I don't remember the author or title, but the story is set down south. One day there was a flood and a new woman showed up. She got involved with the matriarch's son. Turns out she is a creature that came with the flood and her enemies start to disappear. I hope this may sound familiar to someone. I read it in the late 80's, the cover had an eye on it with the town flooded in the background. There were at least 6 books in the series. Thanks
122054
I have been searching for so long for a certain series of novels.  The only things I remember about the series is that the covers had an eye and a house partly submerged under water. It was a series of 6 books, each with a different colour. The plot concerns a woman who mysteriously appears after a flood in a southern town ruled by the matriarch of a family. The mysterious woman ends up marrying this matriarch's son and then the fun begins: disappearances and good fortune to those who deserve it.  If this sounds at all familiar, please help.
115131
I'm looking for a book (or series of books) which I read as a kid (around 1995). I don't know a lot about the storyline anymore but I remember that there were two distinct alien races in the book with whom humans interacted. One of the races was lizard-like and had as a trait that they had sort of a bladder that filled up when they were upset. When it was full they would go to some sort of temple and release it. They then went completely berserk and fought each other. Sometimes, when they didn't make it to a temple in time, this could happen in the outside world. I think the other race focussed on bio-organic and space ship development and I think they were shaped like small pyramid, but I'm not entirely sure about the last part. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
94137
I want to find the name of a book I read many years ago. The story is set in Britain. The weather is controlled by magic. I read it in the 60's or early 70's
55066
Looking for the title of a book I read about 5 years ago though I believe the book was a lot older.  Essentially the main male character was on a task and was travelling with a group of people. The mode of transport if I recall was a boat and they were on a remote planet travelling via a river. One of the group was a father to a young female infant. There's a reference to alien artefact/temple that essentially reverse aged a female scientist (the baby) a day at a time and the father is trying to undo it. Also a line I remember is the father used to say see you later alligator and the daughter will reply that awhile crocodile until a day where she forgot.  Another fellow traveller was a pilgrim and his male disciple. There are several other male and female travellers all had different reasons to travel to that location.  The aliens was located within the temple (time locked?) Were invisible to humans. Killed any that entered. Got the impression that they were quadpeds with organic blades/razors that cut people.  I believe the book may be part of a series. The male author though I don't recall the name, has written other works that have received awards. The book or series may have received one too. Which is probably why I decided to read it in the first place.  Question never asked anywhere else. I am from Australia, book was a paper copy bought locally.
113900
I only read part of the second book in this series years ago, and am unsure of how many books were in it. It was about a teenage or young adult boy, who was part of the ruling class of this fantasy world. He was gay, and his lover was the heir to the throne. The antagonist of the first book - I haven't read it, but I got the gist from comments in the second - was the current queen, who tricked the boy and his lover into leaving the kingdom for remote outer regions, thus enabling her son to take the throne. She then married her own son to keep herself in power.  The second book had the boy and his lover slowly becoming enemies, as the lover began to corrupt the simple tribesmen they were sheltering with in his quest to regain his throne. He wanted to build an empire in the hinterland and use the army to attack his homeland, killing the queen in the process, and didn't care about the long-term effects his actions were having on the culture or environment of his new followers.   The lover defeats a tribesman by breaking his neck in unarmed combat, then later takes a young boy as his "willing catamite." He also leads raids on neighbouring tribes, establishes alliances with other neighbouring tribes and organises daring and successful raids on the eggs of dinosaurs living in the middle of a swamp. He enslaves the first tribe to turn against him, and gives their children to slavers from the empire in place of those of allied tribes, thus weakening his enemies while ensuring the loyalty of his allies.  The series involved dinosaurs living among humans, being both domesticated and wild, used as livestock, for hunting and as transport. The boy and his lover were much taller than the average humans who were forced to pay tribute to this pseudo-magical empire they came from; all the humans from the empire were much larger than their subjects. The tribesmen have a tradition about not touching the ground with bare feet, as it is an insult to nature, or their god. The boy and his lover both ignore this superstition, but the catamite also begins to ignore it, despite looking ashamed as he does so.  I have absolutely no idea when this series was written, what it is called or who wrote it. All I know is that I read it in 2005-06, though it probably wasn't new. I'm hoping the long description I've given will help someone work it out.
75332
Story is in a medievalish setting and starts with a woman who has been falsely accused of being a witch being taken by 2 men to be sacrificed to a dragon.  She ends up befriending the (male) dragon, who is able to transform into various forms, including human, and can speak only the language of whatever form he is in. e.g. can speak English in human form, but can't in dragon form.  He needs to return to his dragon form every day at sunrise or he dies.  Contact with iron or steel causes him pain and prevents him from transforming.  Near the end of the book, he's been put in handcuffs by one of the two men from the start and the woman has to get the assistance of the other one (village blacksmith?) to remove them before sunrise, which they manage to do just in time.  I think I read it maybe 10 years ago.    I also remember it was a very short book, probably only about 100 pages.
