Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with book and sciencefiction

I'm looking for help finding a science-fiction novel about unemployed people who adopt insects.

thehmsbeagle — Sat, 01 Dec 2012 20:58:24 -0800

Help me find this dimly-remembered SF novel, if you please. Near-future dystopia, high unemployment, unemployed people are treated in humiliating ways, they adopt mysterious insects as pets, the insects give off calming pheromones. More poorly-remembered details inside, one of them NSFW. A decade or more ago, I read part of a science-fiction novel I'd like to find again. I remember brief bits of the book that are so weird my googling isn't doing much.

*I think it's set in the US, in a relatively near future.

*There is high unemployment. The unemployed are given various benefits, but everything comes with a catch and some humiliation: you're encouraged to sell off everything you own of any value, you're given a card to use the transit system for free, but you're not supposed to use it when the gainfully employed are traveling, etc. (I vaguely remember that this was part of a plan to make the unemployed ever more reliant on the government, but that could be wrong.)

*People start keeping biggish praying mantis-like insects as pets. I think the insects just randomly appear. The insects may give off calming pheromones.

*I think one of the main characters was an unemployed lady who rented her brain out to researchers from time to time. While they were doing their research, she would watch movies she had previously loaded into her brain. The movies were very specific in subject matter. I remember that she was into movies about two women finding an injured male hitchhiker and taking care of him, and she had loaded two or three of these movies.

*A female character (may or may not be the same one above) goes on a trip and, while staying in a hotel room, visits a local convenience store, where she buys an artificial penis and a container of artificial semen (for the post-sex euphoria, apparently).

Any ideas? Thank you!

Sci-fi books with nanochips from the 80s/90s

eloeth-starr — Sun, 07 Oct 2012 03:33:21 -0800

[book-filter] Need help tracking down a sci-fi novel(s) read in the late 80's or 90's containing special abilities provided by nanochips. Asking for a friend!
There were a series of 2 or 3 (more?) by the same author.

Possible plot points: injecting nanochips into people to give them special abilities; on the run using tiny supercomputers that needed to be connected to a tap of running water to keep them cool (there may have been biological based computers as well?); main character wearing a thermally sealed suit so that he could bypass infrared security systems but it had a limited life as the heat absorption built up and would eventually have to vent steam out the back; in the last book i read there was a spaceship to Jupiter to communicate with gaseous lifeforms floating in the atmosphere there.

Hope that's enough clues to start the hunt...

Better living through alchemy.

curious nu — Sun, 22 Jul 2012 16:20:00 -0800

Looking for alternate science and/or space fiction. I recently re-read Celestial Matters and enjoyed it immensely. I'm looking for other stories that use fictional/ancient science as a base. I'd also like to read some stories that treat space as, well, something Verne-y; breathable air and so on. These don't have to be in the same story, and short stories, online fiction, et cetera are all fine too.

"To scree" or not "to scree" - that is the question

googly — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 07:17:11 -0800

[Asking for a friend]: There is some sci-fi book I read at some point which I think was famous enough to be known by lots of folks in which the term "to scree" or "to skry" (or something very similar) was used to see the contents of people's minds (?) or the future (?). Help. Whats the actual term? And, what is the book and or series and or author?

Does anyone know the title of this science fiction book?

Poet_Lariat — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 23:43:06 -0800

Please help me recall the title of a young adult novel science fiction that was a favorite of mine as a child OK Here is what I recall: the novel was about the daughter of a woman that was part of an experiment to go into another dimension. The protagonists name was Meg I believe. The experiment involved cooling a cube down to absolute zero . Everyone who went into the chamber and looked at the cube went insane except for the protagonists mom who developed the ability to "twist" into another dimension after looking at the cube and move about and come out in a different place in our world.

The daughter inherited the ability and was taught how to twist into the other dimension by her mom. Both the daughter and the mom were being sought after by the government (or some nefarious corporation) in order to use their ability but the mom just pretended that she could no longer twist . The book taught me the word tessaract (I had to look it up when I was a kid) and it was a fave of mine but I can no longer recall the title. Does anyone remember this book? Thank you !

