The Old Car Wars Novels/Stories - Any good?

[Steve Jackson]

I'd advise you to look for bargains. None of these, even my own, is IMHO $70 worth of joy and enlightenment. Good reads, yes. $70, omg.

[owenmp]

Ib Melchior's short story "The Racer," published in the 1950s, is the basis of "Death Race 2000".

A hardcover book I found last year at a branch of Half Price Books, a chain of used bookstores in the U.S., includes "The Racer" in its collection of short stories.

This book, titled "Reel Future", is out of print but it can be found from multiple sellers on Amazon.com.

Reel Future. The stories that inspired 16 classic science fiction movies.
Forrest J. Ackerman (Editor) and Jean Stine (Editor)
Hardcover: 538 pages
Publisher: Barnes & Noble Books (1994)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1566194504
ISBN-13: 978-1566194501
Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.3 x 1.6 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds

[owenmp]

Battle Road and Fuel's Gold were the first two Car Wars items I ever purchased. They were my gateway items into Car Wars.

The six Car Wars Adventure Gamebooks, especially Battle Road and Fuel's Gold, were excellent representations of the Autoduel America gameworld. Playing the Gamebooks before playing Car Wars made learning the Car Wars rules easier.

Although not written for Car Wars, the fiction below is essential to read for any dedicated fan of Car Wars.

* Why Johnny Can't Speed by Alan Dean Foster
* Devil Car by Roger Zelazny
* Last of the Wild Ones (Devil Car Part 2) by Roger Zelazny
* Damnation Alley (short story and novel) by Roger Zelazny
* Along the Scenic Route by Harlan Ellison
* X Marks the Pedwalk by Fritz Leiber
* The Racer by Ib Melchior
* Duel by Richard Matheson

[owenmp]

Veteran Car Wars author Chris Burke (@mrburkemath on Twitter) has posted a short piece of Car Wars fiction on reddit.


Writing Prompt[WP]

You are stuck in a story that you wrote. You have full manipulation of everything that happens in said universe, which causes you to wonder whether you should say there permanently.

Comments by xwhy

https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingProm...e_you/dt492ye/

[C. J. Burke]

Thanks for the shoutout! It was a fun writing prompt -- and it was a better universe to use than any of the recent stories/prompts I've answered.

(Oh, and to answer your email Q, yes, I do have the .html files from DTM online, even if I'm not sure where the original files for the paper magazine! Searching for "Civic Wars" -- found some WordPerfect files -- uh oh)

[Chris Goodwin]

I'm over there trying to hint that we all want more autoduel fiction! :D

[The Horn'd One]

I'm hoping the 'lost' CW novels will get re-released in Epub format, so that long-time players and new can enjoy them.

[Steve Jackson]

That would be neat but would require a possibly large amount of homework, since the original publisher has the rights - unless they have reverted to authors or their estates. We are merely the licensor.

[C. J. Burke]

Originally Posted by The Horn'd One

I'm hoping the 'lost' CW novels will get re-released in Epub format, so that long-time players and new can enjoy them.

I'd love to put the old Driving Tigers stories or even "Civic Wars" into Epub format, but I'd have to find out how to do that. Actually, first, I'd have to get permission again because whatever permission I had 20+ years ago (Gawd! was it that long?), I'm sure it didn't cover electronic books!

[EdwardF]

Originally Posted by C. J. Burke

"One second can be an eternity!"

That was my favorite, and I believe the most pertinent Car Wars quote in the story.

XD