Description:

After supremely advanced aliens invade Earth to liberate the planet's intelligent species--whales & dolphins-- the majority of humankind is exiled into space, where, by means of bioengineering, they begin to adapt to & thrive in their unforgiving environments. Cutting-edge tech means that they can modify body parts, regularly store their memories for cloning purposes & even merge with seemingly benevolent alien beings (known as symbs) to create another entity altogether. The discovery of a steady--& mostly indecipherable--stream of data originating from a star system 17 light-years away offers some kind of hope of advancing the species & retaking the homeworld. But when the novel's protagonist (a series of successive clones named Lilo-Alexandr-Calypso) travels out to 70 Ophiuchi, what she finds may not be salvation for the human species but its damnation. Almost 30 years after 1st release, Varley's 1st novel--like Joan Rivers's face--has barely shown any signs of aging. Just as thematically cutting-edge & entertaining as it was in 1977, The Ophiuchi Hotline is a must-read for anyone claiming to be a science fiction fan. (You know you're an undeniably hard-core genre fan, by the way, if you can properly pronounce this title.)--Paul Goat Allen (edited)