According to legend, the Jack Dann game was invented by Gardner Dozois when he (or someone) noticed that the novel The Man Who Melted by Jack Dann formed a sentence when one removed the word “by.” Thus, “The Man Who Melted Jack Dann,” and the Jack Dann game was born!
Throughout the years there have been even more examples of this phenomenon such as: “Fear L. Ron Hubbard,” “Earth Abides George R. Stewart,” “Dying Inside Robert Silverberg,” and so on. (Though the all-time favorite of Tor editor Patrick Nielsen Hayden is “Two Sisters Gore Vidal.”)
Patrick also tells us that the strict rules of the Jack Dann game require the title and author to form a grammatically complete sentence. “The Puppet Masters Robert A. Heinlein” is an example of this while, oddly, “The Man Who Melted Jack Dann” is not!
We haven’t played the Jack Dann game here on Tor.com in a while, and so many new books have come out in the years since! Play with us, won’t you? We’ll start:
- “The Shadow Hero Gene Luen Yang”
- “Monstrous Beauty Marie Brennan”
- “Lowball Michael Cassutt and David Anthony Durham”
- “Where Kit Reed”
- “The Whispering Swarm Michael Moorcock”
- “Harry Harrison! Harry Harrison! Harry Harrison”
Your turn!
The Phoenix Guards Steven Brust.
Someplace to be Flying Charles de Lint. (questionable?)
Fallen Tim Lebbon (definitely not per strict rules, but I like it anyway)
War Dogs Greg Bear
Your first two above are, strictly speaking, cheating: allowing simple apposition just makes it too easy.
The most common type is a title of the form “The <Adjective> <Noun>” which can be reinterpreted as “The <Noun> <Transitive Verb> <Author’s name>”. The fifth above is an example of this; likewise “The Gilded Chain Dave Duncan” and “The First Wives Club Olivia Goldsmith”.
Ones where you actually reinterpret the author’s name are hardest of all, of course, because very few authors have names that work. “Two Sisters Gore Vidal” is about the only one, although if you allow the slight variation of putting the name in front, you can have “Tim Powers The Anubis Gates”.
We Can Build You Philip K. Dick.
Quarantine Greg Egan.
Weaker version: Where Time Winds Blow Robert Holdstock.
Those Who Watch Robert Silverberg.
Weaker, reversed: Paul McAuley In the Mouth of the Whale
Allowing gestalt entities and anthologies: Leviathan Wakes James S. A. Corey.
The Magic May Return Larry Niven.
I am surprised that no one has yet mentioned the classic The Sheep Look Up John Brunner.
Shadow of the Torturer Gene Wolfe
Kushiel’s Chosen Jacqueline Carey
The Subtle Knife Philip Pullman
The Integral Trees Larry Niven
And one that’s not grammatical but got my funny bone anyway:
The Space Child’s Mother Goose Frederick Winsor and Marian Parry
The Habitation of the Blessed Catherynne M. Valente
The Light Ages Ian R. MacLeod
Orientalism Edward Said (needs punctuation)
The Bone Clocks David Mitchell.
Salute the Dark Adrian Tchaikovsky
Last Chance to See Douglas Adams and Mark Carwardine
How is “The Man Who Melted Jack Dunn” not a valid sentence, while “The Shadow Hero Gene Luen Yang,” “Monstrous Beauty Marie Brennan,” and “Where Kit Reed” are?
So, “The Man Who Melted Jack Dunn” is invalid because “melted” is being used as a verbal adjective rather than a verb — it’s identifying the man rather thn telling us what the man is doing. Fair enough.
But, like sef, I’m perplexed by some of the other examples. Merriam-Webster says “ree” is a dialectical British verb meaning “to sift,” so that’s one down.
So far I’m most amused by “Orientalism,” which I’m assuming is properly punctuated as “‘Oritentalism,’ Edward said.”
The more I try to think of an example, the more my brain insists on chanting “Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo.”
Angelmaker Nick Harkaway
Tigerman Nick Harkaway
The City’s Son Tom Pollock
Our Lady of the Streets Tom Pollock
(These next two may be a stretch, but I thought they sound like locations)
Embassytown China Mieville
Pedro Street Station China Mieville
Nine Princes in Amber Roger Zelazny!
