# Ask the guy who is pretty good at SF Story Identification **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** books-writing-myths\ **Created:** [September 7, 2008, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-is-pretty-good-at-sf-story-identification/462417 "2008-09-07T00:08:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 16
**Author:** ![whitetho](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whitetho/32/1059_2.png) [@whitetho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whitetho)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2017, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-is-pretty-good-at-sf-story-identification/462417/301 "2017-09-07T19:07:41Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > Somewhat similar to [The Chrysalids](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chrysalids)by John Wyndham. If this is correct, you forgot the post-apocalyptic setting, but plot includes: > > - young man develops telepathic powers > - authorities hate any deviation from the “true image” of man, telepathy included. > - hooks up with other telepaths > - at the end they escape to another country, where telepaths are welcome. Thematically very similar, but the summary of The Chrysalids is much darker than the story I remember, and has numerous elements that I think I would have remembered but don’t ring a bell. I wonder if the story I read was inspired by the Wyndham story, though. ---
**Author:** ![Scoobysnax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c4cdca/32.png) [@Scoobysnax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scoobysnax)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2017, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-is-pretty-good-at-sf-story-identification/462417/302 "2017-09-07T19:11:32Z")
> [@aaebig](#): > > It’s been a long time since I read it, but this sounds a bit like The Vandarian Incident by Martyn Godfrey. That is definitely it. The cover picture from Andy L’s link solidified it. Thanks ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2017, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-is-pretty-good-at-sf-story-identification/462417/303 "2017-09-07T19:23:24Z")
Here’s a short story I’ve been trying to remember. Everyone around a man is gushing over an amazing book that has taken the world by storm, and are shocked that he has never heard of it. In the end, it turns out that he is the author of the book, and having realized that he is the only person in the world who couldn’t experience reading the book for the first time, he had had his memory wiped. The last scene has him sitting down to read and thinking that it better be a damn good book. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2017, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-is-pretty-good-at-sf-story-identification/462417/304 "2017-09-08T00:46:26Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Here’s a short story I’ve been trying to remember. Everyone around a man is gushing over an amazing book that has taken the world by storm, and are shocked that he has never heard of it. In the end, it turns out that he is the author of the book, and having realized that he is the only person in the world who couldn’t experience reading the book for the first time, he had had his memory wiped. The last scene has him sitting down to read and thinking that it better be a damn good book. Hmm. I remember a story in Analog a while back about people erasing their memories of particular movies so they could rewatch them _fresh_ (I think it was “Spoilers” by Shane Tourtellotte [Title: Spoilers](http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?195903) - I wonder if he did the one you’re thinking of too). ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2017, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-is-pretty-good-at-sf-story-identification/462417/305 "2017-09-08T11:51:00Z")
> [@Andy\_L](#): > > Hmm. I remember a story in Analog a while back about people erasing their memories of particular movies so they could rewatch them _fresh_ (I think it was “Spoilers” by Shane Tourtellotte [Title: Spoilers](http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?195903) - I wonder if he did the one you’re thinking of too). Thanks, but no, it is definitely the way I describe it–the author of a novel. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2017, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-is-pretty-good-at-sf-story-identification/462417/306 "2017-09-08T13:54:52Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Thanks, but no, it is definitely the way I describe it–the author of a novel. I’ll keep thinking about it (at least, it’s a related idea). ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2017, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-is-pretty-good-at-sf-story-identification/462417/307 "2017-09-08T14:46:29Z")
Here’s one I asked about once before. A guy has telekinetic powers, and at the end of the story he visits the president and makes demands. As he walks out the door, he gets his head bashed in with a hammer. I think it’s really old. ---
**Author:** ![PaulLev](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e56c9b/32.png) [@PaulLev](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PaulLev)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2017, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-is-pretty-good-at-sf-story-identification/462417/308 "2017-09-18T18:33:43Z")
> [@Andy\_L](#): > > Looking forward to it! And just popping back in here, one more time, to say “Last Calls” has been published, as is available either a standalone [Kindle](http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01675LFGE/ref=nosim/?tag=dexter2a-20) or as part of the complete 4-part Loose Ends Saga - available on [Kindle](http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01LZYBH9P/ref=nosim/?tag=dexter2a-20) or [paperback](http://www.amazon.com/dp/1561780472/ref=nosim/?tag=dexter2a-20). Botj are part of Amazon prime, which means you can download for free if your have Prime. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2017, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-is-pretty-good-at-sf-story-identification/462417/309 "2017-09-19T00:12:00Z")
> [@PaulLev](#): > > And just popping back in here, one more time, to say “Last Calls” has been published, as is available either a standalone [Kindle](http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01675LFGE/ref=nosim/?tag=dexter2a-20) or as part of the complete 4-part Loose Ends Saga - available on [Kindle](http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01LZYBH9P/ref=nosim/?tag=dexter2a-20) or [paperback](http://www.amazon.com/dp/1561780472/ref=nosim/?tag=dexter2a-20). Botj are part of Amazon prime, which means you can download for free if your have Prime. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Anonymous\_Coward](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/94ad74/32.png) [@Anonymous\_Coward](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anonymous_Coward)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2018, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-is-pretty-good-at-sf-story-identification/462417/310 "2018-01-29T13:23:39Z")
