'Replay,' Second Chance or Infinite Recurrence Novels.
Dates: 9/25/00,10:29 PM through 9/29/00,9:39 AM (9 postings)
Return to September 2000 thread menu | Fiction_L Archives Menu
|
Fiction_L Archives
'Replay,' Second Chance or Infinite Recurrence Novels.
Return to September 2000 thread menu | Fiction_L Archives Menu |
|
FROM: David Wright <dwright333@yahoo.com>
REC'D: 9/25/00, 10:29 PM
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Send instant messages & get email alerts with Yahoo! Messenger.
http://im.yahoo.com/
FROM: Diana Tixier Herald <dherald@wic.net>
REC'D: 9/25/00, 10:53 PM
--
Happy reading,
Di Herald
dherald@wic.net see the Genrefluent page at
http://www.genrefluent.com
Rosenberg's First Law of Reading "Never apologize for your reading
tastes."
FROM: Sarah Flowers <sflowers@scinet.co.santa-clara.ca.us>
REC'D: 9/26/00, 11:04 AM
Sarah Flowers, Community Librarian
Morgan Hill Public Library, a Santa Clara County Library
17575 Peak Avenue/Morgan Hill, CA 95037
sflowers@scinet.co.santa-clara.ca.us
-----Original Message-----
From: David Wright [SMTP:dwright333@yahoo.com]
Sent: Monday, September 25, 2000 8:24 PM
To: Fiction_L@maillist.nslsilus.org
Subject: 'Replay,' Second Chance or Infinite Recurrence Novels.
Hi Folks!
Many of you are familiar with Ken Grimwood's
'Replay,' a novel about a man who is reliving a 25
year period of his life, over and over. Or you know
the movie 'Groundhog Day,' in which Bill Murray
experiences a similar phenomenon. I have a patron who
is familiar with both of these works, and interested
in other stories and novels about people who relive
their lives, for better or worse. I thought of
Vonnegut's 'Timequake,' and Amis' 'Time's Arrow,' in
which life runs backwards. Anyone got any other
ideas?
Thank You,
David Wright
Seattle Public Library
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Send instant messages & get email alerts with Yahoo! Messenger.
http://im.yahoo.com/
FROM: "Brad Scott" <brads@gwmail.plano.gov>
REC'D: 9/26/00, 12:04 PM
Is your patron interested in science-fictional time travel stories? There are a lot of them, many of which involve the main character somehow reliving or interacting with the past. David Gerrold's "The Man Who Folded Himself" deals with a man who obtains a time machine and proceeds to blithely ignore the conventional time-travel wisdom about not interfering with one's own life. Correct a mistake here, fix a problem there, and pretty soon you're talking about an extremely tangled web....
However, I'll refrain from suggesting other sf titles unless your patron is interested in them.
Bradley A. Scott
Plano (Texas) Public Library
** All opinions are personal. **
>>> dwright333@yahoo.com 09/25/00 10:23PM >>>
Hi Folks!
Many of you are familiar with Ken Grimwood's
'Replay,' a novel about a man who is reliving a 25
year period of his life, over and over. Or you know
the movie 'Groundhog Day,' in which Bill Murray
experiences a similar phenomenon. I have a patron who
is familiar with both of these works, and interested
in other stories and novels about people who relive
their lives, for better or worse. I thought of
Vonnegut's 'Timequake,' and Amis' 'Time's Arrow,' in
which life runs backwards. Anyone got any other
ideas?
Thank You,
David Wright
Seattle Public Library
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Send instant messages & get email alerts with Yahoo! Messenger.
http://im.yahoo.com/
FROM: Connie Jo Ozinga <cjo@elkhart.lib.in.us>
REC'D: 9/26/00, 12:04 PM
This is what I remember. There were two young male scientists. Every
time they walked around a certain corner the story started all over
again and occurred a little differently. All of which also had
something to do with their research area. Pretty vague, right? Bet
Dennis knows.
BUt I don't think they were at all conscious of this happening to them.
Is that a requirement?
Connie O
David Wright wrote:
>
> Hi Folks!
> Many of you are familiar with Ken Grimwood's
> 'Replay,' a novel about a man who is reliving a 25
> year period of his life, over and over. Or you know
> the movie 'Groundhog Day,' in which Bill Murray
> experiences a similar phenomenon. I have a patron who
> is familiar with both of these works, and interested
> in other stories and novels about people who relive
> their lives, for better or worse. I thought of
> Vonnegut's 'Timequake,' and Amis' 'Time's Arrow,' in
> which life runs backwards. Anyone got any other
> ideas?
> Thank You,
> David Wright
> Seattle Public Library
>
> __________________________________________________
> Do You Yahoo!?
> Send instant messages & get email alerts with Yahoo! Messenger.
