Frek and the Elixir
by Rudy Rucker
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Description
In the year 3003, nothing in the world is the same, except maybe that adolescents are still embarrassed by their parents. Society and the biosphere alike have been transformed by biotechnology, and the natural world is almost gone.Frek Huggins is a boy from a broken family, a misfit because he's a natural child, conceived without technological help or genetic modifications. His dad, Carb, is a malcontent who left behind Frek's mom and the Earth itself several years ago.Everything changes show more when Frek finds the Anvil, a small flying saucer, under his bed, and it tells him he is destined to save the world. The repressive forces of Gov, the mysterious absolute ruler of Earth, descend on Frek, take away the Anvil, and interrogate him forcefully enough to damage his memory. Frek flees with Wow, his talking dog, to seek out Carb and some answers. But the untrustworthy alien in the saucer has other plans, including claiming exclusive rights to market humanity to the galaxy at large, and making Frek a hero.Frek and the Elixir is a profound, playful SF epic by the wild and ambitious Rudy Rucker.At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied. show lessTags
Recommendations
Member Reviews
This book has more novel ideas and settings from one paragraph to the next then most sf&f authors manage to squeeze out in the course of an entire tome. This book is some combination of a drug induced hallucinatory vision with Alice in Wonderland, yet manages to pull off a clear hero journey's plot. In contrast to the formulas and tropes of most books I read, this 2-decade old book is fresh, original, and compellingly crazy.
This book is odd. I enjoyed it, but I can't say I liked it. It's a different type of adventure-scifi that I just may not be used to. I appreciate Rucker going for a "wet" scifi world instead of a "hard" one, but the story drags on for hundreds of pages more than I really wanted to invest myself in. Still, if you like Rucker and you like odd worlds that are practically from scratch, this might be for you.
The usual Rucker strangeness, plenty of language shift, reads almost like a juvenile at times.
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Author Information
158+ Works 10,537 Members
Rudy Rucker is a mathematician, computer scientist, professor, and writer who has twice won the Philip K. Dick Award for best SF paperback original, and has published a number of successful popular books on mathematical subjects, including The Fourth Dimension and Infinity and the Mind. He lives in Los Gatos, California.
Some Editions
Awards and Honors
Distinctions
Common Knowledge
- Original publication date
- 2004-04
- People/Characters
- Frek Huggins; Carb; Wow
- Dedication
- For my son Rudy -- Remember the day we sailed from Linekin Bay to Boothbay Harbor?
- First words
- "Your room is a mess," said Lora Huggins, standing in her son's doorway.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)"We're just beginning."
- Blurbers
- Sheckley, Robert; Jones, Diana Wynne; Laidlaw, Marc; Doctorow, Cory
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 152
- Popularity
- 215,389
- Reviews
- 4
- Rating
- (3.80)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 3
- ASINs
- 2
