GAME -- One line "blurbs" (for Sherlocks)

Drop by, pull up a chair, kick back your feet, and mingle with your fellow literature addicts. This area is the main lounge for general discussions about books, authors, reading, and literature in general.

Moderator: clong

User avatar
voralfred
Carpal Tunnel Victim
Posts: 5817
Joined: Tue Dec 19, 2006 3:53 am
Location: Paris

Re: GAME -- One line "blurbs" (for Sherlocks)

Post by voralfred »

OK, so I'll post one:
A misunderstanding between humans and aliens, due to the latters' very weird life-cycle, caused much suffering and anguish, until solved with the help of a cosmic intelligence.
A hint: this novel is the second published in a series (not the second in chronological order taking account of presently published books; indeed, novels published later went all over the timeline; but it was the second in chronological order when it was first published). The first published novel is, I believe, the best known of the whole series but I found myself unable to write a blurb on that one that would not be a dead giveaway.
Human is as human does....Animals don't weep, Nine

[i]LMB, The Labyrinth [/i]
User avatar
voralfred
Carpal Tunnel Victim
Posts: 5817
Joined: Tue Dec 19, 2006 3:53 am
Location: Paris

Re: GAME -- One line "blurbs" (for Sherlocks)

Post by voralfred »

voralfred wrote:OK, so I'll post one:
A misunderstanding between humans and aliens, due to the latters' very weird life-cycle, caused much suffering and anguish, until solved with the help of a cosmic intelligence.
A hint: this novel is the second published in a series (not the second in chronological order taking account of presently published books; indeed, novels published later went all over the timeline; but it was the second in chronological order when it was first published). The first published novel is, I believe, the best known of the whole series but I found myself unable to write a blurb on that one that would not be a dead giveaway.
Maybe I should add that the series it belongs to is by no means obscure. It is well "voted for" in the IBLIst. Since I mentioned aliens, it is not a further hint to say it is SF and thus fiction.
But the hint is that, for whatever criterion for series one looks for this particular series, it is consistently in the upper tier, if one splits the set of all series into three tiers (I know that one can split a whole in as many "tiers" as one want, but as a frenchman, I always think that the correct number of "tiers" should be three, since "tiers" is french for "one third")
Human is as human does....Animals don't weep, Nine

[i]LMB, The Labyrinth [/i]
User avatar
clong
Blade Runner
Posts: 9253
Joined: Tue Nov 16, 2004 9:48 am
Location: Rochester, NY
Contact:

Re: GAME -- One line "blurbs" (for Sherlocks)

Post by clong »

Speaker for the Dead?
User avatar
voralfred
Carpal Tunnel Victim
Posts: 5817
Joined: Tue Dec 19, 2006 3:53 am
Location: Paris

Re: GAME -- One line "blurbs" (for Sherlocks)

Post by voralfred »

Yes !
For those who don't recognize this name, it is the second published book of the Ender Wiggin series, best known for its first book, _Ender's Game_
( I personally find _Speaker for the Dead_ the best book of the entire series, even better than _Ender's Game_ ; I am in love with Jane.... whom I found the most interesting alien of all SF books I have ever read, Hoyle's "Black Cloud" being a close second )

One :sherlock: and the next blurb!
(I have edited my last post on the Sherlock thread instead of posting a new one)
Human is as human does....Animals don't weep, Nine

[i]LMB, The Labyrinth [/i]
User avatar
clong
Blade Runner
Posts: 9253
Joined: Tue Nov 16, 2004 9:48 am
Location: Rochester, NY
Contact:

Re: GAME -- One line "blurbs" (for Sherlocks)

Post by clong »

Cut off from critical supplies, a defiant young protagonist sets off on an adventure which ultimately leads to his being crowned ruler of a foreign land.
User avatar
E Pericoloso Sporgersi
Sir E of the Knights Errant
Posts: 3727
Joined: Fri Jun 19, 2009 11:31 pm
Location: Flanders, Belgium, EU

Re: GAME -- One line "blurbs" (for Sherlocks)

Post by E Pericoloso Sporgersi »

clong wrote:Cut off from critical supplies, a defiant young protagonist sets off on an adventure which ultimately leads to his being crowned ruler of a foreign land.
critical supplies: replacement organs from the organ banks
defiant young protagonist: the young man with "plateau eyes"
adventure: overthrowing the ruling caste
foreign land: Plateau on Mount Lookitthat

"A Gift from Earth" by Larry Niven.

