Beyond Reality discussion

I'm hoping someone can tell me the title of a book I only vaguely remember. As I recall it, there were many different cultures from different periods of history being somehow artificially maintained and kept separate from cultures they would not historically have interacted with (and prevented from evolving I think). Sometimes someone would come along that was exceptional in some way; they would be told the truth and would then work to maintain the system. I can't remember if the system is created/maintained by future humans, or by aliens. The only other detail I remember is a river (I'm familiar with Farmer's Riverworld and that isn't what I'm remembering). Any suggestions?

Sounds like Lords of the Middle Dark by Jack Chalker, first book of the Rings of the Master series. They're good fun!

Thanks for the response Shel. I have that book on my to read list, but I'm not sure its the one I'm thinking of. My recollection of the system is more benevolent, an effort to preserve cultures. I will push Chalker book to the top of my list though, sounds like a good read even if its not the one.

Hi Sam. I'm a newbie as well, thanks for responding. I don't remember a space ship, but it could be. My memories of the story are pretty vague. :)

I think there is a group on GR that specialise in identifying forgotton books. Perhaps do a search in the groups.

Hi Sam, I'm intrigued to find out what the book is now.

The group that figures out books is here:
http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/1...
What's The Name of That Book???

They're very, very good. Someone helped me figure out the name of a ghost story I read over 40 years ago that hasn't been published since. It took a few years, but BookMooch or PBS finally came up with the book & I read it a year ago. I'm still in shock.
;-)

Thanks Jim, I posted on that group. I will post any updates here as well.

I'll be interested, Mary. Parts of the book sound familiar, but not all together. Jack L. Chalker's "Well of Souls" has lots of different cultures separated by walls, but it's on a planet, I think. "Silent Running" starring Bruce Dern had a space ship with separate areas, but it housed forests, not people. (Cute robots, though. Watch it & see where R2D2 got started.) Lots of authors wrote about generation spaceships, but I can't bring to mind any with separate civilizations.

Samantha wrote: "Hi, I'm Sam, a newbie. I recall something very similar. It turns out to be a large space ship with enclosed domes on the ends connected by corridors to the main body of the space ship. Perhaps it's..."
70's TV show videotaped in Canada....Starlost

The book sounds like Riverworld.

Some similar elements in an Asimov short story, "The Ugly Little Boy". Wikipedia has a good entry here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ugly...

Robert Silverberg expanded the idea into a novel by the same name... called Child of Time in the UK.

Hope you find what you're looking for.

A lot of great suggestions (most of which are going on my to-read list!), but none of them quite match up with my memory. Maybe my memory is actually a mash up of several books! Another possibility is that it was a short story, which would be even harder to find.

Another possible source for figuring out forgotten books is the Science Fiction Fantasy Chronicles:

http://www.sffchronicles.co.uk/forum/

Join up, and go to Book Search. Good luck.

I sobbed over the robots in Silent Running, my mum said I wasn't too watch sci-fi with Dad ever again. Little did she know...

Helen wrote: "I sobbed over the robots in Silent Running, my mum said I wasn't too watch sci-fi with Dad ever again. Little did she know..."

LOL! My kids were raised on SF & I got in trouble for it, too. Erin was about 2 or 3, sitting on my lap while I was reading the paper & watching "Aliens". We were mostly doing the latter when Marg came down stairs. I pulled the paper up quickly, but Erin pulled it back down so she could see. I caught hell for that. I still don't know why. Erin didn't have too many nightmares...
;-)

I walked in on my daughter and her dad watching Conan, I asked if this was suitable for a tot and was told to stop being silly. He did blush when an orgy came on! Clearly a dad thing.

LOL!

It sounds like this book has a similar theme to Ben Bova's Orion. I read that book maybe 16 years ago when I was in junior high and loved it. Orion is the perfect human or something close I guess, and is planted at various crucial points in human history to thwart a being who wants to see humans destroyed. I may have to do a re-read and see if I still like it as much as I did when I was a teenager.

Samantha wrote: "Hi, I'm Sam, a newbie. I recall something very similar. It turns out to be a large space ship with enclosed domes on the ends connected by corridors to the main body of the space ship. Perhaps it's..."

Hey, if you find out who wrote it, let me know ? I read same book, pretty sure, but no idea anymore which title / author

I'm searching for a title to a Harlan Ellison short story I read in the early 90's. it was approximately two pages about mans folly. let me apologize in advance if this is the wrong forum. I am tech challenged and I cannot find the answer.
Thanks, Gary

Gary, there is a group called, "What's the Name of that Book" that is another place to ask, in case no one here knows the answer. You can find it here:
http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/185

Harlan Ellison wrote a LOT of short stories, some while sitting in a book store window. Most pointed out some foible of man. Can you get a bit more detailed about what the story was about?

Harlan Elison wrote too many short stories. And he certainly wrote too many while sitting in a book store window. But I love that he was the inspiration for the murder victim in Sharyn McCrumb's Bimbos of the Death Sun.

--But the strange thing is --- I love some of Harlan Elison's work. A lot. "'Repent Harlequin!..." is one of the best ... ever! And he edited Dangerous Visions and Again, Dangerous Visions, which is the science fiction I cut my teeth on.

I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream was one of the early SF stories I read. I think I was about 10. Wow. Blew me away. I love the Dangerous Visions, too.

He also wrote a lot of screenplays. Some of my favorite Outer Limits & Star Trek episodes were by him.

Yes, Trillions is by Nicholas Fisk. I remember reading it while home sick from school, those many, many, many years ago.