Bios Pb [Paperback]

Robert Wilson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 10, 2000

It is the 22nd century. Interstellar travel is possible, but colossally expensive, so humankind's efforts are focused on the only nearby Earth-like world. Isis is rich with plant and animal life, but every molecule of it is spectacularly toxic to humans. The whole planet is a permanent Hot Zone. Zoe Fisher was born to explore Isis. Literally. She has been cloned and genetically engineered to face its terrors. But there are secrets implanted within her that not even she suspects -- and the planet itself contains revelations that will change our understanding of life in the universe.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

In the 22nd century, humanity discovers life on an extrasolar planet, Isis: life that is lush, beautiful--and deadly. The least molecule of Isian biology kills humans painfully and horribly. Zoe Fisher has been born and bred--cloned and genetically engineered--to explore Isis. But Isis has secrets undiscovered by humanity, and Zoe herself contains secrets known only to the political powers that created her. And an act of biomedical sabotage has changed Zoe in unknown ways.

Robert Charles Wilson is the author of Science Fiction Chronicle's Best SF Novel of 1998, bestselling Darwinia, also the Aurora Award winner and Nebula and Hugo Award finalist. With Bios, Wilson has created a hard-SF novel rich in great ideas, strong writing, and the classic sense of wonder, a work that stays true to the implications of its frightful biology. --Cynthia Ward --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"Wilson's most tightly constructed pure adventure tale to date."--Locus

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Millennium Paperbacks (August 10, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1857987373
• ISBN-13: 978-1857987379
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (34 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #848,306 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Tense, thought-provoking, planetary adventure, November 14, 2000

By 

Richard R. Horton (Webster Groves, MO United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bios (Hardcover)

Robert Charles Wilson's Darwinia had well-deserved success last year including a nomination for the Hugo Award (and getting my vote, as it happens). His slim new novel is Bios. Wilson has shown a good deal of range over his career, and to see a novel like Bios following on the heels of Darwinia is evidence of that range. Darwinia was (nominally) set on Earth in the early part of this century, and married description of a radically altered, sort of alternate-Prehistoric, Europe with some wild speculation on the very far future. By contrast, Bios is much more traditionally science-fictional: set a few centuries in the future as a small group of researchers attempt to explore a deadly alien planet. To be sure Wilson has surprises in store for the reader and the eventual explanation for the novel's mysteries is pretty much as strange as with Darwinia, if probably less likely to annoy some readers.

Bios opens as the body of Zoe Fisher is prepped for transmission to the distant solar system containing the planet Isis, and as brief hints are dropped about the intriguing background to the story. In this future, Earth, devastated by plagues, is under the draconian control of several "Families." The Family control extends to reproductive rights, and indeed their most trusted servants are castrated to remove that distraction. The rest of the Solar System is independent of Earth, consisting of a Mars colony and an individualistic set of Kuiper Belt colonies. The two factions are collaborating somewhat uneasily on the research effort at Isis.

The story proper begins as Zoe arrives at Isis Orbital Station. Her arrival coincides with the first of a series of on-planet catastrophes. It seems that the native organisms are getting better and better at breaching the various security barriers humans have placed about their different research stations. As even a single breath of Isis' air will kill a human horribly in hours, this is very disturbing. Zoe Fisher's new equipment, both external and internal, is intended to be a step in increasing human ability to explore Isis, but is she too late? And what is her real purpose? Station manager Kenyon Degrandpre fears she is a tool foisted on him by the rival faction that developed her. Scientist Tam Hayes fears he is falling for her, and doesn't know if he can bear to put her at risk. And Zoe wonders why her emotions and memories are so different now, and why she is no longer sure of her own purpose and loyalty.

This is a short book, not much over 60,000 words, which is a nice contrast to many of today's novels. In this brief space, Wilson stays focussed on the arc of the disaster facing the research station. The hints of the background culture are fascinating, but I think Wilson chooses well to leave the hints as just hints. His real purpose is to tell an exciting story of a desperate battle against an unremittingly harsh environment, and then to advance a somewhat mystical explanation for the conditions on Isis and on Earth. The story is a good read, and the ending, purposely left a bit open, is thought-provoking. It falls a bit short, however, in emotional impact. We don't have the time to really get to know the main characters, and as such, the resolution doesn't grip quite as strongly as it might have. The novel's theme, also, while thought-provoking, is just a bit too lightly sketched. I wasn't quite convinced. Nonetheless, I enjoyed Bios. It's not as good as Darwinia, but from my point of view, that's hardly a major fault. Wilson is one of our most exciting and versatile writers, and if this is middle-range for him, it's still very good.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Traditional SF, April 11, 2002

By 

Jesse B Ellyson (Dale City, Virginia United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bios (Hardcover)

Set in the far future, in the far reaches of the galaxy, Bios is an unusual tale. Unlike so many other stories of human settlement on foreign planets this time we have a planet which just doesn't seem to want us there. This is not simply a wild west story set among the stars. With Bios, Robert Charles Wilson has not given us a tale of settlers getting to know their new home so much as he has given us a tale of a new home getting to know it's settlers. The planet Isis is hostile and toxic and it wants very much to break through the protective seals the invading humans have built around their outposts. It tries and tries again to get through and it learns from its past failures. Little by little it makes headway in its quest to oust the humans. But is Isis really a vindictive force out to get us or is it merely curious? And what secrets does this distant planet hold about our own nature? In the end, Bios is not so much about a journey to the stars as it is about a journey into and beyond ourselves. And what an ending it has! Robert Charles Wilson gives his readers a real kick of a surprise at the close of this book. This is sci-fi in the old tradition. This is a book that has something to say. It has all the flash and glitter we expect from the genre but it also has that underlying message that characterizes true SF. I'm glad I read this and I would recommend Bios to anyone in search of a good read.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Well-written but peters out in the end, December 16, 2000

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Bios (Mass Market Paperback)

I've read all of Mr. Wilson's books and he is getting better all of the time. The problem he faces is that his books, always excellently conceived, usually peter out by the end. As in BIOS, the characters are basically victims of a (well-conceived) planetary environment, the "bios" of the title. The characters are mostly stock and are removed from the novel one by one in such a way as to give the impression that the book has no real plot. It just ends, leaving me with the impression, "Is that all there is?" To Mr. Wilson's credit, the book is excellently written and the sci-fi elements all credible and in place. It's not a bad read, but I wanted more "novelistic" elements threaded throughout the book. I wanted a plot.