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Canadian orders
Pub Date: February 2004
$6.99 U.S. $9.99 Cdn
408 pages
Category: Science Fiction
Format: Paperback Original
ISBN 0-451-45960-1
"Mackay deserves your attention." The New York Review of Science Fiction
"Scott Mackay's Omnifix is the one we've been waiting for: the breakout novel that will firmly establish him as a bona fide big name in twenty-first century science fiction. This is a terrific book from first page to last: big ideas, believable characters, great action -- it's all here." Robert J. Sawyer, Hugo Award Winning author of Hybrids
"Action-packed narrative ... fascinating details ... an enjoyable and entertaining novel featuring interesting speculation and touching upon intelligent themes." SF Site
"I like alien invasion stories, particularly those that are cleverly done. This one is quite cleverly done. Aliens have assaulted the earth with waves of a kind of nanoplague, which destroys humans either immediately or after a period of years, disassembling their bodies. Scientists struggle to find a cure, or a counter-agent, but internal politics are just as self-destructive as ever. Then a new alien space vehicle enters the solar system and humanity fears that it is about to face a new and even more massive assault. Very suspenseful, a good scientific puzzle, and enough plot twists to give the entire novel an original feel. Science Fiction Chronicle
"Satisfying action SF, quite suitable for a weekend's entertainment." Booklist
WHAT THE READERS SAY:
"This is a riveting book from first page to last, written in clean and engaging prose, full of twists and surprises, a definite page turner. As a deft portrayal of a man undergoing catastrophic bodily change, OMNIFIX ranks right up there with Kafka's THE METAMORPHOSIS, and should quickly become a classic of modern science fiction." MaryAnne Bionda, Oshawa, Canada
"A master of the genre." Lenore. E Notkin, Montreal, Canada
"This is a deep book ... [Scott Mackay] makes it interesting, and creates characters that are dimensional, and that you care about. Check it out. I bet you enjoy it." Dragonfly Kelly, Klamath Falls, Oregon
"A great writer ... I'll be eagerly awaiting more from this writer." Jirwah, Hemet, California
"OMNIFIX is one of the best science fiction discoveries of the year, as the plot is innovative and action-packed, and stars characters that readers will care about ..." Harriet Klausner, Morrow, Georgia
"I felt Mr. Mackay did a great job writing about the relationship Alex had with the other characters like his exwife and her new husband, his son and ex-girlfriend. I feel Scott Mackay is an ultimate genius!!" Tusken Hawk, Melbourne, Florida
AUTHOR COMMENTARY:
OMNIFIX was based on a 1,800-word short story, FINAL SOLUTION, I pubilished in On Spec SF Magazine. It tells the tale of a man who, through a chronic sense of hubris, feels he must update and enhance his body with all the latest genetic and cybernetic modifications. While he strives for a perfect body, he at last realizes he is making a dire trade-off -- emotional side effects bleed him of any and all human fellow feeling.
OMNIFIX had the original working title, THE DISINTEGRATING MAN. I liked that title because there was something Golden Age about it, and in many respects, there is a golden age quality to the book, but updated to reflect modern sensibilities. Alex, the protagonist, is infected with an alien nanogen a third the way through the novel and must cope with a disintegrating body. Omnifix is the name of counter nanogen that replaces his body with cybernetic equivalents. The novel charts the course of an ordinary man who slowly turns into a machine. As in my story, FINAL SOLUTION, Alex begins to suffer from increasing emotional deficits. His goal then, is to regain his former body as well as his former self, and must do this against the obstacles of a corrupt technocracy, the threat of annhilation by an alien race, and his growing physical and emotional disabilities.
The heart of this book, in my opinion, is Alex's slow transformation into a cybernetic monster. During this transformation, he undergoes periods of severe disability. At the time I wrote this book I myself suffered from a disabling condition, recurrent vestibulopathy, a disease of the inner ear that made me dizzy and sick to my stomach for months on end. Readers will note a passage in the book that recounts Alex's problems with his own vestibular system. The vestibular system, part of the inner ear, controls balance. As Alex's old vestibular system disintegrates, and before his new one can be fully installed, he suffers from terrible dizziness and chronic nausea, just like I did. I was essentially disabled for two and half years, couldn't go to work, and in the beginning, could hardly write because the computer screen triggered my dizziness. I'm cured now. I look back on this book as a kind of journal and testimony to my own slow disintegration and eventual recovery. And in that regard, OMNIFIX will always hold a special place for me. SM