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Humbug Scoolbus posted:Jack Vance's The Moon Moth Thank you; evidently my Google skills are terrible.
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Jun 1, 2016 18:39
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There was a short story I read roughly 15-20 years ago about a veteran of the future who was shot for attempting to burn an american flag because American society had forgotten what the act stood for. The flag couldn't be burned because it was made out of a non-flammable material but he was still killed(?) by the police for it. Google isn't finding it for me.
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Jun 1, 2016 21:46
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Clipperton posted:Taking another run at this. It's a collection (or possibly a couple of collections I'm mixing up) of (mostly ghost) stories for kids, probably published in the UK in the 1970s or 1980s. Some of the stories: I remember this. My version of the book was green and had the doll story on the front cover. More info that probably won't help: - the WWII one involves a plan to bomb Birmingham which makes the kid think of burning ham because he's hungry. It ends with him opening the shed where the glowing mushrooms are, and someone yelling "Put that light out!" - the doll repair was a woman, she took the lovely hair from one doll, and distinctive skin from another. She said the "child" was her niece, whose parents had died. It's an ill wind that blows no-one any good said the other parents, and shook their heads. - it contained an extract from "Dangleboots" by Dennis Hamley about a boy who lives three days out of order. Edit: Magnet Book of Sinister Stories. Sanford fucked around with this message at 03:07 on Jun 2, 2016 |
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Jun 2, 2016 03:04
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BOOM! That's the stuff. Looks like there are a couple of similar Magnet anthologies so I was probably mixing up stories from each of them. Out of curiosity, how did you find it? I've Googled every combination of words I could think of and at the time of writing I was going through the local university's Education Library shelf by shelf (turns out they don't even have a copy  )e: and thank you!! e: hahaha my first post ever on sa was in this thread asking about this same loving book Clipperton fucked around with this message at 05:10 on Jun 2, 2016 |
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Jun 2, 2016 04:15
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Clipperton posted:Out of curiosity, how did you find it? Insomnia? Looking at my search history from 3am, it was "Dangleboots Hamley" that found it, with the cover somewhere down the list of GIS results. There are boring personal reasons I remember that title, but it was your description of the mushroom and doll stories that brought it to mind. Looking at the list, the only other story I remember is "The Parrot"; none of the others ring a bell at all. Still, not bad over 30 years of memory. Edit: I just bought a copy from Amazon for 96p so if you want to read it again, PM me! Sanford fucked around with this message at 10:41 on Jun 2, 2016 |
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Jun 2, 2016 07:29
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DACK FAYDEN posted:I read this within the last few years - maybe part of one of the SF awards packets one or two years ago? The foreigner was chasing a fugitive and ended up swapping masks to trick him at some point or something. Beaten, but it's in one of the science fiction hall of fame collections, edited by Robert silver beef I think. Absolute classic and highly recommended.
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Jun 2, 2016 13:43
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Hieronymous Alloy posted:Beaten, but it's in one of the science fiction hall of fame collections, edited by Robert silver beef I think. Absolute classic and highly recommended. I am not familiar with Mr Beef's work
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Jun 2, 2016 13:48
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mcustic posted:I am not familiar with Mr Beef's work Autocorrect is apparently anti-Semitic
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Jun 2, 2016 14:26
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Sanford posted:Insomnia? Looking at my search history from 3am, it was "Dangleboots Hamley" that found it, with the cover somewhere down the list of GIS results. There are boring personal reasons I remember that title, but it was your description of the mushroom and doll stories that brought it to mind. Looking at the list, the only other story I remember is "The Parrot"; none of the others ring a bell at all. Still, not bad over 30 years of memory. Oh, I just bought a copy too, don't you worry about that. Look at that author list: Aiken, Mark, Swindells, I knew I had great taste as a kid  Going to read it to my own kid, once I've tracked down everyone who told me I "must have dreamed it" and shoved it in their stupid faceI've never heard of Dangleboots so I wouldn't ever have tried that, which makes me feel a bit better about flailing around on Google for five years with nothing to show for it. Thanks again! Clipperton fucked around with this message at 15:56 on Jun 2, 2016 |
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Jun 2, 2016 15:46
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Hieronymous Alloy posted:Beaten, but it's in one of the science fiction hall of fame collections, edited by Robert silver beef I think. Absolute classic and highly recommended. I found the story online and it's very silly to me now. I forgot the parts with the idle rich folks who have to carry around a marching band's worth of exotic instruments to have a simple conversation; or how the main character succeeds through massive incompetence. Still, hopefully this falls out of my head now.
