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But the work I would like to STRONGLY recommend is "This Perfect Day" (1970).

I read that years ago as a teenager! Forgot all about it until I saw this post. It is an excellent novel. It is based on a flawed premise, but, as you say it is very well written & an exciting read.

And to Don...thank YOU for the pleasure of your book, the kind words were earned.

Christopher Schlegel

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Best-selling author Ira Levin, who was a student of Objectivism in the 1950s and 60s...

I had no idea. Is that info available somewhere, in a book or website? Or is it something you know from being around Objectivists for a long time?

Anyway, thanks for the info. I'll make it a point to read that book (and more) ASAP.

I saw his movie "A Kiss Before Dying" several years ago and was quite impressed. But why didn't Ayn Rand point out that Levin was a student of Objectivism at one point when she discussed his writing?

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I saw his movie "A Kiss Before Dying" several years ago and was quite impressed.

His play, Deathtrap is a classic, and a favorite of mine. It plays periodically in local theater groups, and the movie of it with Michael Caine, Christopher Reeve, and Dyan Canyon is pretty good.

But why didn't Ayn Rand point out that Levin was a student of Objectivism at one point when she discussed his writing?

I think he was a devoted Libertarian. As far as I know he wrote to Ayn Rand about The Fountainhead, not about Atlas Shrugged or her nonfiction works.

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Quote: "I had no idea. Is that info available somewhere, in a book or website? Or is it something you know from being around Objectivists for a long time?"

[Maybe I pushed the wrong button; but for whatever reason I can't get the "Quote" feature to work.]

Ira Levin (1929- ) exchanged letters with Miss Rand in the 1950s. (See "Letters of Ayn Rand," hardcover, p. 465.) In the 1960s he attended some of the Objectivist lectures in New York City. I was not there at the time, but was told this by Jim Davidson, the electrical engineer and inventor who first had the idea of tape recording and distributing lectures on Objectivism.

(Note: This Jim is not to be confused with the Libertarian writer of the same name. The Jim Davidson I'm talking about wrote only for computer magazines. And he LIVED Objectivism to the end of his too-short life, achieving, to all appearances, in his own moral character what John Galt achieved in his. Being around him was highly inspiring, especially to a novice as I was at the time--later 60s, at Purdue University.)

Quote: "I saw his movie "A Kiss Before Dying" several years ago and was quite impressed."

Do NOT call it "his" movie ! If you're referring to the 1991 remake, that was cobbled together by mediocrities who did not even respect Mr Levin's work enough to keep the ending he created. The 1956 movie version was closer to the original, but still a far cry from the carefully crafted suspense of the novel.

Quote: "I think he was a devoted Libertarian."

If so, I'm sorry to hear it. I would not wish what Hollywood did to "A Kiss Before Dying," even on a Libertarian! :dough:

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Quote: "I think he was a devoted Libertarian."

If so, I'm sorry to hear it.

I should make clear that I do not know this first hand. It is just something I heard from more than one source over a period of time. Also, I do not recall Levin being at any of the lectures, but that does not mean it may not be so.

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I recommend the novels of Kay Nolte Smith. I don't know if she was an Objectivist or not, but I believe she wrote a few articles for one of the Objectivist publications.

Her novels have well-developed characters - very memorable heroes - people I'd want to meet in real life. Her novels have interesting plots, with many surprising turns in the action (i.e., the plot doesn't proceed as one might have thought it would). I always thought her writing showed clearly the influence of Ayn Rand and Objectivism.

The titles, together with dates of publication are:

The Watcher (1980)

Catching Fire (1982)

Mindspell (1983)

Elegy for a Soprano (1985)

Country of the Heart (1987)

A Tale of the Wind (1991)

Venetian Song (1994)

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  • 8 months later...
Edward Cline has the "Sparrowhawk" series, set during the Revolutionary period.  I've only read the first ("Sparrowhawk, Book One: Jack Frake") and was impressed.  I look forward to reading the rest.

Cline fans would be interested in how he found Ayn Rand.
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Are there any writers of fiction who present objectivist viewpoints, and which is consistent with objectivist aesthetics, other than Ayn Rand?

