# Sci-fi/fantasy book written prior to 1987 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 5, 2003, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-fantasy-book-written-prior-to-1987/152865 "2003-02-05T03:32:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![heimarkj](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c2a13f/32.png) [@heimarkj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/heimarkj)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2003, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-fantasy-book-written-prior-to-1987/152865/1 "2003-02-05T03:32:51Z")
I am trying to find the title/author of a sci-fi book I read about 15 years ago…the setting is in the future after some devastating event has destroyed most people/ technology. There is a male protagonist(maybe the last man alive?) and some females that he procreates with to continue the species. There is some broken down technology, ie. computers involved, and I recall an Icarus-like making of wings that they flew around with to gaurd their valley? This is pretty vague, I know, but does anyone have any idea of an author/title? ---
**Author:** ![Ara-Alon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4af34b/32.png) [@Ara-Alon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ara-Alon)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2003, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-fantasy-book-written-prior-to-1987/152865/2 "2003-02-10T20:44:32Z")
Windhaven, maybe? By George R. R. Martin and Lisa Tuttle. I don’t remember the plot, but when I read your post I could picture the front cover of a book with a drawing of a girl wearing wings. Was several days before the title popped into my head. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2003, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-fantasy-book-written-prior-to-1987/152865/3 "2003-02-11T05:03:17Z")
I just checked _Windhaven_, and that’s not it. ---
**Author:** ![MonkeyMensch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@MonkeyMensch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MonkeyMensch)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2003, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-fantasy-book-written-prior-to-1987/152865/4 "2003-02-11T05:20:48Z")
How about _Earth Abides_? ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2003, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-fantasy-book-written-prior-to-1987/152865/5 "2003-02-11T06:28:15Z")
Not _Earth Abides_ unless he’s really screwed up his recollections. Not that POS _Alas, Babylon_, either. ---
**Author:** ![Mame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/858c86/32.png) [@Mame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mame)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2003, 11:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-fantasy-book-written-prior-to-1987/152865/6 "2003-02-11T11:02:34Z")
Like Ara-Alon, I can’t remember the plot of the book, but the cover had a person with a winged figure behind them - **Grimus** , by Salman Rushdie? ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2003, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-fantasy-book-written-prior-to-1987/152865/7 "2003-02-11T11:27:23Z")
It’s not _Grimus_ either. We’re just thrashing around at random now, I think. heimarkj, can you give us any more detail? Tell us about the copy you read. Paperback or hardback? What was the cover illustration like? How old was the copy? Do you remember anything about the author? Where specifically was the setting of the book? Was it translated from some other language or was it originally in English? Do you remember any of the characters’ names? Sorry to ask all these questions, but I don’t think we can figure out what book it was without some more detail. ---
**Author:** ![heimarkj](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c2a13f/32.png) [@heimarkj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/heimarkj)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2003, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-fantasy-book-written-prior-to-1987/152865/8 "2003-02-11T17:57:57Z")
Thanks for the replies…It wasn’t Earth Abides, (read that more recently, and the book I am looking for had more of a fantasy feel to it). Sorry the details are so sketchy…it was a small to medium sized paperback, I believe it was English in origin, was from a small linbrary…probably a more popular rather than obscure author, settting was possibly another planet than earth?, the wings and sex parts are the main details I remember…I will try to think of more… ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2003, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-fantasy-book-written-prior-to-1987/152865/9 "2003-02-11T22:38:47Z")
> [@](#): > > I don’t remember the plot, but when I read your post I could picture the front cover of a book with a drawing of a girl wearing wings. Well, that cover description matches Heinlein’s _The Menace from Earth_, but that’s **definitely** not the book to which the OP is referring. ---
**Author:** ![heimarkj](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c2a13f/32.png) [@heimarkj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/heimarkj)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2003, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-fantasy-book-written-prior-to-1987/152865/10 "2003-02-11T23:22:12Z")
Does anyone know of any other websites that may be helpful in locating a book with such scant info?? its interesting that two of the people who replied are from MT as I am also… ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2003, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-fantasy-book-written-prior-to-1987/152865/11 "2003-02-11T23:44:56Z")
I had the same problem a couple of years ago and found the answer in a newsgroup, but I don’t recall which one. Something like alt.binary.sciencefiction or some such. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2003, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-fantasy-book-written-prior-to-1987/152865/12 "2003-02-12T00:01:57Z")
Tell you what. I’ll post your request over at [SFF.NET](http://SFF.NET) in the SFWA group. Maybe one of the people there knows (or wrote it). ---
**Author:** ![heimarkj](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c2a13f/32.png) [@heimarkj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/heimarkj)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2003, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-fantasy-book-written-prior-to-1987/152865/13 "2003-02-12T00:59:14Z")
thank you I appreciate the help…