I
remember reading books that changed my life when I was younger. And
while I've read MANY books that expanded my thinking, in terms of
fiction none have really altered my perspective since my early 20's.
Nonfiction, sure. But the last book that popped me open was a pulp SF
novel called "The God Machine" by Martin Caiden ("The Six Million Dollar
Man.") In this book, a supercomputer takes over the world, and
figures it can't be beaten, because the only route in to its innards is
protected by a lethal radiation belt. The book's hero is defeated and
stymied until an old poker player beats his pants off, saying that the
kid is an excellent technical player, but hasn't learned an important
axiom: in order to win everything, you have to be willing to lose
everything. That, more specifically, a man totally willing to die can
accomplish anything. I wrestled with that one for some time, and came
to the conclusion that I shouldn't aspire to anything that I wasn't
willing to die for. Changed my life, and it was the last fiction book
to do so. I was wondering...what was the last FICTION book that taught
you about the world, or yourself, in a powerful way...and how old were
you when you read it?
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www.diamondhour.com
1 comment:
The last fiction book which taught me about the world or myself in a powerful way: The Perfect Thief, by Ronald Jay Bass. I read it because of Daniel Keys Moran using it and referencing it in his Continuing Time series. It forced me to deal with my responses to reality and to recognize when I was attempting to deny reality. It was the kind of knowledge that can't be unlearned, no matter how hard I've tried. I was in my early thirties.
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