SOJALS rating:

Awful (1/5)

I first read this in September 1999.

His Blade Runner days behind him, Rick Deckard lives an isolated, lonely life. He's abandoned his past life almost completely to be alone with Rachel, the replicant. Her four years life-span is almost up but in a sad attempt to stretch out their remaining time together, she remains in a "cold sleep" tank and he awakens her for a few hours every couple of months, dragging out the tragedy of her inevitable death perhaps by years, if they're lucky.

But Sarah Tyrell, heir to the Tyrell fortune and the template for the Rachel replicant, has her own plans for Deckard.

This all gets somewhat confusing with reality hopelessly obscured by layered and conflicting conspiracy theories. Roy Batty is back, and is probably the original person, not a replicant. Dave Holden also returns, with new artificial and possibly malfunctioning heart and lungs. Holden is aware that he may be a replicant but certainly has no way to find out for himself. In fact even Deckard may be a replicant.

This is a dark, complicated and confusing story. It certainly isn't a sequel to "Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep", but it does convey a little of the "Blade Runner" atmosphere and, with its wild conspiracies and lost heroes, conjures up something reminiscent of Philip K. Dick.

But it's too complicated and unnecessarily so. It leaves loose ends dangling, presumably for a sequel. It's OK for an emergency read, but don't expect something particularly satisfying.