By: Leo Frankowski Publisher: Great Authors Online Average Rating: Binding: Paperback Label: Great Authors Online Number of Pages: 160 Publication Date: April 21, 2006 Release Date: April 21, 2006
Product Description: This is an amazingly prophetic novel written well before genetic engineering was considered possible.
Despite it’s basically sound science, this is an adventure book about the trials and hardships laying in wait for the pioneers in this field. You’ve already seen newspaper accounts of protests and punitive laws designed to protect the human race from progress. This genetic engineer also forsees wars, riots, and eventual paradise.
But then, how would you appreciate paradise without a few wars, riots, assassinations, accidental deaths, pain, suffering, and absolutely dishonest politicians on the way there.
Better Living Through Genetic Engineering In 1940, thirty year-old Martin Guibedo escaped Germany with his only surviving family member, his crippled five year-old nephew Heinrich Copernick. Both men became masters of genetic engineering, Martin specializing in plants, and his nephew Heinrich in animal life forms.
Martin designs and freely distributes his proud creation to save the human race, tree houses. These houses are literally trees, genetically modified to have rooms, beds, chairs, cupboards that grow food, and of course, composting toilets. A tiny problem develops when the first version of the house eats its occupants. Oops. Heinrich's big creations are LDUs, sentient worker beasts that look like walking tables with eight eyes; fauns, cute little half girls-half goats who educate and care for human young; and TRACs, large sentient creatures designed to act in the stead of trucks or buses.
When the dynamic duo's designs begin to interfere with the status quo of the major political and economic powers of the earth; of course it means war. Heinrich, when not genetically modifying himself into a giant stud-muffin and growing his own Pam Anderson-like wife, has been preparing for this eventuality. When the two scientists unleash metal-eating microbes, the compost really hits the fan.
I agree with Connie Willis that great science fiction comes from taking a hypothesis and drawing it out to its most logical or most absurd conclusion. Leo Frankowski does just that in this book, letting the Polish uncle-nephew duo have complete free reign to design whatever absurd thing they can dream up without any real repercussions; universe builders remaking the earth as they want it. The humans in the story do not have much character development, but the little faun, Liebchen, and the LDU, Dirk, are really endearing as they grow and change in the struggle to understand human morality and ethics.
I am surprised this book is so obscure; it is my favorite Frankowski book. If you have read any of his Conrad Stargard novels, you already know that the book is full of plenty of whiz-bang, neato ideas, male chauvinism, puns, but is overall a rollicking fun read. Hard to put down until the last page is turned.
A lot of Fun I enjoyed this little book. I started reading Frankowski's books several years ago starting with the time travel engineer to Poland books. I really enjoyed those. I thought this one might be similar to that. I was a bit dissapointed that it was not similar.
However, this book is a very enjoyable read. It really makes you think. At the start of the book there are trees that are mutated into houses that people must live in. During the course of the book civilization as we know it ends and a new form of society is founded. Fauns educated children, vehicles are alive, and more fantastic things occur. The end is a particularly interesting end in that it leaves you thinking about our use of genetic engineering and so on.
Enjoy.
Great fun! Deserves classic status! A non-stop parade of fresh ideas, wild inventions and creatures, and original characters. One whopper of a good time!
ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT!!!!!!! THE ONLY WAY THAT I CAN DESCRIBE HOW GOOD THIS BOOK WAS IS TO SAY THAT READING A BOOK TAKES ME MONTHS TO ACCOMPLISH, BUT WITH THIS BOOK I COULD NOT STOP READING EACH FASCINATING DETAIL, AND BEFORE I NEW IT I HAD FINISHED THE BOOK AFTER ONLY A DAY AND A HALF!!!
One of the best SCIENCE fiction books around, All of leo frankowskis' books are very good science fiction. There are no "fairies" or dragons or majick. His books just tell you why a railroad works and how a windmill can be used to pump water or thresh grain and WHY this is a good thing.
Anything Goes Trivia
Megaton Man
Tailipoe
Trevor
