CIRCUIT OF HEAVEN

Co-launching with Gregory Benford (see above) Avon's new f/sf Eos imprint, and very agreeably priced: a virtual-reality romance, from the author of Wilderness (1991) and Time and Time Again (1994). By 2080, the virtual-reality Bin contains the immortal personalities of nearly everyone on Earth; the only holdouts are crazies, fanatics—and Nemo Thorne, who's seen the crematorium where the bodies of those who enter the Bin are burned. With his companion, Lawrence, a multiple-personality green dragon Construct, Nemo makes a living by refurbishing old electronic equipment. But when paying his annual visit to his parents in the Bin, he meets and falls in love with the stunning singer Justine Ingham, a newcomer to the Bin who doesn't remember much and dreams of being other people. Eventually, Nemo—and Justine herself—realizes that she's a Construct, put together by Nemo's politician uncle Winston to tempt him to enter the Bin permanently. But why? Meanwhile, Justine's friend, kindly old Mr. Menso the bookseller, turns out to be Newman Rogers, Systems Operator and inventor of the Bin. Outside, the anti-Bin religious fanatic Gabriel tries to persuade Nemo to infect the Bin with a virus. If Nemo agrees, Newman Rogers will neutralize the virus, allow Gabriel to think he succeeded—and everybody will live happily ever after. Short circuit: plenty of hiss and crackle, no real substance.