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The Eternity Artifact
L.E. Modesitt, Jr.
(Tor, $25.95)
Humans remain the
galaxy's highest life form 5,000 years from now, until the Comity
government sends an expedition to a seemingly abandoned planet. Evil
Threat Comity's secular and theocratic rivals team up to stop the
mission from securing advanced alien technology. Philosophical Quandary How do we respond to that which we cannot comprehend? Lowdown An
intriguing vehicle for exploring interstellar fundamentalism succumbs to
plodding prose and the black hole of literalism. B-
Woken Furies
Richard K. Morgan
(Del Rey, $24.95)
Antihero Takeshi Kovacs
heads to a planet where the ruling Harlan family is craftily tamping
down a revolution by neosocialists — but it's not clear whose side he's
on. Evil Threat Digitized personality files allow the Harlans to clone a
second, younger Kovacs. His mission: Murder his older namesake.
Philosophical Quandary Can wanton killing produce existential peace?
Lowdown A futuristic Quentin Tarantino meets Thomas Merton in this
complex, compelling tale, a worthy addition to Morgan's Kovacs canon. A-
The Amphora Project
William Kotzwinkle
(Grove, $23)
Rich, powerful
tycoons in a goofy galaxy struggle to develop the technology to live
forever. Evil Threat The humans' grail is actually a deadly trap set by
invisible, literally power-hungry monsters from another dimension.
Philosophical Quandary Is discovering the key to immortality worth the
loss of a few lives? Lowdown In a cosmos with tossed-off aliens like
Lizardo from Planet Serpentia and rusty conventions such as childlike
robots, any attempts at gravitas go out the starship window. C
Silver Screen
Justina Robson
(Prometheus, $15)
In a Gibsonesque
cyberfuture, a woman investigates an off-kilter prodigy's baffling
suicide and the sentient AI that aided him. Evil Threat Devious
supercomputers, radical extremists, and bullheaded bureaucrats abound.
Philosophical Quandary When do machines merit human rights? Lowdown An
endearing and highly unlikely heroine — think Bridget Jones with brain
implants — is not enough to keep this mystery from getting mired in dense
folds of techno-conspiracy. B-
