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Don't let your brain go to waste - why not use those SF-loaded synapses for the betterment of mankind. Every month the SFX perts mailbag is chock-a-block with queries posed by your fellow readers, and some we open out to you to show how much you know about science fiction and fantasy. Supplying the best answer of the month can be your route to getting your words in SFX . Not only that, but we’ll give you a little prize from the SFX grotto of delights.
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The game is afoot! This month’s questions (sent to us by readers):
1. I remember two short stories from when I was a teenager.
1) Was set on a future Earth where after winning a war with Venus there was an uneasy peace. During the story the Venusians tried to take over the Earth again and were only stopped when there breathing apparatus was switched off.
2) Was also set on a future Earth where pollution had poisoned the oceans turning them into a black sludge. All the humans had retreated into the cities which had become large overcrowded metropolis's where people were not allowed to leave. Basically the story was about one boy's attempt to escape London and go to the seaside based on an old seaside postcard that he had been given.
Can anyone tell me which short story books these came from?
2. I remember reading a book in the '70s about a time traveller who goes back to solve his wife's murder only to find that she wasn't murdered but ran off leaving blood on the kitchen floor. I think the book was set in the '90s. The upshot was he found his wife, and watched the lead up to the "crime" through the window, he then goes on the follow her when he realises she cut her hand and left the house. He confronts her eventually to find she set him up, he then killed her, knowing he wouldn't be charged because he'd already served the time.
3. Years ago I read a horror/thriller novel which featured on it’s cover a sweaty, pudgy, balding, bespectacled guy in a lab coat in front of a grey-ish tiled wall. On the wall, I recall there being a small green lizard? The book is about some experiments being performed on three (?) teens. Pretty sure one of the teen characters is a largish girl called Barbara and the books author’s first name might be David. It may have been released about the same time as "The Woods are Dark" by Stuart Laymon if that’s any help.
4. I'm having trouble finding the name of a comic. It was about a boy living in the dark ages who finds Thor's hammer. He uses it to fight the Viking invaders in his land. But every time he uses the hammer's power it drains his strength and leaves him weak and vulnerable. That is all I can remember. I hope you can help me.
Tricky, eh? Remember send your answers or any questions you have to sfxperts@futurenet.com, marking the subject header I’m an SFXpert!
