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I'm searching for a book I read years ago in our library. It had a purplish cover (I think?) and the protagonist got abducted by aliens. The alien ship was some kind of freighter and transported other alien species in barrels or vats. (I can't remember exactly what it was they stuffed them in.) The most vivid thing I can remember was something about how the ship's cargo consisted of three different alien species who could somehow fuse together to create an even stranger, semi-intelligent being. The aliens commanding the ship apparently used them for mining, since they had some kind of heat-related power. Then the protagonist breaks open a few barrels and here my memory gets hazy again. The protagonist has adventures with his new buddy, one of those symbiotic three-part aliens he accidentaly freed. And that's all I know. For years I searched but even with the power of google I couldn't find it. I even visited my old hometown again, but I couldn't find it there either. (Our library sometimes sells old books, so maybe that's what happened.)
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May 23, 2012 15:32
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I checked out a SciFi book from a local library years ago, back when I was just starting high school. The book went throughout space and time, jumping between different people and their stories - I never finished the book to see how they all tied together. I can only remember bits and pieces of the various stories, though. I remember there was a ship that played a prominent role in the story, and it could travel long distances in a short amount of time; I think it played a part in a few peoples' stories as the ship exchanged hands throughout history. Blackholes or wormholes or something like that also reoccurred - maybe it was related to the ship? I also remember the cover was a dark red and featured a spaceship on it, though I can't remember anything more specific about its look. God, that's such a generic description. I'm never going to find this book again 
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May 24, 2012 20:17
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Karthe posted:I checked out a SciFi book from a local library years ago, back when I was just starting high school. The book went throughout space and time, jumping between different people and their stories - I never finished the book to see how they all tied together. I can only remember bits and pieces of the various stories, though. I remember there was a ship that played a prominent role in the story, and it could travel long distances in a short amount of time; I think it played a part in a few peoples' stories as the ship exchanged hands throughout history. Blackholes or wormholes or something like that also reoccurred - maybe it was related to the ship? Wild-rear end guess 2: Light by M John Harrison?
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May 24, 2012 20:59
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Karthe posted:I checked out a SciFi book from a local library years ago, back when I was just starting high school. The book went throughout space and time, jumping between different people and their stories - I never finished the book to see how they all tied together. I can only remember bits and pieces of the various stories, though. I remember there was a ship that played a prominent role in the story, and it could travel long distances in a short amount of time; I think it played a part in a few peoples' stories as the ship exchanged hands throughout history. Blackholes or wormholes or something like that also reoccurred - maybe it was related to the ship? I'm going to guess it was one of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy books. Was it funny?
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May 24, 2012 21:24
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Karthe posted:I checked out a SciFi book from a local library years ago, back when I was just starting high school. The book went throughout space and time, jumping between different people and their stories - I never finished the book to see how they all tied together. I can only remember bits and pieces of the various stories, though. I remember there was a ship that played a prominent role in the story, and it could travel long distances in a short amount of time; I think it played a part in a few peoples' stories as the ship exchanged hands throughout history. Blackholes or wormholes or something like that also reoccurred - maybe it was related to the ship? My wild rear end guess: The Ship Who Sang by Anne McCaffrey?
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May 24, 2012 21:52
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Runcible Cat posted:Wild-rear end guess: Cosmonaut Keep by Ken MacLeod?  Hieronymous Alloy posted:I'm going to guess it was one of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy books. Was it funny?
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May 24, 2012 22:32
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I asked about this a while ago, but I'm going to try again and see if anyone can help me find it. I'm looking for a book that I read sometime around the first half of the last decade (so like 1999-2004 or so). It's either a kid's book or a young adult (like the actual semi-interesting novels and not Teen Vampire Genre) novel. What I seem to remember about it is that there was a sort of normal small town, with like a little general store and everything, until one day something happens and weird stuff (and weird people) starts happening. I think there may have been sort of a "modern adaptation of Greek myths" sort of theme going on, because part of the book I remember that the storekeeper sees a stranger who ends up having the same abilities as Antaeus (a guy that can't die as long as he touches ground), and later on in the story another character defeats this stranger like Hercules did, by lifting him off the ground and then holding him till he surrenders. I'm also pretty sure that that's not the end of the novel and there are other little stories that happen. Also I want to say there might have been something about a tree in the town that was important or magical, but I'm not entirely sure of that.
