The only science fiction novel I've read is "Contact" by Carl Sagan. Can you recommend me more? [more inside]
posted by tumbleweedjack on Dec 26, 2009 - 46 answers

Origin of the Matrix relating to a Science Fictional setting... [more inside]
posted by madmamasmith on Dec 24, 2009 - 19 answers

What titles should be on a "Personal MFA in Creative Writing Fiction" reading list? [more inside]
posted by thepalephantom on Dec 22, 2009 - 16 answers

Would it be considered "fair use" to pen a satirical children's book based on a professional sports team? For instance, "How The Yankees Stole Christmas" or something similar. (That's not the title I have in mind, but it gets the point across.) [more inside]
posted by (bb|[^b]{2}) on Dec 19, 2009 - 9 answers

How did you get to know the characters in your novel? [more inside]
posted by 2oh1 on Dec 16, 2009 - 28 answers

Help me find that perfect novel for a Christmas present. [more inside]
posted by anonymous on Dec 10, 2009 - 15 answers

I love Bill Simmons' "The Book of Basketball". What should I read next? [more inside]
posted by reenum on Dec 8, 2009 - 11 answers

Please link me to Sci-Fi or Fantasy stories involving God--especially "surprise" God. [more inside]
posted by jefficator on Dec 7, 2009 - 52 answers

MeFites, help! Need more books to read. /book-recommendation-filter [more inside]
posted by titantoppler on Dec 5, 2009 - 23 answers

Looking for fiction heavy on Kremlin/CPSU/Politboro intrigue. I suppose Forsyth would be a given, but beyond that? I'm looking for anything written between 1980-present, but only FICTION, centering around intrigue inside the Communist Party of the Soviet Union during the time of the cold war.
posted by Gerard Sorme on Dec 2, 2009 - 12 answers

Did I spend too much on a book? $325 for a very good hardcover 1st Edition UK (Picador) Blood Meridian, or the Evening Redness in the West by Cormac McCarthy? [more inside]
posted by Bacillus on Nov 29, 2009 - 12 answers

Looking for a science fiction book I read a few years ago. I believe it came out within the past five years. Basic plot was that a guy died and then his mind was uploaded into a robot. I think the main character might have been fairly poor at one time and then started dating an heiress which was why he was able to do the upload after death. [more inside]
posted by sorindome on Nov 29, 2009 - 4 answers

Between my iPhone's Stanza app and the loooooong quiet days ahead of me in the office during the holiday season, I'd like to read some stuff online. Any suggestions? [more inside]
posted by Madamina on Nov 25, 2009 - 6 answers

I'm looking for book recommendations for a young woman who has recently become interested in religion. Ideas please! [more inside]
posted by schmoo on Nov 22, 2009 - 20 answers

Where can I find great works of fiction online or in some sort of text form that I can read on my Mac? [more inside]
posted by 2oh1 on Nov 19, 2009 - 27 answers

I am looking for all kinds of fiction, especially for children, featuring a protagonist named Scarlett or Scarlet. Children's stories, novels, poems, movies, songs etc etc are all of interest. Thanks! [more inside]
posted by beniamino on Nov 18, 2009 - 15 answers

Please help me remember the title and author of a short story I read maybe 15 years ago. A handicapped woman, living with her sister and her sister's family, sees a man in church she feels quite sure is the devil. In order to get away from him, she struggles to regain the physical independence she had given up. (She had gone into a wheelchair because walking was possible, but too painful.) She does manage to become self-sufficient enough to move out on her own--and then wonders if it was worth it, after all. I am almost sure the author was Italian. Can anyone help?
posted by uans on Nov 16, 2009 - 0 answers

How would a psychiatrist treat an adult who was having visual hallucinations, but no other symptoms of psychosis? [more inside]
posted by Fenriss on Nov 13, 2009 - 18 answers

Besides Lost in America, Easy Rider, Surfwise, and Into the Wild, what other films are about people who make an affirmative decision to live on the road? The closest Wikipedia seems to get is Road Movies, which is not really apt. If not movies, what other cultural works of fiction deal with that kind of decision?
posted by artlung on Nov 11, 2009 - 35 answers

Sci-Fi Movie Filter: Trying to locate the title of a movie I saw in the late 80's. It was set in the US in the near future. A private eye or cop was trying to track down someone smuggling a deadly drug or chemical that - when it came in contact with the human body - dissolved it in a fantastically gruesome fashion with smoke and screaming. [more inside]
posted by ninazer0 on Nov 1, 2009 - 5 answers

NameThatNovelFilter: Early twentieth century (first couple of decades) historical novel by a Russian emigre to France, set around the time of the Napoleonic Wars. IIRC, it's part of a trilogy. Near the beginning of the novel, our hero is recruited by William Pitt the Younger (whose interest in said hero seems not entirely professional). What is this? I'm drawing a complete blank, and GoogleFu has failed me.
posted by thomas j wise on Oct 28, 2009 - 10 answers

If I'm sitting on the terraformed surface of a Culture orbital, what does the horizon look like? [more inside]
posted by reverend cuttle on Oct 26, 2009 - 12 answers

