Why can't I remember this book title? See if you can help
June 14, 2018 2:28 PM Subscribe
Please help me remember the name of an old scifi novel about an alien that sucks knowledge out of other people's brains, killing them.
It was an old book when I read it when I was a youth and that was over 25 years ago. So I'm pretty sure that it is at least 30-40 years old. The basic premise as best I can remember is that a man (or a couple) saw a space ship land in his/their field and found the alien pilot still alive. The alien looked like a young man and they took him home to help him heal. He accidentally killed them by removing knowledge from their brains telepathically. When he does this, the person's brain shrinks and head collapses (I think). He continued to do this to others for years. He eventually became a very important person but was killed in the end by a method I can no longer remember. It seems like some people forced him to take in knowledge until his head exploded.
I would like to find and read this book again to see how much my taste and interpretation has changed over the years.
It was an old book when I read it when I was a youth and that was over 25 years ago. So I'm pretty sure that it is at least 30-40 years old. The basic premise as best I can remember is that a man (or a couple) saw a space ship land in his/their field and found the alien pilot still alive. The alien looked like a young man and they took him home to help him heal. He accidentally killed them by removing knowledge from their brains telepathically. When he does this, the person's brain shrinks and head collapses (I think). He continued to do this to others for years. He eventually became a very important person but was killed in the end by a method I can no longer remember. It seems like some people forced him to take in knowledge until his head exploded.
I would like to find and read this book again to see how much my taste and interpretation has changed over the years.
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posted by turbid dahlia at 5:34 PM on June 14, 2018