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Jun 2, 2016 19:52
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Added Space posted:I found the story online and it's very silly to me now. I forgot the parts with the idle rich folks who have to carry around a marching band's worth of exotic instruments to have a simple conversation; or how the main character succeeds through massive incompetence. Still, hopefully this falls out of my head now. I read it a few weeks ago and laughed at the image of everyone carrying around a dozen instruments, even if each was only a foot in length or so. I enjoyed the ending, though, where all his fuckups turned out well.
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Jun 2, 2016 20:03
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Hieronymous Alloy posted:Beaten, but it's in one of the science fiction hall of fame collections, edited by Robert silver beef I think. Absolute classic and highly recommended.
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Jun 3, 2016 17:07
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I'll repost one of my old requests:Barbe Rouge posted:I can remember only one part of the book, in which some mages/wizards/magic-users fight as mercenaries for an army against invaders who have mages of their own that they put in a huge box of some kind which shields them from attacks. The mages we're reading about manage to defeat these strangers (surprise surprise). It could be a story, I'm not sure. The huge box is something like the trojan horse, if I recall correctly.
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Jun 4, 2016 07:54
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Barbe Rouge posted:Another fantasy request... Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell?
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Jun 4, 2016 13:15
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Barbe Rouge posted:I'll repost one of my old requests: This sounds a little like the Hell's Gate novels that David Weber's name was attached to. Although that's more about a WWI Era society with a few magical leaders vs a medieval empire secretly run by a magocracy.
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Jun 6, 2016 02:37
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I haven't read neither Norrell nor Weber's Hellgate. I think the main character was a woman. And I'm not sure she was a magic user, maybe she was a regular soldier. There's a possibility that it was just a short story, cause all I remember about it is that one battle with the mages in the trojan horse box. Doktor Avalanche fucked around with this message at 08:31 on Jun 6, 2016 |
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Jun 6, 2016 08:23
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Trying to find a science fiction short story, I almost certainly would have read it in one of those "Year's Best SciFi" anthologies There were three sort of world-ships, don't remember where/why there were going. The ship that the story is set on had experienced an accident or uprising that had shut off the bridge and the ships control center a very long time pre-story. I think I also remember that there was some kind of damage to the ship, specifically the gravity system. Anyways, over time the passengers lost a lot of knowledge about the ship/mission and depending on what part of the ship they were in people sort of evolved differently into what were basically fantasy races - closer to the gravity core they were twisted and dwarf-like, further away they were skinny and elfish. All I remember about the plot was that the protagonist needed to get onto the sealed bridge. Protagonist had to find one of the original officers who still had access codes to open it, and he thought that this officer was some kind of mage/wizard
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Jun 6, 2016 16:28
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John Cenas Jorts posted:Trying to find a science fiction short story, I almost certainly would have read it in one of those "Year's Best SciFi" anthologies Hull Zero Three by Greg Bear? If it's not that then the premise is remarkably similar. Echo Cian fucked around with this message at 16:54 on Jun 6, 2016 |
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Jun 6, 2016 16:51
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It's also a similar premise to Heinlein's "Orphans of the Sky", but that didn't have any of the fantasy race stuff, just Mutants.
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Jun 6, 2016 17:49
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Nope, neither of the above
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Jun 7, 2016 00:44
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Echo Cian posted:Hull Zero Three by Greg Bear? Have you read Hull Zero Three? 