> [@Anonymous\_Coward](#): > > I could use help with this one. It’s vague as hell. > > Post-apoc sci-fi that I read sometime in the 80s or early 90s. I don’t remember much but I think it was a cyborg/augmented super soldier type pulp novel and the protagonist is made into a cyborg to fight an enemy (giant bugs?). All I remember is that at one point during his training he’s told to turn down the heat in his body as he’s melting footsteps into the snow. I know it’s not Starship Troopers. I found it! It’s The COBRA series by Timothy Zahn. > **[Timothy Zahn bibliography](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COBRA_(science_fiction_novels))** > > A list of works by, or about, American science fiction and fantasy author Timothy Zahn. > Both The Blackcollar and The Backlash Mission were released in one joint novel titled Blackcollar in 2006. > The three Cobra trilogies are an ongoing series of adventure novels set in a space opera future where "Cobras", augmented supersoldiers, defend colony worlds from the overbearing Dominion of Man and from the alien Troft. > The Conquerors' trilogy of novels concerns a failed first contact between humans ... ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2018, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-is-pretty-good-at-sf-story-identification/462417/311 "2018-01-29T13:32:46Z")
> [@Anonymous\_Coward](#): > > I found it! It’s The COBRA series by Timothy Zahn. > > [Timothy Zahn bibliography - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COBRA_(science_fiction_novels)) Sorry I didn’t identify this one - I’ve read Cobra! ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2018, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-is-pretty-good-at-sf-story-identification/462417/312 "2018-01-29T20:21:13Z")
Okay, gonna give you a try here–read a story in one of the SF digest size magazines that was written post-Challenger, it detailed the last moments of the crew, referenced the emergency life support packs that were found in the wreckage and for some reason I remember the title as being a number sequence, as in minutes:seconds, the amount of time it took for the people to hit after the explosion. It might not have specifically referenced Challenger, just another craft in a similar situation, but not sure about that. I have been through the comprehensive story lists of every magazine I can remember reading and have yet to find the story. Find this and I will be super chuffed! ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2018, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-is-pretty-good-at-sf-story-identification/462417/313 "2018-01-29T20:27:48Z")
[_Two Minutes Fourty-Five Seconds_](https://talesofmytery.blogspot.com/2014/04/dan-simmons-two-minutes-forty-five.html?m=1) by Dan Simmons ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2018, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-is-pretty-good-at-sf-story-identification/462417/314 "2018-01-29T20:28:21Z")
> [@SmartAleq](#): > > Okay, gonna give you a try here–read a story in one of the SF digest size magazines that was written post-Challenger, it detailed the last moments of the crew, referenced the emergency life support packs that were found in the wreckage and for some reason I remember the title as being a number sequence, as in minutes:seconds, the amount of time it took for the people to hit after the explosion. It might not have specifically referenced Challenger, just another craft in a similar situation, but not sure about that. I have been through the comprehensive story lists of every magazine I can remember reading and have yet to find the story. Find this and I will be super chuffed! I think you’ve asked about this one before - but I’ll give it another try tonight. P.S. Or, since I’ve been ninja’d, I won’t have to. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2018, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-is-pretty-good-at-sf-story-identification/462417/315 "2018-01-29T20:34:30Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > [_Two Minutes Fourty-Five Seconds_](https://talesofmytery.blogspot.com/2014/04/dan-simmons-two-minutes-forty-five.html?m=1) by Dan Simmons Published first in Omni [Title: Two Minutes Forty-Five Seconds](http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?40751) ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2018, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-is-pretty-good-at-sf-story-identification/462417/316 "2018-01-29T20:39:19Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > Here’s one I asked about once before. A guy has telekinetic powers, and at the end of the story he visits the president and makes demands. As he walks out the door, he gets his head bashed in with a hammer. I think it’s really old. I read that story. Can’t recall title or author but it was in Playboy and had, as art, eyes against a black background with flames coming off the tops. “He said he couldn’t read minds.” ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2018, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-is-pretty-good-at-sf-story-identification/462417/317 "2018-01-29T20:54:29Z")
Here’s one for me–I recently reread _Learning the World_, and was expecting one of the alien protagonists to be tortured to death by corrupt government or religious police, but it didn’t happen. So I’m trying to remember the book where it did. The book described the anatomy of the aliens as having a sort of “woven” skeletal structure, and possibly some mention of a specific quirk of their nervous system. (As I’m typing this, I’m wondering if it might be \*Clockwork Rocket \*by Greg Egan.) ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2018, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-is-pretty-good-at-sf-story-identification/462417/318 "2018-01-29T21:29:24Z")
The eyes referred to in my prior post are used, with some additional background, on the Portuguese cover of Poul Anderson’s “World Without Stars”, but that seems to be a novel, rather than a short story collection. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2018, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-is-pretty-good-at-sf-story-identification/462417/319 "2018-01-29T22:29:13Z")
> [@E-DUB](#): > > I read that story. Can’t recall title or author but it was in Playboy and had, as art, eyes against a black background with flames coming off the tops. > > “He said he couldn’t read minds.” If it was in Playboy, that’s a big help, since that narrows it down considerably. Here’s a link [Issue Grid: Playboy Magazine](http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/seriesgrid.cgi?24780) to a grid of issues of Playboy with SF in them (click on each link to see what SF was in that issue). ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2018, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-is-pretty-good-at-sf-story-identification/462417/320 "2018-01-29T22:31:44Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Here’s one for me–I recently reread _Learning the World_, and was expecting one of the alien protagonists to be tortured to death by corrupt government or religious police, but it didn’t happen. So I’m trying to remember the book where it did. The book described the anatomy of the aliens as having a sort of “woven” skeletal structure, and possibly some mention of a specific quirk of their nervous system. > > (As I’m typing this, I’m wondering if it might be \*Clockwork Rocket \*by Greg Egan.) Yeah, that could be Clockwork Rocket (or the sequel, which I haven’t read yet). The aliens in Clockwork Rocket can morph their bodies to a considerable extent, and in CR there’s a scene where the heroine is arrested and imprisoned by having her arms locked in “merged” position so they loop around a metal rod (or something like that). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-is-pretty-good-at-sf-story-identification/462417.md?page=15) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-who-is-pretty-good-at-sf-story-identification/462417.md?page=17)