Aspie authors

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It is called "An anthropologist on Mars". I'm convinvced he has AS too, although he hasn't really confirmrd it I don't think?

Maybe Tom Clancy? He pays extreme detail to the technical specifications of the military vehicles, aircraft, weapons, tactics, and any other statistics and trivia he can squeeze into te story as well. His stories are also complex. Chapters are usually used to define a small segment of time ranging from a few minutes to a day or two. There are multiple plots going on in each chapter that are divided into several short stories that all take place at the same point in time, usually taking place on different parts of the planet. Then all the parallel story lines converge at the climax. It gives the landscape and the story alot of background. I've never found his character's thought processes confusing either, which I think is a good sign that he has some Theory of Mind issues as well.

and you, Civet. i have a wealth of info re: how to get published, how to approach agents, covering letters, all that sort of gumph - if you don't already know, PM me and i'll send it to you. (if you DO already know, then apologies for sounding patronising).

Anyone else read his autobiography "Uncle Tungsten"? It didn't occur to me at the time, but from his experiences there he is definitely on the spectrum. His obsession with chemistry and his complete disinterest in people is so extreme it's funny at times. I found the book rather grueling though, since he is a lot more interested in chemistry than I am.

Yeah, I've got that book. I am convinced he has at least mild AS.

you might look at the thread in 'General Discussion' titled 'Books on Asperger's' - people are leaving a lot of great info there - and I thought I'd read most of the autobiographies! Amazon.com is going to make a bunch of money off of me!

I highly reccomend Thomas Wolfe. His novels are largely autobiographical. I just finished "Look Homeward Angel" and was struck by the very AS like main character, which was of course based on himself. He is a true poet, and perhaps hyperlexic. The writing is just saturated with detailed descriptions of mundane everyday events.
This made it hard for me to read, so it took quite a while. Well worth it though, and I plan to read more of his work.

http://library.uncwil.edu/wolfe/wolfe.html

Thanks for the responses, guys. I found David Zindell's "The Lightstone" and it's a bloody good read... couldn't find the Requiem series in the library, though... I also have Tom Clancy's "Op-Center" and Oliver Sack's "The Man Who Mistook His Wife For a Hat".

Also, I'm not looking for books about asperger's, but books by people with asperger's. I wasn't terribly explicit about that.

Perhaps Jules Verne? Incredible attention to descriptive and scientific detail.

...just finished reading Verne's The Mysterious Island...

i've just started reading "the last samurai", by helena de witt, and i'm struck by how much the main character and her son seems extremely aspie-ish. i then read the tiny biography at the front of the book, and de witt herself sounds highly "suspicious" i don't know if the film of the same name is based on the book (haven't seen it, anyway, so it wouldn't matter to me).

anyone else read the book? am off to google dear de witt, and see if i can drum up any information about her...

/me rushes off

sod all on helen (not helena) de witt - sorry. if anyone else can find out anything about her, please post it - i'm itching to know a bit more about her!

and the book is nothing to do with the film, by the way.

oh, and mockingbird - have a synopsis of my book, if you'd like to read it...?

Yeah *thinks for a moment*, that would make sense. When Tolkien wrote LotR, the Sil (and others, but mostly the Silmarillion), he wrote it as if Middle-earth and all the other lands had been real, almost like he was writing a detailed history of England or the United States. A bit obsessed, if you ask me.

Hey, vetivert, maybe you could post it on the forums so that whoever wants to read it can. Are any of your characters aspies?

I'm writing some stuff, too, and the main character (and narrarator for many of the stories) has AS. It's been interesting to work with him, as he has become almost real to me.

not sure about the first bit, as i'm trying to get it published, and they can be a bit funny about pre-published stuff. i'll PM the synopsis to anyone who wants to read it, though. besides, if it IS published (don't hold your breath), then you can all rush out and buy it, and make me some money

Last edited by vetivert on 07 Dec 2005, 4:55 am, edited 1 time in total.

In this discussion on possible AS in authors, I'm surprised that nobody has brought up one of my favorite authors: Nicholson Baker. (I will admit, even though I am a fan I hated The Fermata.) Talk about attention to detail, here is a man who can write an entire novella about riding down an escalator after buying shoelaces. I was a fan of his before the whole Clinton/Lewinsky thing gave him his 15 minutes of fame (he wrote the book Vox).

Another one of my favorites is Umberto Eco, but I think that he is just a brilliant man, no AS about him. It's possible, but I doubt it.

don't know about his other books, but "the fermata", which was supposed to be a celebration of female sexuality, was just barely-disguised porn. i, too LOATHED it. i'm afraid i wouldn't read anything else by him, i'm too appalled.

Vox was a more egalitarian one when it comes to sex. After I read The Fermata I thought that I would never read a Nicholson Baker book again. Then I read The Everlasting Story of Nory, and I changed my mind. That books is about a little girl who wants to grow up and become a dentist, but she has nightmares about being chased by cows with teeth. It's a very lovely book. I'm glad I read it.

Besides, if you read Vox you will be introduced to one of the favorite characters for my friends and Me in college: Forky Pigtail!