The name of the book is: ?

oceanjesse — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 15:39:18 -0800

Fiction filter: A science fiction book I recall reading in my youth involved a cabin or shed in which time goes by several times faster inside rather than outside. Something like a week goes by after spending the night in this room. I recall the main character finding old biscuits from a military era as well. What is the title and author of this book? I can't for the life of me recall.

Forgotten book request

KirkpatrickMac — Sat, 23 Apr 2011 05:10:37 -0800

Searching for the name of a (trilogy? or longer?) of SF/Fantasy books I read in the late 1980s or early 1990s. What I can remember: a time portal was found that could send people back tens of thousands of years - but it was only one way with no way back to the present. The portal was set up as a commercial enterprise for people looking for the ultimate vacation. Once people travelled through, they were met at the far end by a group of aliens (?) that had built a civilisation in prehistoric Earth and used the humans as labour, controlling (?) them via a necklace (torus?) placed on them when they arrived (there were a range of necklaces - bronze upwards, depending on the human's ability to use the power in the necklace) The books told the story of one group of travellers - I remember one in particular who managed to overpower / use the necklace for his own ends and ended up having control over the aliens, another had immense power and ended up on a trail of destruction.

I can recollect some of the conclusions of the overall story, but as this would be a complete spoiler if you've never read the books, memail me if you want this extra information.

Can you name this 1970s sci-fi novel?

rednikki — Sat, 05 Mar 2011 12:23:31 -0800

BookFilter: Help me find this formative (but possibly terrible) 1970s sci-fi book I read in my youth! Way back in the day, my grandma had a bunch of science fiction books she'd bought with the cover ripped off at the local drug store. I don't know the title of this book, and I'm not sure I ever did. I read it when I was 8 or 9, and thus much of what I remember is vague. It seemed pretty awesome at the time - but I was 8, so what did I know? I would like to read it again and see what I think of it now.

Basic plot: residents of Earth (I'm pretty sure it's Earth and not just an Earth-like planet) have a very primitive lifestyle - and I THINK they live in caves. This could be either post-apocalyptic or pre-historic; not sure which.

A comet swings by Earth; the residents are humanoids but super-advanced space explorers - possibly originally from Earth.

If I recall correctly (and that is something of an if), one of the comet-dwellers went down to Earth and wound up bringing back a female cave-dweller with him to the comet. She is originally pretty freaked out (I think she even thinks he's a god). I know she also thinks that he is strange because compared to her people he is relatively hairless and (possibly) effeminate. He manages to teach her to interact with his culture, but many of his people look at her as nothing more than an animal.

If I recall correctly, she is eventually impregnated by the comet person. I believe that Bad Things Happen as a result. Part of the issue is that seeing where the Comet People live means she can't integrate with her own culture, but she's also an outcast among the Comet People.

Another thing, which may be helpful, is that one of the secondary characters is named either Brun or Broud. I believe he is one of the cave-dwellers. That stuck in my head because there is a character of the same name in Clan of the Cave Bear, and it made me think of the cave-dwellers as Neanderthals when they may not have been.

I am nigh-positive that this book was from the 1970s, but it could have also been from the late 1960s or early 1980s.

Can you identify a long-forgotten book from my childhood?

easy, lucky, free — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 14:17:47 -0800

[childhood book filter] Can you identify this science-fiction book I read as a child? As a kid, I read a science-fiction book which I really enjoyed, but I've forgotten the title. If I provide some vague details, can you fill in the rest?

I believe the protagonist was a teenage boy. He might have been Australian, and his name might have started with a J. I seem to recall that he lived with relatives other than his parents. One night, he wakes up to see that a flying saucer has landed in his backyard. There was a vivid description of his approaching the window to see this massive silver craft on the back lawn, I think. He goes to investigate and is transported...somewhere.

