I have this amazing idea for a book that has never been done before and will sell like hotcakes. (No, seriously!) But I have absolutely no idea where to start. What do I do? [more inside]
posted by Madamina on Sep 25, 2009 - 11 answers

I'm trying to remember a children's science fiction book (or series of books) that I read about 35 years ago. One had a giant tentacled creature that held the good guys in its tentacles--drawn either on the cover or within the book. The other book I think was called "The Boy With the Power". The boy of the title I think was eventually revealed to have telekinisis or something, but as the book starts, he has amnesia and wakes up on a planet of Alpha Centuri, where he walks by a barbecue, smells hot dogs and hamburgers, and finds the hambergers tastier. Odd collection of things I remember--can anyone find links to the actual books?
posted by Schmucko on Nov 14, 2008 - 1 answer

Help a geek find a long-lost favorite childhood storybook/gadget. [more inside]
posted by Wild_Eep on May 27, 2006 - 4 answers

As a kid, I had a coffee-table size book of sci-fi paintings. Each page was ostensibly the specs and history of a given spacecraft, and the paintings were quite detailed and in the "realist" mode. As you read about each craft, however, a narrative unfolded about a galactic war. The story arc was sussed out in little details dropped about each ship, famous engagements it took part in, etc. The only ship I remember was an "enemy" ship, the Tarantula, which would ambush victims by hovering up out of a pit suddenly. Anybody know the title, artist or illustrator?
posted by everichon on Jun 13, 2005 - 34 answers