Description:

Hugo Award Finalist: A near-future novel of artificial intelligence, human nature, and mass murder that “succeeds on virtually every level” ( The New York Times Book Review ).

In Los Angeles in 2047, advances in the science of psychology have made crime a rare occurrence. So it’s utterly shocking when eight bodies are detected in an apartment, and not long afterward the perpetrator is revealed as well: noted poet Emmanuel Goldsmith. The LAPD’s Mary Choy—who has had both her appearance and her police work enhanced by nanotechnology—is tasked with arresting the killer, while psychotherapy pioneer Martin Burke prepares to explore his mind. Meanwhile, Goldsmith’s good friend and fellow writer reels at the news—while, far from all of them, a space probe makes a startling discovery.

This “excellent” novel about technology, identity, and the nature of consciousness is a thought-provoking stunner by the Nebula Award–winning author of the Eon series and the Forerunner Saga ( Chicago Tribune ).

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From Library Journal

The motivation of the mass-murderer--in this case a noted poet--becomes the subject of investigation by an ambitious policewoman, a renegade psychologist, and the murderer's closest friend. Twenty-first century Los Angeles provides the surrealistic setting for a remarkable exploration of human guilt and fears in the latest novel by the author of Blood Music and Eternity (LJ 10/15/88). Bear's blending of high-tech gloss with penetrating insights into human nature results in a complex and challenging speculative vision of the "country of the mind." Highly recommended.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

“An accomplished portrait of a future urban society…a superior work of technological extrapolation . . . translating a vividly imagined future into terms we can understand today.”— Chicago Tribune

“Large, complex, richly textured and frequently challenging.” — Austin American-Statesman

“A major new novel . . . A highly inventive future world with a degree of complexity and coherence that is all too rare in SF.” — Science Fiction Chronicle

“An ambitious book, with a complex structure, intricate theme, and ingenious extrapolation.” — San Francisco Chronicle

“One is ultimately awed . . . It may be the most ambitious novel I’ve ever read.” — The Washington Post Book World

“Twenty-first century Los Angeles provides the surrealistic setting for a remarkable exploration of human guilt and fears. . . . Bear’s blending of high-tech gloss with penetrating insights into human nature results in a complex and challenging speculative vision of the ‘country of the mind.’ Highly recommended.” — Library Journal

“An intriguing concept.” — Publishers Weekly