I don't keep as much track of authors as of books, but here are some books that stand out in my memory for their unique elements. All of them are ones I've only ever found one or two copies of.
Simply Human, by L. Warren Douglass, 2000. Halfway Human, by Carolyn Ives Gilman, 1998. Both SF. Both of these deal with altered forms of humanity, and ethical issues relating to that. Simply Human is a set of nested framing tales, and has a more light-hearted, almost rollicking, approach. Halfway Human is more chilling in parts, and added the word 'grayspace' to my vocabulary.
The Butterfly Kid, by Chester Anderson, circa 1967, reprinted various times. Magicalish SF. This is definitely one of a kind; a novel set in Greenwich Village, New York, about 'how me and my friends saved the world this one time', more or less. The only book that made it clear to me why people talk about The Sixties the way they do. Good-humored, happy ending, but boy is it a unique take! This one is especially hard to find, but worth it.
Druid's Blood, by Esther Friesner, 1988 or 89. Fantasy. Friesner has written a bunch of books, some forming series, but this one is a standalone: an alternate history, in which the Druids used their magic to repel the Roman invasion, and every invasion since then. Fast-forward to an analogue of Queen Victoria, ruling by right of her druidic magic and heritage, and add real live analogues of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, and you'll have the premise. Then the story begins, and it has neat and subtle plotting.
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Books that were unlike any others I've read
Date: 2009-06-24 05:53 pm (UTC)Simply Human, by L. Warren Douglass, 2000. Halfway Human, by Carolyn Ives Gilman, 1998. Both SF. Both of these deal with altered forms of humanity, and ethical issues relating to that. Simply Human is a set of nested framing tales, and has a more light-hearted, almost rollicking, approach. Halfway Human is more chilling in parts, and added the word 'grayspace' to my vocabulary.
The Butterfly Kid, by Chester Anderson, circa 1967, reprinted various times. Magicalish SF. This is definitely one of a kind; a novel set in Greenwich Village, New York, about 'how me and my friends saved the world this one time', more or less. The only book that made it clear to me why people talk about The Sixties the way they do. Good-humored, happy ending, but boy is it a unique take! This one is especially hard to find, but worth it.
Druid's Blood, by Esther Friesner, 1988 or 89. Fantasy. Friesner has written a bunch of books, some forming series, but this one is a standalone: an alternate history, in which the Druids used their magic to repel the Roman invasion, and every invasion since then. Fast-forward to an analogue of Queen Victoria, ruling by right of her druidic magic and heritage, and add real live analogues of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, and you'll have the premise. Then the story begins, and it has neat and subtle plotting.