REALWARE

Another in Rucker’s series—they’re related through concepts and in style, irreverence, eccentricity, and cutting-edge scientific speculation—following Freeware (1997). This one unfortunately arrived far too late for a full review. In 2054, Phil Gottner’s life is turning strange: among other things, his father been gobbled by a hyperspace anomaly and is presumed dead. At the funeral, he meets the stunning Yoke Starr-Mydol, a visitor from the Moon. Among the further complications: alien visitors—they call themselves Metamartians—bearing a gift, an “alla,” which confers the power of mind over matter. Are the aliens and the disappearance of Phil's father linked? What of the godlike being that calls herself Om? As crazy and as stimulating as ever.