I probably read this book between 1995 and 1997, but I have a vague sense that it was "old" then, which could mean it was published long before I came upon it. It could also mean that I was seven and anything older than I was felt positively antiquated.

Also noteworthy is the fact that I was a rather precocious reader and read anything I could find. I was checking out books from the "grownup" section of the library by first grade, so the book in question may not be a young adult title.

If you can help me, I'll be forever grateful! :)

Help me identify a pulp sci-fi/fantasy book from around the 1970's

dadici — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 11:46:28 -0800

Help me identify a pulp sci-fi/fantasy book from around the 1970's w/a male protagonist who ends up in a fantasy land and can "shift" objects to make them appear when he needs them. Identifying characteristics:
Main character is an adult male who lives in the real world in a boarding house. He "shifts" himself into a fantasy realm. There is a princess and a pretender to the throne who wants to marry the princess. There is also a wizard/advisor.

If the main character doesn't "know" that something isn't there he can make it appear - ie. if he checks his right pocket for a key and it isn't there he can focus hard on the "fact" that it IS in his left pocket and when he reaches in it will be there.

There is a scene where he's in a secret passage and he reaches onto a shelf in the dark, doesn't find a key and focuses and reaches further and the key is there.

There is a desert, and at some point he makes a dragon or dinosaur appear in the desert.

The wizard/advisor is NOT from the land they're in, and uses a modern telephone at some point, in the end it turns out that the main character is the lost prince from this land.

Identify a science fiction/fantasy novel from the 1980s, possibly YA, where they lived in the trees and where talk of killing others was taboo?

tomboko — Mon, 27 Dec 2010 20:02:28 -0800

Can you identify this book? I read it in the mid-1980s. It may or may not have been a YA (Young Adult) title. The protagonist was a young girl, and her society lived peacefully up in the trees. She was interested in seeing the world down on the surface. There may have been another society down there. At one point she lost her temper with someone (a pet?) and blurted out something like "I would like to dead you!" at which her family was shocked and horrified at her violent thoughts. I particularly remember being struck by that part, that she understood the concept of killing but didn't know the verb. That's all I can recall. Can anyone help identify this book? I'd like to read it again. I have tried searching Google Books for variants of what I remember her saying, but no luck. Many thanks in advance!

What is the title of this Science Fiction book I read many years ago?

kyrademon — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 17:26:43 -0800

I'm trying to find the title of a specific Science Fiction book with a pre-Matrix "everyone is living in a computer simulation" plot. I think I read this more than 15 years ago, although I could be wrong about that. What I remember about it:

1) A woman learns that she can teleport and do all kinds of other strange stuff. Eventually she meets a man who can do the same thing.

2) They eventually learn that everyone now lives in a computer simulation, and that some other people also know this and have taken on the role of programmers. The programmers find them, ask them to stop using up so much processing power, and invite them to join.

3) One of the programmers is working on recreating food. He is currently working on cheese, and will claim to have cloned a cow if he succeeds, at which point he expects to get the Medal of Honor from the French.

4) Sainte-Chapelle is an important place for the characters.

5) Towards the end of the book, the woman finds out that some green scuzz is growing on the solar panels in the real world (all the plants were supposed to be dead), and has to operate a Waldo to clean them off. They realize that the world is probably doomed, and may have been a bad idea even if it isn't.

Sound familiar to anyone?

☥☦☪ ☬ ☭☮ ☯ ☸✝

Artw — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 15:51:30 -0800

Science Fiction character identification: Which SF story had a sort of Friar Tuck like character who followed all faiths simultaneously and had the symbols for multiple world religions hung around his neck?

Help me find this great science fiction novel, please

cimton — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 12:46:47 -0800

Bookfilter: In 2007 I read the first part of a science fiction novel that I would really love to find again. I'm pretty sure the basic premise was that the book was a historical/academic biography about a famous general or other important figure in a future (possibly post-apocalyptic) America. More half remembered details below! The first section of the book focused on the protagonist's experience in some kind of military academy. One part in particular concerned an important oral exam about history that was supposed to be quite challenging for the students, but somehow the main character is asked a really easy question (possibly because of a conspiracy amongst the instructors at the academy).

