@RUTGERS.ARPA:maxson%vaxwrk.DEC@decwrl.ARPA (02/16/85)
From: maxson%vaxwrk.DEC@decwrl.ARPA (VAXworks 223-9408) Another "Group Mind" story is "Encounter Near Venus", author forgotten, which I read in my youth. This is a juvenile, but an excellent one. I vaugely recall another novel, involving telepathy, where a strong telepath would gather a group of people and begin to tell them a story, telepathically. The telepath would integrate the personas of his listeners as characters - the ultimate role playing game, with the telepath as DM. This was not portrayed as a good thing: the liseners (and the DM) would become so involved in the story they never bothered to eat, and usually died. The heroes of this novel were "good telepaths", who would use long distance ranging to find a circle of affected listeners, and then insert themselves in the game, make it go sour, and thereby break it up. This took exceptional will power, and if the "good telepath" failed, he or she might be dragged into the story and (eventually) die. Can't remember the title, I regret to say. Don't know if this is what you were looking for, but there is a book by D.G. Compton called "The Steel Crocodile", and the famous Harry Harrison "Stainless Steel Rat" series. - "We are the Warriors on the Edge of Time, and we're tired of making love..." "MAXSON%VAXWRK.DEC@DECWRL.ARPA" Mark Maxson / VAXworks / PKO2-1/M11 DEC /129 Parker St./ Maynard, MA/ 01754
ellen@reed.UUCP (Ellen Eades) (02/20/85)
> From: maxson%vaxwrk.DEC@decwrl.ARPA (VAXworks 223-9408) > > > Another "Group Mind" story is "Encounter Near Venus", author > forgotten, which I read in my youth. This is a juvenile, but > an excellent one. "Encounter Near Venus" is by Leonard Wibberley, author of "Ah, Julian!", "Captain Treegate's War," and a few other good juvenile books. I think Wibberley is terrific. "ENV" has a sequel too, whose title I cannot recall. Highly recommended.