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Jun 7, 2016 07:27
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'Mayflower II', Stephen Baxter? Try this: http://www.infinityplus.co.uk/nonfiction/mayfloweromega.htm edit: was in the Dozois Year's Best SF 22. Unkempt fucked around with this message at 15:40 on Jun 7, 2016 |
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Jun 7, 2016 14:01
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Hedrigall posted:Have you read Hull Zero Three? Yes and it shared almost all of those points except the wizard thing. Their description did leave out the batshit ending, though, and I missed that it was a short story. Oh well.
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Jun 7, 2016 15:27
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Hydronium posted:Hopefully someone can help me identify this book that I barely remember.... the main character is a lonely (female?) nerd who loves Ray Harryhausen movies, and may have a cat or dog named Harryhausen. Is it This Must Be The Place by Kate Racculia?
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Jun 8, 2016 16:11
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I've been trying for a long time to identify this book, but the name of it escapes me and all my googling comes up negative. As far as I recall, it's a study conducted by a doctor who recorded himself while high on LSD (or some other mind altering drug) and describing what he sees and experiences to better understand the brain on mind altering substances. Does anyone remember something like this? I've been intrigued for a long time but I can never seem to recall what it's actually titled.
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Jun 17, 2016 19:22
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Side Effects posted:I've been trying for a long time to identify this book, but the name of it escapes me and all my googling comes up negative. As far as I recall, it's a study conducted by a doctor who recorded himself while high on LSD (or some other mind altering drug) and describing what he sees and experiences to better understand the brain on mind altering substances. Does anyone remember something like this? I've been intrigued for a long time but I can never seem to recall what it's actually titled. The first thing that comes to mind is Aldous Huxley's The Doors of Perception, but he was not a doctor so if it was definitely a more scientific, empirically minded study that might not be a match. Maybe look through the titles here and see if anything stands out: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychedelic_literature
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Jun 17, 2016 20:46
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Side Effects posted:I've been trying for a long time to identify this book, but the name of it escapes me and all my googling comes up negative. As far as I recall, it's a study conducted by a doctor who recorded himself while high on LSD (or some other mind altering drug) and describing what he sees and experiences to better understand the brain on mind altering substances. Does anyone remember something like this? I've been intrigued for a long time but I can never seem to recall what it's actually titled. I don't think these fit exactly what you've described, but have a look. LSD, My Problem Child, by Albert Hofmann The Psychedelic Experience by Drs. Timothy Leary and Ram Dass
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Jun 18, 2016 03:54
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Side Effects posted:I've been trying for a long time to identify this book, but the name of it escapes me and all my googling comes up negative. As far as I recall, it's a study conducted by a doctor who recorded himself while high on LSD (or some other mind altering drug) and describing what he sees and experiences to better understand the brain on mind altering substances. Does anyone remember something like this? I've been intrigued for a long time but I can never seem to recall what it's actually titled. Could it have been John Lilly's The Center of the Cyclone?
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Jun 18, 2016 13:30
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Selachian posted:Could it have been John Lilly's The Center of the Cyclone? f,b This guy also gave LSD to dolphins to see if it would help them communicate. Turns out, not so much.
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Jun 19, 2016 20:29
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Thanks everyone for the suggestions! I don't think any of them are exactly what I'm remembering - as far as I can recall, the book was an exact transcription of the tapes he recorded during his trip while his partner asked him questions and published sometime in the 50s or 60s - but it's possible that I might be combining a few different books or forgetting some details. I'm going to go see if any of them are available at the library. Thanks again!
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Jun 19, 2016 22:18
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Side Effects posted:Thanks everyone for the suggestions! I don't think any of them are exactly what I'm remembering - as far as I can recall, the book was an exact transcription of the tapes he recorded during his trip while his partner asked him questions and published sometime in the 50s or 60s - but it's possible that I might be combining a few different books or forgetting some details. I'm going to go see if any of them are available at the library. Thanks again! If your memory is really playing silly buggers with you, you might check into Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. That book involves narrating a drug-fueled road trip. I guess there's a 1% chance you could be misremembering badly enough for that book to be a possibility.
