Sisters of Glass [Paperback]

D. W. St John (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 8, 1999

Karl Latte doesn't like the 21st century. Not recombinants, not Ultimate Reality, not Digitally Mastered Immortals. Most of all he dislikes the talent that's damned him–the ability to see into minds.

A forty-year-old ex cop with bad knees and a arrhythmic heart, he may be the last man in 2030 LA without a stcom implanted in his cortex. A 21st century Luddite with the skills of a gun-for-hire, he returns to take a case that's already left nine agents parted out.

The assignment takes him to a sea platform owned by the genetic conglomerate, Genesistems. His task: find Romy, one of the last surviving first-generation recombinants. Tall, slender, gifted, with a beauty as artificial as she is, Romy is the apogee of genetic perfection–and everything Karl loathes in a woman.

All Karl wants is to go home–but before he can he must smuggle Romy off the platform alive. Easier said than done. Genesistems wants them dead, a sadistic cabal murders Sisters two a night, and a 21st century demon lurks just out of sight, craving possession of them both.

Most alarming for Karl, as he grows to know the patented life form he has come to protect, his most charished prejudices teeter as his concept of what is human and what is not skews bewilderingly.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In Los Angeles, 2030, Karl Latte is an anomaly. In an age when everyone has a satellite receiver imbedded in his or her body, the burned-out policeman has no electronic implants. Even so, his ability to read minds makes him the only man able to rescue Romy, the last survivor of the first batch of genetically tailored female mates sold by Genesistems corporation. These women, known as Sisters, have been systematically killed in Platform 66, Genesistem's impenetrable headquarters off the California coast. Karl rescues Romy, and the pair go on the lam, with the predictability of their flight somewhat redeemed by Karl's budding realization that Romy is human. The novel comes to life when the pursuit grows hotter, with not only Genesistems (whose implants turn out to be mind-control devices) but a thuggish entrepreneur on the heels of the couple. St. John (A Terrible Beauty) deals better than most with the implications of the wealthy achieving a degree of immortality by being able to switch bodies at will, and the novel's climax is genuinely gripping, even if it is followed by an implausibly large victory for the forces of virtue. Though St. John's prose is of only average quality, the novel is an entertaining combination of hard-boiled action, futuristic romance and speculation about biotechnology. (July)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Paperback: 496 pages
• Publisher: Elderberry Press (April 8, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0965840727
• ISBN-13: 978-0965840729
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #713,959 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Author profiles are written by the authors themselves. Did you know that? That's why in author bio's, authors never 'live' anywhere---they 'reside.' Sounds better doesn't it? But, honestly, they just live somewhere.

Authors are people---just like readers. They are born, work, love, have kids, age and die.

Authors are neither more clever nor more interesting than you are, they just have to pretend to be, because who would pay to read a book by someone as ordinary as they are?

Why do we write?
Every writer has a different reason.
We want people to think we're smart.
We're not comfortable talking to people directly. We can write all the clever stuff we could never think of in real life.
We want to share our dreams.
We want to make a few shekels.
That's all.

But enough about me...

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "...some of the best reading fun you can find.", June 29, 1999

By 

[e-mail] or WLC (Salem, Oregon) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sisters of Glass (Paperback)

Beyond mastering a style of writing and story telling that makes you reluctant to leave even for a moment. St John paints a landscape that illustrates a troubling, thought provoking understanding of computer and biotechnology breaking moral boundaries. His writing conveys disturbing images of a not to distant future overcome by technology and greed. Into this future tapestry he drops a novel that starts off on a dead run. Every scene is ripe with conflict, filled with action. Every sentence cut and fashioned leaving the reader with crafted raw elegance. Not just a great read packed with interesting, unforgettable characters. There is a hero, who acts like a hero should. Karl is an ordinary guy with a bad heart, who loves dogs and carries a short barrel shotgun. He finds himself rescuing one of the most beautiful women in the world. Pursued by pure evil through a maze of corporate intrigue set against the mean streets of 21st century Los Angeles. There is no escape leaving the only alternative an ultimate test of character and courage. Bone crunching action rockets you through the pages. It never lets up. You find yourself pulling for the hero from the first page to the last. St John has created a thinking person's action novel. A book with something to say and some of the best reading fun you can find.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very personal story about a man and a woman, June 26, 2011

By 

Drosin Macavedjev "Soggy Meat Puppet" (New Orleans LA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sisters of Glass (Paperback)

A lot of sci fi is about ideas, or technology, or well... science. Not this one. The science is here all right, but this is a story about a man and a patented life form (read that: woman) meeting in, shall we say, turbulent times. It's about who they are, what they feel and how they view the world. Their views are VERY far apart, it's true, but sometimes that doesn't matter.

Some reviewers have commented that the protagonist, Karl, is not a very nice guy, that he's prejudiced and narrow minded. They're right. He is. If you need to read about characters with PC views, you won't want to read this. But if a protagonist starts out perfect on page one, then how does he grow?

I really felt like I lived these scenes and that's why I read novels, to zip myself into a character's skin and live their life. This was it in spades.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Futuristic detective novel., November 14, 2010

By 

C. Ragain "Colleen" (East Tennessee) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Sisters Of Glass (Kindle Edition)

Excellent character developement. It is a rescue story, and a tale of survival. Based on this book I read St.John's other two. I like them a lot, but this is my definite favorite. It is a steal at the price! P.S. Eugenics, and the consequences, are fascinating. Are they really people?