> http://im.yahoo.com/
--
*********************************************
Connie Jo Ozinga, Library Director
Elkhart Public Library
Elkhart, Indiana
(219) 522-3333
cjo@elkhart.lib.in.us
http://www.elkhart.lib.in.us
*********************************************
FROM: Suzanne Pontius <suzannepontius@yahoo.com>
REC'D: 9/27/00, 8:38 AM
--- Connie Jo Ozinga <cjo@elkhart.lib.in.us> wrote:
> I believe science fiction author James P. Hogan
> wrote one, which I read
> years ago and really liked, and have tried to
> remember the title and
> find it again for some time now.
>
> This is what I remember. There were two young male
> scientists. Every
> time they walked around a certain corner the story
> started all over
> again and occurred a little differently. All of
> which also had
> something to do with their research area. Pretty
> vague, right? Bet
> Dennis knows.
>
> BUt I don't think they were at all conscious of this
> happening to them.
> Is that a requirement?
>
> Connie O
>
> David Wright wrote:
> >
> > Hi Folks!
> > Many of you are familiar with Ken Grimwood's
> > 'Replay,' a novel about a man who is reliving a 25
> > year period of his life, over and over. Or you
> know
> > the movie 'Groundhog Day,' in which Bill Murray
> > experiences a similar phenomenon. I have a patron
> who
> > is familiar with both of these works, and
> interested
> > in other stories and novels about people who
> relive
> > their lives, for better or worse. I thought of
> > Vonnegut's 'Timequake,' and Amis' 'Time's Arrow,'
> in
> > which life runs backwards. Anyone got any other
> > ideas?
> > Thank You,
> > David Wright
> > Seattle Public Library
> >
> > __________________________________________________
> > Do You Yahoo!?
> > Send instant messages & get email alerts with
> Yahoo! Messenger.
> > http://im.yahoo.com/
>
> --
> *********************************************
> Connie Jo Ozinga, Library Director
> Elkhart Public Library
> Elkhart, Indiana
> (219) 522-3333
> cjo@elkhart.lib.in.us
> http://www.elkhart.lib.in.us
> *********************************************
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Send instant messages & get email alerts with Yahoo! Messenger.
http://im.yahoo.com/
FROM: Connie Jo Ozinga <cjo@elkhart.lib.in.us>
REC'D: 9/27/00, 4:52 PM
Connie O.
> I believe science fiction author James P. Hogan wrote one, which I read
> years ago and really liked, and have tried to remember the title and
> find it again for some time now.
>
> This is what I remember. There were two young male scientists. Every
> time they walked around a certain corner the story started all over
> again and occurred a little differently. All of which also had
> something to do with their research area. Pretty vague, right? Bet
> Dennis knows.
>
> BUt I don't think they were at all conscious of this happening to them.
> Is that a requirement?
>
> Connie O
David Wright wrote:
>
> Hi Folks!
> Many of you are familiar with Ken Grimwood's
> 'Replay,' a novel about a man who is reliving a 25
> year period of his life, over and over. Or you know
> the movie 'Groundhog Day,' in which Bill Murray
> experiences a similar phenomenon. I have a patron who
> is familiar with both of these works, and interested
> in other stories and novels about people who relive
> their lives, for better or worse. I thought of
> Vonnegut's 'Timequake,' and Amis' 'Time's Arrow,' in
> which life runs backwards. Anyone got any other
> ideas?
> Thank You,
> David Wright
> Seattle Public Library
>
> __________________________________________________
> Do You Yahoo!?
> Send instant messages & get email alerts with Yahoo! Messenger.
> http://im.yahoo.com/
--
*********************************************
Connie Jo Ozinga, Library Director
Elkhart Public Library
Elkhart, Indiana
(219) 522-3333
cjo@elkhart.lib.in.us
http://www.elkhart.lib.in.us
*********************************************
FROM: David Wright <dwright333@yahoo.com>
REC'D: 9/28/00, 2:41 PM
Robert Heinlein's "Door Into Summer" uses a
combination of time travel and cryo-tech to achieve a
similar result.
Sarah Flowers, Community Librarian Morgan Hill Public
Library, a Santa Clara County
Library
"Ray in Reverse", by Daniel Wallace, begins with its
recently deceased main character attending a support
group in Heaven (!) for those who are dissatisfied
with their last words on Earth. He then begins
re-experiencing the major events in his life, in
reverse chronological order. I haven't read it (yet)
but it sounds interesting.
Is your patron interested in science-fictional time
travel stories? There are a lot of them, many
of which involve the main character somehow reliving
or interacting with the past. David
Gerrold's "The Man Who Folded Himself" deals with a
man who obtains a time machine and proceeds to
blithely ignore the conventional time-travel wisdom
about not interfering with one's own life. Correct a
mistake here, fix a problem there, and pretty soon
you're talking about an extremely tangled web....
