Help me ID a 70s/80s sci-fi/horror novel

Cafe Society
1

This is a long shot however I’m keen to find an old book I read as a teenager. This book will have been written before the 1990’s.

All I can remember is that the protagonist is an epileptic and suffers from Petit Mal and Grand Mal seizures.

Strange/supernatural things happen when he has a seizure. I seem to remember that it was set in a university town (either UK or US). The ending centers around a house with a basement (I think!)

He rides a bicycle and may be a doctor or psychiatrist. The version I read had a white cover.

Sorry that this isn’t much to go on.

Any ideas?

Jim

2

Are you remembering Crichton’s The Terminal Man?

3

Pretty loose match, if at all. The main character has psychomotor blackouts and beats/kills people.

I’d guess The Dead Zone (King) but I don’t think that’s it, either.

4

I was thinking The Dead Zone, also.

“When Johnny Smith (Christopher Walken) awakens from a coma caused by a car accident, he finds that years have passed, and he now has psychic abilities. Heartbroken that his girlfriend (Brooke Adams) has moved on with her life, Johnny also must contend with his unsettling powers, which allow him to see a person’s future with a mere touch. After shaking the hand of aspiring politician Greg Stillson (Martin Sheen), Johnny sees the danger presented by the candidate’s rise and resolves to kill him.”

5

Aye, I know it’s loose fit, but the ending does take place (partly) in a basement (hospital basement, but hey, it’s a basement).

And there are doctors and seizures, so I figured maybe his memory was fuzzy or something.

Oh, and the original cover was mostly white.

6

Here’s a long list of novels where epilepsy is a theme. Hope one sounds familiar to you: Epilepsy motifs in narrative literature. Epilepsy Museum Kork

7

Any chance the main characters were all a bunch of semi-immortal people who became immortal when they had a life-threatening accident during the middle of a seizure? Not remembering the name of the author, but it was serialized in one of the magazines…

8

Any chance the OP will come back?

:confused:

9

Sorry for the Zombie thread response - I’ve been out of the loop for a while… :o

That link of novels with epileptic themes was really useful, however I couldn’t see anything that matched my memory.

Perhaps I dreamt it, perhaps I’m conflating multiple novels - thanks for all your help!!!

10

Your OP kinda reminds me of Dean Koontz The Bad Place, 1990, could that be it?

11

I kinda remember a novel whose protagonist could hear other people’s thoughts. He couldn’t tune them out, though, so he had to isolate himself to get any peace and quiet. He made his living by writing college papers for jocks.

I think I read it in the '80s.