If I remember correctly, the first book was about a telepath that was a detective or something? I remember him discussing how he used his power to get women and other nefarious uses. There was a crashed spaceship or something nearby, as I remember the cover of the book I had had a giant spaceship crashed into the ocean or something like it.
The second book might have been Clifford D. Simak, but it was also about a telepath that worked for the goverment hacking into this genius’s brain and pulling out weapons and other inventions. He discovers that God is trapped in this genius’s brain one day, and somehow gains his power.
I’ve read pretty much everything by Keith Laumer, and I can’t remember anything remotely like a telepathic detective. The closest I can think of is “The Long ARM of Gil Hamilton” by Larry Niven, and he’s not telepathic, he has a telekinetic arm discovered when he lost his real one, which was later replaced, but came from an organlegger, etc.
The book I had with a spaceship crashed into the ocean was “Polymath” by John Brunner. No detectives in it at all.
Well, I could have told you about the Koontz book if I had logged on sooner… it’s also a short story, btw.
I don’t recognize the other book, but here’s a page of Keith Laumer covers which might help, although none of them seem to have a crashing spaceship on them… There’ll be a Simak page there, too, I’m sure.
It might not have been a Laumer book, now that I think on it, but I can’t, for the life of me, think of who it might be. I don’t see it as a Simak book either.
It was a fun book though. I wish I could find it. Any ideas?
Also he might not be a detective. He might have owned a large corporation. I just remember him going on about how he abused his power to get women and riches. The government was after him, or somebody was. And it had something to do with the ship. (Now that I am thinking about it, quite possibly the ship had been there for millions of years, but I may be thinking of a different book)
There’s the Keith Laumer short story “Test to Destruction” that kinda sorta matches. There’s a guy with telepathic powers that came from an alien ship. It’s online at the baen free library here.
I’m certain he was human, born and raised. In fact there were other telepaths, and I am sure he didn’t come from the ship.
In fact, I think I may make a new thread asking for all books that have to do with telepathy and try to weed through them all. I may be mixing several books up. I do know it had to do with a telepath and there was something to do with a ship. Other than that It is fuzzy. I do know it was a whole novel though, not a short story.
I expressed myself badly - he’s fully human, born & bred, who acquires telepathic powers while being probed by an alien ship. It matches some other aspects of your description as well.
