Transfigurations (S.F. MASTERWORKS) - Softcover

Bishop, Michael

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0575093099 ISBN 13: 9780575093096

Publisher: Gateway, 2013

Synopsis

In a clearing of the great forest of the planet Bosk Veld, a strange, ape-like species of alien, the Asadi, act out their almost-incomprehensible rituals, rainbow eyes flashing, spinning like pinwheels.

Egon Chaney, in his anthropological study, 'Death and Designation Among the Asadi' has shown how their life-style has apparently degenerated from a level of complex technological sophistication and devolved to a primal simplicity. Long after his disappearance in the forest, his daughter, Elegy Cather, comes to Bosk Veld to carry on his studies of the Asadi where he left off. With her is an intelligent ape, Kretzoi, physically adapted to resemble the aliens.

Together with Thomas Benedict, Chaney's old partner, Elegy begins to unravel the enigma of the Asadi. As Kretzoi insinuates himself into their rituals, so we are drawn into what is perhaps the most convincing portrayal of the alien yet.

About this title

Review:

"Transfigurations is as complex, as carefully thought-out, and as compelling an SF novel as you'll find anywhere, ever."
--Theodore Sturgeon, author of More Than Human

"A wonderfully intelligent [novel that] has a great deal to tell us about who and what people are. But, like all the best stories, there is a compelling mystery at its very complex, highly human heart. The desire to solve this mystery will keep you reading, and what you find out along the way will not only keep you thinking for a long time afterward, it might also change the way you think about the nature of humanity . . . or even just nature."
--Pat Cadigan, author of Synners

"This new edition of Michael Bishop's classic novel, Transfigurations, somehow manages to improve on an already terrific story. The characters are wonderfully complex, from Earth's troubled anthropologists who struggle to understand the inhabitants of an alien world, to those aliens themselves. The scientific extrapolation is deft and utterly believable, the storytelling is impeccably crafted, and the way in which the ultimate appreciation of the aliens' culture reflects on our own understanding of ourselves is a perfect example of how worthy, even important, great science fiction can be."
--Rick Wilber, author of Alien Morning

"Michael Bishop's Transfigurations takes a riveting modern classic of alien anthropology previously authored by himself and resolves all of its dilemmas in a masterly roller coaster ride of revelations--a stunning achievement which probes our own humanity as much as it questions the nature of alien beings."
--Ian Watson, author of The Flies of Memory

Book Description:

A fascinating and compelling novel of alien life by the NEBULA AWARD-winning author of ANCIENT OF DAYS.

About this edition

• Publisher: Gateway
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 0575093099
• ISBN 13: 9780575093096
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 336