AboutSue Kayton Expertise Engineer who has read thousands of science fiction books and short stories. Can recommend stories on specific subjects and comment on technical feasibility. Especially good at older out-of-print books and authors.
I used to love reading a book in the mid seventies which was a science fiction one set on a dying planet. There was a young girl who saved the planet in the end but died herself in the process. The last line was something like " and the loss of planet [something] was but a small one".
The other question I have is about a short story also read in the 70s that stuck in my head. A town was controlled by a young boy with special powers who could make people do whatever he wanted them to do. He read people's minds too, so everyone was very careful what they thought. The bit that sticks in my head was that he made a rat eat itself!!
Any help identifying these would be appreciated, as they've been going around in my dead for years!
thank you.
Answer Can't help you with the first one.
The second story is probably It's a Good Life by Jerome Bixby. This story appears in several anthologies including The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volume 1. All the volumes of the Hall of Fame are well worth reading.
