The "I can't remember the name or author" item

Jan 12 15:15 UTC 2003

Here's the item where we try to find out the name/author of the great book
we read back in high school and haven't seen since.

response 2 of 18:

Jan 12 16:14 UTC 2003

Do you know when you read those books, Jan?  Also, were they old or new 
when you first saw them?  

response 4 of 18:

Jan 12 18:53 UTC 2003

I don't think I've read either of those books.

However, in the hope that we can sustain multiple, simultaneous searches,
I offer my Lost Book:  Norton or Nourse, I firmly believe.  One of the
main characters was a telepathic merman.  The scene was a ruined city.
The story invovled the protagonist learning to use his own psi abilities,
while resolving the main conflict, whatever that was.  I remember very
little else, but do believe I would recognise it on sight.

response 6 of 18:

Jan 13 01:41 UTC 2003

I would like to locate the first book I ever read. I can locate it in time
very easily, since it was the winter I turned two -- 1958. It was a mass
market paperback science fiction book, and I have no idea of author or title
(though I *know* it's not NEEDLE by Hal Clement, which shares some plot points
with it). The book starts with a meeting between American generals to debate
who to send up to the moonbase, which has lost contact. There's some
discussion about the rotten Russians, who obviously have attacked it, but they
don't know, and need to send a man up to investigate.  The man chosen is one
of the generals' sons, his background is discussed in detail -- he was found
by the general wandering in the desert when he was two or three, after some
meteorite landing had apparently killed the parents -- and he's okayed. The
next scene is the man in his spaceship, where an alien entity contacts him
-- it's apparently a viral or other very small life form which knows what he's
going into -- it's a cop who was following a criminal fifteen years ago, and
they both crashed onto the Earth -- thus killing the man's parents (spaceship
crash) -- and the criminal has taken over both American and Russian moonbases,
and is planning on using the men there to get back into space (I don't recall
the details of the alien's scheme) -- the "cop" alien had survived by taking
over the young boy's dog and "riding" him until he got the chance to get his
man, err. spore... The only other two details I recall are that the
protagonist is pretending to be taken over by the bad alien and commetns to
the the alien in his head that the food is terrible, it tastes like "library
paste", and the alien says that it's because he's not really taken over, that
the others all probably think it's steak AND that when the good guy alien
prevails, he says that he's given the young man a surprise -- his very elderly
dog is young again...

Yeah, I know -- hard to place. I've tried on the internet (sf.lovers) and by
looking into lists of old books, but I really haven't ever heard of anyone
who's read it. I have vivid memories of the pages and of the scenes I
mentioned. 

response 8 of 18:

Jan 13 05:45 UTC 2003

A Google search suggests that book #2 is Heiro's Journey by
Sterling E. Lanier.

response 10 of 18:

Jan 13 14:08 UTC 2003

Cool, I'm probably going to library today anyway.

response 12 of 18:

Feb 25 18:43 UTC 2003

Guys wat happens in this sci fi chat..do we just discuss books or do we also
contribute..also is there a way where we can talk to each other ..cos talk
and chat seem to be inefficient..any other way..and I'm Venki..hope to be a
part of this group...

response 14 of 18:

Jun 12 22:56 UTC 2003

Hi, gang!
I'm looking for a story from a little sci-fi/fantasy anthology. I had 
it in paperback and I think the cover was blue. I think it included a 
bunch of different authors. I recall having it in 1994, but don't know 
how old it was then.
The story was about a lady who has recurring nightmares involving 
snakes.  It starts with one tiny snake crawling on her, then more and 
more of them until she wakes up screaming. The last few lines have her 
husband soothing her to sleep, then taking the string from his pajamas 
and sliding it slowly up her arm.
It is intensely creepy.
I have absolutely no idea who wrote this, or what the title might be, 
but the phrase "Mind's Eye" seems to fit. Maybe.
My most creative searches (Google and elsewhere) have found nothing 
useful.
Anyone?

response 16 of 18:

Sep 7 10:06 UTC 2003

#1 is "Star Bridge" from Jack Williamson & James E. Gunn. It is a 1955 novel
that should still be available from Macmillan back order catalog. However,
I am unable to tell you which specific edition had the cover you described.
I have no idea about item 2 neither.
Hope this helps.

response 18 of 18:

Mar 31 00:20 UTC 2005

I have another for oyu.  This is a short-lived comic book series from the
mid-1980s.  It may have only been an Australian comic.

It featured three metallic, apparently roobtic beings (drawn to look much like
Maria from ``Metropolis.'') The robots referred to themselves as
``goddesses.''

The leader was silver and all three could fly through the air in very
acrobatic motions.

In the issue I particularly remmeber, one of the trio is missing and the other
two must search for it.  They are on an unknown planet.

IS this series familiar to anyone?  I have hunted Google relentlessly
forinfomration about it.

Any help much appreciated.