46 posts tagged with book and scifi. (View popular tags)
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What techniques should be used to find the already written future of me?

Let's say that certain phases of my life were already written in a book 70 - 100 years ago by someone, who was either a futurist of a scifi-writer. Let's also say that there are people, who want to make sure - for some yet unknown reason - that I live through those phases and that my personality gets developed similarly to some character's personality in that book. The book would have been written a long time before I was born. Now, what kind of search engines and what kind of search strategies I should use to become sure that there actually is such a book? There might exists traces of revitalizing of the book, if the original writer didn't make good enough guesses about the future.
posted by spctrm on Feb 5, 2013 - 13 answers

 

Sci fi/fantasy anthology book stumper

My first name that book question. It will be a stumper. All I remember is that it was a sci fi or fantasy anthology, I read it in the 1990s (so it might have been older, but not newer), and in one story a woman walked behind the village/city town, between two mountains/hills to a Lake of Tears and cried there for some sort of loss. This is a ridiculously small amount of information, I know, but it haunts me.
posted by Vaike on Jan 4, 2013 - 11 answers

A scifi book about kids who traveled to an alternative universe?

I'm looking for a sci-fi book about young people who traveled to an alternative universe on multiple occasions. There was something about a power station and the story may also have mentioned a triangular symbol. It turns out that their switching between universes was limited for some reason. [more inside]
posted by who squared on Oct 20, 2012 - 13 answers

AllSummerInADay-Filter

It's time to play "Name That Book/Story Based on a Few Maddeningly Vague Details, Sci-Fi Edition". [more inside]
posted by julthumbscrew on Aug 22, 2012 - 2 answers

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

[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?
posted by googly on Jun 28, 2012 - 27 answers

What's this book?

What's this YA/children's book? A boy mysteriously arrives on earth somewhere like Tennesee or West Virginia. He can run fast and jump very far, heals quickly, gets along with animals and has no concept of violence, wars, etc. He's taken in by a family who also has children. Over time, they grow to love him and help him, while some neighbors are afraid of him and grow more and more violent. At the end of the book, his people are dancing in the hills/woods near a portal? and the boy invites the family that has taken care of him to return to his world with them. A few more details are after the jump. [more inside]
posted by michaelh on Jun 13, 2012 - 6 answers

What is the name of this blasted book?

What is the name of this SciFi book? [more inside]
posted by BlueHorse on Mar 1, 2012 - 4 answers

Going straight in curved space

Trying to identify a sci-fi short story where I only remember the ending… [more inside]
posted by monocultured on Jan 15, 2012 - 3 answers

Streetball?

Trying to remember the title of a book about...urban football with weapons? [more inside]
posted by Vhanudux on Jan 10, 2012 - 7 answers

Fluffy Bunnies in SPAAAAAAAACE!

Help me remember this SF book I read as a kid. [more inside]
posted by hilaritas on Aug 12, 2011 - 7 answers

Remind me of an inexplosive book I once read

SciFiBookFilter: Looking for a book I read maybe 10 years ago in which a device is developed that renders explosives inert... [more inside]
posted by bullox on Aug 6, 2011 - 15 answers

Does anyone know the title of this science fiction book?

Please help me recall the title of a young adult novel science fiction that was a favorite of mine as a child [more inside]
posted by Poet_Lariat on Aug 3, 2011 - 7 answers

Who threatened to install DOS 1.0 to torture an android?

Where did I read a story that included someone threatening to install DOS 1.0 on a robot/android/uncooperative computer? [more inside]
posted by Tesseractive on Jul 27, 2011 - 3 answers

Help looking for a sci-fi story?

I'm looking for a web novel/short story: sci-fi, underwater research facility, end of society, etc. [more inside]
posted by Cpt. The Mango on Apr 26, 2011 - 5 answers

Another book title search.

Science Fiction identification: In high school (the 80s) I read a scifi book in which (I believe) a fat despondent boy's family is wiped out, and he is sent to either a school or a prison. Someone there makes him run around the perimeter for a long time, until he's in great shape. He goes from fat and soft, to lean and hard. He may subsequently become a soldier. That's all I remember. Can you help me find the name of the book?
posted by OmieWise on Feb 11, 2011 - 10 answers

Identify this book!

