a fourth Millennium volume by Stieg Larsson;
endless continuations of the Technic History and of the Time Patrol series by Poul Anderson -
- not by anyone else.
Might these books exist in an alternative timeline? We can imagine their existence but not their contents. I once dreamed of opening an as yet unread book but did not find within it a coherent text. All unwritten books are in Morpheus' Library, according to Neil Gaiman.
When I finished reading The Last Battle to my daughter, she said that she had seen the eighth Narnia book somewhere in the house and that we would read it when we found it. It had Aslan and soldiers on the cover - The Last Battle, Part II? I did not contradict her. She was making her contribution to the myth.
Ninian Smart's elegant argument about the unpredictability of scientific discoveries (see here) also applies to any attempt to imagine a text that Poul Anderson could have written but did not.
8 comments:
Paul:
I've lost count of the number of times I've "dreamed of opening an as yet unread book."
David,
What did you find when you opened them?
Paul.
Paul:
In general, stuff that didn't stick with me at all when I woke up. Lots of it was PROBABLY incoherent, but I think there were some bits that SEEMED to make sense DURING the dream. I have the vague impression that in at least one dream, I tried paging back through a book to reread something, and naturally couldn't find the passage again.
On ONE occasion, a line from my dream was memorable enough that I now occasionally use it as a sign-off for posts on various fora: "Those who believed the laws of physics made things 'possible' or 'impossible' were mistaken. Time travel violated one of those laws. Physics took its REVENGE."
David,
Maybe these dreams could provide a basis for fiction.
A Zen Master dreamed that a Bodhisattva spoke one sentence to him. The Master remembered the sentence and wrote it down so it now counts as Buddhist scripture.
Paul.
Gentlemen,
Alas, I've never had dreams about books. Let alone unread books I would have loved to have read!
For a long time, after I got my copies of Anderson's PERISH BY THE SWORD and MURDER BOUND, I did not read them, because I was enjoying the anticipation of eventually reading them.
Sean
Paul:
Addendum.
On the Drunkard’s Walk (mostly fan fiction) forum established by Bob Schroeck, classicdrogn posted an entry that began:
“You know the kind, that little shop you never noticed before and probably won’t be able to find if you try to go back later, filled with strange and interesting objects that may or may not actually be magical, but are definitely unusual. As we run an honest shop here actual cursed items are only stocked by rare accident, and there is a strict “no souls - no slaves - no refunds” sales policy.”
Other readers of the site were encouraged to post their suggested items to be found in this shop. In the spirit of Gaiman’s Library of Dreams, my contribution was:
* A complete set of the Neustria Cycle books by Leslie Barringer, all eight books from Gerfalcon (1927) to The Witch’s Talisman (1951). Note 1
* A used ticket for RMS Titanic’s final voyage back to Britain in 1934, before the ship went to the breaker’s yard. Captain Lightoller autographed the ticket.
* A lava lamp, plugged in and operating. The flowing wax is iridescent crimson.
* A box full of loose-leaf binders, with color-coded markings on many of the pages. The binder covers are marked with such titles as “Terran Federation,” “System States War,” and “First Galactic Empire.” There is also a star map. Note 2
* The score of Mozart’s Requiem ... completed. Autographed by the composer, “für Geoff mit herzliche Grüße.” Note 3
Note 1. For the unenlightened, in our world the Neustria Cycle is only three books, indeed beginning with Gerfalcon in ’27 but ending with Shy Leopardess (1948).
Note 2. This is the long-lost (and probably destroyed) background material H. Beam Piper used for his TerroHuman Future History.
Note 3. This is from the webcomic Pibgorn, and yes, in the course of a particularly weird time-travel incident, Mozart, visiting the 21st Century, finished his Requiem and autographed it to one of the main characters.
Incidentally, I threw in the lava lamp only to include something relatively mundane among the oddities.
Right.
Kaor, Paul and DAVID!
Two books that should be found in an obscure and somewhat mysterious second hand book store would be Dorothy L. Sayers' unwritten Lord Peter Wimsey novel THRONES, DOMINATIONS, and Poul Anderson's hinted at possible sequel to THE BROKEN SWORD.
Sean
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