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The Touchstone
'Anything you want to know, you hold the stone, ask me, and I will give you the answer'. Douglas is not the sort of boy to panic when something out of the ordinary happens. But, when he meets a native of the planet Vangar whose arm has dropped off and needs his help, and who is being hunted by the Guardians of the Federation, well, even Douglas finds things a bit of a strain.
176 pages
First published May 6, 2004
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
January 28, 2022
The Touchstone walked so Avenger's Endgame and Siri could run
March 9, 2016
Go on ask me a question. Any question. You know you want to.
It can be anything, anything at all, and I'll tell you the answer. Which stocks to buy, who will win the league, how to build a destructor death ray shooting pink plasm. All you have to do is ask, and I'll tell you the answer.
I reckon I'd like to be able to do that - but then, I'm the sort of person who likes quizzes. My dream job would be as the Chaser on The Chase (which, if you don't know it, is a daytime quiz programme where a team of four attempt to escape the Chaser, a professional quizzer, as the Chaser hunts them down: each time the contestants get a question wrong and the Chaser gets it right, he draws closer).
Sadly, I don't even know enough to be the Chaser, let alone the Touchstone. Because the Touchstone really can answer any question you ask it. Any question at all. Including the one about how to make a destructor death ray shooting pink plasma.
Ah. So, perhaps not the sort of thing you want to give to just anyone. Quite right. But, the question is, who should you give it to? The Guardians? (They are, in fact, the Guardians of the Galaxy, only this version does not feature talking raccoons and ambulant trees but rather a somewhat ruffled civil servant.) Now, this is the first of Andrew Norriss's books where I don't think I agree with the answer. I'm not sure any institution could guard such knowledge since the knowledge would, in the end, corrupt the institution, leading the, in this case, Guardians, to see themselves as more important than that which they're guarding, ie. everything else. It's what happens to institutional bureaucracies over time. I'd much rather have Douglas, our 12-year-old hero, in charge of the Touchstone than the Guardians. I sort of think I'd even prefer the gung ho adventuress who gives him the Touchstone to have it. But then, there is one question that will answer with surety what your attitude to the Touchstone would be, and it's the same question that was posed to Achilles: to have a long and happy life, or a short and glorious one.
When I was fourteen, I posed that question to my classmates and, to my surprise, received a unanimous reply: long and happy. I was the only one, at the time, who wanted glory and fame. I suspect that was because, to that point, I'd never really been unhappy, and, when you're 14, the prospect of dying at 28 seems just as dim and distant as dying at 78.
The Touchstone is for those who want a long and happy life and, as I've got older, I have come to appreciate that much, much more. But, in our increasingly safety conscious world, I fear we lose something by giving no avenue for the young glory hunter: in previous ages he could sail off to strange lands, now there's no such opportunity.
Another thought: with the internet increasingly omnipresent and omniscient, have we, in effect, given a Touchstone to everyone? If so, it's chief effect seems to be a proliferation of cute cat videos and the further loss of personal memory; if everything can be called up, why bother to recall it? But, I suspect, memory is an underappreciated aspect of intelligence. We are currently applying a worldwide test to see if we can do without it. I suspect the answer will be no - and I don't think I need the Touchstone to tell me that.
But I do need The Touchstone for another take on how to write a book without a single excess word or spurious phrase (like that one!). Read it, tell others about it, answer questions on it. Make it your touchstone, if not your cornerstone.
It can be anything, anything at all, and I'll tell you the answer. Which stocks to buy, who will win the league, how to build a destructor death ray shooting pink plasm. All you have to do is ask, and I'll tell you the answer.
I reckon I'd like to be able to do that - but then, I'm the sort of person who likes quizzes. My dream job would be as the Chaser on The Chase (which, if you don't know it, is a daytime quiz programme where a team of four attempt to escape the Chaser, a professional quizzer, as the Chaser hunts them down: each time the contestants get a question wrong and the Chaser gets it right, he draws closer).
Sadly, I don't even know enough to be the Chaser, let alone the Touchstone. Because the Touchstone really can answer any question you ask it. Any question at all. Including the one about how to make a destructor death ray shooting pink plasma.
Ah. So, perhaps not the sort of thing you want to give to just anyone. Quite right. But, the question is, who should you give it to? The Guardians? (They are, in fact, the Guardians of the Galaxy, only this version does not feature talking raccoons and ambulant trees but rather a somewhat ruffled civil servant.) Now, this is the first of Andrew Norriss's books where I don't think I agree with the answer. I'm not sure any institution could guard such knowledge since the knowledge would, in the end, corrupt the institution, leading the, in this case, Guardians, to see themselves as more important than that which they're guarding, ie. everything else. It's what happens to institutional bureaucracies over time. I'd much rather have Douglas, our 12-year-old hero, in charge of the Touchstone than the Guardians. I sort of think I'd even prefer the gung ho adventuress who gives him the Touchstone to have it. But then, there is one question that will answer with surety what your attitude to the Touchstone would be, and it's the same question that was posed to Achilles: to have a long and happy life, or a short and glorious one.
When I was fourteen, I posed that question to my classmates and, to my surprise, received a unanimous reply: long and happy. I was the only one, at the time, who wanted glory and fame. I suspect that was because, to that point, I'd never really been unhappy, and, when you're 14, the prospect of dying at 28 seems just as dim and distant as dying at 78.
The Touchstone is for those who want a long and happy life and, as I've got older, I have come to appreciate that much, much more. But, in our increasingly safety conscious world, I fear we lose something by giving no avenue for the young glory hunter: in previous ages he could sail off to strange lands, now there's no such opportunity.
Another thought: with the internet increasingly omnipresent and omniscient, have we, in effect, given a Touchstone to everyone? If so, it's chief effect seems to be a proliferation of cute cat videos and the further loss of personal memory; if everything can be called up, why bother to recall it? But, I suspect, memory is an underappreciated aspect of intelligence. We are currently applying a worldwide test to see if we can do without it. I suspect the answer will be no - and I don't think I need the Touchstone to tell me that.
But I do need The Touchstone for another take on how to write a book without a single excess word or spurious phrase (like that one!). Read it, tell others about it, answer questions on it. Make it your touchstone, if not your cornerstone.
August 18, 2016
When I was a kid, I found and picked up this book lying in our dusty bookshelf at home and read the book my sibling loved. I used to wonder why they loved it, so I gave it a go and discovered one of the best books I've read, one that gives me nostalgia and one that made me fall in love with the science fiction genre.
The book, with its capturing words and thrilling writing, had me head over heels over the idea of a touchstone; that just a touch away is answers to almost anything. To this day I want one. Other than the superb touchstone, I loved the story; the characters felt real and I could relate to them, and the writing was written beautifully.
I'd recommend everyone, especially kids, to read the brilliant, best book.
The book, with its capturing words and thrilling writing, had me head over heels over the idea of a touchstone; that just a touch away is answers to almost anything. To this day I want one. Other than the superb touchstone, I loved the story; the characters felt real and I could relate to them, and the writing was written beautifully.
I'd recommend everyone, especially kids, to read the brilliant, best book.
September 18, 2013
Quite a simple little story that actually could be considered quite deep and thought provoking. What if you had the knowledge to achieve anything? What would you do? Be careful how you ask the question!!
March 6, 2014
workaday mp3. The hero here is 12 y.o. Douglas.
That was fun.
That was fun.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 19, 2010
My favourite of Andrew Norriss's books.
June 6, 2015
this book is the most awesome book.i will recommend my fellows to read it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 24, 2013
Much more deep than I thought it would be.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews