The identify that story/book thread: Home of the gas pump boy

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yaffle: Sep 15, 2002; Flapdoodle

therattle posted:

The second is a random quote, and I'll be AMAZED, and exceedingly grateful, if anyone can identify it. it is from either a Victorian novel, or one written in that style. One of the characters uses "w" instead of "v" (I do love that - try using that in conwersation). Another character roars at him, "drat you and your "w"'s!". He might even add a "sir" to the end, but I can't remember. From which book, pliss?

Might this be one of the Flashman books? Lord Cardigan (or Lucan I can't remember) is depicted as having a similar speech impediment.

# ¿ Jan 30, 2008 16:00

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# ¿ Apr 28, 2024 10:33

yaffle: Sep 15, 2002; Flapdoodle

immolationsex posted:

That is so messed up, because I remember seeing some obviously made for TV movie that reminds me of your description.

Anyway, here's an easy one for you: I think it was one of William Gibson's earlier short stories; it was basically about this emergency counselor type whose job is to make first contact with astronauts coming back from missions to another dimension or something, who had the habit of killing themselves immediately upon returning.

That's Hinterlands
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hinterlands_%28short_story%29

# ¿ Mar 23, 2008 06:01

yaffle: Sep 15, 2002; Flapdoodle

Lascivious Sloth posted:

I think a book set in WWII about kids who may or may not have discovered an enemy submarine hiding in the harbor. The kids frequently meet on a beach, and the genre is kind of mystery. I think the kids find a box washed up on the beach containing items from the submarine, or some items believed to be left for a spy. I can't remember much more..

This sounds like it might be "Fathom Five" http://www.amazon.co.uk/Fathom-Five-Piper-Robert-Westall/dp/0330322303/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1214281955&sr=8-5
by Robert Westall, it's a sequal to "The Machine Gunners" http://www.amazon.co.uk/Machine-Gunners-Robert-Westall/dp/0330397850/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1214281955&sr=8-1 which is great.

# ¿ Jun 24, 2008 05:34

yaffle: Sep 15, 2002; Flapdoodle

M_E_G. ADI. K posted:

OK, couple of moderately challenging ones I think. Read them both about 10 years or so ago when I was at school, they definitely fall into the very broad YA bracket, one sci-fi, one fantasy.

2. Vaguely Celtic myth flavoured, I remember that the protagonist's race wore golden/iron torcs around their necks as a coming of age thing (certainly there was a big deal made over them right at the start of the book). The other race, of whom they are poo poo-scared of or at war with, are an aquatic/amphibious culture pretty much regarded as monsters who will drag the unwary hunter to a watery gravy. Obviously, this is untrue. The setting is plainsland with scattered lakes and ponds, which actually all seem to link up underground (maybe) which is where the water folk live. I remember one of the aquatic guys was injured, so the protagonist tried to help him and it turns out that his silvery fish-skin was actually protective clothing, like a wet suit and the two races were pretty much identical after all. The deal with the torcs may or may not have been that the fish-people were allergic to them so they were protective, but I dunno.

This sounds little like Julian May's Saga of the Exiles series, but your description lacks a lot of stuff from the books (aliens, mental powers, time travel etc)

yaffle fucked around with this message at 16:25 on Sep 21, 2008

# ¿ Sep 20, 2008 23:24

yaffle: Sep 15, 2002; Flapdoodle

Commissar posted:

I don't think that's it. Did they ever release it as one single book? The whole story was complete, and it wasn't really POV. It was fairly 3rd person omniscient.

EDIT: Nope, not it. Thanks, though.

Maybe "Arthur Rex" by Thomas Berger?

http://www.amazon.com/Arthur-Rex-Legendary-Thomas-Berger/dp/0316091464/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1225078380&sr=8-1

which everybody should read...

# ¿ Oct 27, 2008 04:34

yaffle: Sep 15, 2002; Flapdoodle

TheLoquid posted:

I have another one, though I think this one is much easier and less obscure. It's a childrens' story featuring small brown herbivorous animals that live underneath a city subsisting on moss until they eventually go into the upper world, where we discover that humans are gone but the damage they've done to the planet (teardrop) remains and that plant life, though struggling, is determined to survive.