The other part I remember was about the main character meeting his future wife in a pub or a bar that he sneaks out of the academy to visit. I think she's related to the owner of the establishment, and the complication is that she's Catholic (maybe) and the ruling government either (1) has a negative take on religion or (2) forbids religion entirely. I think she eventually ends up going on campaign with him after they're -- maybe secretly -- married.

Uh, and that's about all I remember. It's possible that some of the details are slightly off, but I'm almost positive that the book was no more than 5 years old and it was quite long -- probably 400+ pages. There may have been footnotes/endnotes written by the fictional biographer. For some reason, when I imagine the book in my head, it's a hardback book with a cream cover and purple binding.

This has seriously been driving me crazy for years -- the book seemed pretty awesome, but I accidentally left it on a train. Please help me, denizens of askmefi!

Need help finding id for young adult science fiction novel.

hazyspring — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 18:08:56 -0800

Help me figure out this young-adult book from my childhood. It's about a boy and girl communicating telepathically. My massive google searches have not helped me. Here is what I remember:

- I rented it from the public library around 1990
- Story about a boy and a girl, the boy is on the inside part of some type of society and the girl is outside, but somehow they start communicating telepathically
- I'm pretty sure the boy's name was Tomas and he had a shaved head or no hair (I have an image in my head of the book cover)
- He was unhappy and I'm guessing it was some sort of dystopian science-fiction story
- I believe he was communicating to her in dreams

Ok, that's all I can remember but it's driving me crazy because in all of my googling I cannot figure out what it is. The other thing that isn't helping is that most of the time google is interpreting Tomas as Thomas, even when I do advanced searches.

Help me remember the name of this book?

thecaddy — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 18:12:02 -0800

Help me identify this novel that I read as a teenager? So I've been trying to figure out the name of this sci fi novel for ages. I read it back in the early nineties, borrowing it from a surprisingly ample Science fiction section of a beach town library. I remember a surprisingly large number of details, such as:

* While the book is in English, the characters are all really speaking Spanish.
* The ships are spheres, and they split in half with tethers and spin to provide gravity when not under thrust.
* The main method of travelling through space is to use a network of satellites that transport ships across the universe. The ships choose their destination by flying past beacons in a certain way before reaching the transporter, and the beacons are each marked by their own color--red, blue, green, down to radio waves and up to ultraviolet.
* Humanity only has the coordinates for one or two systems, but this one captain decides she (I think?) will try and find whatever race built the network.

I don't remember it being a particularly good book, but it's always irked me that I can't remember who wrote it or what it's called. The details I have are not particularly google-ble, either.

Some other details:
* I think the novel is from the 70s, though it could have been from the 80s, I suppose.
* I read it in hardcover.
* Returning to the library recently, they didn't have it anymore.
* I thought Poul Anderson wrote it, but it doesn't seem to match anything in his bibliography.

Any help in tracking this book down would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

Help me ID this book!

halfguard — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 16:32:04 -0800

BookFilter: Please help me identify a YA sci-fi book I read as a teenager in the 1980s. Full description inside. Plot: a group of boys in a foster home are sent by the (evil) people who run the home on a journey into a fantastic world. They have some kind of powerful vehicle to travel in. Eventually at least one of the boys gains psychic powers. The last part of the book is about the struggle between the boys and the people who sent them on the journey.

I think the author's name was Wallenstein or something very similar to that.

Thanks for your help. Although I read this over and over as a child, I'm beginning to think I dreamed this book up...

Curse you, 70s stoner!

le morte de bea arthur — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 02:15:37 -0800

Oh, Inverted World! Where did your pages go (help me find them)? I found a battered first edition paperback of Christopher Priest's novel 'The Inverted World' at a charity book stall last week, and so far it's been a very enjoyable read. I almost don't want to get to the end and find out what the heck is going on.

