Product Description
Humanity’s search for identity and immortality takes a new twist with the birth of Adam-2, the first human clone. His memoir draws us into a thrilling family drama that explores the social, religious, scientific, and highly personal ramifications of a world in the near future where it becomes commonplace to have oneself cloned after death.

Through his own words, we get to view the human cloning debate from Adam's singular perspective – an inside glimpse into what it might be like as the first human clone, allowing us to “climb into his skin and walk around in it.” It’s a journey set against his life-long personal struggle with his great-grandfather, with the shadows of his clone-father and, ultimately, with himself.

In the end, it’s a story of one man’s fear of death. ... Read more

Product Description
Daniel is a test pilot in the 1930s. When he hears that his girlfriend, Helen, has been fatally injured, he volunteers as a guinea pig in a new experiment - cryogenic freezing. In 1991, a 10-year-old boy, Nat, finds the capsule. Now Daniel tries to find out what has happened in the last 50 years. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Moving
It differed from the film on which it was based, and yet in some ways it was better. I am not a really big fan of the sci-fi genre. But I wasdeeply moved by the bittersweet love story that unfolds within this tale of a modern-day Rip Van Wynkle, a botchedcryogenics experiment, and a fatherless young boy who gains a grandfatherly figure the summer of his tenth year.

Moving
It differed from the film on which it was based, and yet in some ways, it was better. I am not a really big fan of the sci-fi genre. But I was deeply moved by the bittersweet love story that unfolds within this tale of a modern-day Rip Van Wynkle, a botched cryogenics experiment, and a fatherless young boy who gains a grandfatherly figure the summer of his tenth year. ... Read more

Product Description
In the year that Mount Vesuvius destroyed Pompeii, the Roman Centurion Vitellan set off for the twenty-first century as Imperial Rome's last human-powered time machine. He killed an unfaithful lover by just letting her grow old, but her hate pursued him across seven centuries. In 1358 he stood with a few dozen knights against an army of nine thousand to defend the life of a beautiful countess...and earned a love that would conquer death.

Now Vitellan has awakened in the twenty-first century, a bewildered fugitive, betrayed and hunted in a world where minds and bodies are swapped and memories are bought, sold, and read like books. But worst of all, a deadly enemy from the fourteenth century is still very much alive--and closing in.
Amazon.com Review
Sean McMullen, frequent winner of Australia's top sciencefiction award, the Ditmar, has created a fascinating adventure throughtime in The Centurion's Empire. From A.D. 71 to 2029, the Romancenturion Vitellan hibernates through the centuries via an elixir madefrom snow-dwelling insects. Unfortunately, he doesn't possess theantidote for the corrosive substance, so every time he is awakened,his body is more ravaged.His frigidarium is secreted beneath anEnglish village, and as the Danes invade during the Dark Ages, thevillagers, in fear for their lives, awaken him.He teaches them Romanmartial discipline and they fight off the Danish rabble, but he's soweak that he must return to his cold sleep and await better medicinein the future.He is awakened in 1358 to battle again, this time inFrance, but it's his next awakening--in 2028--that propels the latterhalf of the novel into a thrill ride of nanotech-embellishedskullduggery, as Illuminati-like factions vie for control of theresurrected hero. The centurion's viewpoint offers both a window intohistory and a ledge to stand on while peering into the future.Readers who enjoy the juxtaposition of historical novel withscience-fiction adventure, as in Ian McDonald's King of Morning,Queen of Day, will appreciate McMullen's expertise in TheCenturion's Empire. --Blaise Selby ... Read more

Customer Reviews (17)

Australian SF Reader
Vitellan the Centurion has a chemical invention that allows him to travel through time, in a sense. This is the good old fashioned freeze me up baby type of method, however, so its more of a long wait, than travel.

He has enemies that pass down a vendetta through time, as well as allies that do the same thing, and it comes to a head in the current day.