And after that, it’s just a long morning of looking up authors named Roger and giggling to oneself (assuming one is sufficiently immature).
Dying Inside Robert Silverberg is a common fate for explorers of The World Inside Robert Silverberg. (Indeed, only Three Survived Robert Silverberg). Nearly as hazardous as The Day of the Burning Barry Malzberg, or the regular attacks of unnecessary sequels and expanded universes (which I survive by repeating the mantra I Will Fear No Evil Robert A. Heinlein).
Death Masks Jim Butcher.
Demons Don’t Dream Piers Anthony.
Though if I get to add a colon, I get the intimidating “Last Argument of Kings: Joe Abercrombie”. Which sounds suspiciously like a Chuck Norris joke to me.
Finnegans wake James Joyce
Die a Little Megan Abbott (most of her books work actually)
Tithe Holly Black.
Ooh, I come so close: “Only Superhuman Christopher L. Bennett.” ;) A bit too much of a fragment to really work. “Spider-Man Drowned in Thunder Christopher L. Bennett” almost works if you allow an unusual word order. In my short fiction, there’s “Home is Where the Hub Is Christopher L. Bennett.”
None of my Star Trek novel titles work, but looking over my Trek bookshelf I see:
The Vulcan Academy Murders Jean Lorrah
First Strike Diane Carey
The Better Man Howard Weinstein
Cloak S.D. Perry
The Captain’s Daughter Peter David (odd name for a daughter!)
The Brave and the Bold Keith R.A. DeCandido
The Art of the Impossible Keith R.A. DeCandido
Time’s Enemy L.A. Graf
A Time to Love Robert Greenberger, A Time to Hate Robert Greenberger, A Time to Kill David Mack, and A Time to Heal David Mack
The 34th Rule Armin Shimerman and David R. George III
The War of the Prophets Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens
This Gray Spirit Heather Jarman
Marooned Christie Golden
Enemy of My Enemy Christie Golden
The Good that Men Do Andy Mangels and Michael A. Martin
The Sundered Michael A. Martin and Andy Mangels (prophetic; they did stop working together)
And not quite Trek, but:
The Questor Tapes D.C. Fontana
“Snuff Terry Pratchett” is pretty horrific. I’m not sure “I Shall Wear Midnight Terry Pratchett” is any better.
Not a book I own, and not a full sentence, but “The Peripheral William Gibson” is at least an interesting noun phrase.
Having studied my collection, I have learned that “Darkness Haunts Susan Ilene” which is probably tiresome for her, but could definitely be worse. For example, “The Demon Awakens R.A. Salvatore”, which sounds pretty scary.
My bookshelf is also urging me to “Tithe Holly Black”, “Spin Robert Charles Wilson”, “Rapture Kameron Hurley”, “Shift Hugh Howey”, which don’t sound too bad, although I don’t see why I should “Burn Patrick James Kelly” or “Murder One Ben Bova” — neither of them has done anything so unkind to me. I also refuse to “Flash L.E. Modesitt”. I’m not sure what to make of “Kiss Me Twice Mary Robinette Kowal”. On the other hand, “Heal Thyself Orson Scott Card” might be timely advice.
Incidentally, a lot of my friends have begun avoiding me because “I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream Harlan Ellison”. Apparently that gets old fast.
The Dolls House Neil Gaiman.
Angelica Lost and Found Russell Hoban.
Lock-in John Scalzi
“Annals of the Black Company Cook”
Why yes, I have played that game:
A Solitary Blue Cynthia Voigt
New Lives For Old Margaret Mead
And A Voice to Sing With Joan Baez
The Old Fox Deceiv’d Martha Grimes
A Great Day for the Deadly Jane Haddam
Our Mutual Friend Charles Dickens
The Old Reliable P.G. Wodehouse
Death Shall Overcome Emma Lathen (as it shall all of us, I suppose)
How To Bake Nick Malgieri (oh dear)
Saving Fish From Drowning Amy Tan (I’m sure the fish would have been very sorry, later)
Some of Tamora Pierce’s fans like to refer to her as “Queen Tammy.” Which gives us
The Will of the Empress Tamora Pierce
And a couple of old favorites from the children’s section:
Santa Claws Laura Leuck
A Fly Went By Mike McClintock
Anubis Gates Tim Powers.
Light M. John Harrison.