This might be "Wump world" by Bill Peet, the first science fiction book I ever read.

http://www.amazon.com/Wump-World-Bill-Peet/dp/0395311292

# ¿ Nov 19, 2008 16:12

yaffle: Sep 15, 2002; Flapdoodle

roffles posted:

I read a story/(book?) a while back where it was about how a team of genetically altered scientists were supposed to investigate this mystery spacecraft. Anyway I think it turns out the ship is actually a large chinese room experiment (I think) and they all get mentally and physically messed up by it. (Most/all of them die, i think)

I feel like this was a pretty popular piece of work and that I should remember the name of it but it just isn't coming to me. Help!

This sounds like it might be "I have no mouth but I must scream" by Harlan Ellison (Maybe)

# ¿ Dec 9, 2008 14:08

yaffle: Sep 15, 2002; Flapdoodle

I read this book in the UK about 15 years ago, I'm pretty sure it was a collection of short sci fi by a bunch of different authors, and most of the stories were pretty good. However there were at least three that dealt with pedophilia as a reasonable and accepted behavior at some point in the future. It was loving weird and I really want to know the authors and if there was a reason for this. (I'm pretty sure it wasn't Piers Anthony)
If it helps one of the stories was about a day at the beach with the protagonist and her five year old girlfriend.

# ¿ Mar 15, 2009 13:53

yaffle: Sep 15, 2002; Flapdoodle

fahrvergnugen posted:

Also on the children's book kick: A story about a lonely Aardvark or Armadillo or A-oriented creature who finds an insanely rare coin on the street one day. He manages to parlay this into fabulous wealth and eventually the presidency of the United States, all the while on a quest for true companionship. The book ends with him alone in the oval office, reading a letter that asks, "What's it like to have the loneliest job in the world?"

I have this book, It's "J.D. Polson and the liberty head dime" by Micheal Bond (the Paddington Bear guy)
http://www.amazon.com/J-Polson-Liberty-Head-Dime/dp/0706413814/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1251336918&sr=1-4

# ¿ Aug 27, 2009 02:36

yaffle: Sep 15, 2002; Flapdoodle

It wasn't by Sven Hassel was it?

# ¿ Nov 3, 2010 04:41

yaffle: Sep 15, 2002; Flapdoodle

Thoughtless posted:

I have two books I remember vague plot details of but not the names. First one I think is relatively well-known (but I remember less of it), the second one is most likely incredibly obscure.

2) I swear this was a legit scifi book I read as a kid and not some strange fetish fantasy. (I didn't have Internet back then!)

It's about insectoid aliens and has very explicit descriptions of how they reproduce. One part has the protagonist alien looking as his genitals, which are on his back, and probably masturbating, and it's mentioned this is very taboo in alien spiderland. He gets crushed by something later on and that's pretty vividly described too.

Could Be "A Deepness in the Sky" by Vernor Vinge

# ¿ Mar 21, 2011 13:55

yaffle: Sep 15, 2002; Flapdoodle

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 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?

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

# ¿ Apr 15, 2011 17:24

yaffle: Sep 15, 2002; Flapdoodle

http://sf-encyclopedia.com/
This came online today, it should answer about 50% of the requests in this thread

# ¿ Dec 13, 2011 07:19

yaffle: Sep 15, 2002; Flapdoodle

This might be "Trouble for trumpets" by Peter Dallas-Smith

http://www.amazon.com/TROUBLE-FOR-TRUMPETS-Dragonfly-Books/dp/0679803432/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1332871490&sr=8-1

Good luck finding a copy. (without paying through the nose)

# ¿ Mar 27, 2012 19:07

yaffle: Sep 15, 2002; Flapdoodle

Not really a book per se, I've been reading "Little House on the Prairie" to my daughter and I remember seeing somewhere a list someone had compiled from the books of the things that Charles Ingalls (Pa) is depicted as doing competently. Does anyone know where to find that list?

# ¿ Jun 20, 2013 21:05

yaffle: Sep 15, 2002; Flapdoodle

This post goes so well with your avatar.

