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Captain_Indigo posted:2004-2010 This is just a shot from left field but some of this sounds like William Gibson's Blue Ant trilogy - Pattern Recognition/Spook Country/Zero History, maybe if you read it and got some wires crossed with another book (which is something I've done more than once).
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Aug 26, 2023 02:09
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There was a book about I think a group home where one of the kids is suffocated by a caretaker and I think the care taker said something like "Everyones a king " or something like that? Any ideas? Its a few years old.
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Aug 26, 2023 20:47
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Hollismason posted:There was a book about I think a group home where one of the kids is suffocated by a caretaker and I think the care taker said something like "Everyones a king " or something like that? Any ideas? Its a few years old. A rather misremembered Cider House Rules?
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Aug 27, 2023 02:25
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Stupid_Sexy_Flander posted:I'm stumped on a series that has, I think, 2 books and a novella, if not 3 books and a novella. Turns out to be Solomon Creed by Simon Toyne.
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Aug 28, 2023 08:26
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https://www.reddit.com/r/nosleep/comments/856tjv/i_know_why_we_never_returned_to_the_moon_part_2/ I remember either seeing a movie or reading a book lately that was REALLY CLOSE to this short story. Landing on the moon, creepy moon stuff, pyramid, black crystal, etc. I cannot for the life of me remember what it was though. Any ideas? Thought it might be Apollo 18 but that didn't have the pyramid or the dark side parts or the hidden base thing.
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Aug 29, 2023 05:51
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Stupid_Sexy_Flander posted:https://www.reddit.com/r/nosleep/comments/856tjv/i_know_why_we_never_returned_to_the_moon_part_2/ The Transformers one? Or Moonfall
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Aug 29, 2023 05:58
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Stupid_Sexy_Flander posted:https://www.reddit.com/r/nosleep/comments/856tjv/i_know_why_we_never_returned_to_the_moon_part_2/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moontrap ?
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Aug 29, 2023 06:25
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so im thinking of a spooky tale, might be from an anthology book, would have read it when i was in the 90s (yes im really old  )the tale was about a guy who had to stay in a spooky house or something, might have been for a prize or some other reason. I think it was something like 3 nights? First night he's in the bedroom or living room or idk and some pallbearer guys come in with a casket and leave or stay. He opens it and sees a body so for whatever reason warms him up by the fire iirc, not sure if it was instinctive or he was instructed to. Corpse man wakes up and sits upright and is like "now im going to strangle you!" and guy is like "wtf man i warmed you back to health" and knocks him back dead somehow. The pallbearer guys then return and take the casket back out thus completed night 1 can't remember the others
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Sep 19, 2023 14:19
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Alan Smithee posted:so im thinking of a spooky tale, might be from an anthology book, would have read it when i was in the 90s (yes im really old Fuuuuuuuck, this sparked a memory in me. It appears to be an old German fairy tale. Hope this helps!
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Sep 19, 2023 16:38
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Sobatchja Morda posted:Fuuuuuuuck, this sparked a memory in me. It appears to be an old German fairy tale. Hope this helps! drat the details were exact. I do recall the cats wanting to play a card game too now though not the second tale. For some reason I didn’t think I ever read brothers Grimm
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Sep 19, 2023 17:15
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Short story about a young man who falls asleep/gets knocked unconscious one day, and wakes up years later, older, with a family and a job. He remembers the intervening time, and was going through life normally during those years, but he didn't experience any of it consciously (basically he was a p-zombie. I think he goes through a few more of these time skips (there might have been a specific trigger for a time jump, or maybe it was random) and the story ends with him on his deathbed, reflecting on how little of his life he actually experienced.
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Sep 19, 2023 20:22
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ScienceSeagull posted:Short story about a young man who falls asleep/gets knocked unconscious one day, and wakes up years later, older, with a family and a job. He remembers the intervening time, and was going through life normally during those years, but he didn't experience any of it consciously (basically he was a p-zombie. I think he goes through a few more of these time skips (there might have been a specific trigger for a time jump, or maybe it was random) and the story ends with him on his deathbed, reflecting on how little of his life he actually experienced. Slaughterhouse-Five? That's the only one like that which comes to mind off the top of my head, but there are probably others.