Transition Iain M. Banks.
A Man Rides Through Stephen R. Donaldson.
The Power That Preserves Stephen R. Donaldson.
Farewell, My Lovely Raymond Chandler
Home Fires Gene Wolfe
Laurence Shames The Naked Detective. (This only works if “Shames” is one syllable and not two, and I don’t know which it is.)
A couple recent ones from my shelves:
The Magicians Land Lev Grossman. (I had to delete an apostrophe to make that work, but it’s too good to pass up.)
California Bones Greg van Eekhout.
Oh, if we’re allowed to cheat by deleting apostrophes:
The Surgeons Mate Patrick O’Brian
The Complete Robot Isaac Asimov.
Vacuum Diagrams Stephen Baxter.
Speaker for the Dead Orson Scott Card. (Oh, dear.)
Emissaries from the Dead Adam Troy Castro. (They’re dropping like flies!)
To Visit the Queen Diane Duane.
When HARLIE was One David Gerrold.
Dragonsinger Anne McCaffrey (appropriate).
Superluminal Vonda N. McIntyre.
The Integral Trees Larry Niven, but The Magic May Return Larry Niven.
Contact Carl Sagan. (He’s been dying to hear from you!)
A Fire Upon the Deep Vernor Vinge.
One on my shelves that I’ve seen done before, but it’s not in comments here yet:
Hello Summer, Goodbye Michael Coney
The great hunt Robert Jordan.
The broken eye Brent Weeks.
Moving mars Greg Bear.
The martian chronicles Ray Bradbury.
Feed Mira Grant.
Devil said bang Richard Kadrey.
Ben Aaronovitch whispers underground.
Elizabeth Bear shattered pillars.
Raymond E. Feist rides a dread legion.
Jim Butcher Changes
The Grey king Susan Cooper (from a very strange game of chekers)
The Shining court Michelle West
I feel like more titles work if you immagine them as imperitive statements or instructions:
“The Truth, Terry Pratchet” (I’m immagining some sort of interogation)
Touch Michelle Sagara
Katherine Addison: The Goblin Emperor
If we’re allowed to use names in last name first order,
Steles of the Sky Bear, Elizabeth
The repubic of thieves lynch scott
The Skybound See Sam Sykes (a littel bit of creative misspelling in this one)
This River Awakens Steven Erikson
The devil delivered Steven Erikson…
The crippled god Steven Erikson
go well together ;)
The mad ship Robin Hobb
This Immortal Roger Zelazny
The Spectral Link Thomas Ligotti
Death Comes for the Archbishop Willa Cather (clearly fantasy!)
Selling Out Justina Robson
and its sequel, Going Under Justina Robson
And if you allow some syllabic surgery,
A Swiftly Tilting Plan Ate Madeleine L’Engle
Choke Chuck Palahniuk.
Snuff Chuck Palahniuk.
Slam Nick Hornby.
Carrion comfort Dan Simmons. (ick!)
The Cranford chronicles Elizabeth Gaskell.
The Mauritius command Patrick O’Brian.
Lynne Truss eats, shoots & leaves.
The queens fool Phillipa Gregory. (if allowed to delete a possessive apostrophe!)
(almost, but not quite: Civilwarland in bad decline George Saunders; The stress of her regard Tim Powers.)
Time Warped Claudia Hammond
Robot Visions Isaac Asimov
All mine were already taken, so all I can offeri s:
Richard Morgan Altered Carbon (It’s my opinion that it’s valid to do it this way if this is the order it appears on the book cover).
I don’t actually own this one, but:
“Bill The Galactic Hero Harry Harrison” (it’s an instruction to somebody named Harry who works in invoicing, I guess).
Lock In John Scalzi
(He’s broken curfew for the last time!)
Out of genre, with author first, there’s the recent book:
Lisa Jackson Must Die
Go look at the cover image on Amazon; the cover design makes this interpretation irresistible.
The prince and the pauper mark Twain
The Hallowed hunt Lois Bujold
Hawk Steven Brust
A Tor.com original: The Angelus Guns Max Gladstone
Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel Virginia Lee Burton
Love Me Garrison Keillor
The Magician’s Book Laura Miller (you’d have to drop the apostrophe)
The Dangerous Animals Club Stephen Tobolowsky
The Fictional Man Al Ewing
Declare Time Powers
The Steel Remains Richard K. Morgan
The Dark Defiles Richard K. Morgan (ouch)
Unseen J.P. Larson
I, Libertine Theodore Sturgeon
The Man Who Lost the Sea, Theodore Sturgeon
The Man With Nine Lives, Harlan Ellison
Harlan Ellison’s Watching Harlan Ellison
I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream, “Harlan Ellison!”
