... that I read a long time ago. Science fiction books. English 
language, obviously.

One was called, I think, "Marooned on Vesta" or something. Principle 
character gets left on a planet with very large (anthropomorphized) 
ants. Discovers they read minds. Discovers it's something in their food 
that allows it.

One involved a man who buries himself in an underground crypt and takes 
a sedative which, due to having no outside influences/UV/sunlight/cosmic 
rays/etc, puts him in suspended animation until his 
underground-stream-driven clock wakes him with a UV light 5000 years 
later. He keeps coming up to check how the world is, until he gets to 
where people have invented immortality, including a bout with some 
nutcase chasing him in a war-of-the-worlds-style tripod machine.

One involving a man and his two kids getting abducted by a spaceship and 
taken off to Phobos, which turns out to be a giant artificial 
intelligence robot built by the now-extince martians. Abducted so the 
machine can study them. Run into a sailor who was abducted many years 
ago. Manage to escape and get back home, having destroyed Phobos. Title 
something like "Phobos Is Missing."

One I only ever so vaguely remember, with children visiting a planet 
where friendly humanoid aliens live. A garden planet criss-crossed with 
transparent shuttle-tubes. I have the memory of the aliens being not 
unlike the Great Gazoo from Flintstones in appearance, only of course a 
reasonable size. The impression it was part of a series. Of interest 
only because I still remember it for some reason. :-)

Do these sound familiar to anybody? Any idea which author might have 
written such stuff?

I finally found Bliss' "Starship" and Lester Del Ray's "Runaway Robot", 
and found a copy of "Continent of Lies", but these I just haven't been 
able to track down.  I haven't been able to find a copy of "Robots Have 
No Tails" for a reasonable price, either.

Thanks for any brainstorms you might have.

-- 
   Darren New / San Diego, CA, USA (PST)
     On what day did God create the body thetans?

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Darren New wrote:
> I finally found Bliss' "Starship" and Lester Del Ray's "Runaway Robot", 
> and found a copy of "Continent of Lies", but these I just haven't been 
> able to track down.  I haven't been able to find a copy of "Robots Have 
> No Tails" for a reasonable price, either.

I can't help with the synopses, but for finding books have you tried

http://www.abebooks.com/

? I find it very useful.

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