"To Hell in a Handcart" by Richard Littlejohn is supposed to be somewhat in line I think with Objectivism. That's at least what I've heard, I haven't read the book yet. I have heard Littlejohn a few times though and have liked what he said. The first time I saw him he was going up against Michael Moore during a panel discussion about the 2004 election. I was floored that this British guy was vehemently supporting America while Moore the American was (not surprisingly) bashing America. If anyone has read it I'd love some feedback.

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I haven't read the book but I read Richard Littlejohn's column each week in the British newspaper 'The Sun'. I have always enjoyed his writing and have found him to be almost Objectivist in his outlook on political events, both here in the UK and abroad. His column is a refreshing change from the typical sensationalist and humanitarian garbage usually written with an eye towards the 'social conscience'.

Also, in response to the origial query I can also heartily recommend Terry Goodkind's books for anyone looking for objectivist fiction.

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  • 2 years later...
Also: Alexander York's "Crosspoints: a novel of choice." Listen to Dr. Hurd's interview with her at his website:

http://drhurd.com/streaming/index.php

I'll have to check that link out later tonight. I bought that novel about a year or so ago. I began reading it, and stopped, somewhere before 100 pages in, if I can remember correctly. There was a certain very well described scene in it, which could have been a very beautifully, romantic scene, save for one thing: the motive and philosophy of one character Leon, I think it was, that was in that scene, which was totally setting it up so that if the lead female found out his real motive behind the action that was taking place - ...I...I...just didn't want to see her get hurt and used, and also that scene, since we knew what his motive was, was placing me as a reader in a very difficult spot: I had to read through it, and I just couldn't. I put the novel down. It was just too much for me. I haven't touched it since, only to pack it up when I moved recently. I don't know if I will ever be able to finish it. I can't necessarily recommend it fully, because I didn't read all of it, and at the same time I can't not recommend it either, because it had definite literary value, I just - it's like if I was watching a movie of it, I would have hit pause, and I'm just not sure if I can watch the rest of it. It's not the fault of the writer either. It's like trying to shut your eyes and cover your ears in a movie theater and saying to the person next to you, nudge me when it's over. I do not have such a person next to me to do that...since no one I know has read it.

I am very surprised that Noble Vision by Gen LaGreca has not been mentioned in this thread. Here is some information about the novel and you have my recommendation for it as well.

I just began reading the Sparrowhawk series by Edward Cline, and this is such a wonderful novel so far! I can't believe there isn't more of a buzz here about this novel and the last one I mentioned.

Anyone know if there is a box set of the Sparrowhawk series, or one to come?

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I am also currently writing a novel, However I have no planned finishing date but I did make a new years resolution to finnish it before this year is over. I'm going to get it published by http://www.authorhouse.com which is an online print-on-demand self-publishing company which provides you with the tools to publish it your self. So far I have finished the prologue and chapter 1, I plan on making it a 12 chapter novel. It is a coming of age novel about an immature smart aleck and his friends (all of which have a deep interest in abstract philosophy, mainly ethics) and how they struggle to adapt to a private Law school that has become overly corrupt and excessively bureaucratic ever since the original creator of the school (Marcus May) became hospitalized for cancer. The Vice Dean of the school is a irritating weasel like character that has written a letter a month to congress urging them to nationalize the school.

