Books about ecstasy and death
April 14, 2010 10:03 AM   Subscribe

Help me find books about the ecstasies of death, and body snatching.

I'm not very good at describing things so, sorry.

I'm primarily looking for books that speak of the sensations, thought processes, and the ecstasies perhaps found in a human's last moments.

Bonus, if the book also involves body snatching.
posted by past to Writing & Language (15 answers total) 5 users marked this as a favorite
 
Best answer: If you're cool with fiction, Passage by Connie Willis is all about near death experiences.
posted by bettafish at 10:06 AM on April 14, 2010


Hmmm... well, have you read Tale of the Body Thief, by Ann Rice? I think that might have some of what you're looking for. Although to be honest it's been a long time since I read it, so I could be mistaken.
posted by number9dream at 10:07 AM on April 14, 2010


Best answer: Stiff by Mary Roach.
posted by December at 10:08 AM on April 14, 2010


Best answer: Stiff, by Mary Roach

For your specific requests, chapters 2 and 8.
posted by keep it under cover at 10:09 AM on April 14, 2010


Response by poster: Ah shoot. Wikipedia informs me that body snatching is the stealing of corpses.

I meant the transplant of one consciousness into the body and consciousness of another.

These are still good though! Stupid me.
posted by past at 10:11 AM on April 14, 2010 [1 favorite]


Best answer: I Will Fear No Evil by Robert Heinlein
posted by jquinby at 10:21 AM on April 14, 2010 [1 favorite]


Best answer: Peter F. Hamilton's Night's Dawn trilogy. About the afterlife and possession, in space!
posted by HFSH at 10:33 AM on April 14, 2010


Freaky Friday is about transplant of consciousness, but it's a comedic YA novel (and two movies -- the 1976 one with Jodie Foster is better) about mother and teenage daughter switching places for the day, so I'm not sure it's quite what you're looking for. Mentioning it anyway for the sake of completeness.
posted by bettafish at 10:34 AM on April 14, 2010


Best answer: Harlan Ellison's Mefisto in Onyx covers precisely this idea.
posted by Chrischris at 10:37 AM on April 14, 2010


Best answer: Also, Holy Fire by Bruce Sterling explores this a little bit, though strictly speaking it's not really a transplant.
posted by jquinby at 10:52 AM on April 14, 2010


Best answer: Replay by Ken Grimwood is about a guy who keeps dying and finding himself in the body of his past self.
posted by teraflop at 11:01 AM on April 14, 2010


Best answer: Invitation to a Beheading by Nabokov
posted by mmmbacon at 11:27 AM on April 14, 2010


Anne McCaffrey's Restoree is a unique take on this, involving alien worlds and a woman who has been "restored" into the body of another.

Surprisingly romantic, and a favorite of mine as a young adult.
posted by misha at 11:39 AM on April 14, 2010


Best answer: Timothy Leary's Design For Dying, a fascinating and amusing read.
posted by hermitosis at 12:30 PM on April 14, 2010




« Older How to distinguish between ADHD and anxiety...   |   Confusion Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.


Tags

Share