Imagine my horror, then, on finding (or rather not finding) two missing pages at the end of Part One of the book!

If you own this book, and could give me a quick summary of the last 3 or 4 pages of Part One of the book, that would be really grand.

Name this children's book

penguinliz — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 08:44:27 -0800

Name that book filter: guess this children's SF book from minimal clues. All I remember about this book is the central character was a cub or boy scout, who went on some camping trips. At some point he finds a small red box with a mysterious symbol on the front which has, I think, several sets of earplugs in it, and he contacts aliens through it. I think the aliens are fighting a war of some kind and he helps them?

It's set in the UK, and I must've read it some time between 1988 and 1998. Any guesses?

Kid's scifi with nothing but potato salad?

eleanna — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 14:45:05 -0800

I am looking for a book from my boyfriend's childhood. What he remembers: kids controlling a spaceship who can't get the food replicator to make anything other than potato salad. Other notes that might help:

1) Boyfriend grew up abroad (in Africa), so while English language, this could be English, Australian, Canadian, or American.
2) This was definitely science fiction.
3) He would have been the right age to read this in the early 1980s.

I've tried asking this on abebooks (under BookSleuth) and through children's librarian friends and...no luck. He's having a really hard time of it of late, so I hoped to find this and maybe cheer him up a bit.

Thank you for any ideas.

Name some good Warhammer 40K novels.

thewittyname — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 12:28:34 -0800

I've just finished reading Let The Galaxy Burn, a collection of Warhammer 40k short stories, and I really liked it. What are some other good Warhammer 40k books? I'd be interested in suggestions for both other short story collections or novels.

Also, I've heard that the Horus Heresy line of books is good, but it appears that there are quite a few to choose from. Are they all good, or are some worth skipping?

Any advice is appreciated. Thanks!

Where is Allis?

cereselle — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 15:41:59 -0800

ObscureSciFiBookFilter: Space opera-type book, wherein a cargo ship is taken over by pirates. Main character's name is Allis, and she has long hair that she braids and wraps around her head. (She is a newbie and is castigated for having long hair in space.) There is a somewhat psychedelic hyperspace jump or something, in which Allis connects it to falling down the rabbit hole. No idea when I read this, though it was probably late 80s/early 90s.

Given the vagueness, Googling has been of no help. This has been nagging at my brain for years-- please help me find this book!

What is the name of this story about waiting? "Godot" isn't in the title.

grumblebee — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 14:24:33 -0800

ID That Story: novel (novella? short story?) in which a man is standing in line. Pretty much the entire story is his experience while waiting in line. It's a future/dystopia story. The man is waiting in line to make a complaint. He falls in love with the girl in front of him, though she's not allowed to turn and look at him. It's a parable about overpopulation. It was probably written in the 60s or 70s. That's all I remember.

Help me ID this book - I only remember one plot point

dyerfr — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 16:28:53 -0800

Single plot point - can you help me remember this book? OK - so I am drawing on the meta-mind for a book I read when I was young. What I remember in addition to the single plot point below is 1) that it was a children's or young teens book, 2) it was science fiction, and 3) it must have been published before 1985, since I think I read it before then.

Here's (drum roll) the single plot I remember:

- children in a spaceship heading for the Cygnus constellation (nebula, 'system,' black hole, etc... but definitely Cygnus).

I was reading a book not too long ago and it mentioned Cygnus - and I immediately was hiy by the single memory of a book - the memory is what I wrote above...

Thanks, all - am on a search to re-read some of my favorite books from childhood and this mighta shoulda coulda been on the list!

Some kind of monster (book)

rbs — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 18:39:20 -0800

I am trying to find a SciFi book that I read the first couple of chapters of. It involved two companies racing to come up with some kind of genetic cure and in the process creating a monster or something. If I recall, it was linked to either here or on boingboing (I asked Doctorow and he has no memory of it). Anyway, it was originally released a chapter at a time and people tipped the author and he kept writing and it was available on Amazon.

What was it?