[meteorite-list] Meteorite novels -gifts II

[Göran Axelsson]

Couldn't let this topic pass by without making a post.

One of the most fantastic books in my library is "Hector Servadac" by 
Jules Verne.
In it a comet is picking up part of the Earth (with some inhabitants) 
and brings it along on a fantastic journey. The interesting thing isn't 
the journey in it self, but the description of the different people that 
went along. All from the great french officers, stubborn brittish and a 
crooked jew. I gives a nice view of what the mindset was among the 
people in Europe late in the 19:th century.

Full text in French : http://jv.gilead.org.il/zydorczak/ser00.htm
... or in English from Project Gutenberg http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/1353

... kind of explains the many wars we have had in Europe... to connect 
on another topic discussed here.

  :-)

/Göran

MexicoDoug wrote:

> Hello Listees, again,

>

> ...today, I imagine several cheering their Cheshire grins and feeding their 

> fattened guts...sitting on the sofa and still smacking the lips like the cat 

> that swallowed little Tweety...

>

> Right or wrong, it's said there's something fulfilling for the man that can 

> do three things before he dies: Have a Son, Write a book, and Plant a 

> tree...(wheew - lot of work left to do)  I'm sure I've missed more books 

> than I've listed  which are fictional novels relating somehow to meteorites, 

> but here are two more (the second one is an online ditty) written by list 

> member which have special reasons not to be left out,

>

> ADVENTURES OF DIANA: THE UNDERWORLD by Jim Balister

> Popular Action book off the presses recently which follows a plain-Jane girl 

> named Diana loses her job, and while looking for a new one meets the love of 

> her life, David, who happens to be a meteorite collector, among other 

> things.  At one point they spot a fireball and try to recover it.  One day, 

> in this sweet midwestern American boredom, the Earth takes a turn 

> unexpectedly and quake hits, followed by every extraterrestrial, 

> governmental plague and monsterous vermin that can be thrown at its 

> inhabitants, including Diana.  With the help of a geologist, Diana goes down 

> a pit where they find a flying saucer that kidnaps them, one mishap and 

> incredible recovery takes place after another, the upper and lower worlds, 

> with almost all their monsters and creatures facing destruction.  But then 

> Diana meets someone important and she yearns to reestablish her life and 

> settle down with David...

>

> STAR MONEY by the Bros. Altmann (jeje)

> A short fable summarized by our very favorite Germans, based on the original 

> which was probably much older than the 1803 L'Aigle fall itself.  Gives 

> great insight to cultural fantasies of the significance of meteorites in the 

> deep recesses of human thought.  Interestingly, in an odd twist, it 

> personifies what we all yearn in meteorite hunting in one form or 

> another...READ THE ENGLISH translation free here, no need to buy the book, 

> compiled by the namsake of Chladni's heirs:  Story featured in Nation 

> Geographic:

>

> http://www.nationalgeographic.com/grimm/star_money2.html

>

> Best wishes, Doug

>

>

>

>

> ----- Original Message ----- 

> From: "MexicoDoug" <MexicoDoug at aim.com>

> To: <meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com>

> Sent: Thursday, November 23, 2006 4:30 AM

> Subject: [meteorite-list] List of Meteorite novels for gifts

>

>

>   

>> Hola Listees,

>>

>> Thanks very kindly for the meteorite fictional book ideas many of you 

>> kindly

>> sent in response to my post the other day.

>>

>> I thought I would post a summary in case anyone else was looking for gift

>> ideas for friends family or loved ones.

>>

>> First, I'll tell you the book I decided to get for a special person (just

>> received today!!!), followed by a list of other books (for which I owe

>> thanks to everyone who helped me out on and off list):

>>

>> Winner:  STARDUST, (Spanish Title: Lluvia de Estrellas = Meteor Shower-) 

>> by

>> Neil Gaiman

>> This is a romantic fantasy about the faeries and struck ones in the nicest

>> sense.  While it seems like it is written for children, the naughty author

>> has the meteorite curse after her painful atmospheric entry, and there is 

>> a

>> bit of steamy sex to whet some folks appetites... Two cultures somewhere 

>> in

>> the English countryside are divided by a wall every day except one in 9

>> years.  An adventurous young man with an interesting birthright is with 

>> the

>> prettiest girl in the nondescript human village inside the stone wall.