No Flow, Didn't Care About the Character
I read all the good reviews and was looking forward to receiving this book.I was extremely disappointed.Although the premise was excellent, I found the story to be jumpy and hard to follow.Just when you got to know characters, it was time to move on.I kept waiting for the 'real' part to actually begin.There was no flow and I couldn't have cared less what happened to the hero in the end. I never even read the last 60 pages.I just couldn't do it.

Roamin' Roman in the 21st Century
Getting books from Australia must be very hard, which explains how difficult it is to find Sean McMullen's works here in the States.Centurion's Empire predates his Greatwinter Trilogy books and it appears that the author was still learning his craft while writing this novel. The book starts slowly, which is normal in a time travel novel, but don't let the slow start get you down.Once our Hero finally reaches the 21st Century, which is about page 150 or so, the book is non-stop action and becomes incredibly fast-paced.I guarantee you'll like the book more after this point.

While I enjoyed the book, it is evident that this book was written in the mid-90's.Like many books from that era, it overestimates the rise of computer and nano-technology to point where it becomes very unbelievable that the advances described in the book will be with us before 2030.We have William Gibson to thank for this and it seems that McMullen tries to imitate that style and that maybe of Stephenson in Snow Crash, instead of exploring his own style, which is quite wonderful as anyone who has read and enjoyed his Greatwinter Trilogy can tell you.However, I highly recommend this book and hope that this author continues to write and gets the recognition he deserves on this side of the Pacific.

Solid but Not Excellent
This is an unusual time travel novel by the inventive Sean McMullen, the author of the very entertaining Greatwinter Trilogy.In this book, time travel is accomplished one way by suspended animation technology discovered by a group of Etruscans. The hero is a Roman Centurion and this book is the story of his experiences while emerging from the ice episodically over the last 2000 years.The central character is presented well and the first half of the book, covering classical Rome, Barbarian age Britain, and the high Middle ages, is entertaining. The second half of the book, dealing with the immediate near future is an attempt at a cyperpunk type adventure novel with a very convoluted plot and many of the stock tricks of this sub-genre.It is less interesting.Worth buying as a paperback, though not as a hardcover.

...[sounds like]Xena again
Not, admittedly, up there with his Great Winter series, this is nonetheless and inventive and involving book with a rarely depicted, these days, although common in earlier ones, one way time travel plot.

However, McMullen uses this trope in a way I have never seen before.Equal parts well researched history and future speculation leads to a real feel of the spanning of centuries.(Ours is overlooked, which adds to the effect.)

Xena's jump decades into her own future in (I think) the fifth series HAS to have been drawn from this.With the combination of potion and freezing?I know.There are a lot of heads and a few bodies on ice somewhere, but this was just too close for comfort.

When as and if I get around to reviewing the three (so far) books of Great Winter they will all get 5 stars.This gets 4 only by comparison. ... Read more

Product Description
In the sequel to Warrior, the author continues the saga of a post-apocalyptic world in the midst of religious and social strife five hundred years after a nuclear war. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Highly underrated!
This series is one of the best of it's genre. It's got an excellent plot and the writing is exquisite. I've re-read it several times. I think that it should be republished and re-released.

Great Series
I really enjoyed reading this as well as Witch and Warrior. Post-apocalyptic with many different characters to walk with. Look through the eyes of those who have survived in more ways than one.

McQuinn celebrates redemption
Don McQuinn writes with poignant lyricism and deft plotting, gripping a reader with struggles surreal yet universal. Don't miss this epic. Don't miss any of his entire catalog. Get every single one. ... Read more

Product Description
On the verge of a breakthrough with his experiments in cryonics--the practice of freezing a corpse for future revival--Alex Cowell finds his experiment has brought about a confrontation with society's outdated conception of mortality. 30,000 first printing. $30,000 ad/promo. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

eh
The last 100 pages were good. The rest was way too wordy, and, as a female, insulting at times with the pigeon-holing of what the author thinks are 'female' characteristics. I bought it for the cryonics theme, and got a good amount of that, but otherwise, the storyline didn't capture me until at least 400 pages in, and then didn't really wow me until the last 100.

new author ?
fyis. blake is pen name of science fiction writer
gregory benford.