I'm not sure about the "crowned ruler" though.
User avatar
clong
Blade Runner
Posts: 9253
Joined: Tue Nov 16, 2004 9:48 am
Location: Rochester, NY
Contact:

Re: GAME -- One line "blurbs" (for Sherlocks)

Post by clong »

Sorry that is not what I have in mind.
User avatar
E Pericoloso Sporgersi
Sir E of the Knights Errant
Posts: 3727
Joined: Fri Jun 19, 2009 11:31 pm
Location: Flanders, Belgium, EU

Re: GAME -- One line "blurbs" (for Sherlocks)

Post by E Pericoloso Sporgersi »

clong wrote:Sorry that is not what I have in mind.
Oh well, I was really close though ...
User avatar
voralfred
Carpal Tunnel Victim
Posts: 5817
Joined: Tue Dec 19, 2006 3:53 am
Location: Paris

Re: GAME -- One line "blurbs" (for Sherlocks)

Post by voralfred »

May I offer a proposal?
Sure 5 days haven't elapsed since clong posted, but then, I did not guess the blurb before mine, MidasKnight did, but declined to post a new one.
If I am allowed to post and I am right, I'll do as MidasKnight and leave the next blurb to whomever wants to post one.
Or else, I'll wait for the end of the exclusion 5 days period...
Human is as human does....Animals don't weep, Nine

[i]LMB, The Labyrinth [/i]
User avatar
clong
Blade Runner
Posts: 9253
Joined: Tue Nov 16, 2004 9:48 am
Location: Rochester, NY
Contact:

Re: GAME -- One line "blurbs" (for Sherlocks)

Post by clong »

Since you didn't answer the prior question I would say answer away.
User avatar
E Pericoloso Sporgersi
Sir E of the Knights Errant
Posts: 3727
Joined: Fri Jun 19, 2009 11:31 pm
Location: Flanders, Belgium, EU

Re: GAME -- One line "blurbs" (for Sherlocks)

Post by E Pericoloso Sporgersi »

voralfred wrote:May I offer a proposal?
clong wrote:Since you didn't answer the prior question I would say answer away.
Oh boy, Clong! I'm afraid you're going to regret that much unlimited generosity ...
User avatar
voralfred
Carpal Tunnel Victim
Posts: 5817
Joined: Tue Dec 19, 2006 3:53 am
Location: Paris

Re: GAME -- One line "blurbs" (for Sherlocks)

Post by voralfred »

clong wrote:Cut off from critical supplies, a defiant young protagonist sets off on an adventure which ultimately leads to his being crowned ruler of a foreign land.
critical supplies: spice/melange
defiant young protagonist: Paul Atreides
adventure: lots..
foreign land: Arrakis

So, _Dune_ by Frank Herbert.
But if I have seen the 1984 movie by David Lynch, I have never read the novel. And I understand that the movie covered more than the very first novel, the one called precisely "Dune"; so maybe what clong had in mind is not the first novel but rather the second novel of the series, or something later?
So, something in the Dune Universe is what I propound... (one, two, buckle my shoe...)
Human is as human does....Animals don't weep, Nine

[i]LMB, The Labyrinth [/i]
User avatar
clong
Blade Runner
Posts: 9253
Joined: Tue Nov 16, 2004 9:48 am
Location: Rochester, NY
Contact:

Re: GAME -- One line "blurbs" (for Sherlocks)

Post by clong »

Another good guess, but not what I have in mind.

Here's a clue...
Spoiler: show
Our hero's adventures include a nautical sequence.
ChoChiyo
Artificial Intellect
Posts: 10882
Joined: Sat Aug 28, 2004 1:06 pm
Location: The middle of a Minnesota cornfield
Contact:

Re: GAME -- One line "blurbs" (for Sherlocks)

Post by ChoChiyo »

critical supplies: a variety of necessary items from the Wizard (IE heart, brains, courage, passage home)
defiant young protagonist: Dorothy Gale
adventure: following the yellow brick road
foreign land: The "West" where the wicked wruling witch is dead.

Ding dong. :banana:

(I know this isn't a correct answer since Dorothy is a girl and the clue said "he."
I am a poor, wayfaring stranger
Wandering through this world of woe
But there's no sickness, no fear or danger
In that bright land
To which I go
User avatar
clong
Blade Runner
Posts: 9253
Joined: Tue Nov 16, 2004 9:48 am
Location: Rochester, NY
Contact:

Re: GAME -- One line "blurbs" (for Sherlocks)

Post by clong »

Another good guess, and a bit warmer, but sadly not the book that I have in mind.

