I stole this, cackling gleefully, from a friend of my First Reader (and made a new friend in the process, Hi Jonathan!) and the denizens of the book of face have been playing with it. I thought it would be even more fun to challenge all of you and sundry to play along. it’s writing, sort of. But it’s more a way to make you stop and think about words. Poetry is hard, but have fun with it.
So… here’s the thing – write a haiku about your favorite book. I’m not sure, reading the thread of the original challenge, if the point is to stump ’em all, or to be guessable. You decide!
Oh, and if you want answers? Highlight the space beside each haiku’s writer, and you’ll magically see the book’s title.
British spy decides
To fight an occult war for
Control of the djinn
-Misha Burnett (Tim Powers’ Declare)
Alien probe arrives
We travel to learn about them
Three armed they were
-Christopher MacArthur (Larry Niven’s Mote in God’s Eye)
You can’t be crazy
Wanting to leave makes you sane
Fly safely, Captain
-Kacey Ezell (Joseph Heller’s Catch 22)
I live on the moon
Mike will help me get it done
I want to be free
-Spike Souders (Robert Heinlein’s Moon is a Harsh Mistress)
Got me a nice raft
Float down the Mississippi
With my best friend Jim.
-Pat Patterson (Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn)
God’s redemption plan
From Old Testament through New
One answer – Jesus Christ
– Nancy Guyotte (The Bible)
A desert highway
Gonzo American dream
Nothing is the same
-Roger Ross (Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Hunter S Thompson)
orphaned space child
founds new religion
martyrdom
– Alan Couture (Robert Heinlein, Stranger in a Strange Land)
one ring is found
a journey begins
the world changes
-Alan Couture (JRR Tolkein, Hobbit)
A Small Lord
Tries to Become a Bigger Man
Ends an Interstellar Mercenary
-Christopher MacArthur (Lois McMaster Bujold, Warrior’s Apprentice)
One bad decision
A lifetime running from guilt
Ends as a tuan.
– D Jason Fleming (Conrad’s Lord Jim)
Could I reach orbit
Then I’d be a wanted fan
Leslie has my back.
-Pat Patterson (Niven and Pournelle’s Fallen Angels)
The trunk ate someone
Tourists are quite odd fellows
Falling off the edge
-Joseph Capdepon (Terry Pratchett, The Color of Magic or any Rincewind book)
The hero travels
The sword is jumped
He wishes to hero again
-Sanford Begley (Robert Heinlein’s Glory Road)
Galactic Patrol
Brings the Winter of Boskone
Cleave Through to Helmuth
-Owen KC Stephens (EE ‘Doc’ Smith, the Lensman)
Literal flat earth
Narrative casualty
Drives the parody
-Kurt Schneider (Terry Pratchett, any Discworld novel)
I can’t wait to see what the readers here come up with!
Mad Genius Club 
52 responses to “Mad Haiku for Books”
Myself, sometimes it’s try to stump and sometimes broadly hint. As my Muse decides at that moment.
So here’s another:
Their War Never Ended
To Make Serfs Of Us All
And Dominate Forever
My haiku is on
Your Facebook thread, all can see
Doggerel haiku
I should probably put a link in my post, eh? Only not everyone here, is there, if that makes sense.
I am here, But I am not there. No matter where you go, there you are
And, no matter where you don’t go, there you aren’t.
No matter where you are – there you go.
Some times I think life’s Go-No Go gauge is stuck on NO fo me.
Martians in metal
Let’s see if they’ll be friendly
(Spoiler: they won’t be.)
Hey, Misha Burnett! From one Powers fan to another:
Jealous muse of stone
Tempts poets with haunting verse
For a price of blood
Nice!
Fat book of verses
India, England, all world
Not always pretty.
I would say Kipling.
And I love this one – both Haiku and author!
Courtier, captain,
Castle-warder, courier,
Along sainthood’s road.
One of my favorites of hers! Caz is such a well-cone character.
AI from elsewhere
Who speaks only in Haiku
Finds love and triumph.
Parent’s damaged son
Hyperactive genius dwarf
Bends worlds to his will
Napoleon complex?
A poor diagnosis for
Miles Vorkosigan
I don’t know what this is, but it sounds interesting.
That would be Lois McMaster Bujold’s Vorkosigan books. 🙂
Evil genius kid,
Tricks fairies out of their gold.
He’s still a big jerk.
Hey, Misha Burnett! From one Powers fan to another:
Jealous muse of stone
Tempts poets with haunting verse
For a price of blood
Strange geometries
A malignant presence
Lays dreaming, not dead
From many, only two
Seeking strong Dark Side power
Revenge is coming
Werewolves, vamps and more
Survive and you get paid
Just beware of Franks
Hah! Perfect for it, too.
Seven pilgrims be
Who desire answers
The Shrike will await them
The gods of Olympus
Or just some post humans
Playing the divine
Hate hate hate hate hate
Oh, so much hate I feel
Suffer much human
I don’t know what it is, but I don’t think I want to read it.
Harlan Ellison’s “I Have no Mouth, and I Must Scream”?
If I still have it, I don’t want to read it again.
Bingo.
Crimethink is ungood.
Big Brother Is Watching You.
Two and two make five.
That one’s clear enough. And so apt for recent times.
Revengeful man flee
Count on an island treasure
Character reveal
Stevenson?
The Count of Monte Cristo – Dumas
“Count” has two meanings here.
Haiku are poems
That often don’t make much sense
Refrigerator
LOL!
Men are not ‘taters
Service is citizenship
Johnny won’t stay home
Yes, and it’s bugs, bugs, bugs all around.
oh, I like this one.
There and back again
A young hobbit leaves his hole
And finds destiny
When pigs walk like men
Loyal horse is sold for glue
Sheep believe the news
Benjamin gloomy.
Why so sad? The answer, thus:
His memory true.
Cloistered in a Math
A strange item in the sky
Truth unites them all
An old man sweeping
Who by Time much respected
Remember Rule One!
One of my favorites of his.
Mind ruled paradise
Mostly peaceful, yet they say
Do not f#@$ with them
A man known by all
Now only known by just one
Reality slips
For a series that got me back into SF, thanks to Baen
Manticore Captain
Exciting adventure tales
Longer not better
Battles predictable
But fun character interplay
Will it ever end?