This novel concerns a doctor who flees from AIDS-ridden San Francisco to practise on the colonized planet of Eridis, ministering to the Domers, a race of genetically engineered slaves. The author's stories have appeared in "Interzone".
From the back cover
THE DRUG
Mutacillin is a medical panaceait has eradicated all forms of bacterial infection. But it can only be found on the planet Eridis, where it grows as a fragile fungus under tons of soil and stone.
THE DOMERS
Subintelligent Domers mine the precious drug. Genetically created, their huge, corpulent bodies allow them to move mountains and endure the sub-zero temperatures of the mines. but even the Domers cannot survive for long under such harsh conditions.
THE DOCTOR
Although Jules Ebert's job is to treat Domers enough to keep them working while their bodies literally break down, he finds himself identifying with his grotesque patients. But the Domers are changinggrowing more intelligent. Only Jules recognizes this is a side-effect of a strange new virus. Now he must make a momentous decision: cure the disease or help spread it...
Reviews
"One of the best books of the year."Washington Post Book World
"Totally enthralling... unlike anything you've read before... SF at its best."New Pathways
"Vivid, strange, and disconcerting, with the oddest of heroesa highly strung gluttonin whom I utterly believe. The writing is beautifully measured, gemmed with epigrams, and it's a book that constantly surprises, both in its setting and in what happens... Michael Blumlein is a unique and original new voice."Ian Watson, author of The Embedding, The Jonah Kit, and Deathhunter
"A limpid post cyber tale. Transreal and truly hallucinated."Rudy Rucker, author of Software and Master of Space and Time
"A fabulous book, and marks the full-length debut of a writer who's going to have major impact on the field. The story is powerful, and made even more so by the cool, restrained language in which it's toldlike a thermite bomb igniting inside an iceberg. It all builds to a luminous conclusion right at the point where the medicine and politics intersect."K. W. Jeter, author of Dr. Adder, The Glass Hammer, and Infernal Devices
"Memorable... Michael Blumlein singlehandedly restores the fire and fascination to the interplanetary tale."John Shirley, author of Eclipse and Eclipse Penumbra
WC : 89,193
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