However, I'll refrain from suggesting other sf titles
unless your patron is interested in them.
Bradley A. Scott Plano (Texas) Public Library
I believe science fiction author James P. Hogan wrote
one, which I read years ago and really liked, and have
tried to remember the title and find it again for some
time now.
This is what I remember. There were two young male
scientists. Every time they walked around a certain
corner the story started all over again and occurred a
little differently. All of
which also had something to do with their research
area. Pretty vague, right? Bet Dennis knows. BUt I
don't think they were at all conscious of this
happening to them. Is that a requirement?
Connie O
After some research, I believe this title might be
"Thrice Upon a Time". For more info see the James P.
Hogan web page at http://www.jamesphogan.com/
Connie O.
William Sleator has a kid's book (I enjoyed it as an
adult) called Rewind. Same type of story.
Happy reading,
Di Herald
Don D'Ammassa" <dammassa@IX.NETCOM.COM> | Block
address
Subject: Re: 'Replay,' Second Chance or Eternal
Recurrence Novels
To: SF-LIT@sun8.loc.gov
Time also runs backward in Counter Clock World by
Philip K Dick
Steven H Silver <shsilver@WORLDNET.ATT.NET>
| Block address
Subject: Re: 'Replay,' Second Chance or Eternal
Recurrence Novels
To: SF-LIT@sun8.loc.gov
The film "Groundhog Day" is closely modelled on the
Richard Lupoff short story "12:01"
Todd Mason <Todd.Mason@TVGUIDE.COM> | Block address
Subject: Re: 'Replay,' Second Chance or Eternal
Recurrence Short Fiction:
SF-LIT@sun8.loc.gov
Theodore Sturgeon's short story "Yesterday was
Monday." To some extent, Alfred Bester's short story
"6,271,009" and L. Ron Hubbard's novella "Fear." To an
even more tenuous extent (matters of
predetermination), William Fryer Harvey's "August
Heat" and Alfred Noyes's "The
Midnight Express," both short stories.
Helge Moulding <hmoulding@excite.com> | Block address
Subject: Re: 'Replay,' Second Chance or Eternal
Recurrence Novels
To: SF-LIT@sun8.loc.gov
Well, there was a short story that appeared in, I
think, IASFM a few years ago, where an old man is in a
nursing home. They offer him euthanasia pills every
morning. Somehow he goes back in time to fix a rift
between him and his daughter, and he next wakes up in
his daughter's home, no euthanasia pills waiting for
him. Don't recall the author or title, less than
certain about the venue, but the story seems to fit
the theme. Maybe someone else remembers reading it,
and can supply more details?
Dennis Fischer <fischerfact7fiction@YAHOO.COM
Re: 'Replay,' Second Chance or Eternal
Recurrence Novels
To: SF-LIT@sun8.loc.gov
The idea is presented in Richard Lupoff's story
"12:01," as well as the film PEGGY SUE GOT
MARRIED. Of course, there are classic time travel
pieces like Robert Heinlein's "By His Bootstraps" and
David Gerrold's The Man Who Folded Himself as well,
which focus on the possibilities and permutations of
time travel.
Taija Porkkala <taijaporkkala@HOTMAIL.COM> | Block
address
Subject:Re: 'Replay,' Second Chance or Eternal
Recurrence Novels
To: SF-LIT@sun8.loc.gov
What about "Fire And Hemlock" by Diana Wynne Jones?
Well, it's not actually the same but have
similarities: there's a girl called Polly in the book.
Suddenly she feels that things she remember she has
experienced are not true. The things have been far
more mysterious than she remembers. ¨She has a kind of
"double memories". Something or someone had messed up
her
memories. She tries to find out what really happened.
I read a book quite a long time ago so I probably made
some mistakes in my plot telling. But it'sa lovely
book and really worth reading.
MWSatlin@AOL.COM | Block address
Subject: Re: 'Replay,' Second Chance or Eternal
Recurrence Novels
To SF-LIT@sun8.loc.gov
There's a Harlan Ellison story, "All The Birds Come
Home To Roost", about a man whose life is going
backwards--he keeps meeting the women in his past and
is very terrified of one meeting to come...
Second chance: Time and Chance, author escapes me, two
men on different planes or whatever are trapped in
lives they don't like and exchange existences for a
time.
"Haworth, Barry" <barry.haworth@ACNIELSEN.COM.AU> |
Block
Subject: Re: 'Replay,' Second Chance or Eternal
Recurrence Novels
To: SF-LIT@sun8.loc.gov
Two short stories that spring to mind:
SP Somtow: "Absent Thee from Felicity Awhile...",
published in Analog, 1981 - Aliens decide to study
humans by making them rrelive a single day for the
next five million years, at the end of which time they
will grant humans immortality. Fascinating story that
has stuck in my mind for years.