Fat Chance, Robert Bloch
Psycho Robert Bloch
For the New Intellectual Ayn Rand
Forgotten Causes John C. Wright
The Beginning Place Ursula K. Le Guin
Cell Stephen King
It works verbally more than written, actually.
When the World Shook H. Rider Haggard.
Christopher already did two of mine, so here are some others from my bibliography:
Honor Bound Keith R.A. DeCandido
Ragnarok and Roll Keith R.A. DeCandido
The Deathless Keith R.A. DeCandido
The Watchers Guide Christopher Golden and Nancy Holder with Keith R.A. DeCandido
That’s pretty much it. (I didn’t try my short stories, but I really don’t pick good titles for this game…)
—Keith R.A. DeCandido
On my shelf, there’s
The Night of the Ripper Robert Bloch
The Kingdom of the Wicked Anthony Burgess
The Long Lost Ramsey Campbell
The Shining Stephen King
The Other Thomas Tryon
The Machine Stops E.M. Forster
The Son Of Summer Stars Meredith Ann Pierce*
Woken Furies Richard K. Morgan**
And allowing for the reversal of author/title:
Vernor Vinge Marooned In Realtime
* “The Son Of Summer” stars…
** “Woken” furies…”
Lips Touch Laini Taylor
The Moon King Neil Williamson
The Light Fantastic Terry Pratchett
Guards! Guards! Terry Pratchett
(Works best if you imagine an exclamation point after the author’s name also. )
The Gunslinger Stephen King
The Naked and the Dead Norman Mailer
The Merchant of Venice William Shakespeare
From Russia With Love Ian Fleming
(He may have signed his letters this way.)
Rama Revealed Arthur C. Clarke
When the Lion Feeds Wilbur Smith (on what?)
Something Borrowed Emily Giffin (I wonder if it returned her?)
A Memory of Light Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson
Shadow of the Giant Orson Scott Card (must’ve been a massive shadow)
And the Mountains Echoed Khaled Hosseini
The Call of the Wild Jack London
Where Eagles Dare Alistair Maclean (Did he accept the dare?)
And if we delete an apostrophe:
Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone J.K. Rowling (For killing off all those characters in the last book)
The Darkness That Comes Before R. Scott Bakker
The Power That Preserves Stephen R Donaldson
A Man Rides Through Stephen R Donaldson
The Stainless Steel Rat Wants You Harry Harrison
A Man Betrayed JV Jones
The Phoenix Guards Steven Brust
Echo Burning Lee Child
Someplace to be Flying Charles de Lint
And a second entry because I forgot the other bookshelf:
American Lit Relit Ricahrd Armour
on the other hand,
The Lady’s Not For Burning Christopher Fry
and
The Cuckoo’s Calling Robert Galbraith — but the cuckoo’s not getting any answer because there’s no such person!
I always feel like the ones that just function as epithets are somehow failing the game: there needs to be a verb in there somewhere for the true spirit of the thing. As such, Dying Inside Robert Silverberg is an all time favorite, but we cannot neglect Skin Kathe Koja.
Which is cruel, and I do not support it, because Kathe is lovely.
Spook Mary Roach, or, in poorer taste, Bonk Mary Roach.
The darkest road Guy Gavriel Kay.
Fade Away Harlan Coben.
Hold tight Harlan Coben.
Just one look Harlan Coben
Play dead Harlan Coben
Promise me Harlan Coben
Stay Close Harlan Coben
Tell no one Harlan Coben
Ready player one Ernest Cline
Shadow and bone Leigh Bardugo. (that’s quite creepy and stalkerish)
I am the messenger Markus Zusak
Ravens Shadow Anthony Ryan
The Madness Underneath Maureen Johnson
Enna Burning Shannon Hale
The Dispossessed Ursula K. LeGuin
The Art of Drowning Billy Collins
The Story of Painting Sister Wendy Beckett
We Never Talk About My Brother Peter Beagle
From the Dust Returned Ray Bradbury
Running with the Demon Terry Brooks
The Outlaw Demon Wails Kim Harrison
For Love of Evil Piers Anthony
Cheating a bit to put the name first:
Piers Anthony On A Pale Horse
Piers Anthony Bearing an Hourglass
Magic Bites Ilona Andrews
Magic Burns Ilona Andrews
Magic Strikes Ilona Andrews
(et.al. Jeez magic, what’s your deal with her?)
