Foreign Bodies [Paperback]

Stephen Dedman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 4, 2000

When Mike Galloway, a regular sort of guy for San Francisco, 2014, descends into the nightmare world of poverty and joblessness, he finds he must face more than starvation and homelessness. He's now at the mercy of a deadly world of political intrigue...from the future. He awakens to find his mind has been slipped into the body of a homeless woman, his body taken over by a man from the future, and nothing can ever be the same.

Now, to survive, he must combat neo-Nazi forces from the future who are desperate to mold the world to fit their own twisted vision. Galloway might not have thought the world perfect as it was, but these men will stop at nothing to make it a living hell for everyone but their chosen few.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Sullen social commentary and a creative investigation of gender and ego prove more prominent than the slow moving plot in Dedman's second novel (after the Bram Stoker-nominated The Art of Arrow Cutting). A few decades into the 21st century, Mike Galloway is a WINnerAan official citizenAin a world full of losers. Overzealous social reforms and increased environmental distress have eliminated the legitimacy of the lives of myriad peopleAcalled strippersAwho are now permanently homeless. Galloway is fascinated by the strippers and, in particular, by Swiftie, a girl who has taken up residence on his balcony and shares his love of science fiction. Over cups of coffee, she dictates to him a story of a dangerous future where time travel might provide the only hope for human survival. What Swiftie doesn't mention is that she herself is from this future and that time travel is accomplished by a form of body snatching. Soon, Galloway finds himself in Swiftie's abandoned body, forced to learn to survive in the wilds of the urban jungleAas a woman. Galloway is aware of classic SF plots and often refers to them in an attempt to frame an understanding of his own situation. Readers who are not familiar with the genre might feel that they are missing something. The story concept itself will hook readers in, but the action takes second place to philosophical explorations. Ultimately, Dedman works out a satisfying ending without making his protagonist overly heroic or pushing a false-toned happily-ever-after. Agent, Richard Curtis.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Trapped inside the body of a young woman from the future, Mike Galloway faces the challenge of surviving in the grim world of 21st-century San Francisco while he searches for a way to recover his true form. Galloway's quest leads him to a racist conspiracy of Apocalyptic terrorists whose actions may lead to the destruction of the world. The author of The Art of Arrow Cutting explores the illusory borders of gender and race in this fast-paced sf adventure, which belongs in most sf collections.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Tor Books; 1st edition (November 4, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312872593
• ISBN-13: 978-0312872595
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,362,567 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Where to begin? I grew up (though many would dispute this) on the outer limits of Perth's metropolitan area, far enough from a good library that I had to make up my own sf and horror stories. I continued to do this when I should have been studying, and after false starts at two other universities, received a B.A. in Creative Writing and Film in 1984. Since then, I've held too many boring jobs and a few interesting ones, including actor, tutor, experimental subject, editorial assistant for Australian Physicist magazine, education officer and used dinosaur salesman for the WA Museum, and the manager of a science fiction bookshop. I've been writing for fun for more than thirty years, and for money for twenty; I sold my first short story in 1977, and my first novel in 1995. I quit yet another boring job in 1996 to write full time, and am currently working on two novels and (usually) writing one new story a month.

My novels are THE ART OF ARROW CUTTING (Tor, 1997) and FOREIGN BODIES (Tor, 1999); I've also written a non-fiction book BONE HUNTERS: ON THE TRAIL OF THE DINOSAURS (Omnibus, 1998), and 13 of my best short stories are collected THE LADY OF SITUATIONS (Ticonderoga Publications, 1999). A bibliography can be found at www.eidolon.net/stephen_dedman

I still live in Western Australia, and enjoy reading, travel, movies, complicated relationships, talking to cats, and startling people.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Solid but confusing, April 5, 2000

By 

Jesse S. Walker "doomjesse" (Huntington, WV USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Foreign Bodies (Hardcover)

This books switches between characters and characters switch between bodies so often that it is often hard to keep up with who is where. The premise of the book is quite good though so it is worth the read. The ending will catch the reader by suprise and is definitely worth the wait. Be prepared to be confused on which body the main character inhabits.