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Login to post Forums » Off-topic discussion » Help identify a book!

April 6, 2011 3:39 p.m. Javelin SuperDork

I read a book at least 10+ years ago that I can't remember the name of and want to find again. It was a sci-fi, softcover. The premise was in the far future (WW3 maybe?) a US Interceptor is trying to intercept a balistic nuclear missile (possibly from Russia) when it goes off mid-air. Said fighter flies through airburst at Mach 4+ and ends up landing in the UK. Pilot gets out and it's smack-dab in the middle of WWI. They detain him, figure out he ain't lying (witness modern jet fighter) and let him kind of do whatever. Pilot eventually figures out to get kerosene from the cooks to run the fighter and starts trying to shoot down Germans. None of the tech works because the wooden WW1 fighters don't have enough metal for heat-seeking or radar and are basically too slow and manuverable for missiles to work. Depleted uranium shells don't work either. Pilot eventually figures out how to use fighter to shoot down Germans. More happens but I don't want to give it away if you're interested in reading it, it has a great ending.

What is the book!?!? Title, author? I can't find it to save my life.

Once y'all identify this one, I have a second one to find as well, equally as awesome.
April 6, 2011 3:43 p.m. Lugnut HalfDork

I believe it was "Hawk Among the Sparrows" by Dean McLaughlin.
April 6, 2011 3:53 p.m. chuckles Reader

Reminds me of something I've been sort of meaning to find...Mysterious stranger sells Robert E. Lee 10,000 AK-47s. A week later, the war is over and Lincoln is being lynched on the White House lawn. No, really. Maybe the same author.
April 6, 2011 3:57 p.m. Javelin SuperDork

Lugnut wrote:

I believe it was "Hawk Among the Sparrows" by Dean McLaughlin.

Holy carp! You are good! I owe you a beer for sure!

Next one:

Also a sci-fi, in the post-apocolypse it's nuclear winter. The Allies and Russia have managed to kill everything in the Northern Hemisphere. The story is set in Australia where the last remainders of the population live (and pretty much stay drunk constantly) as the deathly radiation cloud slowly comes towards them. A couple of guys bought/stole cars and race on a makeshift dirt track. There's a UK sub patrolling around, trying to survive. Right as the cloud is about to get to the last of ozzieland the sub takes off for the North to try and find de-toxified air, they'll be the last humans.
April 6, 2011 3:57 p.m. Lugnut HalfDork

chuckles wrote:

Reminds me of something I've been sort of meaning to find...Mysterious stranger sells Robert E. Lee 10,000 AK-47s. A week later, the war is over and Lincoln is being lynched on the White House lawn. No, really. Maybe the same author.

That one sounds like "Guns of the South" by Harry Turtledove. He does a lot of alternate history books.
April 6, 2011 4:00 p.m. Lugnut HalfDork

Javelin wrote:

Lugnut wrote:

I believe it was "Hawk Among the Sparrows" by Dean McLaughlin.

Holy carp! You are good! I owe you a beer for sure!

Next one:

Also a sci-fi, in the post-apocolypse it's nuclear winter. The Allies and Russia have managed to kill everything in the Northern Hemisphere. The story is set in Australia where the last remainders of the population live (and pretty much stay drunk constantly) as the deathly radiation cloud slowly comes towards them. A couple of guys bought/stole cars and race on a makeshift dirt track. There's a UK sub patrolling around, trying to survive. Right as the cloud is about to get to the last of ozzieland the sub takes off for the North to try and find de-toxified air, they'll be the last humans.

"On the Beach" by Nevil Shute?
April 6, 2011 4:01 p.m. Marjorie Suddard General Manager

Javelin wrote:

Lugnut wrote:

I believe it was "Hawk Among the Sparrows" by Dean McLaughlin.

Holy carp! You are good! I owe you a beer for sure!

Next one:

Also a sci-fi, in the post-apocolypse it's nuclear winter. The Allies and Russia have managed to kill everything in the Northern Hemisphere. The story is set in Australia where the last remainders of the population live (and pretty much stay drunk constantly) as the deathly radiation cloud slowly comes towards them. A couple of guys bought/stole cars and race on a makeshift dirt track. There's a UK sub patrolling around, trying to survive. Right as the cloud is about to get to the last of ozzieland the sub takes off for the North to try and find de-toxified air, they'll be the last humans.

"On the Beach." Was also a good movie with Gregory Peck.

[edit: crap, I never beat anyone to the answer around here!] Margie
April 6, 2011 4:03 p.m. Duke SuperDork

Javelin wrote:

Next one:

Also a sci-fi, in the post-apocolypse it's nuclear winter. The Allies and Russia have managed to kill everything in the Northern Hemisphere. The story is set in Australia where the last remainders of the population live (and pretty much stay drunk constantly) as the deathly radiation cloud slowly comes towards them. A couple of guys bought/stole cars and race on a makeshift dirt track. There's a UK sub patrolling around, trying to survive. Right as the cloud is about to get to the last of ozzieland the sub takes off for the North to try and find de-toxified air, they'll be the last humans.

"On The Beach", by Neville Schute. Good book.
April 6, 2011 4:04 p.m. Lugnut HalfDork

Yep. I'm awesome.
April 6, 2011 4:07 p.m. Javelin SuperDork

Holy fishsticks, you nailed it again! And Marjorie, I did not know it was made into a movie too, so thanks!