121011
I don't have much info about this, I can only remember 2 scenes and I'm not entirely certain they're from the same book (only about 95%).   One scene has a man (possibly with a woman with him) attacked on a hill by what I think was a pack of wolves. I remember them riding the same horse, and he's got a sword. I'm pretty sure that this attack was communicated somehow to another person (telepathically or by some kind of magical viewing) who was trying to reach the man to help.   The other scene is of a young gypsy woman who I think got her wagon from her grandmother. She makes potions and see things (I don't remember how she sees). I think she is somehow in danger but I'm not sure how, it may have been for practicing magic.   The book was set in a historical period, possibly early 1800s or before in a British type area. I think it was part of a series and that the author was female. I read the book around 10 years ago. Also I believe it was a paperback copy.  Thanks for any suggestions, this has been driving me crazy for a couple of years!
13625
I read a story in the 1980's (before 1984) about a future where race (black, white, etc.) had disappeared and for some reason "they" were attempting to bring back the races. The main character was a white boy. At the beginning of the story he meets a girl of another race that is also part of the project to bring back distinct races.   I thought the title was "killing time" but that really does not fit with the story I remember and none of the books I have found with that title fit.  The other detail I remember is that the people counted in octal (base 8) which I thought was cool.
26371
This  reminded me of a story I read in the 90s.  A woman is caught shoplifting a bunch of metal items by throwing them into her purse. She has no memory, and the purse is empty. Anything metal they put in disappears. The police turn it over to government scientists, who investigate by attaching a large lump of metal to some extremely strong wire and dropping it in like a fishing line.      They have it hooked up to the biggest, strongest crane available, and they begin reeling it back in. They reason that if whoever is on the other side can't let go, it could turn their universe inside out or something equally unpleasant, thus giving Earth the leg up in opening negotiations.   and then      The tension on the line increases until is under too much tension to cut. The story ends with the line slowly sliding back into the purse, with the realization that their plan has backfired in the worst possible way.   Anyone know the name of the story and author?
102697
When I was younger I read a series of 3 or 4 books involving largely traditional mages/dragons/enchanted forests.  I'd like to buy it for some of my younger extended family members but I can't remember the name of it.  Here's what I remember from this:   I read the last book first, in which the son of a woman turned out to be largely one of the main characters in the other books takes an enchanted sword into a forest on a quest to do something. At one point in one of the earlier books the group was travelling through a swamp like area to get to a tower where a witch(or mage lived). There was a king (possibly the son's father) who was frozen in a castle during the last book. The evil mages/witches would melt (but not die) when some spell was cast on them. I read the series circa 1992 (estimated), comparable to the DragonLance series it was geared towards a younger audience (I don't remember any sex/brutal slayings of anyone). I believe in the first book the mother of the son in the last book runs away from home and becomes something of a maid to a dragon. I can't remember if there were evil dragons or not, I seem to remember that at least some of them were good (or at least largely neutral).   If I think of any other details I'll add them.
116709
I remember reading this great trilogy series about 10-15 years ago. It's about a family living in a dystopian walled city where people are sorted and classed by their intelligence.  The protagonists are twins, a boy and girl. They defy the system and are exiled from the city, along with another boy. They journey across a desert and have many adventures etc. This is only in the first book.  I remember the cover being a big 'S' shaped symbol. It had something to do with a wind chime that was central to the plot.  Edit: There is already another question with the same answer . I did do a search on stackoverflow before I posted this question of course, but I feel I would never have know it's the same question just looking at the title. It's up to the community to close this question as a duplicate.
26016
It may be called The Gleanors, or something.  They each have a strip of land to glean, with neighbors doing the same. the story is hard to remember, but it was totally interesting. When I think back, I can only say that they must have been an excellent writer, to be able to do so much with so little in the story.
80611
I read this novel when I was young. It is probably a children's or young adult novel. I think I read it in 1997 or earlier. I remember very much enjoying it, but the title and most of the details are unfortunately quite hazy for me. Here is what I have:   The main character was a girl in her early teens (I think) She was sent to live with a man who was some sort of master of dragons She may have been related to this man (his niece, perhaps), but I also may have made that up The man wore gloves at all times. When he removed them and touched someone he could see something about them. Their future, I think?   Sound familiar to anyone?   Update: Thinking back on it some more, I think I remember that the dragon lord guy and the heroine ended up in some kind of romantic relationship (making it less likely that he was her uncle). Also, he did at one point take off his gloves and touch her, seeing her future (I think).  'nother Update: It's possible that I'm confusing dragons with volcanos. Or, there may have been both. And I think they lived on an island, or a coastline?
