Comments on: Help me remember a book!

Question: Help me remember a book!

forforf — Mon, 20 Feb 2006 19:35:42 -0800

NameThatBookFilter: Sci-Fi/Fantasy with an interesting way of gaining magical powers (not safe for the easily squeamish inside).

On this planet (for some reason I think it was specific to a planet, but I may be wrong) individuals gained power by sacrificing things that are dear to them. The greater the sacrifice, the greater the power. In the (distant?) past on this planet one man sacrificed his family that he loved dearly by vivisecting them and thus gained great power. Unfortunately I can't remember any more than that ...
Anyone with any clue to the book? Its driving me nuts!

By: BitterOldPunk

BitterOldPunk — Mon, 20 Feb 2006 19:49:22 -0800

This is a long shot, because I don't have the book handy to check and the specifics of sacrifice to gain magical powers aren't mentioned in the reviews I just googled, but could it be When True Night Falls, by C.S. Friedman?

By: furiousxgeorge

furiousxgeorge — Mon, 20 Feb 2006 19:55:20 -0800

Almost sounds like Full Metal Alchemist in a way, but I doubt that was based on a book ;)

By: jsteward

jsteward — Mon, 20 Feb 2006 20:08:27 -0800

It's the C.S. Friedman trilogy that includes Black Sun Rising, When True Night Falls, and Crown of Shadows.

By: BitterOldPunk

BitterOldPunk — Mon, 20 Feb 2006 21:19:28 -0800

Yeah, Black Sun Rising was the first book. I was sooooo close.....

By: Astro Zombie

Astro Zombie — Mon, 20 Feb 2006 22:27:51 -0800

Hart's Hope by Orson Scott Card.

By: camcgee

camcgee — Mon, 20 Feb 2006 22:56:04 -0800

I haven't read whatever story this is, but I do remember reading a book years ago about writing SF written by Orson Scott Card in which he describes a theoretical system of magic that works exactly like this.

By: Astro Zombie

Astro Zombie — Mon, 20 Feb 2006 23:20:42 -0800

Yeah, Card describes coming up with the idea in a class, and then using it as the basis for Hart's Hope.

But my students were just as perverse as I was. Wouldn't you get even more power if you killed a child?

By: forforf

forforf — Tue, 21 Feb 2006 04:50:24 -0800

Awesome, that was the book, and BoP you still get kudos because you were close enough so google came back with something useful.

And a consolation prize to Astro and cam ... as a fan of Card's writing I'll have to check out Hart's Hope now.