Identify this Y.A. Sci-fi book from the 1980's - a boy learns how to meditate his way to flying. [more inside]
posted by dadici on Jan 19, 2011 - 4 answers

Book Identification: Cyberpunk VR Read/Write?

SF book filter: cyberpunk novel in which a virtual-reality programmer discovers a way to make nerve-induction interfaces write thoughts and feelings to the brain, in addition to merely manipulating sensory perceptions. Powers that be do not like, hilarity ensues... [more inside]
posted by lordcorvid on Dec 6, 2010 - 3 answers

Needle in a bottle. Needle in a bottle, yeah.

About ten years ago, I read the first two books in a sci-fi trilogy involving a world that had some kind of accelerated decay problem. Also, there were giant, intelligent ants. [more inside]
posted by thehmsbeagle on Oct 16, 2010 - 5 answers

What Sci-Fi Short Story is this?

Help me identify this sci-fi short story. [more inside]
posted by jstrachan on Oct 11, 2010 - 4 answers

Help me remember the name of this book?

Help me identify this novel that I read as a teenager? [more inside]
posted by thecaddy on Jun 28, 2010 - 8 answers

Name the sci-fi novel

SciMeFi: Strange request here. I heard about a sci-fi book maybe 10 years ago. I remember some general details, but I may be wrong about any one of them. So if I can get any leads from someone here, I’d be most thankful! Keyword: giant artifacts from the future start to appear? [more inside]
posted by scamper on Feb 23, 2010 - 11 answers

You know that book, with the alien blob crystal things?

What'sThisBook-ForAFriend filter: novel about aliens that are blob-shaped and eventually come in contact with humans? [more inside]
posted by jacalata on Dec 30, 2009 - 6 answers

Which four-letter sci-fi novel drives Sol to safety?

Bookhunt: What's the name of a sci-fi novel involving giant engines forming in a ring shape around the Earth? I seem to remember the title being a word with four letters in it. [more inside]
posted by CrystalDave on Dec 1, 2009 - 6 answers

Another world and they still can't spell my name right.

I'm trying to remember the title and author of a young adult sci-fi novel from the early '90s (or earlier) with a character named Alana (or Alanna) and a boy who gets taken to another world. Help! [more inside]
posted by ilana on Sep 17, 2009 - 1 answer

This book, it vibrates

Another forgotten book from childhood. Time travel/survival. Dinosaurs. And yes, it vibrates. Help? [more inside]
posted by rokusan on Aug 26, 2009 - 9 answers

Name some good Warhammer 40K novels.

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? [more inside]
posted by thewittyname on Jun 9, 2009 - 11 answers

No More Maple Candy for You

No more maple syrup candy for you! -- Help me remember this SF novel I read in the 1970s. [more inside]
posted by gum on Mar 22, 2009 - 5 answers

Book about being stuck in VR fantasy game

help me find this SciFiBookFilter- VR fantasy game [more inside]
posted by The otter lady on Jan 7, 2009 - 18 answers

Sci-fi kids book with BASIC code

Childhood BookFilter: A sci-fi choose-your-own adventure book with snippets of BASIC code that would be a complete game in the end. [more inside]
posted by pravit on Dec 12, 2008 - 7 answers

I have a science fiction story stuck in my head.

Help me identify the name of this science fiction short story or novel about a human child of an interplanetary diplomat. [more inside]
posted by shadytrees on Dec 11, 2008 - 9 answers

What was this book with a pink alien spaceship?

SciFiBookFilter: What was this science fiction book? [more inside]
posted by PhoBWanKenobi on Nov 15, 2008 - 13 answers

Help me find a young adults hard sci-fi book about a space medic?

