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.
That is definitely it. The cover picture from Andy L’s link solidified it. Thanks
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 - 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.
I’ll keep thinking about it (at least, it’s a related idea).
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.
And just popping back in here, one more time, to say “Last Calls” has been published, as is available either a standalone Kindle or as part of the complete 4-part Loose Ends Saga - available on Kindle or paperback. Botj are part of Amazon prime, which means you can download for free if your have Prime.
Thanks!
I found it! It’s The COBRA series by Timothy Zahn.
Sorry I didn’t identify this one - I’ve read Cobra!
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!
Two Minutes Fourty-Five Seconds by Dan Simmons
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.
Published first in Omni Title: Two Minutes Forty-Five Seconds
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.”
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.)
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.
If it was in Playboy, that’s a big help, since that narrows it down considerably. Here’s a link Issue Grid: Playboy Magazine to a grid of issues of Playboy with SF in them (click on each link to see what SF was in that issue).
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).