by
- A Singular Prophecy
- A Once-Dead Genius in the Kennel of Master Morticue Ambergrand
- A Twice-Dead Genius Comporting With Misunderstood Abominations
Rudyard Albert Goldstein, inventor of the Biomic Network Algorithm, made piece with death once in the 22nd century, but an idiot doctor hijacked his mind, placing it in the care of Nessie, an impish AI guardian. Nessie preserved him from a civilization-ending asteroid strike so that he could help his descendants survive contact with an alien species 923,000 years, four months, and three days later. Then, he died again, merged with a worm-a-pede alien male who narrowly survived fulfilling his mating duties. They expired peacefully on a cliff top, pondering the nature of existence—and the promise of abominable liaisons.
Two deaths should be quite sufficient for any genius to endure.
Somehow, Nessie resurrected him from oblivion. His descendants needed him again. New hostile aliens roamed the Earth—along with an immortal, alien-human hybrid whose agenda was unclear. Was the healthy young body Nessie had prepared for him, along with the prospect of finally discovering “the meaning of it all” enough of a bribe to risk dying a third time?
Apparently so.
Readers of Raham’s A Singular Prophecy (Biostration, 2011), and A Once-Dead Genius in the Kennel of Master Morticue Ambergrand (Penstemon Publications, 2018) will reconnect with old friends (both human and alien). But even those new to the author’s quirky sense of humor will enjoy this third and final adventure that spans the breadth of time and space.
- 1 To Be Read list
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“I must say, Hydra, it’s so nice to have someone to talk to—even though I had to wait 4.6 billion years. Humans nearly gave me a terminal fever until that last asteroid strike cut them down to manageable numbers.”
“Ha, you think primates are bad? I can tell you, arthropods are no stroll across the cosmos, either. My oceans and atmosphere back on Jadderbad are at least as mucked up as yours. But I agree: misery needs good company.”
“I’m worried about our sentient species fooling around with each other, Hydra. They’re starting to breed with abandon again, burning energy, expelling wastes…I feel another fever coming on.”
Hydra’s microbial filaments pulsed with a sympathetic energy spasm. “We feed our creatures, give them a nice place to live, and then they just make a mess. What’s a mother to do?”
READ MORE“I have two humans now who have lived long beyond their expiration dates. That Rudy Goldstein person died once for heaven’s sake. He may be a genius—at least by human standards—but that’s no excuse.”
“Yes. I thought when he merged with my Morticue Ambergrand and they died together, that would be that…”
“But that Mnemosyne intelligence,” Gaia continued, “keeps Rudy alive with those clever tricks of hers. You can’t evolve metazoans properly if they won’t die like they’re supposed to. And I never told you this, Hydra, but I was actually infected once long ago by another set of sentient metazoans, the Grovians. That was back during my giant lizard phase, you know. One of them merged with a human named Ryan Thompson. He has also refused to die.”
“How rude,” said Hydra. “What do you plan to do?”
Gaia made a conscious effort to slow her many cycles and to calm her frenzied thoughts—the planetary equivalent of a deep breath. “At this point, Hydra, I don’t know. I just don’t know.”
COLLAPSEAuthor R. Gary Raham is a scientist with degrees in biology and a very active imagination, so who better to write novels about biological beings from the far distant worlds of Earth, Jadderbad, and Grove? Raham is also an artist/illustrator, so who better to create the timeline illustrations and drawings of the Jadderbadians and Grovians. Finally, Author Raham is a humorist who’s able to let appearances and circumstances create their own laugh-out-loud moments without any obvious effort.
After reading and reviewing the 2018 release of "A Once-Dead Genius in the Kennel of Master Morticue Ambergrand: From deathbed to pethood and beyond in Earth's far distant future," I could not imagine where Raham’s distant future could take us that would outdo that fine novel. But this author is clearly writing on a different plane because "A Twice-Dead Genius Comporting with Misunderstood Abominations" is even more intriguing and entertaining.
This time around, we’re introduced to the new aliens from Grove who want Earth for their surviving population. Back when humans were confronted by Jadderbadians, they had a fighting chance to survive by actually making friends . . . or by meekly submitting to the role of pet. The Grovians are not quite as agreeable and would prefer to simply wipe the planet clean of resistant beings and take over. Our old Artificial Intelligence friend from the previous book, Mnemosyne, returns with her new genius human merger and tries to find a way to save humanity and preserve what was learned in the past before the asteroids. There are interesting options with mergers of AI and human minds, mergers of aliens and humans (some viewed as abominations), complete takeovers by alien minds, and superbeings.
And then Earth Gaia enters the fray. The Yellowstone Caldera awakens and threatens to once again clear the earth of most of its occupants.
"A Twice-Dead Genius Comporting with Misunderstood Abominations" is the third book in a trilogy. Because of the large number of characters in Twice Dead, it would be harder to read as a standalone. I highly recommend reading all three books in order.
I received an advance copy of this novel to review.
