Mortals All [Paperback]

Mr. Bruce Golden (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 20, 2002

Zach was just looking for a novel one-night-stand. Mary was looking for freedom. They found each other.
Mortals All is a unique love story set against a future where economic and social changes have led to the creation of andrones, a caste of artificial persons assigned to Earth's more menial tasks. Mary is one such androne. Zach, meanwhile, is all too human. He's an expert on lust but a novice when it comes to love. Mary goes rogue, and with Zach's help, attempts to aid an underground group of drones. But standing in her way are the police, bounty hunters, a senatorial candidate haunted by a dark secret, and her own evolving humanity. On top of everything else, someone is trying to kill her. It's not long before she discovers Zach is right. Freedom isn't all it's cracked-up to be.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Steeped in the ambience of classic 1950's Galaxy magazine ... social satire, irreverent anti-establishmentarianism, and pseudo-hardboiled narration ... Golden writes with zest and good pacing ... a certain flippancy of characterization and delivery."
Asimov's Science Fiction

"A sexy, sometimes satirical take on a unique and forbidden relationship ... a wry look at the human condition in the tradition of Heinlein and Asimov ... science fiction with heart, and a book destined to leave a lasting impression."
Speculative Fiction Reader

About the Author

Novelist, journalist, satirist, Bruce Golden's short stories have been published more than 90 times across eight countries.  Asimov's Science Fiction described his second book, "If Mickey Spillane had collaborated with both Frederik Pohl and Philip K. Dick, he might have produced Bruce Golden's Better Than Chocolate."  The same reviewer said of his novel Evergreen, "If you can imagine Ursula Le Guin channeling H. Rider Haggard, you'll have the barest conception of this stirring book, which centers around a mysterious artifact and the people in its thrall. Reminiscent of the work of Robert Silverberg, this planetary romance will introduce lucky readers to a world both magical and spooky, yet ultimately as tangible as your own backyard."

Product Details

• Paperback: 248 pages
• Publisher: Virtualbookworm.com Publishing (July 20, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1589392329
• ISBN-13: 978-1589392328
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,837,502 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

After more than 20 years as a journalist, publishing more than 200 articles, working as a magazine editor, radio reporter, and television producer, Bruce Golden decided to walk away from journalism and concentrate all his efforts on his first love-writing speculative fiction. That's what he wanted to do when, at age 18, he decided to be a writer. But life, as it often tends to do, took him in a different direction. The jobs in journalism kept coming, and there were bills to pay. Along the way, some of the work, like writing and producing his all-original show Radio Free Comedy and producing documentaries like "Sex in the '90s," he found rewarding. He dabbled in writing science fiction and fantasy-and never stopped reading it-but the time to pursue it seemed elusive.
That all changed at the turn of the century, when decided to devote himself entirely to writing fiction. Since then his short stories have garnered several awards and more than 90 sales across eight countries. Asimov's Science Fiction described his second novel, "If Mickey Spillane had collaborated with both Frederik Pohl and Philip K. Dick, he might have produced Bruce Golden's Better Than Chocolate." His latest novel, Evergreen, takes readers to alien world full of ancient secrets and a strange intelligence, populated with characters motivated by revenge, redemption, and obsession, on a quest to find the City of God.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mortals All, October 24, 2002

By 

"carolync210" (Santee, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mortals All (Paperback)

I'm not really a Sci-Fi fan, but I enjoyed this book because it has a very human touch--Sci-Fi with a heart. It has broader appeal than your average Sci-Fi, offering something for both hardcore fans as well as people like me who don't normally read the genre. It is a character-driven story, and all the characters are fleshed-out to a tee. I found Zach and Mary especially appealing, with chemistry to burn. It is a very visual book. And just the right amount of futurespeak is used to give a flavor that it's taking place in a different time.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Love on the Run, September 19, 2002

By 

Robert Goldbaum (Point Loma, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mortals All (Paperback)

A futuristic love story with a backdrop concerning the civil rights of artificially-created humans is at the center of "Mortals All" (Shaman Press), but there are many layers to this book. On the surface, the plot, which involves "Blade Runneresque" tracers who hunt rogue "andrones," and a religious figure with political ambitions, may seem rather pedestrian. But what's special about this novel are the characters, which are real down to their smallest insecurities and quirkiest habits, even when they're artificially created andrones.

The scenes when the on-the-make human, Zachariah Starr, teaches the female androne, Mary 79, about sex are both sensual and humorous. The entire book is actually tinted with satire--though the humor is subtle, not overt. When this pair's relationship evolves into something greater than lust, this story really begins to grab you by the soul. Mary learns from Zach what it means to be human, while he learns from her what love is, and, more important, can be.

This is not a book for hard scifi fans. Other than the andrones, some minor futuristic inventions, and travel within the solar system, there's not a lot of scifi hardware here. This is a character study that happens to take place more than a hundred years in the future. Much of it is reminiscent of Heinlein's works. Some may read it and think "Well, this and this have been done before." True to an extent, and maybe there are no great innovations in this novel, but I don't think what is here has been done quite this way before.

4.0 out of 5 stars Mortals All by Bruce Golden, February 19, 2011

By 

word addict "word addict" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mortals All (Paperback)

Mortals All is the first novel by Bruce Golden. He is also the author of subsequent works, including Evergreen, which I will soon be reading.
Mortals All is a well-written story set in a future time when artificial humans, or andrones, are the newest slave class. Created to function as servants for humans, andrones are without rights and deprived of autonomy. Although they are engineered to be servile, some of them long for freedom. Mary 79 is one such androne. Zach is a writer of space novels who meets Mary 79 in a bar. He is looking for a one-night stand, but soon finds himself embroiled in a conflict between the laws of the land and the urgings of his heart. His heart wins out and he tries to help Mary 79. As rogue andrones are customarily pursued and destroyed, the new romance is fraught with danger as Mary 79 tries to connect with others of her kind and avoid being killed. Zach is pulled into the intrigue which puts his safety at risk as well.
Mortals All has a little bit of everything. Along with jabs at religious hypocrisy, the author in his narrative touches on the double-sided treachery of politics and illuminates the kind of mob mentality that condones and fosters oppression of certain classes of people. The parallels to the history of slavery in our nation are inevitable. Yet, Mr. Golden handles all of these issues with the finesse of a real storyteller. The story is well-paced; the world he creates is believable; and the dialogue is natural. The story is told in the first-person by the various characters, each chapter representing a different point of view. The author does an exemplary job of keeping the character dialects and personalities true to form.
I found the book to be engaging, holding my interest up to the final page. And I particularly liked the little surprise at the end that gives the reader a big sigh of relief.
As for the physical book itself, it was professionally bound and formatted. There were very few typographical mishaps, and none that were jarring. I detected no editorial flaws. I liked the novel well enough that I ordered another of this author's books, and look forward to reading more works by this very talented writer.

Mortals All