# Recommend a book about someone/people with powers **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 29, 2008, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-book-about-someone-people-with-powers/447367 "2008-04-29T17:22:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![ToeJam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dfb087/32.png) [@ToeJam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ToeJam)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2008, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-book-about-someone-people-with-powers/447367/41 "2008-04-30T05:22:16Z")
[QUOTE=The Them] _Bacchus_ by Eddie Cambell (comic book). Greek mythology for real, in the 1990s. [/QUOTE] I should check that one out, esp. if it’s written for adults. _The Lightning Thief_ is a similar thing with the protagonist being a “Greek Demi-God” sorta superpowers, except that it’s written for like… 12 year olds or so. But it’s really entertaining if you KNOW your Greek mythology, then you get all the inside jokes. ---
**Author:** ![Mojo\_Pin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Mojo\_Pin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mojo_Pin)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2008, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-book-about-someone-people-with-powers/447367/42 "2008-04-30T05:28:21Z")
The Chrysalids, by John Wyndham Not superpowers in everyday life, but superpowers in a post apocalyptic future, with generous undertones of social commentary on the dangers of dogma. (don’t be put off by the really really bad cover) ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2008, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-book-about-someone-people-with-powers/447367/43 "2008-04-30T06:27:15Z")
[QUOTE=MadPansy64] Zena Henderson’s _The People_ books and stories. They’ve been out of print for at least 20 years, but used are available on Amazon. The People were crash-landed aliens with assorted psychic powers, who assimilate reasonably well into earth (mostly, if not entirely US) culture, while trying to hide while maintaining their abilities. Well written, and entertaining, they fall into the fantasy genre, NOT horror. Going by memory, the titles are _The People, No Different Flesh_; _Holding Wonder_; _Pilgramage_; and _The Holding Box_, and it seems like there is one more. They stand alone, as they’re more interconnected short story collections than a series, IIRC. I’m not allowing myself to even open Amazon right now, or I’d give you links with prices, and perhaps a coherent review or two. 😃 [/QUOTE] Sounds like _Stranger in a Strange Land_ by Heinlein. Another book I would add to this list. However, it falls into Dianetics territory for me, as I have encountered groups who take this book as a religous tome. ---
**Author:** ![Risha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/5fc32e/32.png) [@Risha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Risha)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2008, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-book-about-someone-people-with-powers/447367/44 "2008-04-30T11:21:42Z")
One more - a SciFi classic, Theodore Sturgeon’s [More Than Human](http://www.amazon.com/More-Than-Human-Theodore-Sturgeon/dp/0375703713/ref=pd_bbs_sr_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1209554307&sr=8-3). Several people who are somewhat outcast in our normal society (disabled, the wrong color, etc) find by accident that when they’re together, they’re greater than the sum of their parts. ---
**Author:** ![MarcusF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/67e7ee/32.png) [@MarcusF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MarcusF)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2008, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-book-about-someone-people-with-powers/447367/45 "2008-04-30T12:04:07Z")
Thinking of _Stranger in a Strange Land_ there are a good number of Heinlein short stories about people with special powers. The one I can remember off hand is Lost Legacy in _Assignment in Eternity_. A group of students discover they can develop latent telepathic and telekinetic powers … ---
**Author:** ![detop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bcef8e/32.png) [@detop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/detop)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2008, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-book-about-someone-people-with-powers/447367/46 "2008-04-30T12:28:19Z")
Frank Robinson’s _The Power_, but it is probably out of print. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2008, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-book-about-someone-people-with-powers/447367/47 "2008-04-30T13:22:18Z")
[QUOTE=MarcusF] Thinking of _Stranger in a Strange Land_ there are a good number of Heinlein short stories about people with special powers. The one I can remember off hand is Lost Legacy in _Assignment in Eternity_. A group of students discover they can develop latent telepathic and telekinetic powers … [/QUOTE] Then there’s Andy Libby – from _Methusaleh’s Children,_ though he first appears in a short story of which I forget the title. Not a telepath or anything, just a mathematical genius, one with “an intutitive knowledge of mathematical relationship.” Despite a near-complete lack of formal education, he can, all subconsciously and instantly, estimate the diameter of the planetoid he’s standing on by eyeballing the level of the horizon – “That’s the only way it could be.” ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2008, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-book-about-someone-people-with-powers/447367/48 "2008-04-30T14:13:23Z")
To piggyback off of **Glory** ’s recommendation of _To Ride Pegasus_, I’d go on to recommend that entire series, from that volume all the way through _Lyon’s Pride_, at least. _To Ride Pegasus Pegasus In Flight Pegasus In Space_ (Interval of at least 100 years) _The Rowan Damia Damia’s Children Lyon’s Pride The Tower And The Hive_ I say the interval is at least 100 years because there is a Peter Reidinger IV in _The Rowan_. The original Peter Reidinger is a child in the Pegasus books. So it’s at LEAST four generations between those and the later books, but it could be more, since a designation of IV doesn’t necessarily mean that all four of them were consecutive with each other. The powers in those books, by the way, span the gamut of psychic talents, from telepathy to the ability to teleport multi-ton spaceships hundreds of light-years. ---
**Author:** ![Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7cd45c/32.png) [@Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Glory)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2008, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-book-about-someone-people-with-powers/447367/49 "2008-04-30T15:33:23Z")
Dean Koontz has several books featuring people with powers. He’s pretty hit or miss with me, but I definitely liked and would recommend Lightning and Strangers. Powers are also featured in The Bad Place, Cold Fire, Odd Thomas and Twilight Eyes, but they are weaker books, in my opinion. ---