David Brin: "A Stage of Memory", published in "The
River of Time" - an actor uses drugs to relive his
childhood, and gets caught up in infinite recurrence.
Barry.
Vonnegut's SLAUGHTERHOUSE FIVE, whose hero becomes
"unstuck in time." David Gerrold's THE MAN WHO FOLDED
HIMSELF.
By the way, there's a time travel webring at:
http://nav.webring.yahoo.com/hub?ring=timetrav&list
--Mike Blake
Mike Resnick <mike_resnick@HOTMAIL.COM> | Block
address
Subject: Re: 'Replay,' Second Chance or Eternal
Recurrence Novels
To: SF-LIT@sun8.loc.gov
I had a 1992 Hugo nominee, a short story called
"Winter Solstice", in which Time runs backward for the
magician Merlin, who narrates the story.
"Haworth, Barry" <barry.haworth@ACNIELSEN.COM.AU> |
Block
Subject:Re: 'Replay,' Second Chance or Eternal
Recurrence Novels SF-LIT@sun8.loc.gov
Another one that springs to mind is Larry Niven's
short story "Singularities Make Me Nervous", published
in his collection "Convergent Series", about aman who
uses a black hole to return to his own past. Except
that things don't go quite the way he remembers
them....
Barry.
LeGuin's "The Lathe of Heaven" is sort of like
that--whatever the protagonist dreams becomes
reality.
Suzanne Pontius
=====
David Wright Seattle Public Library
"Que-scay je?" - Montaigne
"Reading is the easiest thing in the world, it is freedom without work, a pure Yes blossoming in the immediate."
-Maurice Blanchot, The Gaze of Orpheus.
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Photos - 35mm Quality Prints, Now Get 15 Free!
http://photos.yahoo.com/
FROM: Dennis Lien <Dennis.K.Lien-1@tc.umn.edu>
REC'D: 9/29/00, 9:39 AM
<snip>
A couple I've not seen mentioned:
Wilder's play OUR TOWN includes a deceased young woman given a chance
to relive one day of her life.
Several people mentioned time-twist stories such as Gerrold's MAN WHO
FOLDED HIMSELF and Heinlein's "By His Bootstraps," but I don't think
anyone pointed out the twistiest of all: Heinlein's "All You Zombies."
The lead character is indeed given a chance to relive part of his
past life, sort of... but it's not as simple as all that.
A few other "time runs backward" short stories: Fritz Leiber's "The
Man Who Never Grew Young," Roger Zelazny's "Divine Madness," and
Scott Fitzgerald's "Curious Case of Benjamin Button."
A sort of second chance in reverse novel: instead of adults becoming
children again, Christopher Morley's THUNDER ON THE LEFT (1925)
has children finding themselves suddenly in adult bodies.
(Same idea as, I gather, the movie BIG.) And there's F. Anstey's
classic VICE VERSA (1882), where father and son change bodies/lives.
Another Anstey novel, TOURMALIN'S TIME CHEQUES (1891) is more relevant
here--protagonist "banks" the time he's spending on a sea voyage
vacation, so that he can "cash" days of it later when back at work.
But the checks are cashed out of order, and he thus finds himself
living/reliving that part of his life out of order as well, with
serious to him, comic to us, results (especially as regards his
shipboard romance).
The Clute/Grant ENCYCLOPEDIA OF FANTASY, in its entry on "Timeslips"
(pp. 948-9) speaks directly to this: "Timeslip stories which allow
characters to get their lives right (which they almost invariably
waste) include Barrie's DEAR BRUTUS (1922); THE DEVIL IN CRYSTAL
(1944) by Louis Marlow . . . THE STRANGE LIFE OF IVAN OSOKIN by
P.D. Ouspensky . . . TIME MARCHES SIDEWAYS (1950) by Ralph L. Finn . . .
and CHANGING THE PAST (1989) by Thomas Berger."
Some of the (many) other works cited in ENCYLCOPEDIA OF FANTASY and
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF SCIENCE FICTION under such headings as "Time
Fantasies," "Timeslips," "Time Travel," etc. may also be relevant
to the narrower topic of people trying to change/relive their own
personal past; certainly many (most?) time travel stories involve
people trying to change a general past (or doing so without having
tried to do so).
Dennis Lien / U of Minnesota Libraries // d-lien@tc.umn.edu
Return to September 2000 thread menu | Fiction_L Archives Menu
|
The Webrary® and Fiction_L are services of the Morton Grove Public Library
"Webrary" is a registered trademark of the Morton Grove Public Library. All rights reserved.
|