Architects of Emortality

Stableford continues to write first-class hard SF adventure in the same future universe as Inherit the Earth. Five hundred years in the future, there is a murder in New York City by the agency of genetically altered flowers, and a rejuvenated plant designer named Oscar Wilde must help Charlotte Holmes of the NYPD investigate.

The futuristic biotech world of Stableford's acclaimed SF novella Les Fleurs du Mal (The Flowers of Evil), expanded upon in last year's novel Inherit the Earth, provides the foundation for this sequel. After an ecological collapse brought on by biological warfare and a runaway greenhouse effect, nanotechnology is regrowing lost forests as well as offering near-immortality to those who can afford it. Although the United Nations calls itself a World Government, the true power rests with the MegaMall, a company produced by generations of multinational mergers and buyouts. On this cusp of a new world, someone is murdering the pioneering scientists of the New Human Race, and it's up to Detective Sgt. Charlotte Holmes and Inspector Hal Watson, of the U.N. Police, to stop the killing. Charlotte and Hal are assisted by Michael Lowenthal, a "special investigator" from the MegaMall, and Oscar Wilde, a legendary bioengineer of specialty flowers. Evidence indicates that the murderer, a mysterious young woman, is somehow related to a genetic engineer who calls himself Rappaccini (after a character in a Hawthorne story). As the team investigates the murders, they realize that Rappaccini's taut game of hide-and-seek is leading them to the truth behind a much darker secret. Stableford's skill at creating technologically overwhelmed future worlds is evident here. His narrative teems with vivid, believable descriptions of man-eating flowers, hundred-year-old artists and rampant genetic engineering. His talent for mystery is less sure, featuring characters whose roles blur unconvincingly as the plot picks up speed. Although the novel's ending is weakened by premature revelations of Rappaccini's motives, the scale and audacity of Stableford's vision is a wonder. (Sept.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Science fiction whodunit set in the same future as Inherit the Earth (1998) from Stableford (to whom, last time out, Kirkus ascribed the output of fellow-Britisher Brian Lumleyapologies to both authors). By 2495, the MegaMall more or less owns and runs the world; old-type humans carry health-preserving internal technology and can undergo a maximum of three rejuvenations, while members of the New Human Race require neither and, barring accident, have attained immortality. United Nations police officers Charlotte Holmes and Hal Watson investigate the murder of old gene engineer Gabriel King: he was gobbled up by black flowers delivered by a beautiful but unidentified young woman. Also joining the case are MegaMall special investigator Michael Lowenthal and famous flower-geneticist Oscar Wilde (who, given to pontificating, lacks both wit and epigrams). Naturally, Wilde himself is a suspect, along with rival gene engineers Jafri Biasiolo and old Walter Czastka. Other victims, killed in the same manner and visited by the same woman, soon show up. The victims all attended college together. Walter Czastka clearly knows something but clams up. As the DOA list lengthens, it emerges that chief suspect Biasiolo is Czastka's sonCzastka performed illegal genetic experiments that the others helped cover upwhile the elusive young woman is genetically his mother! Even so, Jafri Biasiolo died months ago. Impressive biological speculations and an intriguing setup, but the stodgy investigation isnt helped either by the obscure motive or the tales overstuffing with pointless Victoriana. -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

The bizarre murder of a prominent architect of the new Decivilization of the world draws New York investigator Charlotte Holmes into a complicated web of murderous intrigue involving death by genetically altered flowers. Aided by a brilliant and occasionally maddening "expert witness" with the unlikely name of Oscar Wilde, Holmes seeks solutions to a series of puzzles rooted in the poets and authors of the 19th century. Set in the same distant future as Inherit the Earth, this literary sf mystery, based on the short story "Flowers of Evil," belongs in most sf collections.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.