A good book with a happy ending
I enjoyed this book written by an author that I had never heard of before.It surprised me that I hadn't heard about anything of his before.A very well written book and very suspenseful.The characters were very real.Itwas also a very interesting story I've never read anything like it before.

Excellent book for those seeking cold hearted suspense
I have to admit I really did enjoy this book.Blakereally coveys this cold hearted apocalyptic god worshiping psycho killer.I Developed a true dislike to this character simply named 'George'.For all of you murder mystery fans this isn't the book for you.But for people who like a big heaping mouthful of suspense-you should read this book.Blake has a nack for putting you write there in the action as he writes from the point of view of all four characters ... Read more

Product Description
Lover and hero, Jack Barron, the sold-out media god of the Bug Jack Barron Show, has one last chance to hit it big when he meets Benedict Howards, the power-mad man with the secret to immortality. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (16)

Awesome!
A book written to impress adolescents of the 60s? I think not. This is one of the most prophetic novels I've read. Originally published New World's magazine, I've noticed a huge trend in the writers for that publication predicting Reagan's presidency. How did they know? One thing I've noticed about all futuristic novels, is they never factor in different storage media, be it tape or floppy. Now that cloning is a reality, the screenplay for this would have to be severely adapted to make the SF horror a reality. Mostly, I enjoyed the portrayal of the media, government, greed, bloodlust for immortality, image vs leadership, and the influence of money on each. Read this, and ask yourself if you would have done the same thing in Jack Barron's shoes.

Not that impressed
This was probably a much better book back in its day.One of the problems with a lot of older stories is they're one-trick ponies.There's a single plot line and that's it.Over time readers have demanded more and more intricate and complex plots and subplots, and books that don't rise to that challenge seem dull in comparison.I think that's why it took so long for me to read Bug Jack Barron.You have Howards the rich evil guy trying to pull one over on America, and you have Barron the media celebrity with a direct line to the public standing in his way; and that's the whole of conflict in the entire story.

So while an interesting read as far as seeing the ideas Spinrad had and the world he's created, unless you're going to pick this up just to check another off your 'classics' list, go with something fresher.

Paranoiasville
In the late 1960s, the "new wave" of science fiction writers unleashed a flood of mind-expanded and civil rights-obsessed product that probably seemed brilliant and insightful at the time, but most of which now seems laughably dated and self-indulgent. But just like any cultural craze, a few specimens have long-term staying power, as long as future readers can get past the crusty slang and political references. This 1969 offering from Norman Spinrad, his fourth novel and the one that really made his name, sometimes threatens to collapse under creaky hipster dialogue and the social paranoia of its times. But underneath is a brilliantly constructed political thriller in a (then-) near future.

The promise of immortality leads to a massive power struggle between a corrupt plutocrat and the title character, a self-righteous media manipulator whose attack-dog style is a downright eerie premonition of the O'Reillys that the real world has since delivered. (But at least Barron eventually develops a bit of a conscience.) Spinrad concocted an equally impressive exploration of the bleak future possibilities of around-the-clock media saturation and image-obsessed politics, and also delivered winning messages on the true natures of power and inequality. In 1969, such messages were in Spinrad's near future and are now in our near past. While some aspects of this book are definitely showing their age, the underlying messages of techno-political corruption and social paranoia are timeless, not to mention expertly constructed in this relentlessly brutal story. [~doomsdayer520~]

Super Reader
In a near future setting, a controversial media commentator is our
protagonist. When he takes on a particular topic he gets in over his
head, as he starts playing with the billonaires.

A dirty conspiracy is going on, and they bring Jack in. He realises
that longevity treatments are possible, but only by illegal
organlegging of children.

