:49
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Saxon X. Seaworthy posted:I don't have a name, but could it be related to this series of books? Who knows, maybe I'm remembering that part wrong. It was a loooong time ago. Anyway, this is the first lead I've had in years, so thanks!
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Apr 10, 2011 22:46
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I'm trying to remember the title of a certain book. All I remember is that it's about a Demon who comes to regret his rebellion against god and tries to win his favor by raising an army to kill Lucifer or one of his Lieutenants. I also remember that he has an army of mortal souls lead by Hannibal and the book has some really creepy artwork to go with it. Anyone know what I'm talking about?
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Apr 12, 2011 09:34
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The Aberrant posted:I'm trying to remember the title of a certain book. All I remember is that it's about a Demon who comes to regret his rebellion against god and tries to win his favor by raising an army to kill Lucifer or one of his Lieutenants. I also remember that he has an army of mortal souls lead by Hannibal and the book has some really creepy artwork to go with it. Wayne Barlowe's "God's Demon".
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Apr 12, 2011 09:49
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Ras Het posted:Wayne Barlowe's "God's Demon". Awesome thanks!
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Apr 12, 2011 09:56
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This was a children (possibly YA?) book about some regular kids who for some reason are friends with the prince of some tiny kingdom that is surrounded by mountains. They fly on a plane there and eat some chocolate that stops them feeling sick from the turbulence. After this I don't remember much of the plot, except at one point they end up in a boat going along an underground river. Anyone got any idea what this might be from my terrible explanation?
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Apr 12, 2011 15:36
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SpoonmanUK posted:This was a children (possibly YA?) book about some regular kids who for some reason are friends with the prince of some tiny kingdom that is surrounded by mountains. They fly on a plane there and eat some chocolate that stops them feeling sick from the turbulence. After this I don't remember much of the plot, except at one point they end up in a boat going along an underground river. Anyone got any idea what this might be from my terrible explanation? Sounds very Enid Blyton, though of course that doesn't narrow it down very much. Possibly one of her "(Something) of Adventure" series?
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Apr 12, 2011 15:50
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SpoonmanUK posted:This was a children (possibly YA?) book about some regular kids who for some reason are friends with the prince of some tiny kingdom that is surrounded by mountains. They fly on a plane there and eat some chocolate that stops them feeling sick from the turbulence. After this I don't remember much of the plot, except at one point they end up in a boat going along an underground river. Anyone got any idea what this might be from my terrible explanation? The Secret of Killimooin, by Enid Blyton. Almost definitely.
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Apr 12, 2011 20:50
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I recall once reading a sci-fi short story that I can't find now with any amount of Googling. It was about a generational starship, and the POV character was a guy who was a caretaker for the trip that stayed in some sort of stasis or cryo-sleep for most of the trip, only waking up every 100 (I think) years to check on things. I recall something about him waking to find that the ship had become massively overpopulated at one point, and then maybe later that the population had almost degenerated into savagery and that his own existence was only mentioned in myths and that he was referred to as a troll or an ogre or something like that, living in his hidden cave. It could have been easily 15+ years since I read this story. This would probably have been in some kind of best sci-fi of the year collection, but it could have been from any year out of the last 50 or so before I read it. Anyone have any clue what I'm talking about? Edit: Hell, after I finally decided to post about this, I made one more cursory search and found it on the first page. The title is "The Voyage That Lasted Six Hundred Years" and it's by Don Wilcox. Thanks, internet. BobTheJanitor fucked around with this message at 21:02 on Apr 12, 2011 |
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Apr 12, 2011 20:58
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I have two short-fiction sci-fi stories I'm trying to remember. I know who the authors are so that should make it a lot easier. The first one is a short story by Richard Matheson. All I really remember is that someone is being chased by some unseen monster. It might be someone who was out for a jog and suddenly realized something was chasing them. But I think that's pretty much how the story starts out from the beginning. Guy running, realizes somethings chasing him. Don't remember how it goes on from there or ends. The second one is a short story by Robert Silverberg. All I can remember is that it takes place in the future and a group of people are kind of like treasure hunters. They go to an area that is separate from their village that is known for being dangerous because it is filled with various traps, but I think they go there for treasure. At one point in the story they find a normal human man in suspended animation. I think he wakes up and triggers one of the traps killing himself instantly. Anyone have any ideas?
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Apr 13, 2011 04:13
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The ISFDB might help you here, in that you can look at likely story titles and see what collection/magazine they were published in. Unfortunately I don't recognize either of those stories, though I've read a good chunk of Silverberg.
Hobnob fucked around with this message at 04:26 on Apr 13, 2011 |
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Apr 13, 2011 04:23
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Yeah, I was scanning that earlier. Unfortunately both authors have done an absolute ton of short fiction work and ISFDB doesn't seem to provide summaries of the stories.
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Apr 13, 2011 04:30
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Hieronymous Alloy posted:Two sci-fi books I read when I was a kid and then they got ripped up and discarded by some family members due to Family Drama. I finally figured these out. Wine of the Dreamers and Ballroom of the Skies by John D. McDonald.
