- Paperback: 272 pages
- Publisher: Gollancz; New edition edition (21 May 1998)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0575602805
- ISBN-13: 978-0575602809
- Product Dimensions: 17.6 x 11 x 2.2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,392,770 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Blood Music (Gollancz S.F.)
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More About the Author
Product Description
Book Description
The award winning tale of the inevitable take-over of our society by a benign, intelligent scientific experiment gone awry.
--This text refers to an alternate
Paperback
edition.
Product Description
Vergil Ulam has created cellular material that can outperform rats in laboratory tests. When the authorities rule that he has exceeded his authorization, Vergil loses his job, but is determined to take his discovery with him.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
16 of 19 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
One of the most memorably tongue-in-cheek creations of Douglas Adams was a madness booth--designed to make its victims insane, simply and effectively, by displaying them "to-scale" beside the rest of the cosmos.
In many ways, it's the same trick Bear's best novels play on a reader's mind, forever putting it in contexts too vast to afford the thing any significance at all: "Queen of Angels" concerns a therapist who literally delves into his patients' subconscious, while "Eon" and its sequel plunge characters into an infinite number of alternate universes.
"Blood Music" represents yet another disturbing tour of an alarming theoretical Bearscape--that of an earth whose population has, after a singular biological catastrophe, come to share the same vaguely protoplasmic, continent-sized body.
It could do with a sense of tone, a touch of poetic irony, a memorable character or two, and perhaps even a dollop of Barthelmian humor, but the central idea itself is so unquestionably remarkable that the novel's trashy-ness is, for once, actually overwhelmed by its ambition.
Like it or not, you will be thinking about "Blood Music" long after you put it down. And you should definitely pick it up.
15 of 18 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
With an apocalyptic vision at its heart, Blood Music is escapist reading with high drama, though its excitement has been somewhat muted by time and the magnitude of the real events which have transpired since its publication in 1985. Here a genetic experiment goes awry, and the whole world is endangered. .
Though only seventeen years have passed since its publication, the book feels old--eerily so. Gene therapy is now a reality. The Soviet Union, which here rattles its nuclear sabers in an effort to dominate the world, seems like a very old enemy. Strangely, a number of particularly vivid scenes here take place in a ravaged World Trade Center, images so similar to the reality of 9/11 that I found them painful to stumble upon in a piece of light fiction. Suzy McKenzie, a lonely survivor in New York, sets up home in the World Trade Center lobby, and Bear’s descriptions of her explorations through the desolate upper floors and of the collapse of one of the towers conjured up nightmarish (real) images.
Bear’s narrative is fast-paced and suspenseful. With an acute sensibility and eye for detail, Bear creates stark images. His characterizations of Vergil and Suzy are often touching, however, and the dialogue between Vergil and his mother will bring smiles to the faces of many parents. Structurally, the novel is very loose, with characters who come and go, and ultimately the novel feels almost as chaotic as Bear’s vision of devastation. Bear’s immense potential, obvious here, finds its true fulfillment in his later, more carefully controlled, novels. Mary Whipple
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The author almost managed to pull it off. It is an excellent read, the characters and concept are well worked which ensure you become engaged in the story. Why almost? I personally felt that the ending could have been stronger.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
nightmarish and inspiring
This is another one of those hard scifi novels that has it all: some new scientific discovery (the creation of intelligent cells and what unexpected things they do) and very very... Read more
Published 12 months ago by rob crawford
A timely classic
A classic piece of 80's cyberpunk made chillingly prescient by recent developments in microbiology, notably Venter's creation of synthetic cells. Read more
Published 23 months ago by Mr. Timothy W. Dumble
blood music - worth a read
I found Blood Music a really interesting read, based on a microbiology rather then outer space or the mind. Read more
Published on 27 April 2010 by Curlet Lousararian
Fantastic book, but get the Gollancz S.F Copy.
This is a fantastic book, reguardless of its floors the concept is so strong that it carries the novel, and alone makes it worth reading. Read more
Published on 22 April 2010 by Lawrence J. Glynn
A great concept, but preffered the Short Story.
After having read the novelette version of Blood Music i found the concept extremely intrigueing and decided to read the extended novel. Read more
Published on 3 May 2009 by N. Durand
Haunting
Having read this story when it was first released, it has managed to haunt me across the years.
I may have forgotten the title at times - and sometimes even who wrote it - but... Read more
I may have forgotten the title at times - and sometimes even who wrote it - but... Read more
Published on 27 Aug 2008 by Katathome
Comforting apocalypse
I found myself thinking about this as I drove home today - and I read it about a year ago.
I remember reading John Wyndham as a child and being guiltily thrilled by the... Read more
I remember reading John Wyndham as a child and being guiltily thrilled by the... Read more
Published on 11 Aug 2008 by BroDisBoDia
Entertaining but the science is pure fantasy
I was intrigued by the ideas presented in the the original novelette that was later extended to produce this book, but found I had to suspend my disbelief throughout which rather... Read more
Published on 21 May 2008 by A Modern Prometheus
Complex science but a very interesting exploration of micro-biology...
As with many Masterworks books, this isn't the easiest book in the world to read, which is why I always recommend people should approach some of the titles in the Masterworks... Read more
Published on 14 April 2008 by N. Burgess
Interesting plot, well told
Greg Bear draws us into an apocaliptic situation which, one day, could very well become real. Of course, as a gifted storyteller, he not only adds suspense and psychology to his... Read more
Published on 8 Jan 2008 by Rupf Peter
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