Jack must make the difficult choice of whether to throw in with them, or expose them.

Good but,...
Not what I consider science fiction. For me, classic sci fi is big space, etc. But Norman Spinrad is a great writer and the book was enjoyable. ... Read more

Product Description
2010 Literary Award Finalist – Santa Fe Writers Project

Adam’s intimate memoir draws us into a world in which it becomes common to have your genetic twin born after your death. We see this world through the first clone's unique perspective – the bigotry he faces as a youth, haunting dreams of the man from whom he was cloned, and Adam’s inner search for his soul. It’s a search shadowed by his fear of death, and by an inter-generational family drama in which, like the House of Atreus, the players seem fated to struggle with the sins of the father.

www.robhopper.com ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Two thumbs up!
Compelling story! Thought provoking & very well written!
Get the book ( & a few extra copies to give as gifts to family, friends, & your future clones!)
This would make a great movie.

Highest recommendation!
"Adam" is so good, it deserves to be widely read and I want to help spread the word.

The author successfully maintains a balance of foreboding and humor throughout the book. "Adam" has characters that you care about. It has a suspenseful plot. It has a love story. It raises scientific, legal, sociological and moral questions that we might all face in the not-too-distant future. Overall, it is so well-polished that it amazes me that it's the author's first novel.

My congratulations and thanks to Rob Hopper for a wonderful achievement!

Great
2nd book I've read in 20 years, but I couldn't put it down.The Clone issue is on everybody's mind and this story brings up a multitude of issues that I had never thought of.Beside that, it exercised all my emotions.Tragedy, humor, and love story.
I thoroughly enjoyed it and thats pretty good considering I'm the author's hardest critic.Just call me Dad.

Fascinating novel!
This book is a very thought provoking examination of the life of Adam, the first human clone, and the impact his life has on the lives of those closest to him, as well as his community.The author's discussion of the personal and societal complexities of cloning will provide lots of interesting discussion material for book clubs.The characters are full of surprises and the twists and turns in the plot just keep coming!I especially like the fact that the book was available on Kindle.

Fabulous read!
This is a great choice for a book club - the intricate details of the first human clone are set in a backdrop of political and cultural references that are real possibilities! How different religious factions responded . . . how cut-throat business practices could tear a family apart . . . science "not-so-fiction" with celebrations of "Dolly" the sheep . . . The questions the author lists on his web-site create the perfect book club conversation starters -[...]. ... Read more

Product Description
Throughout the centuries, different cultures have established a variety of procedures for handling and disposing of corpses. Often the methods are directly associated with the deceased's position in life, such as a pharaoh's mummification in Egypt or the cremation of a Buddhist. Treatment by the living of the dead over time and across cultures is the focus of study.Burial arrangements and preparations are detailed, including embalming, the funeral service, storage and transport of the body, and forms of burial. Autopsies and the investigative process of causes of deliberate death are fully covered. Preservation techniques such as cryonic suspension and mummification are discussed, as well as a look at the "recycling" of the corpse through organ donation, donation to medicine, animal scavengers, cannibalism, and, of course, natural decay and decomposition.Mistreatments of a corpse are also covered. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

The Corpse: A history
This is a very interesting book if you like reading about corpses and the different aspects of what can be done to bodies.Most of the book is about historical data and what happened to corpses 'in the old days'. Well worth a read.

Interesting
The subject matter helps to de-mystify the process of death. Unfortunately, I have various concerns about the author's facts. Her writing (or somebody's editing) paid little heed to syntax, grammar and punctuation. The index is not useful.

For example, she states on page 287 that in the District of Columbia, "unclaimed bodies are cremated after 30 days".Yet the "Washington Post" recently ran several articles about bodies stacked like logs at the DC morgue for months at a time.Employees at the morgue quit their jobs because of the stench, poor management, and health hazards.