# ¿ Sep 6, 2013 07:24

yaffle: Sep 15, 2002; Flapdoodle

NObodyNOWHERE posted:

This is a long shot, but I'm looking for an illustrated children's book that I remember seeing in probably the mid to late 80's, though it may be older than that. The book was pretty long for a picture book and full of large, exquisitely detailed paintings that were numbered and annotated with dozens of footnotes per page pointing out various flora, fauna and interesting items in the background that sometimes expanded the lore of the story. The pictures were pulled back to show large scenes, sometimes in cutaway to display interiors. I believe these included forest scenes and underground cities among others. I think there was a below ground train station or subway at some point, but I may be wrong about that. I don't remember the details of the story much, but I think there was a large scale conflict or war going on and I believe all the characters were animals, possibly yellow or gold bears.

This is certainly "Trouble for Trumpets" by Peter Cross.
http://www.amazon.ca/TROUBLE-FOR-TRUMPETS-Peter-Cross/dp/0394865138
good luck finding a copy.

# ¿ Nov 27, 2014 22:01

yaffle: Sep 15, 2002; Flapdoodle

A trilogy of science fiction books from the late 80's. Author name Wren or Robin or seagull, something that makes me think of birds. One of the main characters took the name Lamb. The society was quasi feudal with a few rich aristocrats who controlled the military ruling over planets full of illiterate serfs. When I read them again in my 29's I realised they were pretty much romances, but my teenage self enjoyed them...

# ¿ Mar 9, 2015 07:58

yaffle: Sep 15, 2002; Flapdoodle

foxatee posted:

Sword of the Lamb by MK Wren? Trilogy is the Phoenix Legacy.

well poo poo, my Google fu is very weak indeed, that is the one, thanks.

# ¿ Mar 9, 2015 16:11

yaffle: Sep 15, 2002; Flapdoodle

Brain In A Jar posted:

An illustrated childrens' book. In the 'margins' or boring space of the illustrations, the illustrator drew little The Borrowers-style villages and scenarios.

I really want to say Anthony Browne but I think I'm conflating this book with Changes, which I also owned at the time.

Could be the "What a mess" books by Frank Muir, they had a lot of weird little people in the margins.

# ¿ Mar 30, 2015 14:18

yaffle: Sep 15, 2002; Flapdoodle

A bit of a tricky one here. About 10 years ago I talked about a book with my dad, as I remember it was about Basil Liddell Hart http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B._H._Liddell_Hart and the allied response to the German army's superior small arms and training. I really can't remember any more that that.

# ¿ Apr 29, 2015 20:59

yaffle: Sep 15, 2002; Flapdoodle

This is an odd one, I read sandkings by GRRM about 30 years ago and I must have read a similar story at about the same time, because I just re-read Sandkings and it wasn't what I remembered, if you see what I mean. The story I remembered was about a scientist who bred or made little sentient people in the basement of his lab, they lived 10(?) times as fast as people and so evolved and developed much faster, I think at the end they took over, but were nice to him because he was their God. Any ideas?

# ¿ May 6, 2015 14:07

yaffle: Sep 15, 2002; Flapdoodle

Runcible Cat posted:

Microcosmic God by Theodore Sturgeon?

Yes, that's it

Thanks.

# ¿ May 6, 2015 17:41

yaffle: Sep 15, 2002; Flapdoodle

Selachian posted:

I would have said Piers Anthony's "Cluster" books but the zoo space station bit doesn't seem to fit.

Is it Jack chalkers "Well of souls" series?

# ¿ Feb 16, 2016 02:49

yaffle: Sep 15, 2002; Flapdoodle

ToxicFrog posted:

I am nostalging hard for some books I read as a child, but can't remember titles or authors. All of these were fairly large, thin paperbacks with full-colour illustrations. I would have read these around the early 90s.

The first one was about a cat with, I think, some mice as friends. The only scene I remember clearly is where the cat is visiting a launch site where they're preparing to launch some kind of scientific rocket; the cat gets into a wiring closet, disconnects all the wires, and makes a nice nest out of them to nap in. When it wakes up it can't remember how the wires were connected, so it puts them back in a way that "looks even better than before" (or something to that effect) -- they're arranged into the shape of a cat's face. This causes the rocket to go wildly off-course when it's launched later.