**Author:** ![well\_he\_s\_back](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/3ab097/32.png) [@well\_he\_s\_back](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/well_he_s_back)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2008, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-book-about-someone-people-with-powers/447367/50 "2008-04-30T15:48:07Z")
People with special powers – this is a big part of the story in the “Obernewtyn” novel and its sequels by Isobelle Carmody, I enjoyed those a lot, and recommend them. ---
**Author:** ![NAF1138](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naf1138/32/3245_2.png) [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2008, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-book-about-someone-people-with-powers/447367/51 "2008-04-30T15:51:37Z")
[QUOTE=RoOsh] I should check that one out, esp. if it’s written for adults. _The Lightning Thief_ is a similar thing with the protagonist being a “Greek Demi-God” sorta superpowers, except that it’s written for like… 12 year olds or so. But it’s really entertaining if you KNOW your Greek mythology, then you get all the inside jokes. [/QUOTE] Bacchus is awesome. In fact everything that Eddie Campbell does is awesome. Most of what Eddie does has nothing to do with superpowers, but I heartilly recommend everything he has written. He and Sam Kieth were my heroes when I was starting to explore non traditional comics. The Alec stories are semi autobiographicall, Alex has no superpowers, but they are awesome stories and worth a read. Speaking of Sam Kieth, the Maxx is a fantastic comic series that holds up surprisingly well. It’s kind of sort of about a person who discovers she has powers. Kind of. Also see Zero Girl by Sam Kieth. ---
**Author:** ![Helena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c68b51/32.png) [@Helena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helena)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2008, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-book-about-someone-people-with-powers/447367/52 "2008-04-30T16:56:37Z")
Crawford Killian’s _Lifter_ is about a high-school nerd who figures out how to fly. The ending is rather lame but it’s a good fun read. One of my favorite books, in fact. I quite enjoyed _Children of the Atom_. I have to wonder if it was the inspiration for Willo Davis Roberts’ _The Girl with the Silver Eyes_. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2008, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-book-about-someone-people-with-powers/447367/53 "2008-04-30T17:08:31Z")
The first _Dune_ has a lot about mental powers. A great book, a well-deserved classic. But all of the rest of the books in the series are, IMHO, not worth anyone’s time. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2008, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-book-about-someone-people-with-powers/447367/54 "2008-04-30T18:59:21Z")
E.E. “Doc” Smith wrote tons of this kind of thing. His Lensman series in particular, _Galaxy Prime_ - even in the Skylark series they wound up telepathic eventually. And John W. Campbell wrote a series beginning with _The Black Star Passes_, also featuring telepathy. It speeds up the plot considerably to bypass having to learn the language. And sooner or later they build headsets that tap the ambient energy of the universe and become more or less omnipotent. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2008, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-book-about-someone-people-with-powers/447367/55 "2008-04-30T21:09:04Z")
Here’s one I recall from way back when, that I quite enjoyed as a young reader: **[Christopher](http://www.amazon.com/Christopher-Magic-Powers-Richard-Koff/dp/0595179665/)** (they may call it **Christopher and his Magic Powers** today, but I remember the earlier, more enigmatic title). The book is basically about a boy who bravely knocks on the door of a supposedly haunted house, wherein he meets “The Headmaster”, a mysterious person who knows an awful lot about Christopher. Over the course of the book, he helps Christopher develop his mental abilities, with the aid of some little gold cubes with binary numbers on them (I still think of this book when I use binary). Anyway, it’s aimed at younger readers, but I remember liking the book a lot. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2008, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-book-about-someone-people-with-powers/447367/56 "2008-04-30T23:42:54Z")
In _Galatea in 2-D_, the hero, an artist, discovers that he has the power to make his paintings come to life. And that he’s not alone, and that the other guy who can do this is a **very** bad man indeed. The details of how the power works are nicely thought out. ---
**Author:** ![Achren](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/898d66/32.png) [@Achren](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achren)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2008, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-book-about-someone-people-with-powers/447367/57 "2008-05-01T00:14:01Z")
[QUOTE=well he’s back] People with special powers – this is a big part of the story in the “Obernewtyn” novel and its sequels by Isobelle Carmody, I enjoyed those a lot, and recommend them. [/QUOTE] Except that AFAIK, books 4 and 5 aren’t being published in the US. And it costs about $30 to buy the used paperback for book 4. I’m all kinds of bitter about this. ---
**Author:** ![Septima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@Septima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Septima)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2008, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-book-about-someone-people-with-powers/447367/58 "2008-05-01T01:19:46Z")
“Assasins Aprentice” and its sequels, by Robin Hobb, features two “powers”: The Skill, which is more or less telepathy with some other stuff added to it; and The Wit, which is some odd variant off psychic empathy, with the ability to talk to animals thrown in. The Skill is uncommon, but not unheard of (like being a super athlete or having a perfect ear for music), and gives a certain amount of status. Almost all members of the royal family have it. The Skill is a lot more uncommon, and people who don’t have it (and some of those who do) view it as a perversion; anyone who openly has it will be treated with a mixture of fear and disgust. The main character, a royal bastard, has both, which is a bit of a problem. ---
**Author:** ![wonderlust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonderlust/32/7237_2.png) [@wonderlust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonderlust)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2008, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-book-about-someone-people-with-powers/447367/59 "2008-05-01T17:03:35Z")
While probably not of interest to you, but significant enough to deserve a mention, is the immense surge of books about shapeshifters such as vampires, werewolves, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Septima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@Septima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Septima)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2008, 9:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-book-about-someone-people-with-powers/447367/60 "2008-05-02T09:24:54Z")
“The _Wit_ is a lot more uncommon…” I’m tired. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-book-about-someone-people-with-powers/447367.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-book-about-someone-people-with-powers/447367.md?page=4)