The Nature of Smoke [Paperback]

Anne L. Harris (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1997

Running away from her dysfunctional family to New York City, Magnolia becomes enmeshed in the lethal schemes of brilliant megalomaniac Rahul, but with the help of Cid, a biophysicist, she finds a way to escape a deadly fate and remake the world.

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

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The science in Harris's impressive debut SF novel is soft?chaos theory and fractals are invoked in an almost mystical fashion?but the craft is solid, presenting strong action and intrigue, substantial characters and clean, vigorous prose. Magnolia, a teenager, escapes the slums of Detroit and heads to N.Y.C. There, she becomes embroiled in the schemes of Remus Rahul, the inventor of artificial life that is plant-based but humanoid and conscious. Magnolia is self-reliant, independent?but not the typical cyberpunk femme fatale. Other well-realized characters include Rahul's aquatic creation, Tumcari, and Cid, the dreamy, pot-smoking scientist who becomes Magnolia's lover and whose research leads to even stranger life forms. Harris largely glosses over the scientific mechanisms, but there's sufficient speculation and futuristic detailing here to adequately background a deeply human story that hints at transhuman processes of order amid randomness.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

After inventing plant-based androids who cannot think for themselves, bioscientist Dr. Remus Rahul seeks to infuse his creations with spontaneity?but must first find a donor. Harris's multilayered storyline includes lesbian love, chaos theory, and an infectious virus that changes everyone. This tale of future Earth is recommended for sf collections.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Tor Books (June 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312863519
• ISBN-13: 978-0312863517
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,868,603 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars OK Lesbian Cyberpunk, August 11, 1997

By 

[e-mail] (Orion Nebula) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Nature of Smoke (Paperback)

"The Nature of Smoke" is OK, cyberpunk. Its about a near-future, have-not women who gets a lucky break and toughs it out to get a better life and almost love.

The cover blurbs on the trade edition seriously over-hype this story. The exhortation to "READ IT OR BLEED IT!" almost lost me. Yes, there is sex, drugs, and violence. And, it is actually well-handled. The novel does not become the tawdry, parody of the genre you might expect from reading the cover. The author's prose is good. Her action scenes are particularly well done. I also believe male characters come off rather well for this niche of the genre. One problem I had was that in some places the author's attention to detail is very good, in others it falls (way) down. In addition, the plot lines also required a "suspension of belief" in places. There were just too many coincidences moving the story along.

"The "Nature of Smoke" is OK. It is not as good as the lesbian, cyberpunk written by Nicole Griffith or Pat Cadigan(which I highly recommend). Read it despite the cover.