Now I have to think of any others. What prompted all this is I only have a handful of books from when I was younger, one of which is called "Return to Daytona" by W.E. Butterworth (which excellent BTW). I found a second book by him at the swap meet over the weekend and started geeking out about all of the old stuff I've read and should follow-up on.
April 6, 2011 5:21 p.m. aircooled SuperDork

I remember one that is similar, though I think it probably was a short story (don't know the name):

Army guy somehow gets sent back in time to the Viking era. He figures he is now god because he is future man (advanced technology etc). He soon realizes that all his knowledge is basically useless because he can't actually create any of the advanced things he knows about. He does have a .45 with him, which makes him powerful, but things don't go well after he runs out of ammo.

It was something like that. Kind of a GRM message in a way. Know that one?

...OK, so there is this star system with a giant ring structure around it... just kidding...
April 6, 2011 6:35 p.m. Osterkraut SuperDork

aircooled wrote:

I remember one that is similar, though I think it probably was a short story (don't know the name):

Army guy somehow gets sent back in time to the Viking era. He figures he is now god because he is future man (advanced technology etc). He soon realizes that all his knowledge is basically useless because he can't actually create any of the advanced things he knows about. He does have a .45 with him, which makes him powerful, but things don't go well after he runs out of ammo.

It was something like that. Kind of a GRM message in a way. Know that one?

...OK, so there is this star system with a giant ring structure around it... just kidding...
April 6, 2011 6:49 p.m. Osterkraut SuperDork

Oh and in Hawk Among the Sparrows, it was a French nuke. Sort of a weird take on future tech (ex: odd workarounds for tech that existed at the time of writing, much less the future).
April 6, 2011 7:51 p.m. Lugnut HalfDork

That poster is brilliant. I am printing that out for my time machine.
April 6, 2011 8:01 p.m. DoctorBlade HalfDork

Lugnut wrote:

chuckles wrote:

Reminds me of something I've been sort of meaning to find...Mysterious stranger sells Robert E. Lee 10,000 AK-47s. A week later, the war is over and Lincoln is being lynched on the White House lawn. No, really. Maybe the same author.

That one sounds like "Guns of the South" by Harry Turtledove. He does a lot of alternate history books.

Lincoln doesn't get lynched, but does go on to obscurity. Love the book.
April 6, 2011 8:37 p.m. friedgreencorrado SuperDork

Marjorie Suddard wrote:

Javelin wrote:

Lugnut wrote:

I believe it was "Hawk Among the Sparrows" by Dean McLaughlin.

Holy carp! You are good! I owe you a beer for sure!

Next one:

Also a sci-fi, in the post-apocolypse it's nuclear winter. The Allies and Russia have managed to kill everything in the Northern Hemisphere. The story is set in Australia where the last remainders of the population live (and pretty much stay drunk constantly) as the deathly radiation cloud slowly comes towards them. A couple of guys bought/stole cars and race on a makeshift dirt track. There's a UK sub patrolling around, trying to survive. Right as the cloud is about to get to the last of ozzieland the sub takes off for the North to try and find de-toxified air, they'll be the last humans.

"On the Beach." Was also a good movie with Gregory Peck.

[edit: crap, I never beat anyone to the answer around here!] Margie

A fantastic movie. Although they change the nationality of the sub to US (which Peck's character captains). And the race is changed to an officially sanctioned one-that will probably be the last motor race on Earth. Fred Astaire decides to enter it.

This clip's got a lot of the era's "racing is a death wish" nonsense in it, but the vintage iron in it is great. And so is Ava Gardner. Damn, that woman was beautiful. And a helluva actress when given good material (which they do, elsewhere in the movie).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2KkbHxo6po

It's tough to describe how scary these films were to folks who actually lived the Cold War. I was just talking about punk rock on the music thread, and I'd forgotten that much of the punk experience was not giving a E36 M3 because we were all gonna die from the nukes anyway..

EDIT: Can one of y'all tell me whether or not that's really Phillip Island?
April 6, 2011 8:42 p.m. Luke SuperDork

Javelin wrote: A couple of guys bought/stole cars and race on a makeshift dirt track.

That was my favourite part of the film. It's a great scene with an old Ferrari race car, (Testarossa with a Chevy V8 swap I think), plus some Porsche 356s and other stuff, turning laps at Phillip Island (Australia), I'm pretty sure.

Hah, FGC beat me to it .

Edit again: maybe it's not even a Ferrari. At one point you do get a glimpse under the hood, though, and I'm almost certain it's running a Chev V8.
April 6, 2011 8:50 p.m. wbjones SuperDork

Javelin wrote:

Holy fishsticks, you nailed it again! And Marjorie, I did not know it was made into a movie too, so thanks!

Now I have to think of any others. What prompted all this is I only have a handful of books from when I was younger, one of which is called "Return to Daytona" by W.E. Butterworth (which excellent BTW). I found a second book by him at the swap meet over the weekend and started geeking out about all of the old stuff I've read and should follow-up on.

it was on TV just a few nights ago
April 6, 2011 9:08 p.m. Keith SuperDork

If you like this kind of stuff (future tech lands in WWII), check out the Axis of Time trilogy. It's nit just stuff blowin' up, but contrasts the 1943 warriors with the results of two decades of global terrorism.
April 6, 2011 9:44 p.m. Lugnut HalfDork

I just finished The Man in the White Suit, and now I was thinking about starting Blackout by Connie Willis. Three historians from 2060 go back in time to observe WW2 from different perspectives, but get stuck in the past.

Or maybe Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens.
April 7, 2011 9:11 a.m. Javelin SuperDork

Keith wrote:

If you like this kind of stuff (future tech lands in WWII), check out the Axis of Time trilogy. It's nit just stuff blowin' up, but contrasts the 1943 warriors with the results of two decades of global terrorism.

I will do so, thanks for the tip!

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