Another hint:
Spoiler: show
The identity of the foreign land is the name of the book.
User avatar
MidasKnight
Centrist
Posts: 4157
Joined: Mon Dec 15, 2003 2:06 pm
Location: Folsom, CA

Re: GAME -- One line "blurbs" (for Sherlocks)

Post by MidasKnight »

Abarat?

Purely a guess.
In the 60’s, people took acid to make the world weird. Now the world is weird and people take Prozac to make it normal.
User avatar
clong
Blade Runner
Posts: 9253
Joined: Tue Nov 16, 2004 9:48 am
Location: Rochester, NY
Contact:

Re: GAME -- One line "blurbs" (for Sherlocks)

Post by clong »

Sorry, it is not Abarat.
User avatar
MidasKnight
Centrist
Posts: 4157
Joined: Mon Dec 15, 2003 2:06 pm
Location: Folsom, CA

Re: GAME -- One line "blurbs" (for Sherlocks)

Post by MidasKnight »

I feel I should know this so I'm trying to think of any book who's name sounds like a land.

Blind guessing is probably not what this thread is about though. Sorry
In the 60’s, people took acid to make the world weird. Now the world is weird and people take Prozac to make it normal.
User avatar
clong
Blade Runner
Posts: 9253
Joined: Tue Nov 16, 2004 9:48 am
Location: Rochester, NY
Contact:

Re: GAME -- One line "blurbs" (for Sherlocks)

Post by clong »

Here is another hint:
Spoiler: show
A key outcome in this book is determined by the results of a staring contest
User avatar
clong
Blade Runner
Posts: 9253
Joined: Tue Nov 16, 2004 9:48 am
Location: Rochester, NY
Contact:

Re: GAME -- One line "blurbs" (for Sherlocks)

Post by clong »

Another hint:
Spoiler: show
This book was published the year I was born, and has sold over 19 million copies (as of 2009).
User avatar
voralfred
Carpal Tunnel Victim
Posts: 5817
Joined: Tue Dec 19, 2006 3:53 am
Location: Paris

Re: GAME -- One line "blurbs" (for Sherlocks)

Post by voralfred »

I am sure that you are a bit older than I am, so born in or before 53, and I believe you are younger than my sister, so born in or after 46. But when where you born, exactly? Or is this a tightly kept secret ? ;)
Human is as human does....Animals don't weep, Nine

[i]LMB, The Labyrinth [/i]
User avatar
clong
Blade Runner
Posts: 9253
Joined: Tue Nov 16, 2004 9:48 am
Location: Rochester, NY
Contact:

Re: GAME -- One line "blurbs" (for Sherlocks)

Post by clong »

I believe that you can see my age if you look at my user profile (I can, anyway). :mrgreen:

I will try to come up with another hint which won't be too obvious. I believe that everyone who is participating will be familiar with this book--it has been translated into many languages from the original English.
User avatar
clong
Blade Runner
Posts: 9253
Joined: Tue Nov 16, 2004 9:48 am
Location: Rochester, NY
Contact:

Re: GAME -- One line "blurbs" (for Sherlocks)

Post by clong »

Spoiler: show
At a key moment in this story the protagonist is confronted by feral beasts who gnash their terrible teeth.
ChoChiyo
Artificial Intellect
Posts: 10882
Joined: Sat Aug 28, 2004 1:06 pm
Location: The middle of a Minnesota cornfield
Contact:

Re: GAME -- One line "blurbs" (for Sherlocks)

Post by ChoChiyo »

clong wrote:
Spoiler: show
At a key moment in this story the protagonist is confronted by feral beasts who gnash their terrible teeth.
It must be Where the Wild Things Are.

Protagonist is Max who won the right to rule by being the MOST TERRIBLE OF THEM ALL (While wearing his wolf suit)
I am a poor, wayfaring stranger
Wandering through this world of woe
But there's no sickness, no fear or danger
In that bright land
To which I go
User avatar
clong
Blade Runner
Posts: 9253
Joined: Tue Nov 16, 2004 9:48 am
Location: Rochester, NY
Contact:

Re: GAME -- One line "blurbs" (for Sherlocks)

Post by clong »

ChoChiyo wrote:
It must be Where the Wild Things Are.

Protagonist is Max who won the right to rule by being the MOST TERRIBLE OF THEM ALL (While wearing his wolf suit)
You are correct. A sherlock for ChoChiyo and you are up.
Post Reply

Return to “The Reading Room”