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Sep 20, 2023 16:52
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ScienceSeagull posted:Short story about a young man who falls asleep/gets knocked unconscious one day, and wakes up years later, older, with a family and a job. He remembers the intervening time, and was going through life normally during those years, but he didn't experience any of it consciously (basically he was a p-zombie. I think he goes through a few more of these time skips (there might have been a specific trigger for a time jump, or maybe it was random) and the story ends with him on his deathbed, reflecting on how little of his life he actually experienced. Could be Slipping by David B. Silva?
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Sep 21, 2023 18:27
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I don't think it's either Vonnegut or Silva, though I wouldn't be surprised if there were a few stories exploring the same idea. Might have been online, actually.
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Sep 21, 2023 21:22
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Short story about a man with his wife + friends living in a world that is turning increasingly horrifying, but whenever you point it out the horror absorbs and destroys you. A mashed ball of flesh is your neighbors and if you point that out or react to it it gets you. The guy's boss is an amalgamam of suits and ties that slobbers on him. The moon turns into an unblinking eye. Weirdly hopeful tone as the remaining people support each other.
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Sep 21, 2023 22:34
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Benagain posted:Short story about a man with his wife + friends living in a world that is turning increasingly horrifying, but whenever you point it out the horror absorbs and destroys you. A mashed ball of flesh is your neighbors and if you point that out or react to it it gets you. The guy's boss is an amalgamam of suits and ties that slobbers on him. The moon turns into an unblinking eye. Weirdly hopeful tone as the remaining people support each other. That sounds more like the podcast I am in Eskew.
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Sep 21, 2023 23:51
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Kerbtree posted:That sounds more like the podcast I am in Eskew. I'm gonna check that out but it was definitely a short story gently caress I wish I could remember the anthology
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Sep 22, 2023 13:14
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neither of these are it, but theres a short bit about that in Gibson's The Peripheral, but also it reminds me of a novel i read a while back about some mining robots gaining sentience & humanity trying to stamp it down & they keep sending new machines to fight them but they just get "infected" with sentience. i cant remember its name or author, but at one point in the story, a couple of human soldiers are on some kind of furlough (from constantly fighting the sentient slavebots) in like a little virtual desert town with a bar? theres a bunch of simulated people in the town and i think the main characters discuss whether theyre themselves p-zombies or not, and whether that even matters in the end.
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Sep 22, 2023 19:14
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Carthag Tuek posted:neither of these are it, but theres a short bit about that in Gibson's The Peripheral, but also it reminds me of a novel i read a while back about some mining robots gaining sentience & humanity trying to stamp it down & they keep sending new machines to fight them but they just get "infected" with sentience. i cant remember its name or author, but at one point in the story, a couple of human soldiers are on some kind of furlough (from constantly fighting the sentient slavebots) in like a little virtual desert town with a bar? theres a bunch of simulated people in the town and i think the main characters discuss whether theyre themselves p-zombies or not, and whether that even matters in the end. That sounds dope, what's it called.
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Sep 22, 2023 21:22
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Carthag Tuek posted:neither of these are it, but theres a short bit about that in Gibson's The Peripheral, but also it reminds me of a novel i read a while back about some mining robots gaining sentience & humanity trying to stamp it down & they keep sending new machines to fight them but they just get "infected" with sentience. i cant remember its name or author, but at one point in the story, a couple of human soldiers are on some kind of furlough (from constantly fighting the sentient slavebots) in like a little virtual desert town with a bar? theres a bunch of simulated people in the town and i think the main characters discuss whether theyre themselves p-zombies or not, and whether that even matters in the end. That sounds a little like Ken MacLeod's Corporation Wars books, Dissidence, Insurgence, and Emergence. At least, it has mining robots getting sentient. Crap. I'm suddenly unsure that I read the whole series. Now I know what to do with my upcoming time off.
