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Old 03-22-2017, 12:16 AM   #1
JimTullis
 
Join Date: Feb 2013
Default Stories, Movies and Music to set the mood.

Stuff to set the mood for Car Wars.
Some of this is my personal opinion, some of it is stuff I've heard other talk about.

Car Wars Novels:
Square Deal – David Drake
Double Jeopardy – Aaron Allston
Back From Hell – Mick Farren

Short Stories about Car Combat (or with a similar atmosphere):
The Racer – Ib Melchior – 1952 – [This is the source idea for Roger Corman’s Deathrace 2000]
Passion Play – Roger Zelazny – 1962 (pub in Last Defender of Camelot) [robots recreate historic racing crashes]
Auto-da-fe – Roger Zelazny – 1967 (pub in Last Defender of Camelot) [Bullfighting vs cars]
Damnation Alley – Roger Zelazny – 1967 (pub in Last Defender of Camelot) [rides the line between armed cars and tanks]
Devil Car – Roger Zelazny – 1965 [haven’t read this – supposedly a man and his car hunting another car]
Last of the Wild Ones (Devil Car Part 2) - Roger Zelazny - 1987 [pub in Unicorn Variations] [Thanks to OwenMP for the reminder]
Along the Scenic Route {AKA Dogfight on 101} – 1969 – Harlan Ellison [have now read this – similar to Why Johnny Can’t Speed]
Why Johnny Can’t Speed – Alan Dean Foster – 1971 (pub in With Friends Like These) [a prototype Car Wars short story]
The Last Run – Alan Dean Foster – 1982 [Another great short from Foster. Be careful who you call out for a race.]

Story Collections that contain Car Combat (or that have a similar atmosphere):

Death on Wheels
Spoiler:  

I recently Finished reading Death on Wheels. Much of which was stuff I had read before. I'm still not sure If I had ever read the Harlan Ellison story "Along the Scenic Route". BUT I can now recommend this book as collection that gathers a lot of great short stories in one easy to grasp collection.

Car Sinister
Spoiler:  


I'm in the process of reading "Market Forces" by Richard K. Morgan. Not so sure I like the characters, but the Duels have been great so far.

Movies:
Deathrace 2000, the modern Deathrace movies, Deathrace 2050, all the Mad Max movies,
Damnation Alley [also a great book], Duel [by Steven Spielberg – The Ultimate Car vs Big Rig Movie]
10th Victim [also a great book]

Rollerball, Blood of Heroes, Deathsport, Quintet, A Boy and His Dog, Tank Girl, 5th Element, Finale Programme

the original The Fast and the Furious [by Roger Corman], the modern The Fast and The Furious
the Transporter movies, the James Bond movies, DRIVE
Riding Bean [anime OVA based on Bean bandit from Gunsmith Cats]


Music:
Ride On - AC/DC
Highway to Hell - AC/DC
Hell's Bells - AC/DC
Highway Star - Deep Purple
Fuel - Metallica
Low Rider - War
I'm Bad - ZZ Top

Feel free to post and discuss your favorite stuff for setting a Car Wars mood.
I'll probably add to this list over time.

Last edited by JimTullis; 04-17-2017 at 08:56 PM. Reason: UPDATES to Story Comments
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