Name that book?

[BookCat]

I remember that years ago I read a book in which a group of men, maybe four of them, took it upon themselves to be judge, jury and executioners of (men) whose trials had been dismissed because of technicalities, but who were certainly guilty.

I think it was called something like "The Four Just Men" but I've just checked the Edgar Wallace book on goodreads, and it doesn't have the same plot. Agatha Christie comes to mind as the author.

If anyone recognises the plot and knows the title and author, I would be grateful for the information as I'd like to read it again. Thanks.

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by BookCat

I think it was called something like "The Four Just Men" but I've just checked the Edgar Wallace book on goodreads, and it doesn't have the same plot. Agatha Christie comes to mind as the author.

And Then There Were None ?

P.S. i would ask that anyone who feels compelled to share or discuss the original title of that book find something else to enlighten everyone with. Thanks.

My first thought was actually the 1983 movie "The Star Chamber".

[gmw]

Originally Posted by BookCat

[...] I think it was called something like "The Four Just Men" but I've just checked the Edgar Wallace book on goodreads, and it doesn't have the same plot. [...]

Are you aware that Wallace wrote several books concerning "Just Men"? See here at Fantastic Fiction. A couple of those sound quite similar.

[Pulpmeister]

Sounds like "The Law of the Four Just Men", who by now are reduced to two, and consists of a set of short stories in which Leon Gonzales and George Manfred (The third survivor of the original Four Just Men, Raymond Poiccart has retired to farm onions in France) dispense justice.

1: The Man Who Lived at Clapham
2: The Man With the Canine Teeth
3: The Man Who Hated Earthworms
4: The Man Who Died Twice
5: The Man Who Hated Amelia Jones
6: The Man Who Was Happy
7: The Man Who Loved Music
8: The Man Who Was Plucked
9: The Man Who Would Not Speak
10: The Man Who Was Acquitted

[BookCat]

Originally Posted by Pulpmeister

Sounds like "The Law of the Four Just Men", who by now are reduced to two, and consists of a set of short stories in which Leon Gonzales and George Manfred (The third survivor of the original Four Just Men, Raymond Poiccart has retired to farm onions in France) dispense justice.

1: The Man Who Lived at Clapham
2: The Man With the Canine Teeth
3: The Man Who Hated Earthworms
4: The Man Who Died Twice
5: The Man Who Hated Amelia Jones
6: The Man Who Was Happy
7: The Man Who Loved Music
8: The Man Who Was Plucked
9: The Man Who Would Not Speak
10: The Man Who Was Acquitted

Yes, I just checked Fantastic Fiction for this and I think this is the one. Thank you.

[BookCat]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

And Then There Were None ?

P.S. i would ask that anyone who feels compelled to share or discuss the original title of that book find something else to enlighten everyone with. Thanks.

My first thought was actually the 1983 movie "The Star Chamber".

Agatha has a number of novels with confusingly different titles; some with no obvious reason for the change. Why is "Thirteen At Dinner" also called "Lord Edgware Dies"? Readers can find themselves reading the same novel twice because of this. (Or at least the first few pages.)

[ekbell]

Originally Posted by BookCat

Agatha has a number of novels with confusingly different titles; some with no obvious reason for the change. Why is "Thirteen At Dinner" also called "Lord Edgware Dies"? Readers can find themselves reading the same novel twice because of this. (Or at least the first few pages.)

As far as I can tell publishers have a strong influence on titles and in many cases her British and American publishers choose different titles.

[Manabi]

I'm trying to figure out the name and author of a science fiction novel I read a few years back. The book's chapters could largely be stand-alone, except one repeating story. (Which I'll explain in a moment.) The overall story is that this guy locates a ship from a past empire that has the resources to do all kinds of incredible genetic engineering. He then goes around the galaxy performing genetic engineering for hire, using the ship for good. If I'm remembering correctly, he also had to fend off at least one attempt by others to take the ship from him and use it for less enlightened purposes.

The one repeating story involves one planet that has a serious over-population problem. They refuse to do anything to slow down population growth, not even birth control, and twice he solves their problem by genetically engineering some plant or the other to dramatically increase yields so that the increasing population won't starve. The last time he claims to have done the same, but this time around there's an additional genetic payload that isn't apparent until much later that sterilizes half the population. That last time one of the planet's natives that was working with him learns what will really happen, and he leaves it up to her if she wants to speak up and stop things. She doesn't speak up and the book ends mentioning how her name was cursed for generations afterward on the planet, but their population problems were solved.

I'd really like to re-read it, but I cannot remember the name or author and the details I remember are too vague to get Google to spit out the correct title.

[meeera]

Originally Posted by Manabi

I'm trying to figure out the name and author of a science fiction novel I read a few years back. The book's chapters could largely be stand-alone, except one repeating story. (Which I'll explain in a moment.) The overall story is that this guy locates a ship from a past empire that has the resources to do all kinds of incredible genetic engineering. (etc)

Tuf Voyaging.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/776212.Tuf_Voyaging

[Manabi]

Originally Posted by meeera

Tuf Voyaging.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/776212.Tuf_Voyaging

That's it, thank you very much! I never would have guessed it was by George R. R. Martin.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by meeera

Tuf Voyaging.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/776212.Tuf_Voyaging

I remember some of those from when they appeared in Analog! Wow, that was a long time ago.

Added to my wishlist.

[DrNefario]

Tuf Voyaging is quite widely available cheap in paperback, here in the UK, since they reprinted all the old GRRM stuff after GoT. I often see it in places like The Works, HMV, Fopp, etc, that do discounted/remaindered paperbacks, along with his other early stuff like Fevre Dream and Windhaven.

[BookCat]

Back in the 1980s I read a novel about a doctor who first discovered the link between puerperal fever and that doctors didn't wash their hands between examining cadavars and attending women giving birth. It went into detail about his fight to have the need for cleanliness in hospitals recognised.

I thought it was called something like The Physician, but looking up the title on goodreads hasn't helped, so it must have been called something else.

I would be grateful for any ideas.

[Deskisamess]

The Doctor's Plague?

[BookCat]

Originally Posted by Deskisamess

The Doctor's Plague?

Unfortunately that book wasn't published until 2003 and I read the novel in the early 80s, just after moving to Birmingham. However, checking the book on goodreads has given me the name of the doctor the novel was about:

Ignác Semmelweis

Edit: just did a quick google for novels about Ignác Semmelweis and I found the book:

The Cry and the Covenant, by Morton Thompson.

Thanks lots for the hint.