The main characters of the story (James Horton, Lloyd Sellers, Rudy Tilton, and Danniel Fane) are boys who wield the potential for greatness but are halted from it due to misunderstood premisses. They have no interest in any particular philosophy of their own and are very skeptical and relatively nihilistic towards everything except for the Nichomachean ethics that all four of them worship like a bible. Eventually the characters encounter Marcus May himself and he describes to them the error of their ways. I don't want to give away anything else because I want the title of the novel "Marcus's Law" to remain ambiguous until the end. What I can say is that the end is very heart warming and has an overall message devoted to loyalty only to truly loyal institutions and that there is an objective way of determining wether they're virtuous. Another big message of the story is the fact that there is no such thing as a contradiction. The main goal of the novel isn't necessarily to promote a particular political or ethical philosophy within it's moral, but rather to simply state the fact that there is no such thing as a contradiction, and to let the reader determine for him/herself exactly what is or is not a contradiction in their lives. I feel rather confident that it should do fairly well and I will get it done as soon as possible because frankly my main motivation for writing this book is profit and I feel very excited about it. Here's a portion of chapter 1 were the main character James Horton and his best friend Lloyd Sellers are driving themselves home from the graduation ceremony of their high school and are contemplating their future and some other things that annoy them. The character of James Horton has a scholarship to a Law school and Lloyd just reveals to him that he's going to attend the same school and can get away with it too do to his rich family which was explained previously before this little excerpt. The novel is narrated in a first person with James Horton doing the narration.

"So what college are you going to?" I asked.

"I? well..." Lloyd began with a smirk. "I believe that I'm not going to just any college. I'm going to Marcus's school of Law."

"What?" I exclaimed.

"You're not happy?"

"Well it's just that... it's an expensive school and to just go to it for no reason seems kinda ridiculous."

"Ah, but that is were you are wrong my friend. I don't just wish to attend it for no reason, I want to learn about justice." Replied Lloyd sarcastically.

"It's not funny Lloyd, you really shouldn't waste the money."

"Oh hush up you. I know what I'm getting myself into. I actually really am curious about the place, I here it's like a friggin land mark. The campus, that is. Suppose to be one of the oldest Private schools in the United States."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I've been reading an article all about it that I tore out of some magazine. You can have it if you want, I've read it several times."

"You sound like you've actually been looking forward to it."

"well, why not. Anything has got to be better than high school."

"Definitely."

"I don't know man, I just can't stand most of our friggin peers ya know. How they demand independence from 'The Establishments' that make students wear uniforms, when in reality their just going to make uniforms of their own by yielding to whatever the fashion industry pumps into their heads."

"Yeah, and I can't stand how teenagers at high school all except any load of crap that a teacher, or rather, any relatively authoritative looking figure propounds into the minds of the mindless."

"If a teacher told a teenager that eating fecal matter was incredibly healthy for you I wouldn't be surprised at all if they all began eating it."

We both had a very good laugh after that statement.

"Sad but true." Continued Lloyd.

Then, there was a long pause until I decided to speak again.

"Lloyd, why are we so weird?"

"Why are we so sane, you mean? I don't know why we are so awesome, but seriously it really is pathetic how desperate most of our peers are to conform to non-conformity."

"The saddest part is the fact that their teachers are actually encouraging their stupid behavior."

"It's almost as if they all lack such esteem, and yet are so desperate for it that they have to become apart of a gang in order to gain some sort of false sense of pride. Like a drug."

"That's... a very deep statement. I would've never expected you of all people to say it." I laughed.

"You can learn allot from me Jimmy, if only you'd open your ears."

"What's that suppose to mean?"

"Oh hush up you, I was just kidding. You know that you're my only like mind, and if you really are my true counterpart then you should also know what Aristotle said about it."

"'A friend is a second self.'"

"There ya go."

Me and Lloyd were having such an intriguing conversation that I didn't even witness the car stop and park in front of my house.

"Well Lloyd, either we're the wisest of our generation or the most conceited."

"You'd be amazed how those two depend upon each-other. For our sake, let's hope it's both."

With that departing message, I bid farewell to Lloyd, got out of his car, and walked into my house. I always felt extremely comfortable when being around Lloyd, for it really is amazing how analogous minds can feel so at home with one another, and yet I also wonder, if our peers feel the same sense of serenity hanging around with the kind of goons that are manufactured out of what ever their twisted society deems as popular... I shudder to think what a mind like that truly feels about it's own life, or wether, if it even knows that it has one.