On page 161, a mine explosion in Jacob's Creek, Pennsylvania, killed "2 to 300 workers."That's a 99% variance, by my calculation, and an unacceptable one to boot (anyway, whatever happened to the other 298??).

I don't know where Ms. Quigley is at present but I hope she's not at Georgetown U any longer. Georgetown has a reputation to protect and Washington does not need another "inside" story, much less an "Assistant Director of Academic Affairs," (administrative assistant?) with a rapid-fire style of writing that will pepper the reader with facts but miss their meaning.

I'd go with Mary Roach any time, and she's more enjoyable to read, also.The book is not without useful information, but, Ms. Quigley presents herself as an over-eager B-list party-crasher.

Where will your corpse REALLY go after death?
Now, I have seen 5 stars handed out to almost anything on these reviews, but believe me...this book deserves it.I first heard about this book after reading an article on author Christine Quigley in the Washington D.C. City Paper.Since I don't have a computer, it took me forever to find"The Corpse". But after I finally got a hold of it and a chanceto sit down and read the whole thing, it was WELL worth the wait. Packedwith page after page of real-life accounts, this little gem covers allkinds of stories imaginable about the trips some corpses have taken afterbeing relieved of life. Including such strange facts as odd discoverylocations, devices developed to aid the prematurely buried, and evencorpses that have wed one another.Quigley's writing never allows a singledrag, beautifully backing her immense load of true stories with bits ofhistoric and scientific explanations to help clarify reasons why and howsuch things could happen."The Corpse" has definately risen tothe list of favorite books I have ever read, and rightfully so. If thetopics of death and where the body goes after death interests you,"The Corpse: A History" is fantastic. A very down-to-earth andbrutally honest look at the realities of post-mortem events. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

That '70's Transhumanism
While F.M. Esfandiary receives a lot of credit for anticipating the current transhumanist world view with his 1973 book "Up-Wingers," Robert Ettinger made a somewhat more substantial but less well known contribution when he published his book "Man Into Superman" in 1972 as a follow-up to his 1964 book "The Prospect of Immortality," which started the cryonics movement. Of these two 1970's "manifestos" announcing a future for "immortal supermen," Ettinger's has aged somewhat better. Ettinger, unlike Esfandiary, grounded his view of the future in the scientific literature of the time (he has masters degrees in physics and mathematics), and he didn't engage in utopian thinking about the potentials of the social disturbances in the late 1960's which had impressed Esfandiary. (Ettinger considered the social, intellectual and political activism of the era's public figures wasted on side issues instead of directed towards what really matters. Imagine, Ettinger writes, trying to interest George Wallace or Herbert Marcuse in cryonics!) Today's transhumanists who haven't read Ettinger's book have often rediscovered some of his insights without realizing that he got there first before many of them were even born.

Events between 1972 and today have shown flaws in Ettinger's forecasts for reasons he couldn't have anticipated. The energetic cryonics situation he described in the early 1970's, when rudimentary organizations had already placed several people into cryonic suspension, amounted to a false dawn; the cryosuspensions of all the earliest cryonauts except James Bedford's failed for complicated and often sordid reasons. The practice of cryonics didn't recover until the 1980's, and it currently exists in a precarious state because of some bad publicity regarding a celebrity and the threat of hostile regulation. Cryonicists have responded in ways which suggest a loss of nerve, for example by changing their literature (including its titles) to de-emphasize Ettinger's "immortal superman" vision, even though he came up with the original idea for cryonics.

And in many ways life in the real 21st Century just doesn't look as "futuristic" as the speculations about it in the latter 20th Century led us to expect. Today some people make a hobby of collecting and republishing on the web examples of "in the year 2000" forecasts which sound ridiculous now. (I've done that myself.) Ettinger assumed that certain kinds of progress would probably, but not necessarily, happen, hence the relatively few predictions with dates in his book. The postponed progress we see around us could signal a dysfunction in our civilization that will delay the implementation of many of Ettinger's ideas indefinitely. ... Read more