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Sep 22, 2023 21:56
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Benagain posted:Short story about a man with his wife + friends living in a world that is turning increasingly horrifying, but whenever you point it out the horror absorbs and destroys you. A mashed ball of flesh is your neighbors and if you point that out or react to it it gets you. The guy's boss is an amalgamam of suits and ties that slobbers on him. The moon turns into an unblinking eye. Weirdly hopeful tone as the remaining people support each other. Everything's Fine: https://www.tor.com/2020/07/15/everythings-fine-matthew-pridham/
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Sep 22, 2023 22:04
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ScienceSeagull posted:Short story about a young man who falls asleep/gets knocked unconscious one day, and wakes up years later, older, with a family and a job. He remembers the intervening time, and was going through life normally during those years, but he didn't experience any of it consciously (basically he was a p-zombie. I think he goes through a few more of these time skips (there might have been a specific trigger for a time jump, or maybe it was random) and the story ends with him on his deathbed, reflecting on how little of his life he actually experienced. Fell asleep last night while sick with a fever and in my fevered dream thinking about this post I could only come up with was the Adam Sandler movie 'Click' which was based on the short story The Magic Thread in The Book of Virtues: A Treasury of Great Moral Stories Any chance that's what it was? EDIT: https://www.davidgaultiere.com/the-magic-thread/
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Sep 22, 2023 22:04
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Benagain posted:Short story about a man with his wife + friends living in a world that is turning increasingly horrifying, but whenever you point it out the horror absorbs and destroys you. A mashed ball of flesh is your neighbors and if you point that out or react to it it gets you. The guy's boss is an amalgamam of suits and ties that slobbers on him. The moon turns into an unblinking eye. Weirdly hopeful tone as the remaining people support each other. Dammit I think I read something like this but I just cannot remember it for the life of me.
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Sep 22, 2023 23:16
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Zorak of Michigan posted:That sounds a little like Ken MacLeod's Corporation Wars books, Dissidence, Insurgence, and Emergence. At least, it has mining robots getting sentient. Crap. I'm suddenly unsure that I read the whole series. Now I know what to do with my upcoming time off. Yeah, I think you have it right. Has the humans in the bar part too. I read the first book, and ended up DNFing the second, the story really couldn't keep my interest going, unfortunately, even though it should be up my street.
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Sep 23, 2023 00:22
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I felt the exact same; really cool premise and just boring as hell execution.
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Sep 23, 2023 00:49
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Zorak of Michigan posted:That sounds a little like Ken MacLeod's Corporation Wars books, Dissidence, Insurgence, and Emergence. At least, it has mining robots getting sentient. Crap. I'm suddenly unsure that I read the whole series. Now I know what to do with my upcoming time off. 95% sure this is it, keeping in mind its been at least 5 years since i read it (thats a long time imo)
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Sep 23, 2023 02:22
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Hobnob posted:Yeah, I think you have it right. Has the humans in the bar part too. I read the first book, and ended up DNFing the second, the story really couldn't keep my interest going, unfortunately, even though it should be up my street. the thing about macleod is, he may not be a fantastic raconteur, but hes got decent craftsmanship, and he always writes about one thing: scottish socialists in space so i like to read his books, for that
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Sep 23, 2023 02:29
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It's weird but I feel like both Gibson and Macleod started with some really fantastic near future sci-fi - The Fall Revolution series and Gibson's Sprawl trilogy basically launched my interest in science fiction but as they get older their writing seems more and more boring and it kind of breaks my heart, despite the themes still being interesting.
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Sep 23, 2023 02:49
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Quoting myself from nine (!) years ago. It was never answered:Grifter posted:This is a book I read as either a child or an early teenager. It wasn't even that good of a book, but I never got the actual ending so I'm hoping if someone can help me out with a title I'll be able to find it online. The story is about a group of adolescents who are all the children of genius scientists. Their scientist parents have been brought together on (I think) an island with the intent of working on some excellent new technology - it was either a desalinization technique that would help with water shortages, or some way of generating power from the tides. I just remember it involved tidal forces somehow. Anyway, there's some sort of mystery that the kids investigate. At the end, one of the kids sees the villain doing something bad to the science project the parents are working on (sabotage?). The part that makes me crazy though is that it's never revealed who the villain is. You were actually supposed to guess who it was, then mail your answer somewhere and you would get a reply telling you if you were right. I believe clues were seeded throughout the book as to who the villain was, but I never put the pieces together. Anyone know what this is?
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Sep 23, 2023 03:13
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Less Fat Luke posted:It's weird but I feel like both Gibson and Macleod started with some really fantastic near future sci-fi - The Fall Revolution series and Gibson's Sprawl trilogy basically launched my interest in science fiction but as they get older their writing seems more and more boring and it kind of breaks my heart, despite the themes still being interesting. bolded above, i dont think anybody can keep up in any art all the way. gibson is still holding on, but its not at the same level. etc somebody said "you spend 10 years on your first album and six months on your second"
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Sep 23, 2023 04:49
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A children's novel about an evil wizard and witch who are trying to make a wish potion, so they can wish for the triumph of evil. The twist is that the protagonists are their animal familiars, who are working undercover for the forces of good and have to figure out a way to sabotage the potion without blowing their cover. There is a tense scene where the potion will explode if exposed to doubt, so the character's need to sit very still and take great care not to think of any questions. In spite of literally nothing happening, the description of the character's various coping mechanisms for avoiding intrusive thoughts had me glued to the page (and felt very relatable for an ADHD kid).