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I'm writing a novel, myself. I started it in 01 and it really should have been finished by now, but it's almost done. I've already planned the next novel in the series and can't wait to get started on it (like any good fantasy, it's bound to turn into a series LOL) It's an adventure tale about people who have no proper place in society, so they create their own place by default as they stumble through various quests that generally, they didn't seek out themselves, but fall into their laps in one way or another. They're accidental heroes in the sense that they weren't trying to go out on a crusade or anything, but they're purposeful heroes in the sense that once they see what needs to be done, they follow it through to the end and nothing can stop them. Several issues are raised in the novel including individuality, tyranny vs. freedom, being one apart from "the herd", honor, and loyalty.

It's primarily a character-driven novel, so the main characters are as follows:

Celesta, an aspiring sorceress who ran away from her merchant father and preordained life path (marriage, respectability, etc). Not yet polished but with great amounts of potential. Although she has been on her own for awhile, she is still naive and sensitive in the beginning. She is a kind, caring individual but is also very driven and ambitious. She does not have a strong sense of herself and often seeks validation and support from her best friends. It is not obvious early on but she eventually shows a power-hungry side.

Berild, a large, burly warrior who has been working as a mercenary. It is clear he does not always care to be working for others, and he often turns down jobs he finds objectionable. However it takes him a while to truly find his own way. In addition to his physical prowess in battle he is also a brilliant strategist and of the main characters has the best ability to lead others. Much more thoughtful than most would assume. He is also a romantic, but remains cautious because he has been disappointed often in the past, having found that truly worthy individuals are a rarity.

Kat, a consummate loner who has been living in the woods with little human contact for several years. She is incredibly distrustful of others as she has seen much of the worst in people. It becomes apparent that she is a genius, and she is also incredibly willful and headstrong. Although she towers intellectually she is often an emotional child, at least in the beginning. She is an extremely proficient fighter and when her life is threatened she will go into a ferocious rage which can overpower nearly any adversary. She has a strong code of honor and will protect those she sees as unfairly victimized. As time goes by she comes to understand the value social interaction can offer her, and has a powerful capacity for attachment, but finds there is always a price for such things.

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I am also currently writing a novel, However I have no planned finishing date but I did make a new years resolution to finnish it before this year is over. I'm going to get it published by http://www.authorhouse.com which is an online print-on-demand self-publishing company which provides you with the tools to publish it your self.

I have various works that I am currently writing, among them a novoul and novoulette. I have thought about AuthorHouse, but also LuLu, and particularly this one. (I won't go with PublishAmerica) I think that by the time that I have at least one or two books written, I will already have bought a block of ISBN numbers, and then after they are "finished" send them off to be copyrighted, then off to print. So, having ISBN numbers, I'm actually a publisher myself, in that sense. I'm still not fully sure of what I will do, I'm stil very new to all of this, having started my literary life not even 2 years ago, but my rebirthday is coming up soon though :confused:

There have been others on this forum that have used LuLu and PublishAmerica to get their works out there. I've spoken to them about those services.

Edited by intellectualammo
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I recommend the novels of Kay Nolte Smith. I don't know if she was an Objectivist or not, but I believe she wrote a few articles for one of the Objectivist publications.

Her novels have well-developed characters - very memorable heroes - people I'd want to meet in real life. Her novels have interesting plots, with many surprising turns in the action (i.e., the plot doesn't proceed as one might have thought it would). I always thought her writing showed clearly the influence of Ayn Rand and Objectivism.

The titles, together with dates of publication are:

The Watcher (1980)

Catching Fire (1982)

Mindspell (1983)

Elegy for a Soprano (1985)

Country of the Heart (1987)

A Tale of the Wind (1991)

Venetian Song (1994)

I want to thank you for recommending this writer. I can't find her articles on my Objectivism Research CD-ROM. I have read elsewhere that she had written at least one or two articles, one on Ibsen, I think it was said, in The Objectivist. I have the original The Objectivst Newsletter's, but not The Objectivist originals, so I can't check that claim.

But anyways, I'm currently reading her Country of the Heart, and once I at once quickly got settled down into the novel and I am thoroughly enjoying it, save only 2-3 things I found that I didn't like in it so far, but it's rather trivial to point out, and too soon to, since I don't know how the rest of this novel will turn out. I'm becoming rather fond of the way she says things in this novel too, especially the characterization. Great read so far! Thanks again!

