When Gravity Fails

Author: George Alec Effinger

MarÃƒÂ®d Audran is something of a lone wolf in this futuristic book. The current superpowers have foundered and the Middle East is now prospering. The story is set in this area. Audran makes his living from hand-to-mouth, but at the beginning of the book, heÃ¢s suspected of being a sadist serial killer. A mob boss wants to execute Audran, but instead uses significant modifications to AudranÃ¢s brain. As Audran adjusts to the changes, the serial killer gets closer and closer to Audran himself by killing off the manÃ¢s acquaintances. Audran is not the best of investigators, as he stumbles into more situations than he deduces or even intuits. The situation deteriorates until Audran is captured by the serial killer, who plans on making him the next victim. Why It Made the List The book was nominated for the Hugo and the Nebula awards. ItÃ¢s the first in a series that included two other novels and a series of short stories as well as an unfinished novel. The book is one of the first to use transgender characters, in the person of Yasmin, AudranÃ¢s sometimes girlfriend. Read It If You Likecyberpunk, serial killers, genetic modifications

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Other than its cyberpunk elements, the book is fairly unique in science fiction.