Arachne
by Lisa Mason
An ambitious young mediator must confront a terrifying presence haunting her telelink, as a deadly Artificial Intelligence schemes to steal human souls.
£4.99
Includes DRM-Free ePub & MOBI ebooks for all devices, including Kindle.
A must read 90s cyberpunk classic.
High above the dangerous streets of post-quake San Francisco Island, mechanically modified professionals link minds in a cybernetic telespace to push through big deals and decisions at lightning speed. But unexplained telelink blackouts and bizarre hallucinations have marred mediator Carly Quester's debut appearance before a computer-generated Venue–forcing her to consider delicate psychic surgery at the hands of a robot therapist, Prober Spinner.
Suddenly the ambitious young mediator is at risk in a deadly Artificial Intelligence scheme to steal human souls–because the ghosts of Carly's unconscious may be a prize well worth killing for.
Special Edition Extras
Lisa Mason has provided extras that give an insight into the genesis of Arachne.
- Original Arachne story from OMNI Magazine
The original story that appeared in OMNI Magazine in 1987, and became the Arachne novel in 1990. - Story into novel
A post by the author on how to turn a shorter work into a longer one.
Why you'll love Arachne
Arachne is an unique entry in the cyberpunk genre. It steps between the dystopia of William Gibson and the otherworldliness of Phillip K. Dick.
Full of 'almost' body-horror, corporations so mega that they transact court cases in nanoseconds, and AI characters with more spiritualism in their circuits than the humans that inhabit this post Big-One San Francisco.
A must-read for cyberpunk fans!
Reviews
Cybernetics, robotics, the aftermath of San Francisco's Big Quake II, urban tribalism - Lisa Mason combines them all with such deftness and grace, they form a living world. Mason spins an entertaining tale... She allows Carly's robotic allies a measure of personality and sophistication beyond the stock role of a chirping R2D2 or a blandly sinister Hal... Her characters and their world will stay with you long after you've finished this fine book.
Locus Magazine
Lisa Mason stakes out, within the cyberpunk sub-genre, a territory all her own.
The San Francisco Chronicle
Mason's endearing characters and their absorbing adventures will hook even the most jaded SF fan.
Booklist
Arachne is an impressive debut by a writer gifted with inventiveness, wit, and insight. The characters face choices well worth reading about. This is cyberpunk with a heart.
Nancy Kress, author of Brain Rose
There is a refreshing amount of energy associated with Lisa Mason's writing. The good old values are there: fun, excitement, drama - but served up with new and original twists. Lisa Mason is definitely a writer to watch - and to read.
Paul Preuss, author of Core
Lisa Mason must be counted among science fiction's most distinctive voices as we rush toward the new millennium.
Ed Bryant
News about Arachne
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Lisa Mason
Lisa Mason is the author of eleven novels, including Summer of Love (Bantam), a San Francisco Chronicle Recommended Book and Philip K. Dick Award finalist, and The Golden Nineties (Bantam), a New York Times Notable Book and New York Public Library Recommended Book.
Her most recent speculative novel is CHROME.
Mason published her first story, Arachne, in Omni and has since published short fiction in magazines and anthologies worldwide, including Omni, Full Spectrum, Universe, Year's Best Fantasy and Horror, Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine, Unique, Transcendental Tales, Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, Immortal Unicorn, Tales of the Impossible, Desire Burn, Fantastic Alice, The Shimmering Door, Hayakawa Science Fiction Magazine, Unter Die Haut, and others. Her thirty-two stories and novelettes have been translated into Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish, and Swedish.
Mason's story, Tomorrow's Child, first published in Omni Magazine, is in active development at Universal Studios.
Lisa Mason lives in the San Francisco Bay area with her husband, the renowned artist and jeweller Tom Robinson.