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Her novels have well-developed characters - very memorable heroes - people I'd want to meet in real life.

And when you read her novels, it feels like the characters have such a strong literary pulse, that they are more real and not cardboard, or papery in any way. I finished reading Country of the Heart a night or two and didn't want to put it down, but keep carrying it with me, and I will, but only in my memory, for I am already carrying another of her works around one titled A Tale of the Wind. I wanted to purchase a copy of the former...but I was surprised to see that such a novel is...out of print. So are almost all 8 of them, save one. How unfortunate. I wish a printing press would revive the novels, giving them a literary pulse again. It's worth the ink, for the most part, I think.

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  • 10 months later...
But who knows... I suspect several Objectivists dedicate some of their spare time to writing. Hopefully some of that work will see the light of day soon.

After reading Atlas Shrugged, I actually decided that I didn't want to major in Political Science and wanted to become a writer instead. I'm changing my major this week.

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Are they really good? I ask because I'd love to read them, but they're so long, it would be a huge commitment.

I'm three quarters through the first ebook, and I'm thinking he gets paid by the pound. I write for a living, just not fiction, although some cards may label patents as fiction. I think Goodkind, based on what I've read so far, really really needs an editor. Too bad there are even fewer good editors than there are good writers anymore.

I'm hanging on to the end of the book to see if it was all worth it. And to see how much his avowed objectivism gets into the book.

Puleeeze, no Goodkind spoilers.

Stay Focused,

<*>aj

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  • 2 years later...

I was also pointed once to the works of James P. Hogan for Sci Fi fans. He tends to create some great characters with very O'ist leanings. The book I was put onto was written before the end of the cold war so you have to take that into account when you read it, but it is called 'End Game Enigma'. Some of his other's that I read and liked included "Two Faces of Tomorrow" which is underlaid with some interesting philosophical ponderings on the emergence of artificial intelligence. Another I highly recommend is "The Legend that was Earth". Beside the main character being almost Roark'ish, some of the conversations between the hyper-logical Hyadean and the unschooled Columbian girl Ramona are precious! "Do Hyadeans gamble?"

Edited by treii28
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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 5 months later...

Are there any writers of fiction who present objectivist viewpoints, and which is consistent with objectivist aesthetics, other than Ayn Rand?

In the months leading up to the release of his much anticipated novel, Objectivist author and artist Quent Cordair has begun to publish his short stories on Amazon. The first short story, "A Prelude to Pleasure" is getting rave reviews and has made the #6 spot on Amazon's "Hot New Releases" list. Quent's story can be downloaded for 99 cents to Kindles as well as to computers and smart phones via a free Kindle app.

"A Prelude to Pleasure" is the tale of how a man of accomplishment and wealth goes about finding his true love--and what he discovers along the way, with the help of a boy who reminds him of who he once was.

One reviewer said, "The characters are nicely drawn and the dramatic tension unfolds according to a clever, inexorable logic: Will the hero ruin his life with a bad decision -- or have the courage to make the right decision?"

Quent will be publishing many of his short stories on Amazon over the coming months. This one is sure to wet your appetite and leave you wanting more. :)

If you enjoy the story, please leave Quent a review on the Amazon page.

Happy reading!

post-658-0-53342600-1315692768_thumb.jpg

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  • 3 weeks later...

Check out Quent Cordair's latest short story. "Sheltered" was released just yesterday and is available to download to your favorite device from Amazon for only 99 cents.

“A year and six days underground without sunlight or breeze or contact with the world above—whatever might be left of the world above. A year and six days without touch, without unrecorded voice, without contact, without friends or family. If only they had listened, if only they had been ready. But he—he had prepared. He was Reginald B. Wakefield, and he hadn’t died. A wave of vindication washed over him, lifting and sweeping away all doubt and fear. He had been right. He raised his eyes again to the hatch cover above. . . . He had been right.”

In increasingly uncertain times, how does one respond to rising fears of impending disaster and societal breakdown? In “Sheltered,” the timely short story by Quent Cordair, one man follows his own course in the face of rising costs.

Please help spread the word if you enjoy the story. Thanks!

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