Emissaries from the Dead (#1)
Two murders have occurred on One One One, an artificial ecosystem created by the universe’s dominant AIs to house several engineered species, including a violent, sentient race of sloth-like creatures. Under order from the Diplomatic Corps, Counselor Andrea Cort has come to this cylinder world where an indentured human community hangs suspended high above a poisoned, acid atmosphere. Her assignment is to choose a suitable homicide suspect from among those who have sold their futures to escape existences even worse than this one. And no matter where the trail leads her she must do nothing to implicate the hosts, who hold the power to obliterate humankind in an instant.
But Andrea Cort is not about to hold back in her hunt for a killer. For she has nothing to lose and harbors no love for her masters or fellow indentures. And she herself has felt the terrible exhilaration of taking life . . . .
Reviews
“With its creepy background and complex plot, [EMISSARIES FROM THE DEAD] offers an intriguing combination of SF and detective story.”Locus
“As great as I’d hoped…Cort and her universe have terrific scope for future development.”
“A brilliantly executed novel, fully successful as both science fiction and murder mystery. Indeed, it evidences a writer at the peak of his career, and it shows none of the flaws one expects from first novels […] EMISSARIES FROM THE DEAD is one of the best science fiction novels of the year so far, and it can be recommended especially to fans of science fiction mysteries.”SciFi Weekly
“A uniquely absorbing read. It envelops you in a truly exotic and alien environment, and gives you a heroine to root for… It offers mystery, action, a few good jolts, and a bit of the old redemption sans mawkishness. All of the ingredients for a story sure to knock ’em dead.”
“This is the one we’ve been waiting for: the first non-tie-in novel by one of the best short-story writers in the business. Adam-Troy Castro’s EMISSARIES FROM THE DEAD is SF at its best: Silence of the Lambs as Larry Niven might have written it. A clever, thought-provoking page-turner. Bravo!”Robert J. Sawyer, Hugo Award-winning author of ROLLBACK
“Adam-Troy Castro has given us the ultimate high-wire thriller.”Jack McDevitt, Nebula Award-winning author of SEEKER
Awards & Accolades
Winner of the 2008 Philip K. Dick Award