The Hormone Jungle

Recounts the futuristic story of Steward, a warrior and troubleshooter for hire, who inadvertently becomes the protector of a beautiful android girl with mysterious abilities

In the cyberpunk future of Reed's second novel (after The Leeshore), the terraforming of planets and moons has been matched by the genetic engineering of the human form to adapt to new environments. The divisiveness and prejudices provoked by the new races are minor, compared to the contempt most have for the new underclass these technologies have spawned, consisting of computer-generated personalities and test-tube creations. When one of the latter, a Flower (the name for a DNA-sculpted mistress) called Luscious Chiffon, runs away from her owner, she falls under the protection of Steward, a warrior from primitive northern Yellowknife who works as a sort of freelance private eye. This romantic noir tale of stock types plays out against Reed's intelligent, flavorful background and his astuteness for social and cultural nuances.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.