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May 25, 2012 23:46
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computer parts posted:I asked about this a while ago, but I'm going to try again and see if anyone can help me find it. This is a shot in the dark, but is it maybe The Wish Giver: Three Tales of Coven Tree by Bill Brittain? Going from my own vague memories of this book from elementary school and the Google preview, it doesn't really contain any Greek mythic themes, but it does involve a special (maybe magic?) tree and a man turning into a tree.
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May 26, 2012 05:06
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This is a shot in the dark, but I'm trying to find an anthology of sci-fi short stories involving teens and/or children I remember reading in the late 80's. I cannot remember the name of the book or any author. I remember vaguely the general plot of two stories - 1) Teenager finds out that the government is putting mood-altering drugs in the food supply. 2) Group of young people colonize a new planet with semi-intelligent aliens. Humans ignore the aliens attempts to warn them about major gravity event when all the planets align. Any ideas? I could be wrong about the details but remember REALLY liking this book.
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May 26, 2012 06:06
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I was trying to explain this book to someone the other day, and they just looked puzzled, but hopefully it'll ring a bell for someone here. Back in high school, one my friends was big into Marvel and reading a lot of books and graphic novels about the X-men. I don't think the book I'm thinking of was about the X-men specifically, but it involved some people (teens maybe?) who were mutants, and all had a different set of powers. One guy in particular was pretty indestructible; I remember they (the bad guys?) had to kill him by strapping him down and suffocating him. Maybe a plastic bag over his head so he couldn't get any air? It was a drawn-out and gruesome death, unless my friend was exaggerating when he described it to me. If it was YA, it was pretty dark. He offered to lend me the series (I think it was a series, or had a sequel at least), but I turned him down. Now it's driving me crazy. fe: It's not Runaways, but the idea might have been similar. Also, I'm pretty sure it was a book, not a graphic novel.
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May 26, 2012 06:07
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hyperhazard posted:I was trying to explain this book to someone the other day, and they just looked puzzled, but hopefully it'll ring a bell for someone here. Rising Stars, by J. Michael Straczynski. And it's a comic book series.
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May 26, 2012 06:09
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navyjack posted:Rising Stars, by J. Michael Straczynski. And it's a comic book series.  Holy poo poo, that was quick. I guess I was wrong about it being a book. But reading the Wiki article, it looks just as dark as I remember. Thanks!
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May 26, 2012 06:13
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BlueFlowerRedSky posted:This is a shot in the dark, but is it maybe The Wish Giver: Three Tales of Coven Tree by Bill Brittain? Going from my own vague memories of this book from elementary school and the Google preview, it doesn't really contain any Greek mythic themes, but it does involve a special (maybe magic?) tree and a man turning into a tree. Oh my god, I remember this book. This is definitely at least part of what I'm thinking of, although I'm sure I remember a wrestling subplot, it may be that it's another book by the author. The funniest thing is, I remember thinking that I may have been confusing some parts with "All the Money in the World", which was written by Bill Brittain! e: Oh god I also remember reading the "Dr. Dredd's Wagon Wonders" book...my childhood is rushing back.
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May 26, 2012 08:28
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Someone help me. I am at my wits' end and my Google-fu is apparently sad. I'm looking for a short story I found through SA about a distant future where the unborn are the ruling society. Fetuses who are thought of any worth never gestate beyond three months. After that point, their gestation is stopped and they just continue to exist as parasites or 'passangers' in fully formed adult bodies bread specifically for their purposes that they refer to as 'arvees'. I can't find it anywhere and it's driving me insane.
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May 26, 2012 09:03
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hyperhazard posted:
You weren't wrong. Rising Stars was novelized into a book trilogy.
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May 26, 2012 14:03
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ulmont posted:You weren't wrong. Rising Stars was novelized into a book trilogy. Oh sweet, I recognize the cover of Born in Fire. That's definitely the one. (It even has a picture of the guy suffocating on the front.  )
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May 26, 2012 17:38
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There's a short story I remember reading in an anthology. It's about an advice columnist giving trite, hokey platitudes to women all over the Midwest. After a while she starts being more cynical, violent, and angry in her advice and is met by a backlash from her base of regular advice seekers with names like Washington Wallop and Confused in Colorado. I remember it being such a delight to read, can anyone help me?
