«Тому, кого это, возможно, когда-нибудь коснется...». Коснется непременно, если мы наконец-то не задумаемся о будущем и не попытаемся хоть что-то исправить. Нельзя отмахиваться от физических закономерностей природы, нельзя равнодушно взирать на изменения климата. Настанет день, и природа отомстим нам. Без пощады...

Im Jahr 2044 hat Amerika seine ökonomische Vormachtstellung in der Welt verloren und präsentiert sich als instabiler Staatenriese, dessen innerer Zusammenhalt nur über allgemeine Notstandsgesetze realisiert wird. Technisch hoch entwickelte Überwachungsmethoden spiegeln sich in einer allgegenwärtigen Medienrealität wider, die Maß und Instrument der Elite ist. In dieser Atmosphäre gerät der Wahlkampfexperte Oscar Valparaiso aus einer Gouverneurswahl immer tiefer in die Machtstrukturen der auseinander brechenden USA, bis er Teil und Initiator eines neuen amerikanischen Traums wird.

Nel 2044 gli Stati Uniti stanno andando in pezzi. I fondi federali per le basi militari sono ridotti al punto che l’aeronautica americana deruba gli automobilisti sulle autostrade. L’ingegneria genetica si evolve senza alcuna regola, e vaste fasce di popolazione sono diventate tribù nomadi che vagano su mezzi di trasporto a basso costo, supportate da una tecnologia in totale decadenza. I cinesi hanno superato gli USA nel controllo delle reti globali e hanno messo on line i software americani dichiarandoli liberi e a disposizione di tutti. L’effetto serra ha scaldato il clima, i poli si stanno sciogliendo e la guerra fredda è ricominciata contro un’Olanda minacciata dalle acque. Su questo sfondo si muove Oscar Valparaiso, un improbabile eroe con un grosso scheletro nell’armadio. Oscar è un professionista della politica, e con l’aiuto della neuroIoga Greta Penninger cercherà di ostacolare i piani di un senatore ossessionato dalla manipolazione genetica. Assieme i due vogliono scatenare la nuova Rivoluzione, ricordando all’America le neglette utopie di libertà e uguaglianza.

It’s the year 2044, and America has gone to hell. A disenfranchised U.S. Air Force base has turned to highway robbery in order to pay the bills. Vast chunks of the population live nomadic lives fueled by cheap transportation and even cheaper computer power. Warfare has shifted from the battlefield to the global networks, and China holds the information edge over all comers. Global warming is raising sea level, which in turn is drowning coastal cities. And the U.S. government has become nearly meaningless. This is the world that Oscar Valparaiso would have been born into, if he’d actually been born instead of being grown in vitro by black market baby dealers. Oscar’s bizarre genetic history (even he’s not sure how much of him is actually human) hasn’t prevented him from running one of the most successful senatorial races in history, getting his man elected by a whopping majority. But Oscar has put himself out of a job, since he’d only be a liability to his boss in Washington due to his problematic background. Instead, Oscar finds himself shuffled off to the Collaboratory, a Big Science pork barrel project that’s run half by corruption and half by scientific breakthroughs. At first it seems to be a lose-lose proposition for Oscar, but soon he has his “krewe” whipped into shape and ready to take control of events. Now if only he can straighten out his love life and solve a worldwide crisis that no one else knows exists. Won Clarke Award in 200.Nominated for Hugo, Locus, and Nebula awards in 1999.

In a novel set in the twenty-first century, a bionic woman becomes swept into a world of simulated environments and heightened perception.Nominated for BSFA Award in 1996, for Hugo and Locus awards in 1997.