Book description
In a world filled with so many puppets, strings tend to get tangled. In
this follow-up to the groundbreaking cyberpunk novel WHEN GRAVITY FAILS,
the Budayeen is still a very dangerous place, a high-tech Arabian ghetto
where power and murder go hand in hand. Marid Audran used to be a
low-level street hustler, relying on his wits and independence. Now,
he's a cop - planted in the force by Friedlander Bey, the powerful
'godfather' of the Budayeen. Marid is supposed to simply be Bey's envoy
into the police, but as a series of grisly murders pile up - children,
prostitutes, a fellow officer - he's drawn deeper and deeper into the
city's chaos. Would Marid give up all his newfound money and power to
get out of this mess? Absolutely. If only he could. But answers are
never that easy and choices are never completely one's own in the
Budayeen. George Alec Effinger was born in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1947.
He attended Yale University, where an organic chemistry course disabused
him of the notion of becoming a doctor. He had the opportunity to meet
many of his SF idols thanks to his first wife, who was Damon Knight and
Kate Wilhelm's babysitter. With their encouragement, he began writing
science fiction in 1970. He published at least 20 novels and 6
collections of short fiction including WHEN GRAVITY FAILS and THE EXILE
KISS. As well, he also wrote and published two crime novels, FELICIA and
SHADOW MONEY. With his Budayeen novels, Effinger helped to found the
Cyberpunk genre. He was a Hugo and Nebula award winner and a favorite
amongst fellow SF writers.