A bit simple, but they made me smile:
Bite Me Christopher Moore
You Suck Christopher Moore
Non-genre:
The Art of Asking Amanda Palmer
The Lurking Fear H.P. Lovecraft
Here’s a set, all of which take advantage of reinterpreting the author’s first name:
Legendary Space Pilgrims Grace Bridges
Brigands of the Moon Ray Cummings
The Enchantments of Flesh and Spirit Storm Constantine
The Lions of al-Rassan Guy Gavriel Kay (guy in the sense of ridiculing)
The Hounds of Avalon Mark Chadbourn
The High Kings Joy Chant (a fragment that needs an apostrophe, but it uses both names as words!)
And, for the more juvenile minded…
The Wild Swans Peg Kerr
The Two Magicians Dick Mitchison
Martin’s Mice Dick King-Smith
You could go down this road forever…
On a ship crewed by Scottish SF writers, the skipper was heard to cry
‘Look to windward Iain M Banks’
Meanwhile:
Byzantium endures Michael Moorcock
One belated comment because I just came across a title which, if verbs are what matters, qualifies two ways:
Blood Moons Mark Biltz
Loved this game for some time. Didn’t notice it was on Tor.com til tonight. :)
The Bone Twin’s Doll Lynn Flewelling
Traitors Moon Lynn Flewelling { { altered from Traitor’s Moon Lynn Flewelling
The Last Defender of Camelot Roger Zelazny
Roger Zelazny Lord Demon
Roger Zelazny My Name Is Legion
The Demolished Man Alfred Bester
The Perfect Composite Science Fiction Author Alfred Bester
The Starcomber Alfred Bester
Kill the Dead Tanith Lee
The Quest for the White Witch Tanith Lee
Biting the Sun Tanith Lee
Tanith Lee Drinking Sapphire Wine
Tanith Lee Disturbed by Her Song
The Terrible Old Man H.P. Lovecraft
The Outsider H.P. Lovecraft
What the Moon Brings H.P. Lovecraft
The Lurking Fear H.P. Lovecraft
The Shunned House H.P. Lovecraft
The Thing on the Doorstep H.P. Lovecraft
The Kidnapper Robert Bloch
The Dead Beat Robert Bloch
The Thing Robert Bloch
Midnight Pleasures Robert Bloch
Mysteries of the Worm Robert Bloch
Out of My Head Robert Bloch
Robert Bloch The Cat Creature
Robert Bloch Fear Today, Gone Tomorrow
In response to David Goldfarb in comment #3, here’s an example where the author’s full name constitutes a verb phrase: “The Wind River Kid Will Cook.”
Now, this is why I love the English language! It’s an old post, so perhaps nobody will read this, but I still have some additions to make.
It hasn’t been mentioned that “Paradise lost John Milton” and later “Paradise regained John Milton”. In modern poetry, “The casual perfect Lavinia Greenlaw.” Quite nice of them.
Nice animals: “Cats cradle Kurt Vonnegut.”
Dangerous animals: “The wolves of Willoughby chase Joan Aiken.”
Rude animals: “Reindeer moon Elizabeth Marshall Thomas.”
Also, “The harmless people Elizabeth Marshall Thomas.”
In a similar vein, “The fallen man Tony Hillerman” and “The shrinking man Richard Matheson” (perhaps less painful than the rest). Of course, there was already a lot of manning in previous comments.
Some more Star Trek: “The empty chair Diane Duane”, “The latter fire James Swallow”. It’s getting surreal when “Twilights end Jerry Oltion”.
Authors can be subjects too: “‘Null’, states Malka Older.”
I just noticed that one of my examples also works with the author’s name in front: “James, swallow the latter fire!”
I read and enjoyed your post, JanaJensen. I only wish I had something to contribute!
@69/kareni: Thank you, this made my day!