[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
>>
>>