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May 26, 2012 20:18
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Lake Effect posted:This is a shot in the dark, but I'm trying to find an anthology of sci-fi short stories involving teens and/or children I remember reading in the late 80's. I cannot remember the name of the book or any author. I remember vaguely the general plot of two stories - This is probably a long shot, but is it maybe this one: The Science Fiction Stories, by Edward Blishen (editor)? It is definitely a science fiction anthology aimed at YA readers that was seeming fairly popular in late 80s. I have also read it back then, but don't remember the plot of most of the stories in it so I can't confirm that it is indeed the book you are looking for. Neverthless, I'm putting it out here in case it turns out that it is by some luck. 
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May 26, 2012 23:35
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ivantod posted:This is probably a long shot, but is it maybe this one: The Science Fiction Stories, by Edward Blishen (editor)? It's the kind of thing that sticks in your memory....
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May 27, 2012 00:28
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computer parts posted:Oh my god, I remember this book. Great. I read the Three Tales book back in elementary school (I think it was one of the books on our classroom shelf?) and remember being really terrified by the guy turning into a tree. The memory's stuck with me since.
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May 27, 2012 00:41
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I've been trying to find these books for a while, I read through them while I was in school, third grade to be exact. (92ish) They're a collection of horror stories, the main one I can remember was this kid who lived in a ski town, decided to use his day off from school to go skiing, and while on the gondola he heard a creaking and then a big crash. He woke up with a headache and went about his business. While he was going around people were looking at him crazy and he started seeing people from the gondola with horrible injuries. Turns out he died and he went to see the crash and the cable swaying in the wind. any ideas? There were a few books in the series, and it's not Scary Stories to Tell In The Dark. One of the covers had a lizard man in a swamp.
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May 27, 2012 16:48
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Any chance it was by Bruce Coville? He did a lot of short stories and anthologies, mostly aimed at elementary/middle schoolers.
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May 28, 2012 00:00
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hyperhazard posted:Any chance it was by Bruce Coville? He did a lot of short stories and anthologies, mostly aimed at elementary/middle schoolers. nope, but I did read those as well.
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May 28, 2012 04:46
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I've been looking for most of the day and I finally found it. Even More Scary Stories for Sleep Overs http://tinyurl.com/d2sz9gw
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May 28, 2012 05:31
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PeachHat! posted:Someone help me. I am at my wits' end and my Google-fu is apparently sad. I'm looking for a short story I found through SA about a distant future where the unborn are the ruling society. Fetuses who are thought of any worth never gestate beyond three months. After that point, their gestation is stopped and they just continue to exist as parasites or 'passangers' in fully formed adult bodies bread specifically for their purposes that they refer to as 'arvees'. I can't find it anywhere and it's driving me insane. Arvies, by Adam-Troy Castro.
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May 28, 2012 14:39
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I've been trying to find a book that I read in elementary school in the nineties. It was a science fiction book that involved colonizing on a planet. The only details that I remember are that there was an extremely still lake and there were trees that were similar to graphite or somesuch. They found a way to make cabins from the trees and the fires inside made fuzzy silhouettes of the occupants on the outer walls.
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Jun 6, 2012 19:07
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Was this a one-way colonization mission, and was there a short lived race of moth people involved at some point?
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Jun 6, 2012 19:21
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P.S. STILL COMPLETELY DEVOID OF MERIT
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I'm having a ton of difficulty trying to find a book I had seen a few months ago. It was about a group of explorers who get lost in a rainforest or jungle and are trying to find a city.
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Jun 6, 2012 20:07
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Guesticles posted:Was this a one-way colonization mission, and was there a short lived race of moth people involved at some point? I think it was a one-way mission? It's been a long time.
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Jun 6, 2012 20:35
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VaultAggie posted:I'm having a ton of difficulty trying to find a book I had seen a few months ago. It was about a group of explorers who get lost in a rainforest or jungle and are trying to find a city. Got any other details? Cause... that's a pretty open idea for a book. I have 2 I can think of offhand by Jeff Long and James Rollins.
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Jun 6, 2012 22:34
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kitty-go-meow posted:I think it was a one-way mission? It's been a long time. The Green Book?
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Jun 7, 2012 02:35
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VaultAggie posted:I'm having a ton of difficulty trying to find a book I had seen a few months ago. It was about a group of explorers who get lost in a rainforest or jungle and are trying to find a city. If it was non fiction, perhaps it was the story of Percy Fawcett as related in David Grann's "The Lost City of Z"?