Looking for fictional female characters originally written as men. [more inside]
posted by sively on Oct 23, 2009 - 42 answers

With NaNoWriMo looming ever nearer, I would like to hear your best tips, tricks, habits, and techniques for staying chained to the keyboard. [more inside]
posted by BitterOldPunk on Oct 22, 2009 - 26 answers

Book like William Gibson's Pattern Recognition and Spook Country. Near-future, near-science fiction, non-fantasy, non-artsy-fartsy, delving into technological culture. [more inside]
posted by Cool Papa Bell on Oct 22, 2009 - 38 answers

I want to give a book to a young friend but I can't remember the title and the librarian could not find it either. Book teaches about Gandhi in a cool way. [more inside]
posted by CollegeNelson on Oct 18, 2009 - 2 answers

I just finished reading Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld, and really enjoyed it. I'd love to read other World War I novels with fantasy/science-fiction/steampunk twists. Are there any? [more inside]
posted by Caduceus on Oct 17, 2009 - 17 answers

Name This Book: Help me figure out the title of a YA novel I read in middle school before I go bonkers! [more inside]
posted by santojulieta on Oct 13, 2009 - 8 answers

For a person who enjoys deception, what are some games, sports, hobbies, or pastimes that they would be especially drawn to? [more inside]
posted by charris5005 on Oct 13, 2009 - 26 answers

What well-known novels lack any character descriptions aside from names?
posted by odinsdream on Oct 9, 2009 - 17 answers

What's your favorite online fiction site, and did you find what I'm looking for? [more inside]
posted by motsque on Oct 6, 2009 - 2 answers

Back in the 70's/80's, I remember seeing a series of scifi/fantasy books, where the cover art for all the books had a consistent theme of a red/orange sun that figured prominently. What was it? [more inside]
posted by nomisxid on Oct 6, 2009 - 19 answers

I am a non-fiction writer but have not read a fiction book since high school. What great fiction books will improve my writing? [more inside]
posted by Spurious on Oct 5, 2009 - 34 answers

Is this a real book? All I remember is that 1 or more characters could activate some kind of special powers or transformational abilities by imagining the shape of a particular object in their mouth. [more inside]
posted by vytae on Oct 3, 2009 - 4 answers

Please recommend authors who use fiction to convey religious beliefs, a la C. S. Lewis. [more inside]
posted by SLC Mom on Sep 28, 2009 - 37 answers

What is the name of this fantasy book that I only vaugely remember? [more inside]
posted by tylerfulltilt on Sep 18, 2009 - 2 answers

When did it become passé to use quotation marks to denote direct speech in contemporary fiction? [more inside]
posted by war wrath of wraith on Sep 14, 2009 - 36 answers

Can you recommend any good stories/books that deal with unobtrusive time travel tourism? Tourists from the future going back in time to view historical events, or catch a glimpse at a historical person, but not interacting or interfering in any way, shape, or form... read-only time travel, if you will.
posted by bjork24 on Sep 14, 2009 - 15 answers

help me find a particular website that previously appeared on metafilter... [more inside]
posted by thermonuclear.jive.turkey on Sep 14, 2009 - 8 answers

Please help me find this SciFi story I remember reading as a kid. [more inside]
posted by mahke on Sep 11, 2009 - 2 answers

Has anyone ever formalized the proper conduct for the fiction writer regarding his/her nonfiction sources? [more inside]
posted by Bookhouse on Sep 9, 2009 - 7 answers

Short story cover letters: How do I indicate I have actually read the journal I am submitting to , or do I do so, at all? I am a Canadian who wants to publish short fiction in the far larger market in the U.S. Every literary journal’s submission guidelines urge you to read at least one copy of their magazine before submitting. [more inside]
posted by uans on Sep 8, 2009 - 16 answers

Half remembered short story identification filter: A story in which scientists discover grids underground which might be the cities of beings who live at a greater density, and then at the end scientists from the underground city are looking through the documents, having wiped out humanity accidentally just by coming to the surface.
posted by Artw on Sep 7, 2009 - 5 answers

It's time for another round of 'name that childhood story'! Please help me identify a novel about a society that (literally) lived underground... [more inside]
posted by ghost dance beat on Sep 7, 2009 - 7 answers

Please help me remember a book I read about a guy who saw ghosts! [more inside]
posted by internet!Hannah on Sep 6, 2009 - 3 answers

Where does one go to find the best pieces of short fiction available on the internet? [more inside]
posted by titantoppler on Sep 6, 2009 - 11 answers

What are the prototypical or stereotypical plots and storylines? [more inside]
posted by Netzapper on Sep 5, 2009 - 16 answers

Someone I know named a loathsome character in his novel after me. Is this sort of not cool? [more inside]
posted by anonymous on Aug 27, 2009 - 47 answers

I love food, and I love fiction. I'd love to read more fiction with tremendous descriptions of food. Any recommendations? [more inside]
posted by PhoBWanKenobi on Aug 24, 2009 - 60 answers

Please help me understand aspects of the ending of the novel "The Terror" by Dan Simmons! Super spoiler-icious details inside (definitely don't read unless you've read the book, or are sure you never want to)... [more inside]
posted by taz on Aug 21, 2009 - 12 answers