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Bad Boys of the Multiverse: An Alternate Universe Reading Guide
San Francisco, 12:38 AM
Sun Dec 6
11 posts in the last 24 hours
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The standalone Fredrik Pohl book "The Coming of the Quantum Cats" is good stuff too. Our hero (version the first) gets arrested for exposing his chest while in a public swimming pool in Chicago! (the US is run by Saudi Arabia, y'see)
10/05/09
10/03/09
I would also add The Schroendiger's Cat Trilogy by Robert Anton Wilson. Essentially, it's the sequel to Illuminatus! and involves a multitude of universes. Wilson was one of the influences for The Adventures Of Luther Awrkright.
In a parallel universe, Mick Farren is a rock star and a bestselling novelist. Necrom is his best Yancey Slide novel in my opinion.
PS: I 've had the pleasure of corresponding briefly with Michael Moorcock and Bryan Talbott in the past. They were as gracious and intelligent as one would expect from their work.
10/03/09
Especially Night watch and Jingo.
10/03/09
"Bingley-bingley beep! Things To Do Today...die."
Our pal Bjørn reminded me of the uses of multiverse in the Science of Discworld books as well, excellent reading for the layman science fan.
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-Kle.
10/03/09
I love the multiverse concept. Anything, anywhere can happen. It's quite interesting.
10/03/09
It seems nearly adequate.
10/02/09
10/03/09
Blue Öyster Cult also has songs written by John Shirley and the use of "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" in the intro was just the coolest thing about The Stand TV miniseries. Don't even get me started about "Godzilla".
They are the most bestest 70's SciFi Pro Rock Band like totally forever. Waaay better than lame ol' Rush.
And now Annalee and I must battle until the end of time over this...
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10/02/09
Keith Laumer dabbled, as well.
And A Bertram Chandler had a few good ones.
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I don't think it's merely theorectical that Michael Moorcock's fiction is one big multiverse. He told me once it started out as coincidence, with characters having similarities between fates and names etc. as befits writers who are obsessive with certain themes, but then once friends pointed out the patterns, he elaborated on them, just for fun. Now he has a gigantic deck of cards which he can shuffle about however he chooses.
I do believe the multiverse tag was first used to describe Michael's use of parallel worlds.
One of my favorite parallel world stories (I insist on being old-fashioned) is Bob Shaw's The Two-Timers. It was made into a bad movie with Joan Collins but you shouldn't hold that against the book. It's been awhile since I read it (and a lot of my sf collection is in boxes at the moment, thus hindering my research), but as I remember, our hero's marriage is hell, but when through a migraine he travels to a parallel world, that version of the woman is his perfect mate. Men always complain their women don't understand them, though the truth is, maybe they do and that's the problem. I'm not sure which scenario applied to the perfect mate in this case.
Then of course, there's the door that was opened by "Flash of Two Worlds".
10/03/09
Like now.