Skip to main content

story identification - What book has criminals wear a ring?


I remember reading one of my father's books when I was younger. It was about a guy who ended up getting in trouble with the law and was required to wear a ring that could not be removed and would shock the wearer any time they committed a crime (No matter how minor.)


The book was probably published in the early to mid 80s. I thought the name of the book was 'The Ring', but I am unable to locate anything. The cover had a car with a single wheel driving on a metal I-beam.



Answer



Your memory is right. The book is The Ring by Piers Anthony and Robert Margroff. The story follows one Jeff Font who has returned from space to get revenge on the man responsible for his family's exile. He is caught, convicted, and inflicted with the eponymous technology, which shocks him when he even considers a criminal act with the shocks getting worse as he actually attempts it.


The cover in question



The cover was actually mildly accurate in that there is a scene where he drives a monowheel vehicle down a girder, fighting the shocks he's getting because he's technically disobeying traffic laws.


Just for the sake of future people searching for the story, one of the scenes that stuck in my memory over the years involved a party with wealthy people where they voluntarily take a drug that gives them a strong hypnotic suggestion. One guest was convinced their hands were their feet and their feet hands, leading to them trying to serve drinks while walking on their hands, and the end of a scene having a woman molested by proxy by a suggestion of her hand corresponding to her genitals and it being repeatedly pushed into by the suggester's finger.


I want to say that there's a climax involving a political rally, or a concert, and a conspiracy to start a riot, but it's been a while since I actually read the book.


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

futurama - How much time is lost in 'Time Keeps on Slippin''

In time Keeps on Slippin' , Farnsworth creates a basketball team which he matures by abusing Chronitons. This leads to time skipping forward by random, but ever increasing amounts. How much time was skipped in this way? Answer Unfortunately, I don't think a good estimate can be made for this, for two reasons: Many of the time skips move forward by an indeterminate amount of time. At one point, the Professor mentions localized regions of space skipping forward much more than others. We then see two young boys on the street below complaining about having to pay social security, only to suddenly become senior citizens and start complaining about wanting their money. Thus, each individual could have experienced a different amount of time skippage.

harry potter - How could Expelliarmus beat Avada Kedavra?

I want to be very careful about how I ask this question – I am not asking How did Voldemort die? [CLOSED] Below the text is the relevant passages from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows if anyone wants to review them (I'm sorry for the amount of text). How did Expelliarmus beat Avada Kedavra and kill Voldemort? I feel the reason Harry's Expelliarmus overpowered Voldemort's Avada Kedavra curse has to do with who was master of the Elder Wand and how the Elder Wand works. I've always had trouble understanding fully how the Elder Wand works, though. How much did the fact that Voldemort never truly won or mastered the Elder Wand factor into how Expelliarmus reacted to Avada Kedavra and caused Avada Kedavra to rebound and kill Voldemort? An answer based in book canon would be especially welcome, but any canon source really is fine. Harry heard the high voice shriek as he, too, yelled his best hope to the heavens, pointing Draco’s wand: ‘ Avada Kedavra !’ ‘ Expelliarmus !...

game of thrones - Is Syrio Forel dead?

In the episode 'The Pointy End' (Season 1 Episode 8) when Arya runs from the Lannister guards you hear the sound of a sword being dropped (around 4:56): [embedded content] After that neither Syrio or Ser Meryn Trant is never mentioned or seen in the show again, except when Arya mentions to the Hound that Ser Meryn Trant killed Syrio. Is there any mention in the books that Syrio actually dies?

tolkiens legendarium - Difference between elves and dwarves blacksmithing in the Lord of the Rings

Both the elves and the dwarves were famous for their metal work in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, but what is the difference between what they made, and which one had the better skill of making amours and swords? Answer James Christopher's answer sums up the second part of your question well, but as to the difference in what they made, a little more detail is needed. Once the Elves learned to forge with steel, the shape of the sword changed, now being able to take on the form of a great broadsword or a light and agile curved sword. Additionally, they took great pride in decorating their swords. As we see in the Lord of the Rings , some swords like Sting had magical properties such as glowing blue when orcs are near. As far as the use of Mithril, lotr.wikia has two contradictory passages: Thus, Elven blades became renowned as great weapons, capable of performing deeds beyond the skill of their handlers and were even more glorious when the use of Mithril was allowed to the Elves. ...