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Apr 13, 2011 04:39
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-Blackadder- posted:I have two short-fiction sci-fi stories I'm trying to remember. I know who the authors are so that should make it a lot easier.
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Apr 13, 2011 09:41
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Engelbrecht posted:I remember a Richard Christian Matheson about a jogger who gets so into the zone he basically runs his feet off, but no pursuing monster. Could it be that, or was it definitely his dad and a monster? It's been a while since I read it so it's certainly possible that I made up the monster part over time. If you can track down the title I'll try to find the text and see if it matches up with what I remember reading. EDIT: Think I found it. And yeah, you were right, it is his son and there's no monster. Thanks! Anyone have any idea about the Silverberg one? -Blackadder- fucked around with this message at 18:21 on Apr 13, 2011 |
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Apr 13, 2011 18:10
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-Blackadder- posted:It's been a while since I read it so it's certainly possible that I made up the monster part over time. If you can track down the title I'll try to find the text and see if it matches up with what I remember reading. Ed: wups, beaten while I was rummaging! The Silverberg rings vague bells; I'll see if anything surfaces from memory.
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Apr 13, 2011 18:24
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I'm hoping someone can help me find the name of this book. I heard about it sometime ago and wanted to read it, but I forgot the name and haven't been able to find it since. It was about a group of aliens who are bad at fighting wars. They are at war with an alien race who is very aggressive and they are losing. The group of aliens discover humanity and determining us to be a war like species uplift humanity in exchange for fighting for them. Anyone have any ideas what I'm talking about?
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Apr 15, 2011 17:07
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katka posted:I'm hoping someone can help me find the name of this book. I heard about it sometime ago and wanted to read it, but I forgot the name and haven't been able to find it since. It's a trilogy by Alan Dean Foster I believe, http://www.amazon.com/Call-Arms-Alan-Dean-Foster/dp/1857235843/ref=sr_1_47?ie=UTF8&qid=1302884513&sr=8-47 it's ok, but it's still Alan Dean Foster
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Apr 15, 2011 17:24
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There is a book out there that I've only heard the premise of, no idea about the authors name or title. It's about how earth gets invaded by aliens, except that in our technological development we missed how easy faster then light travel is, the aliens only have technology as advanced as flintlock rifles, and after they fail an invasion due to our superior technology the human race moves to start building an empire. Edit: Hah wow, I was just about to come back here and edit this out, crazy coincidence. Washout fucked around with this message at 22:53 on Apr 15, 2011 |
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Apr 15, 2011 22:43
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Washout posted:There is a book out there that I've only heard the premise of, no idea about the authors name or title. Someone just brought this up on the last page. It's 'The Road Not Taken' by Harry Turtledove. I'm not sure there's a legal copy online, but I guess a Google wouldn't hurt.
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Apr 15, 2011 22:49
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yaffle posted:It's a trilogy by Alan Dean Foster I believe, Thanks, that's it exactly. I'm not familiar with the author however, is he not very good?
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Apr 15, 2011 23:02
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katka posted:Thanks, that's it exactly. I'm not familiar with the author however, is he not very good? He's pretty much the definition of hack.
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Apr 15, 2011 23:29
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Ballsworthy posted:He's pretty much the definition of hack. That's a bit harsh. I've enjoyed some of his non-series books. I'd call his work the bubblegum music of sci-fi. E: spelling Mister Kingdom fucked around with this message at 16:35 on Apr 17, 2011 |
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Apr 16, 2011 01:09
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I'm not holding out much hope on this one, but on the off-chance someone's read it: I'm looking for a kids book (middle-grade, I guess, separate chapters but not very long) that had to have been published prior to the 1990s. It's about a boy whose parents have to go away for a day or two, so they get this older girl to look after him. The kids somehow end up in the woods in the middle of a blizzard, and they run into this pilot who's also stranded there because he crashed his plane. Eventually they get rescued (by helicopter, I think). ...Anyone? The only reason I'm convinced this thing is real anymore is because my cousin claims to have read it.
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Apr 16, 2011 12:28
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The Duke of Avon posted:I'm not holding out much hope on this one, but on the off-chance someone's read it: It sounds like it could be a Gary Paulsen novel, he wrote a ton of books like that going back to the 70s.
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Apr 16, 2011 16:10
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Ballsworthy posted:It sounds like it could be a Gary Paulsen novel, he wrote a ton of books like that going back to the 70s.
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Apr 17, 2011 00:58
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I'm looking for another sci-fi short story. It starts out with a guy waking up from some kind of hypersleep aboard a spaceship. Initially he doesn't move, he quickly realizes that the fact that he didn't move with out thinking is what saved his life. Something's wrong and moving would have caused his immediate death. The story is about him figuring out in his mind how to solve the problem. That's pretty much all I can remember.
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Apr 17, 2011 08:18
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-Blackadder- posted:I'm looking for another sci-fi short story.
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Apr 17, 2011 10:26
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Engelbrecht posted:The clinesterton beademungen ring a bell? James Blish, Common Time - in these collections. With all of love. Yep, that's it! Thanks!
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Apr 17, 2011 17:28
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