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Loading... Healer (1976)by F. Paul Wilson
None. F. Paul Wilson is best known for his horror fiction, particularly his bestselling vampires-among-the-Nazis, The Keep. I rather enjoyed that pot-boiler, but I like his LaNague novels much more--but then I am a libertarian, and this is definitely libertarian science fiction. LaNague is at the center of An Enemy of the State, but he only gets mentions in The Healer, which was the first novel published. Or maybe series of short stories? Because this reads like several interconnected short stories about the title character rather than a novel. Steve Dalt flees into a cave on a planet in "Occupied Space" and a bat-like creature lands on his head. Legend says 999 of a thousand will die when that happens--but Steve lives--with a traveler inside his mind that lends him immortality and special powers. The Wiki claims that Wilson's two influences are John W. Campbell and H.P. Lovecraft. You can see the Campbell in the earlier LaNague novels, and the earlier stories in Healer; these are very much space opera of the Star Trek kind. There are faster-than-life ships using warp drives and crystals and aliens and M-class planets even time-travel tech, but above all the first book An Enemy of the State was economic fiction as much or more as science fiction, weaving in economic theory on monetary policy into the yarn. There's still a libertarian theme evident in Healer, but it's more conventional science fiction and there's definitely a Lovecraft aspect to Healer where you can more easily see this is by the author of The Keep. I found this quite enjoyable. (  ) LisaMaria_C | Apr 28, 2013 |  For some reason, this book has always stuck in my head, long after reading it. After an encounter with aliens, a man becomes functionally immortal, even gaining some redundancy in bodily organs. He also has enhanced perception, reflexes, and mental abilities. He received these abilities in a bizarre meld with an alien cave creature that in general, would kill sentient life forms, but his merging made him superhuman. With these useful talents, he goes adventuring to utilise his medical talents and superhuman abilities to stop a very virulent disease sweeping the galaxy, and find the powerful being that is the root cause. http://superprose.blogspot.com/2006/12/healer.html ( ) bluetyson | Dec 3, 2006 | no reviews | add a review
Amazon.com Product Description (ISBN 0976654415, Paperback)Healer (Book 3 of the LaNague Series) is the stunning conclusion of the LaNague Federation Trilogy. The Outworld Imperium began as a rebellion by colonials seeking independence. Two centuries later it is a bloated bureaucratic "business" - a business that produces nothing. Its income is not derived from a free exchange for goods or services, but from taxation. Its a business that never shows a profit, is always in the red, and continually borrows to make up staggering deficits Peter LaNague's unique revolution sets out to topple the entrenched Outworld Imperium as well as fundamentally altering every Outworlder's concept of government. To accomplish this he must ally himself with a madman, trust the word of the last of Sol System's robber barons, make incisive use of the consummate warriors from the planet Flint (without allowing them to run amok), confound at every turn the omnipresent forces of the Imperium, and, every now and then, make it rain money. Those are the easy parts. LaNague's greatest challenge is to see his plan through to successful completion without becoming the very enemy he has vowed to destroy. Short stories "Lipidleggin'" and "Ratman" are reprinted in this edition as well as an introduction by the author. F. Paul Wilson is the bestselling author of more than thirty novels and 100 short stories. Over seven million copies of his books are in print in the US; his work has been translated into twenty-four foreign languages. A practicing physician, he resides at the Jersey Shore with his wife Mary.(retrieved from Amazon Thu, 14 Feb 2013 13:30:19 -0500) Winner of the Prometheus Hall of Fame Award -- thoughtful, idea-centered science fiction from F. Paul Wilson. Steven Dalt should have died in that cave on the planet Kwashi. After all, as the natives say, of a thousand people attacked by the cave-dwelling alaret, one will not die. But Dalt is that one. He survives, but not without personal cost: he has picked up a passenger: an alien intelligence transferred itself from the alaret to take up residence in his brain. Steven Dalt will never be alone again. But Pard, as Dalt names the alien who shares his life, doesn't believe in freeloading. He pays his rent by using cellular-level consciousness to maintain Dalt's body in perfect health -- no disease, no aging. And now Dalt appreciates the full meaning of the Kwashi natives' saying: Of a thousand struck down by an alaret, one will not die . . . ever. Spanning twelve hundred years, HEALER follows Dalt and Pard through the centuries as they become known as The Healer, an enigmatic figure with the power to cure diseases of the mind. And when a wave of interstellar slaughter threatens the civilizations of the LaNague Federation, only The Healer has the resources to face the onrushing doom. (Bonus LaNague short story: "To Fill the Sea and Air" - plus a foreword by the author) "HEALER is a well-plotted, well-paced, well-told novel. Solid, well-written, and strong, it is one of the most enjoyable books I've picked up in some time. HEALER should be of particular interest to the Heinleinian reader." (Future Retrospective) "Highly enjoyable and meaningful. Healer brings us a refreshing new concept. This book is for people looking for new ideas and new points of view." (SF Booklog) "A fascinating yarn." (Hartford Courant) "The themes of symbiotic partnership and the problems of lone immortals in a world of mortals are not new to SF, but Wilson weaves the two together and comes up with a work that... is both unique and quite enjoyable. I was sad to come to the end of HEALER." (The SF&F Journal) "A fine entertainment." (SF Monthly Review) "An impressive first novel." (Evening Post, Bristol - UK) "I recommend HEALER . . . an audacious example of the genre." (Books of the Month) Bonuses: a new preface by the author and a related LaNague Federation short story, "To Fill the Sea and Air"… (more) |
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Wikipedia in English (1)
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