Remembering the name of a scifi book

November 11, 2009 9:34 PM

I'm trying to remember the name of a sci-fi book. I read it like 10 years ago, so my memory of it's a bit fuzzy. One of the major topics was something about the religion of science. I remember a guy who was able to trick people, a traveling salesman of sorts, who sold someone a machine that turned lead into gold. The machine actually worked, but would stop working after he got away with his money. I don't *think* I'm imagining this book, but who knows...
posted by Political Funny Man to Grab Bag (5 answers total)

Best answer: Hmm... That reminds me of one of the stories in Asimov's Foundation, "The Traders".
posted by JiBB at 10:35 PM on November 11, 2009 [1 favorite]

Bastard JiBB, that's exactly what I was going to say.
posted by dirtynumbangelboy at 10:56 PM on November 11, 2009

Now I read this a very long time ago and my memory is weak, but could it be Stations of the Tide by Michael Swanwick?
posted by rtimmel at 9:42 AM on November 12, 2009

I'm pretty sure that JiBB is right and this is part of The Foundation series.
posted by fyrebelley at 2:36 PM on November 12, 2009

Response by poster: Nice! I think that's the one. Thanks to JiBB and the rest of ya!
posted by Political Funny Man at 5:09 PM on November 12, 2009