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Jun 20, 2016 01:09
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My googlefu has failed me on this one. A friend described a random book to me but couldn't remember the name, description is as follows: "It would have been published no later than 2000, and was Hunger Game-esque. Instead of World Wars, each nation has a champion that fights in an olympic game every four years, and the last man standing wins and his nation runs the UN for the next four years."
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Jun 22, 2016 07:14
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When I was a kid I remember a series of maze books that had 3 characters and each maze or puzzle would have 3 problems or paths with different difficulties. I believe it was sold through schoolastic. The characters each had a primary color associated with them. Does anyone know what that might of been titled?
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Jun 22, 2016 19:47
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Abyss posted:My googlefu has failed me on this one. A friend described a random book to me but couldn't remember the name, description is as follows: Not a book, but this is the plot of the anime G Gundam. Were there giant robots involved?
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Jun 22, 2016 21:17
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Added Space posted:Not a book, but this is the plot of the anime G Gundam. Were there giant robots involved? No idea, I think he had to have gotten the description wrong. The plot is familiar to some dystopian short stories I've read, but nothing involves the UN or a futuristic version of it. I spent a couple of hours looking for it, but found nothing. I think I'll just suspend the search, after-all, if I as a librarian can't find it, it probably doesn't want to be found.
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Jun 22, 2016 22:19
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Trying to find this one book I read as a kid and remember being really great, and I'm wondering if it holds up all these years later. All I really remember is that it was about a guy who finds the body of a dead alien, but the alien is still somehow conscious and able to talk to him, telepathically I think. They go on a road trip, if I recall correctly. Not much info, I know. But I figure dead alien who can still talk and goes on road trips can't be the premise of too many novels.
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Jun 23, 2016 04:13
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Salt Fish posted:When I was a kid I remember a series of maze books that had 3 characters and each maze or puzzle would have 3 problems or paths with different difficulties. I believe it was sold through schoolastic. The characters each had a primary color associated with them. Does anyone know what that might of been titled? My first instinct was Space Demons by Gillian Anderson, but on reflection the color-association reminds me of The Maze Runner. Can't think of anything else off-hand.
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Jun 23, 2016 06:53
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mr. beef
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Jun 23, 2016 12:35
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D. Ebdrup posted:My first instinct was Space Demons by Gillian Anderson, but on reflection the color-association reminds me of The Maze Runner. Can't think of anything else off-hand. I found it! It took me a lot of time guessing keywords and flipping around google images. 
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Jun 23, 2016 15:18
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A short story from an old sci-fi short story collection. A colony ship landed on this planet centuries ago, not knowing that the system had a second sun that came through regularly, every 17 years, I think. When that happens crazy storms and earthquakes and massive temperature spike makes the planet uninhabitable, except at the north pole. So every 17 years, everybody has to pack up everything they can carry and head for the north pole. After generations of this they've lost all their advanced technology, and most people think the story of humans arriving on the planet in a metal sky ship is just some retarded myth their ancestors cooked up. The main character is the only on in the village who still believes the truth, that there's people on other planets and humans came from the sky. He tries to keep the truth alive by telling people but it just makes people mad that he runs around talking those old fables. The exodus to the north pole is coming up soon and the MC is constantly whining that he can't take enough books, because everybody only has so much room for personal belongings and nobody else is willing to help the dude carry books. It's kind of set up like you think he's talking about classic novels, like in Fahrenheit 451, but halfway through you find out he's talking about books like, "How to Build a Windmill" Then this funny looking dude comes to town, and claims to be from a far away village. One night he confides in the MC that he's actually a spaceman, a scout sent to check out the world. The space people are definitely going to come back and help, but because of space reasons it's not gonna be immediate, it might not even be for decades. The important thing is that the MC needs to stop talking about space people. It just makes the other villagers angry, so it could gently caress up the rescue if the space people show up and the natives are mad at them. The MC agrees to stop talking about space people, secure in the knowledge that they're coming back to help Then you find out the funny looking dude is actually just a guy from a couple villages over that the village leader met while at a neighboring village preparing for the northward exodus, and he's doing the village leader a favor by getting the weirdo to shut up.
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Jun 25, 2016 14:25
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