The second one was also about a cat and may have been in the same series/by the same author as the first one, but I don't think so. The cat goes exploring with its human (or possibly searching for its human?) and finds a massive underground temple complex and a cult worshipping Bast. Another story (definitely featuring the same cat, possibly in the same book) involved a trip to the north pole looking for an icebound ship.

That's the Church Mice and the Moon, it features the goofiest scientists. Everyone should read all of the church mice books.

# ¿ Aug 11, 2016 20:49

yaffle: Sep 15, 2002; Flapdoodle

Maha posted:

A book of short stories, most of them pretty dark and cynical, all having animal protagonists.
One of them is about a dog who's a Buddhist detective. Another is about a dung beetle who works himself to death building a dung statue of himself. Another was about a badger(?) who desperately wanted to find a mate to hibernate with. I think another one was about a bee who ate royal jelly and turned into a queen when it wasn't supposed to.
I must've read it around 2008. Author may have had an Italian name. Does anyone know this one?

None of the story you describe ring a bell, but the combo "dark cynical animal stories" and "author with Italian name" makes me think it might be Pork by Cris Freddi?

# ¿ Aug 18, 2016 19:06

yaffle: Sep 15, 2002; Flapdoodle

Australian, read it in 2000, set in the 1950's: An aboriginal girl is taken from her family to live with a white family, maybe has a baby with the father? It was a very long time ago, it's not follow the rabbit proof fence.

# ¿ Nov 11, 2016 09:09

yaffle: Sep 15, 2002; Flapdoodle

aricoarena posted:

I saw a trailer for the netflix movie the discovery and I swear I read a short story with a similar plot - there is proof that the afterlife is real so people start killing themselves to go to it. I can't remember if the government is actively murdering people or just has guidelines on how to best kill your self. A teenage boy and girl are hanging out and arnt sure they want to do it. I think their parents already killed them selves or are going to soon, I'm pretty one of the kids parents gassed themselves in the garage. I tried to look it up and some people mentioned a paulanick story but I'm sure it's not that. I thought maybe a George Saunders story but I don't see it in the books I stills have, or in Hot Pink which I read not too long ago. Any ideas?

Was it something by Iain M Banks? The trailer seemed really familier to me as well.

# ¿ Feb 27, 2017 07:29

yaffle: Sep 15, 2002; Flapdoodle

Not a book but a quotation, which I can only partially remember and which I cant seem to google:

"the sound of human voices raised in harmony reeks of ignorance".

The only words I'm even halfway certain of in there are "reeks" and "ignorance"...

# ¿ May 10, 2017 07:38

yaffle: Sep 15, 2002; Flapdoodle

God knows, but I remember my father using it and he wasn't really a reddit guy...
That it was him suggests it might be from anything at all, from Homer onward.

# ¿ May 10, 2017 08:36

yaffle: Sep 15, 2002; Flapdoodle

Probably from the 80's, a Micheal Crichtonesque sci-fi thriller set in the cold war about attempts to develop psychic weapons. I think the US version was a person, but the Russian one was a machine, perhaps referred to as a tokamek? A couple of cities were destroyed near the end I think. Had the word Star in the title?

This might be the same book: a company attempts to use subliminal messages to control the population of a small town, I remember it working very well?

# ¿ Jun 7, 2017 04:22

yaffle: Sep 15, 2002; Flapdoodle

Runcible Cat posted:

First one Star Fire by Ingo Swann?

Second Night Chills by Dean Koontz?

Yes! the first one is spot on, not so sure about night chills, but I was reading all the Koontz I could find around that time, so probably.

# ¿ Jun 7, 2017 12:22

yaffle: Sep 15, 2002; Flapdoodle

Hughlander posted:

This is probably the wrong thread for it, but are there any good books from the point of view of people or a society that are truly immortal and have more than 40 or 50 thousand years of experience? I know there's things like Chronicles of Amber by Zelazny, but for all their agelessness it feels like they've only lived for 5-10k years. (Except maybe Benedict.) There's the various Warhammer 40k or DC Vandal Savage characters but I'm interested in something about the fantasy/sci-fi society that long long term immortals would create.

