Jumping for Joy

So my latest binge read was Steven Gould's Jumper series.

...Except for Griffin's Story which was written as a prequel for the movie.  That book sucked.

Jumper came out in 1992, and I was instantly a fan.  It is a book about a boy named Davy Rice who becomes able to teleport, and how it affects his life.  There are other events that follow that direct his development, and the book just gets better.  It's a 5-star book.

I wanted a book every year like some of the other authors I was reading at the time.  Jumper became one of those books that I would read every year.  And then when our GURPS group started a psionics campaign, I shaped my character around Davy.  My character even keeps a copy of Jumper in every home he has, and often has a copy on him as well.

The sequel Reflex came out 12 years later, and tells the story of Davy's wife Millie.  While it doesn't have quite the same fun behind it as Jumper did, it's still a really good book.

Then there was 4 years of silence, and then a tease with a short story called "Shade".

Last year, he wrote a third book called Impulse, the story of Davy and Millie's daughter Cent.  Yes there's teen angst to it, she's only 16, but there's also the continuing story of Davy and Millie doing their good deeds, tracking those who are hunting them, and dealing with their daughter.

Everything after Jumper is 4-star stuff.  That's probably my perspective because the first one caught my imagination so much, but that is not to say that 4 stars are bad, they just weren't as captivating as the first.

I can only hope that Gould writes more in the series.  Soon.

Croce II - The Wishening

And then there's the topic of wishes. What if I got three of them. Assume the basic restrictions of not wishing for more and not being able to directly affect other people.

What to wish for?

Money is good, but how not to run out? How about a wallet that always has the exact amount needed for any purchase for any amount up to $1,000, and anything over $1,000 a credit card that is accepted anywhere, and never needs to be paid off. And perhaps a checkbook with unlimited checks for purchases that won't take a credit card... Like a house.

So that's one.

Now I've been reading comic books for most of my life, and collecting seriously for 20 years. And so who wouldn't want a Little super-power? Then there's the whole question of what power. Or powers. But let's make this easy, and limit to one power per wish. So then what to choose. Now a book that really affected me is Jumper by Stephen Gould. Please don't think of the movie. I haven't seen it, but I won't see it either. Read the book. But the way the Davey teleports in the book is the way to go. Anywhere he can see, has been recently or can picture with the help of a video and sound recording, loss of relative momentum, and teleportation by castling. Castling is the best method I can consider. Essentially he trades places with an exact Davey sized portion of air or water. There's none of the popping, or air displacement, or even the stupid visual effects of the movie. Yes, please.

So that's two.

And then I'm stuck. Perhaps I'll just save Wish #3 until I really need it.