Rebecca K. Rowe

Set in Los Angeles in the mid-22nd century, this novel is about two unlikely people on a mission to save the world.

Noah is a rebellious member of high society. His mother runs a Domus, which is something like a family-owned multi-national corporation (but a lot bigger). She is not afraid to roll over people to get what she wants, and is a very dislikable person. Noah promises that he will deliver a datasphere to the right person. Meantime, and ecological disease called Circle Tide is ravaging the city, a disease that is fast-acting and deadly. Noah is afced with knife-wielding monks and a smart intelligence that wants him dead.

Rika is a Data gatherer (or data thief) whose expensive, and not-paid-for, neural improvements are failing. Her last chance to prove herself, and get out of debt, is to stop Circle Tide (simple, no?). But she has to steal Noah's datasphere.

The pair travel from the top of society to the bottom, accused of crimes thy did not commit. They seek clues to catch a murderer, and keep mankind from being destroyed by Circle Tide.

Here is an excellent piece of society-building. It has enough going on (virtual worlds where memories are stored, for instance) to satisfy anyone. This may not be a very fast read, but it is very much worth the reader's time.… (mehr)

A friend recommended this book to me because he thought it was something I'd like, he was right. Rebecca Rowe's book is a fascinating trip into an alternate future where nothing is quite as it seems. Fear takes over and causes something akin to chaos when two Imagofas (advanced humans created via genetic engineering -- and against the law) are kidnapped from Mars and smuggled onto Earth. In some ways, the story is a simple detective story, but it's much more complex. Rowe's tale revolves around three different story lines, all intimately connected to the plight of the Imagofas. The three stories focus on the two Imagofas, the humans who help them and the scientist and his wife (the scientist who helped create them in the first place). Rowe ties these stories seamlessly together, while at the same time gently infusing the book with the importance of sacrifice, freedom and love. The book started off slowly, but I found it finished quite strong and gave me the ended I'd hoped for, instead of the one I feared.… (mehr)

Set in 22nd Century Earth, this is the story of two young women caught in the middle of a power struggle regarding the future of human evolution.

The Order has set up a research facility on Mars, where they have created a race of nano-DNA hybrids called imagofas, thought by many to be the next step in human evolution. The Council, on Earth, considers imagofas to be a crime against humanity. The idea is hatched to bring back evidence from Mars of the order’s activities, to put them out of business, once and for all. The two women, Sashimu and Thesni, are kidnapped from Mars and brought to Earth as "evidence", after which their life spans will be short and very unpleasant.

Something goes wrong at the Earth spaceport, and the two manage to escape, though separated from each other. In the meantime, Creid Xerkler is the inventor of a virtual reality system called Molecular Advantage Machine, or MAM. It allows instant access to all of Earth's knowledge, but the connection is made through the wearing of a special suit. Another reason why Sashimu and Thesni are considered evil is that they can access MAM without the suit. Xerkler is very implicated in this anti-Order plan, but he spends much of the book in an artificially-induced coma (someone wants him out of the way).

While staying away from the Council, the two meet some interesting individuals. The Cadet is an expert gamer and finder of information, and Prometheus is a MAM meta-intelligence looking for sentience. It becomes clear that Xerkler is the key, but the only way to reach him, and fix whatever is wrong with him, is from the inside, through MAM.

This gem of a book has it all. It’s got virtual reality, technology and imagination. It also has an interesting story, with which the author does a fine job. This is not just a really good first novel, it’s a really good novel.… (mehr)