Saerdna posted:I read this probably 25 years ago. A young boy is visited by Thor who tells him someone stole Freya's apples that the Aesir eat to stay young, so now they're all growing old. He has to come with Thor to Midgard and help them get the apples back, for some reason. When he gets there he plays football with some local kids, using a dead warrior's head as ball (it grows back) and he gets a sword from the dwarves (elves) which glows and grows longer when there is danger nearby. I remember it was really fun but I can't find it "Erik and the Gods: Journey to Valhalla" ("Erik Menneskesøn" in the original Danish). There are several sequels, but I don't think they have been translated.
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Jun 5, 2021 17:50
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| # ¿ May 9, 2024 08:41 |
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A YA SF book i read in school ages ago. A group of astronauts travel to Mars, which turns out to be inhabited by humanoids living in a perfect socialist utopia. The martians look just like humans. I can't remember if they were supposed to be colonizers or if humanity just evolved on both planets by random coincidence. Most of the book is dedicated to the astronauts being shown around and lectured about how perfect this socialist society is because planned economies are flawless and never fail. The martians only work a couple of months a year, there is no money, and everyone simply receives an annual ration of everything they need. Also, in schools children study one topic at a time, so there is like, six months for math, six months for history, etc. This is clearly the superior teaching method, and the Mars children are shocked to hear that the poor earth children have to study several topics concurrently. Towards the end, the astronauts decide to seize control of Mars, which they do easily because the Martians are peaceful utopians with no weapons. However, a group of plucky Mars children and their teacher manages to trick the astronauts and take back control of Mars. The astronauts are sent home, but a few decide to stay, so they don't have to go back to worrying about mortgages and stuff. The Mars expedition is covered up because the Earth governments don't want people to know how awesome socialism is. The End. I remember so many details about this book, but I cannot find a single trace of it anywhere.
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Aug 8, 2021 18:53
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Carthag Tuek posted:One or two short stories I read at least 5 years ago. Don't remember if it was online or in an anthology. One might be a flashback in the other, or they're different stories entirely. I think they were written in English, but it might have been Swedish (they take place in Sweden, or maybe Norway). The second one is almost certainly "Some Letters for Ove Lindström" from Tidbeck's "Jagannath" collection. The first one sounds similar to "Brita's Holiday Village" from the same collection, but there aren't any fireflies. Lots of pupae, though.
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Mar 4, 2023 13:49
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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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I have one of these as well, also from a children's horror collection. A boy dreams that he is trapped in an alternate dimension where he can see our world, but not communicate with anyone. Thank god it was just a dream! Over breakfast that day, his parents keep ignoring him. He thinks they're just being dicks, until one of them casually mentions that they never had children... The end.
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Nov 14, 2023 07:26
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About twenty years ago, I found this really funny parody of Zelazny's "Nine Prince of Amber" on a page dedicated to the Amber Diceless RPG. I have been trying to find it again, but I don't remember the author, the page or any other details. There was a scene where Corwin duels Eric, and Eric compliments the narrator on remembering so many technical terms of fencing. Does anyone else remember this? I have been looking for years.
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Feb 1, 2024 10:52
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| # ¿ May 9, 2024 08:41 |
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ulmont posted:No, but I did find a parody of the entire Corwin series: https://kevincrawfordknight.github.io/extra/ember2.txt posted:I parried his lunge, and he parried my parry. I tried a riposte, but That's it! Thank you so much! For some reason that particular joke stuck with me.
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Feb 1, 2024 14:53
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