Only other one I can think of is Mutineer's Moon by David Weber but a main point of that was that the people who lived for 50k years were in a totally static society and were afraid to change anything.

Julian May's saga of the exiles has some stupidly long-lived characters.

# ¿ Aug 22, 2017 01:48

yaffle: Sep 15, 2002; Flapdoodle

RentACop posted:

Dude gets teleported or something into a fantasy/primitive realm, heavily "island paradise" tribally themed. Dude gets a native wife, and then later on travels to another tribe where he cheats on his wife with a girl who can't say his name right and calls him "Rob-Rrt" or something. There were also these weird butterflies that were attracted by fruit juice that would drip a nasty acid-poison, the main character is badly wounded by one early on and kills the badguy at the end of the book with a swarm of them

Might be "The Transall Saga" by Gary Paulson?

# ¿ Aug 31, 2017 21:41

yaffle: Sep 15, 2002; Flapdoodle

Tony Cochrane posted:

Science fiction, a very advanced civilisation finds somehow a society that had been cut off from the rest of the universe / culture somehow. The cut off society had evolved so that it was the most extreme example of every man for himself possible, no trust, no such thing as a free lunch etc. Criminal, amoral, and all manner of such things. The cultured society made contact and tried to help them become better galactic citizens but if I recall correctly the book ended with it being very clear that the Darwinian society was going to wipe the floor with the do gooders and take over. I read it about 25 years ago but I have a feeling it is a good bit older than that. I thought it was someone like Fred Saberhagen but it appears not. Any thoughts?

Possibly "The Mote in Gods Eye" by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle?

# ¿ Jan 15, 2018 07:28

yaffle: Sep 15, 2002; Flapdoodle

Read in the 80�s, sci fi/horror. Death by atomic bomb is so fast that the soul has no time to go on to the next world (or something) and has to wander the earth. 40 years after Hiroshima and Nagasaki the souls of the dead of those cities finally reach America to wreak their revenge (mostly on horny teenagers, as I recall).

# ¿ Apr 6, 2018 13:37

yaffle: Sep 15, 2002; Flapdoodle

Runcible Cat posted:

Psychlone by Greg Bear?

Yes, thank you, I remember the cover now, I might even have a copy in the attic.

# ¿ Apr 6, 2018 13:52

yaffle: Sep 15, 2002; Flapdoodle

Runcible Cat posted:

I suspect this book was the reason I�ve never managed to finish any of Bear�s SF.

It�s not his best book, Darwin�s Radio and Blood Music, for example, are much better. Avoid Vitals though, it�s one of the creepiest books I�ve ever read.

# ¿ Apr 6, 2018 14:13

yaffle: Sep 15, 2002; Flapdoodle

There are several intelligent weapons in the culture books, I'm pretty sure there is at least one that manipulates someone from a less advanced species in order to get back to the culture, can't remember which book.

# ¿ Jun 7, 2018 03:03

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# ¿ Apr 28, 2024 10:33

yaffle: Sep 15, 2002; Flapdoodle

Teach posted:

I'm on a bit of a nostalgia trip, and I've just bought Conrad's War, bu Andrew Davies, which I remember being a very odd anti-war story about a boy obsessed with WW2 until he finds the war leaking into his real life. Can't wait to see how it stands up to adult me and my expectations.

I'm now trying to remember a book I read as a kid, so it would have had to have been whatever passed as Young Adult fiction in 1984. I remember nothing about it except the climactic fight between the protagonist and antagonist.

They are looking for something buried in the mud in a river/estuary/canal, and have sunk metal (?) sheets, corrugated iron, maybe, into the water to make a kind of lift shaft in which they can work, pumping the water out and digging in the mud. They're working below the water level, of course, and the pumps are fighting against the leaks, and the scene ends with the fight, and someone gets beheaded (?) by the sharp edges of the well-worn spade they've been digging with. Does that help anyone at all, with anything? Thanks!

This is one of the Borribles books by Michael De Larrabeiti, the second one I think. Everyone should read them they are awesome. Also let me know how Conrads war stands up, I really liked it as a kid.

# ¿ Dec 10, 2018 19:32

The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > The Book Barn > The identify that story/book thread: Home of the gas pump boy

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