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Sep 23, 2023 12:41
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SimonChris posted:A children's novel about an evil wizard and witch who are trying to make a wish potion, so they can wish for the triumph of evil. The twist is that the protagonists are their animal familiars, who are working undercover for the forces of good and have to figure out a way to sabotage the potion without blowing their cover. Der satanarchäolügenialkohöllische Wunschpunsch by Michael Ende. English title: The Night of Wishes: Or the Satanarchaeolidealcohellish Notion Potion. Great book. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Night_of_Wishes
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Sep 24, 2023 17:57
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A Maze of Clouds posted:Der satanarchäolügenialkohöllische Wunschpunsch by Michael Ende. English title: The Night of Wishes: Or the Satanarchaeolidealcohellish Notion Potion. Great book. "drat, that author sounds familiar. What else did he write? ..Oh. Yeah, duh."
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Sep 24, 2023 20:52
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John Lee posted:"drat, that author sounds familiar. What else did he write? haha, exactly the same reaction
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Sep 24, 2023 21:21
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A Maze of Clouds posted:Der satanarchäolügenialkohöllische Wunschpunsch by Michael Ende. English title: The Night of Wishes: Or the Satanarchaeolidealcohellish Notion Potion. Great book.
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Sep 24, 2023 21:36
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Carthag Tuek posted:bolded above, i dont think anybody can keep up in any art all the way. Scorsese.
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Sep 25, 2023 19:44
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Arsenic Lupin posted:Okay, German speakers are now issued 1000 spaces per day, and all of them must be used before nightfall. If Anglos weren't such cowards, they'd use real compound words. SpiderHYPHENMan what the gently caress is that poo poo LMAO SMHD.
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Sep 25, 2023 20:54
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3D Megadoodoo posted:If Anglos weren't such cowards, they'd use real compound words. SpiderHYPHENMan what the gently caress is that poo poo LMAO SMHD. Didn't he catch a perma a while back?
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Sep 25, 2023 21:08
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Lemniscate Blue posted:Didn't he catch a perma a while back? See? That wouldn't have happened to Hämähäkkimies!
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Sep 25, 2023 21:14
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A few years ago I read one (or maybe two?) SF books that I'm trying to identify. They clearly left off with a sequel setup and I'd like to know if my assumptions were right, but it seems that I must have borrowed the book from the library because I can't figure out what it was and it's not on my bookshelf. The book opens in a future where an advanced race of benevolent aliens have come to Earth. They have a mastery of biotechnology, including human-compatible biotech, so they trade their specially-engineered cells to humans. I think they are some kind of special cell that can be used like a stem cell and replace any human organ and heal any problem. These aliens are weird and religious but seem harmless. Perhaps unsurprisingly, it turns out that they are not so harmless. They have received a tachyonic message from the future that they believe to have come from God; this message says "bring all the intelligences you can to me here, at the end of time", so they've taken that on as a long-term quest. When some Earthly governments or spy agencies or something figure out that the aliens are not so friendly, the aliens pull the trigger and attack humanity. All the biotech they gave humans starts changing and anyone with the cells in their bodies gets cocooned by their own flesh and kidnapped by the aliens. Humanity manages to get through this attack (I don't remember how). I'm not actually sure if that's the complete first book and the remaining stuff I remember is a book 2, or if this is all in one, but humans build ships and travel out to look for where the aliens came from. I think they build colony ships, travel to new stars, make colonies and live as long as they can before the aliens show up and attack them again. These colonies build more ships and continue to run. At the same time, the expanding wave of humanity is looking for the aliens. Eventually they find a major alien stronghold, which is enclosed in a bubble of relativity-manipulated time so that the aliens can travel forward in time without aging to reach the "end of time" and meet their god. There's also a plot thread in that second section about humans seeding a colony in close orbit around a neutron star. When they reach this colony, they find that the people they placed there have become super-advanced in a short time because the relativistic effects of the gravity of the star mean they've had a lot of time to develop. Does anyone have any idea what the hell I'm talking about?
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Sep 25, 2023 21:46
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