>> Victoria owns his heart, but, she doesn't care much for Tristran.  They 

>> gaze

>> into the sky when witnessing the ground shaking and thunder accompanying a

>> shooting star.  It begins as a small light, but quickly outshines the Moon

>> and brilliantly falls somewhere on the other side of the wall, where there

>> are enchanted meadows, trees and their inhabitants.  The young man 

>> Tristran

>> is so blinded by love that he somehow becomes obsessed with the labor to

>> recover the fallen star and bring it to her to win her heart and live

>> happily ever after.

>>

>> Only, he has lots of competition hunting on the other side of the wall ...

>> where meteorites have more voluptuous properties than a few quartzy

>> chondrules. Tristran learns that recovering a shooting star is very 

>> arduous

>> task which forces one to meet and deal with all sorts of challenging

>> characters during the quest.  Finally he learns that the fallen star is

>> nothing his imagination contemplated, but that the knowledge he has

>> accumulated in his quest for it has changed his life and taught him more

>> about himself than he dreamed were possible to know.

>>

>> The tale is fairly short in medium print, and I've skimmed it enough to

>> highly recommend it to the Romantics, hopeless, and hopeful.

>>

>> Runner ups,

>>

>> THE ICE LIMIT (Mas Alla del Hielo) by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child

>> Popular novel, A rich meteorite collector decides to pillage Chile by 

>> hiring

>> a crew to recover the world's biggest meteorite discovered in difficult

>> conditions off Chile and deals with logistics, politics and suspense.

>> Darren doesn't recommend the author's based on a newer book of theirs,

>> Tyrannosaurus Canyon, and there are some factual problems though somewhat

>> entertaining according to Chris, but the book manages some decent 

>> suspense.

>>

>> DECEPTION POINT (La Conspiracion) Dan Brown

>> Popular novel, A huge meteorite is discovered under the Arctic and NASA is

>> in chaos due to overall failure and beaurocracy which have characterized 

>> its

>> devolution.  This meteorite is thought to be a strategic asset to the 

>> nation

>> (USA), and apparently holds secrets to develop and unlock great power. 

>> The

>> race is on to recover it and the government is secretive, greedy, and

>> falling all over itself.!

>>

>> LA PIEL DEL CIELO (The Skin of the Sky) by Elena Poniatowska

>> Mexican literary work, a talented Mexican man is fascinated by astronomy 

>> and

>> would have a promising future if he could only learn how to overcome the

>> inequality, corruption and beaurocracy in his country.  "A novel, which 

>> like

>> the telescope, brings us closer to the challenges furthest from our reach:

>> the stars and love.

>>

>> METEORITE SPOON (La Cuchara de Meteorito)

>> Childrens book available mainly from England.  The kids' parents are

>> fighting all the time and the kids get a magic spoon coated with 

>> mneteorite

>> to dig a hole each time they can't bear it and bury their problems in the

>> hole.  Then they escape a disaster by going into the hole and emerging to

>> the other side into a fantasy world.

>>

>> THE HAMMER OF GOD (El Martillo de Dios) by Arthur C. Clarke

>> An amateur astronomer in the year 2110 chances upon an asteroid on a

>> collision course with earth.  The asteroid, named Kali, gives little time 

>> to

>> avoid complete annihilation of humans on Earth and the technically ok 

>> novel

>> in the hands of master sci-fi writer Clarke is better than most, but now a

>> less novel theme.  Space Guard is discussed in parts of this book when it

>> was still the domain of science fiction writers.

>>

>> LUCIFER'S HAMMER  (El Martillo de Lucifer) by Larry Niven and Jerry

>> Pournelle

>> An early chaotic and interesting book about a comet's impending impact 

>> with

>> Earth discovered by a wealthy amateur astronomer.  First NASA scientists

>> discount the possibility of a collision, but then, the crazies get hold of

>> the idea that it is the end.  The irony is that the NASA estimates provd

>> wrong and then the comet does fragment and demolish most of the coastal

>> cities on Earth.  The spoiled astronomer who discovered it gets part of 

>> the

>> storyline contrasting his sheltered prior existance with the tenacity he 

>> has

>> for survival among the tsunamis and ensuing chaos.

>>

>> If anyone can give me a hand with the Spanish edition of "The Ice Limit",

>> Spanish language edition, i.e., "MASS ALLA DEL HIELO", I'd appreciate 

>> that.

>>

>> Thanks for the other fine book recommendations, if they weren't listed it 

>> is

>> because they are out of print, difficult to find and I am hoping to get a

>> reasonably priced used copy.  I hope this is helpful with Christmas at our

>> footstep...

>>

>> Happy Thanksgiving,

>> Doug

>>

>>