Please-help-me-identify-a-book-filter. Trying to track down a young adults hardish sci-fi book from the mid 80s in the UK about a space medic in trouble. [more inside]
posted by ArkhanJG on Jul 1, 2008 - 3 answers

Some kind of monster (book)

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. [more inside]
posted by rbs on Feb 23, 2008 - 6 answers

What sci-fi book is this?

I remember reading this sci-fi book a long while ago, but I can't remember anything easily googleable. Can anyone help identify it? [more inside]
posted by flatluigi on Feb 10, 2008 - 2 answers

Looking for the name of a sci-fi book.

Looking for the name of a sci-fi book. Man is injected with a serum that causes him to shrink forever, eventually discovering there are universes smaller than atoms. [more inside]
posted by Gudlyf on Feb 7, 2008 - 9 answers

Can you help me find this sci-fi book series again?

Please help find the name of series of sci-fi books. It's about a guy who finds some alien artifact on Europa that helps him save Earth from a meteor. [more inside]
posted by marcocampos on Jan 27, 2008 - 2 answers

My god, it's full of Stars

I'm looking for a series of hardback science fiction anthologies I dimly remember from childhood (sometime in the mid 80s). I think it had a one word title with a number, and the series went up to at least number five. I remember two stories in particular... [more inside]
posted by Artw on Jan 13, 2008 - 11 answers

Dear Internets: I forgot the name of this book

I'm looking for a book: read this at least 13 years ago. (in paperback) A teenage boy and girl are making their way through a postapocalyptic America. It was a trilogy, I believe, and I only recall reading two books in the series. [more inside]
posted by dubold on Oct 3, 2007 - 36 answers

Help me identify this sci-fi book I read

BookFilter: When I was a kid (~14 years ago), I read a sci-fi book about the future. I don't know if I'd like it today, but I'd like to go back to it... [more inside]
posted by qvtqht on Feb 11, 2007 - 8 answers

If it were Chalker I'd know it.

Help find a SF book that my friend can't quite recall, but remembers themes of? [more inside]
posted by Meep! Eek! on Sep 1, 2006 - 7 answers

What is this book?

As a kid, I once had a book about a rather detailed tourist trip to Alpha Centauri, with lots of graphics. Help me find it! [more inside]
posted by Harry on Jun 16, 2006 - 4 answers

Does anyone know the name of a SciFi book that involves computers, rubber golves, and AIDS?

Once I read a story about people who could give a disease to computers. Or possibly they could catch this disease through the keyboard. Citizens with this disease, I vaguely recall, were not allowed to use computers without rubber gloves. If you had AIDS or HIV you were protected and allowed unrestricted access to computer keyboards. Does this ring a bell for anyone? [more inside]
posted by dual_action on Sep 14, 2005 - 1 answer

Book Title Filter

Looking for the author/title of a science fiction/fantasy novel read around 1985. Details inside. [more inside]
posted by jperkins on May 24, 2005 - 4 answers

Name this book: whales and dolphins talking with humans.

On the "I can't remember what book this was..." kick, I've been trying to find a book from years ago that was so bad that it was phenomenal. It was sci-fi that began with the premise that whales and dolphins could speak human languages. We discovered this when a dolphin being trained for the Russian military finally broke and began speaking to humans as it feared for its life (I think). The book then goes on to silly detail about different cetaceans and how they talk (Blue whales being stupid and inarticulate, orcas talking in something resembling old english saying "Ye of the lande" and such - yes, the extra e was added in on some of those words). The whole thing comes to a head as we attempt to make contact with giant Jovian Space Whales and to do so construct our own gigantic robotic space whale with the brain of a blue whale.

I know this sounds like a crack-trip, but I REALLY want to find this book so that I can give it to a fellow marine ecologist as a gift for christmas. It's the funniest thing EVER.
posted by jearbear on Dec 13, 2004 - 16 answers

Like William Gibson

i'm reading gibson's pattern recognition. i'd like something the same, but better. more inside. [more inside]
posted by andrew cooke on Jun 20, 2004 - 27 answers

What am I missing about Neal Stephenson's Quicksilver?

Quicksilver. What am I missing? (more)
posted by heather on Dec 9, 2003 - 16 answers

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