23418
I am looking for some help remembering this book series I listened to on audiobook many years ago. It was a good story I just for the life of me can't remember the name, author or any of the character names lol I think this is a long shot as I don't remember many details but I really would like to read it again.  Some of the details I do remember: the story is set in a medieval time, not on this planet.  It's told from the viewpoint of a man, I believe he was a soldier. The main character meets him in a war torn world and allows him to travel with her.  The main character is a woman. She is a wanderer and carries a sword that only she can hold. If I remember correctly the magic is too powerful for anyone else to bear and it physically hurts them.  This sword allows her to pass through portals into other worlds. The portals are stationary and they need to travel to them.  There was also something special about her horse.... Ugh.  Each book is set on a different world.I only remember two of the worlds.  One is doomed world. It's land is sinking and towards the end there is a rush to get to the next portal. The book is set in a bog filled environment.  The other world I remember is more lush. Open plains and dense forest. The man is separated from the woman for some time. He stays with tribes-people, elves maybe? When it's time for them to go to the next world the man is torn between staying with his new friends and leaving.  So that's really all I remember. At the time I remember noting after I had read a few of the books that the author never really finished the series.  Any help would be appreciated :) throw me some guesses so I can do some research!
69670
I have been trying to find a book I read quite a few years ago. Well, there are 2, one being the sequel.  Now I'm sure my memory has been kind enough to mix parts of the 2 books, but I will do my best with the description.  The cover of the book had a hand print. As far as the story, a boy finds out he has some powers from some guy. I think he had a ring that allowed him to use his power. Later when training the boy, he has him learn to control his power by deflecting rocks or meteors or some rocky item. The boy ends up using too much force and shatters them, but eventually gets the hang of it. Another part close to the end, the boy has a vision, I think, of some other kid getting struck by lightning, so he figures out a way to save the kid, but gets struck by the lightning himself.  In the second book, I remember a part early on where a sign falls from a building toward some child, but the boy uses his power to save the kid; afterwards, no trace of the boy is found. A lady who witnessed it said something like it was her dead son (I'm guessing his mom from the previous book).   I'm having trouble remembering anything but that. I read them in '97 or '98, I believe. As far as the publication dates, I never checked.
33074
I woke up the other morning with this story on my mind.  I've tried some googling, but my efforts are coming up with nothing useful.  My memory of the specifics of the material is pretty pathetic, apologies.  What it was: A novella, novel, or series of novels  When I read it/When it was written: I read it between 2000 and 2010; it would have been written no more than 10 years earlier.  The Plot(ish): A group of modern or near future men and women are transported instantaneously to a strange planet by means I can't remember.  It may have been your typical "glowing ball of mysterious light", but I'm not certain.  All future activities occur either on that world or on a shifting series of closely related worlds.    Upon arrival they find wilderness and eventually, while evading Earth-like jungle terrors, they stumble on an encampment of Victorian era Brits.  The Victorians are very much "Dr. Livingston, I presume." types, and we find that they were zapped out of 1800's England in much the same way.  The Victorians (if I recall correctly) keep a Neanderthal or Australopithecene as "servants" and are doing their best to preserve their version of civilization against the barbaric surroundings they've been forced into.  They clearly arrived well before the main characters, but if I recall correctly, they did not arrive 200+ years before, more like 20.  Eventually we meet some slavers who may have been pirates before being taken.  I think that they enslave one of the main characters for a period of time before he is rescued.  There may be some weird religious imagery at this point in the story as well.  The most bizarre bit of the book involves the eventual encounter of the main characters with an extremely advanced race of hominids who have evolved from a completely different ancestor, perhaps Gigantopithecus.  They are huge, gorilla-like people who are peaceful and have technology that is way beyond our lineage.  At one point in the story the humans, perhaps with the help of the Gigantopithecuses, look through what is essentially a catalogue of possible Earths.  They see dozens of different planets, each of which has a slightly different timeline, before moving on to some with wildly different histories, like an Earth that has become completely engulfed in ice, from which the Neanderthals come.  This might have been the explanation for all of the people from various time periods arriving at nearly the same time on the story's Earth.  The next bit is spoilered to avoid giving away the ending:      The main characters and the Gigantopithecus and Neanderthal who have teamed up with them figure out how to manipulate a forcefield protected computer/crystal/teleporter thing of mysterious origin in order to send them home (or perhaps just stop more people from being zapped to this place.)  The Gigantopithecus makes a deal with the main characters, they achieve their goal.  The humans had, at one point, promised the Neanderthal that they would help get it home.  The Gigantopithecus understands that to be an unbreakable contract (it cannot lie) and so the price of its help winds up being transportation of the Neanderthal, along with an unwilling human companion (a woman who has been unpleasant throughout the story, if I remember right) back to the ice world from which the Neanderthal had come.
3874
I read this about 30/40 years ago. I don't remember if it was a short story or book.  What I remember of it :   Some aliens arrive at earth; they don't find any living humans, just empty cities. They go to one museum and revive an Egyptian mummy. When it's alive, it keeps asking where his servants are. They don't get any information from the mummy so they kill him again. Later on they revive another human, who turns out to be more intelligent than the aliens.   I don't remember much of what happened from this point on, except:   In the end the human starts to revive other humans.   Some one can tell me what story, name of book.