Ideally, all books should be memorable. Some books are more memorable than others, however. A very few are particular memorable in ways other books struggle to match. This can be a highly subjective category, grounded in personal experience. Here are five books that have a permanent place in my memory, for one reason or another…
Gordon R. Dickson’s Secret Under the Sea was a foray into children’s science fiction. It features young Robbie, who is drawn into sub-aquatic counter-terrorism (so typical of kids those days). It’s quite possible that this was the first Dickson novel I read… although that’s not why I remember it.
Secret was in a stack of books I had set aside for a family road trip. I very sensibly found a quiet reading spot at home and dove in. A small boy quietly reading in the back seat of a VW microbus makes the same sound (none) as a small boy quietly reading in an out-of-the-way corner back home. The exasperated conversation that ensued once the family returned, some hours later, to collect me wasn’t all that pleasant, but it ensured that I would never forget Dickson’s book.
I am not sure how Russ Winterbotham’s The Space Egg ended up in the Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina’s library. It is, alas, a disappointing tale of evil antimatter space eggs and their quest to possess humans. But I was not at all disappointed to have discovered a previously overlooked trove of Anglophone books in this Brazilian library.
What actually guaranteed that I would never forget reading this book was a discovery, mid-sip, that while my attention was focused on the novel some many, many ants had found their way into my soft drink can. Tropical ants express displeasure far more effectively than do the Canadian ants with which I was familiar. Not only would I never forget The Space Egg, it would take decades before I stopped suspiciously checking drinks before sipping.
While one could critique Ender’s Game on a number of grounds, one must admit this story of a young man being weaponized by his government must still appeal to some readers, as the novel-length expansion is still in print. I know it from the original story, published a long time ago in the 1970s.
As is so often true of works that first appeared in short form and later expanded, the original version as it appeared in Analog was more memorable than the novel. As I was halfway through reading the story I was suddenly set on fire. This was the (entirely unpredictable!) consequence of having sat down too close to some tent caterpillar nests that were being burned off trees. Nothing, aside from numerous warnings, suggested that this might happen.
Despite the distraction, I did manage to maintain my focus on the story. It is seared into memory.
William Goldman’s The Princess Bride, which I read while camping in Ontario’s Algonquin Park, is a whimsical novel whose framing sequence involves a writer’s attempt to bond with his son by giving him a beloved book—The Princess Bride of the title. As the father belatedly discovers, the version of the story he knows and the book as written are two very different works. The writer sets out to provide a “good parts” version.
Not only was the framing sequence a novelty to me but…this is to date the only fantasy novel I have read where, partway through reading it, a hundred-kilogram rock was dropped on my left hand.
Trying to access emergency medical care in the middle of Algonquin Park began badly and got much worse. I cannot deny that reading The Princess Bride under those circumstances left a lasting impression.
David Brin’s Startide Rising is the second of his Uplift novels. It’s the tale of a mixed crew of humans and various Uplifted animals who stumble over an ancient fleet of space hulks dating back to the earliest days of the civilized galaxy. It’s a thrilling tale, one that stands on its own (something more series books should do).
What made the plot even more thrilling was that I read the novel while working as a guard at a factory undergoing some sort of labor dispute (not a formal strike, I don’t think). I was warned that there was a slight chance that, while doing my round, I might be set upon and bludgeoned. Since the other guard absolutely refused to leave the locked office, I did all the rounds alone. Not knowing if I would be able to resume reading each time I set the book down added delightful suspense to the plot. As a means of enhancing the experience, one cannot beat it.
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Of course, this is just a small sample of the times my reading experience has been unexpectedly enhanced. I didn’t even mention semi-molten glass! I have no doubt many of you have had similar experiences. Please regale us with them in comments, which are below.
In the words of fanfiction author Musty181, four-time Hugo finalist, prolific book reviewer, and perennial Darwin Award nominee James Davis Nicoll “looks like a default mii with glasses.” His work has appeared in Interzone, Publishers Weekly and Romantic Times as well as on his own websites, James Nicoll Reviews (where he is assisted by editor Karen Lofstrom and web person Adrienne L. Travis) and the 2021, 2022, and 2023 Aurora Award finalist Young People Read Old SFF (where he is assisted by web person Adrienne L. Travis). His Patreon can be found here.
