The Cassandra Complex

Book 1 of Emortals

Language: English

Publisher: Tor Books

Published: Jun 8, 2010

Veteran British author Stableford's Emortality series of future history novels (Inherit the Earth, Architects of Emortality

and Fountains of Youth, which start in the 22nd century and end in the 26th) receives a near-future underpinning in this

mid-21st-century puzzle of maneuvers in the face of impending doom. Police forensic scientist Lisa Friemann wakes one night

to armed intruders in her highly secure dwelling. Nothing in all the information storage media the thieves steal seems

important, or even work related. Events are hardly clarified by the news that prominent geneticist Morgan Miller, her

graduate supervisor and longtime colleague, is missing. Does someone think Miller made a discovery that, contrary to usual

practice, he had shared with no one in his field? And why would anyone want to bomb Mouseworld, the half-million-strong

genetic library of rodent strains? Lisa's cityplex police and university colleagues enter the story one by one, followed by

a confusing (to all concerned) array of other agencies and factions. Could there be a secret that will avert or postpone the

expected world catastrophe, or at least give some people advantages over others? Stableford's background in biological and

social sciences makes for convincing behavior and dialogue among the scientists, while long practice in the novelist's trade

ensures a smooth and involving read. This series should remain more visible in the U.S. than his large stable of unjustly

neglected past work.