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Jun 7, 2012 05:23
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Crackmaster posted:If it was non fiction, perhaps it was the story of Percy Fawcett as related in David Grann's "The Lost City of Z"? That's it! Thanks a bunch, I've been looking all over for it.
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Jun 7, 2012 06:26
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kitty-go-meow posted:I've been trying to find a book that I read in elementary school in the nineties. It was a science fiction book that involved colonizing on a planet. The only details that I remember are that there was an extremely still lake and there were trees that were similar to graphite or somesuch. They found a way to make cabins from the trees and the fires inside made fuzzy silhouettes of the occupants on the outer walls. Seconding The Green Book, the plants are all silica-based so the log cabins are basically made of glass.
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Jun 7, 2012 07:15
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I am looking for a horror book that I read as a child. I remember it being about two ghosts in a house, one was of a little boy and the other was some kind of witch that inhabited the basement. I believe the witch was the boys babysitter before they died and the murder where she kills the boy plays out during the night in the book. I believe at some point the characters in the book venture into the basement in search of the witch. Also I think there was something to do with a teddy bear but I am not sure. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
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Jun 8, 2012 09:27
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wheatpuppy posted:Seconding The Green Book, the plants are all silica-based so the log cabins are basically made of glass. Sounds about right. It's pretty cheap on Amazon so I guess I'll order it. Thanks, guys!
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Jun 8, 2012 15:31
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Looking for a book we were supposed to read in middle school but nobody did because our teacher couldn't handle us. Might have been a Newberry award winner. I think it took place during the Great Depression, and it was about three kids. One of them dies really early on as they're trying to hop on a train or something, and the other two keep his guitar because symbolism. I think the remaining two were brothers, and I remember a scene where it talks about the younger one doing all the begging because he was cuter and more sympathetic, and how horribly awkward dumpster diving is when there's a crowd. It was supposed to be part of our introduction to complicated character dynamics, because sometimes otherwise nice characters acted like dicks because they were mad about something. I want to say there was a creepy clown on the cover for some reason.
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Jun 9, 2012 09:42
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I remember reading a short story online and I'm quite sure somebody from SA recommended it, however, I can't find it again. I don't remember any of the storyline (there's a good start) but it's set in a virtual world where you control some kind of avatar which you can make look however you like. In the virtual world people like to meet up and have rather gruesome fights with one another. I think the protagonist is a female, older, who chooses a younger body covered in tattoos. At some point a guy turns up with his friends, dressed in a sharp suit, thinking he's the poo poo. He challenges her to a duel but he cheats and uses a weapon called a diamond filament or something similar. She gets angry saying only 'real' weapons are allowed and he replies that diamond filaments are technically feasable. I don't even recall if it's a good story, I read it so long ago now. But I'd like to read it again and I can't find it.
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Jun 9, 2012 21:56
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Cubone posted:Looking for a book we were supposed to read in middle school but nobody did because our teacher couldn't handle us. Might have been a Newberry award winner. I think it took place during the Great Depression, and it was about three kids. One of them dies really early on as they're trying to hop on a train or something, and the other two keep his guitar because symbolism. I think the remaining two were brothers, and I remember a scene where it talks about the younger one doing all the begging because he was cuter and more sympathetic, and how horribly awkward dumpster diving is when there's a crowd. It was supposed to be part of our introduction to complicated character dynamics, because sometimes otherwise nice characters acted like dicks because they were mad about something. I want to say there was a creepy clown on the cover for some reason. It's a banjo instead of a guitar but some googling brought up No Promises in the Wind.
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Jun 9, 2012 22:02
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Beige posted:I remember reading a short story online and I'm quite sure somebody from SA recommended it, however, I can't find it again. I don't remember any of the storyline (there's a good start) but it's set in a virtual world where you control some kind of avatar which you can make look however you like. In the virtual world people like to meet up and have rather gruesome fights with one another. I think the protagonist is a female, older, who chooses a younger body covered in tattoos. At some point a guy turns up with his friends, dressed in a sharp suit, thinking he's the poo poo. He challenges her to a duel but he cheats and uses a weapon called a diamond filament or something similar. She gets angry saying only 'real' weapons are allowed and he replies that diamond filaments are technically feasable. That would be The Metamorphosis of Prime Intellect Link here: http://localroger.com/prime-intellect/mopiidx.html
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Jun 10, 2012 01:04
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