Product Description

It is the 22nd century. Interstellar travel is possible, but colossally expensive, so humankind's efforts are focused on the only nearby Earth-like world. Isis is rich with plant and animal life, but every molecule of it is spectacularly toxic to humans. The whole planet is a permanent Hot Zone. Zoe Fisher was born to explore Isis. Literally. She has been cloned and genetically engineered to face its terrors. But there are secrets implanted within her that not even she suspects -- and the planet itself contains revelations that will change our understanding of life in the universe.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #464245 in Books
• Published on: 2000-08-10
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 208 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
In the 22nd century, humanity discovers life on an extra-solar planet, Isis: life that is lush, beautiful--and deadly. The least molecule of Isian biology kills humans painfully and horribly. Zoe Fisher has been born and bred--cloned and genetically engineered--to explore Isis. But Isis has secrets undiscovered by humanity, and Zoe herself contains secrets known only to the political powers that created her. And an act of biomedical sabotage has changed Zoe in unknown ways.

Robert Charles Wilson is the author of Science Fiction Chronicle's Best SF Novel of 1998, the bestselling Darwinia, and is also an Aurora Award winner and Nebula and Hugo Award finalist. With Bios, Wilson has created a hard-SF novel rich in great ideas, strong writing, and the classic sense of wonder, a work that stays true to the implications of its frightful biology. --Cynthia Ward, Amazon.com

About the Author
SALES POINTS * Darwinia established Robert Charles Wilson as a major name in modern science fiction. It was Science Fiction Chronicle's Best SF Novel of 1998; it won the Aurora Award in Canada; it was runner-up for the Locus Award, and was shortlisted for both the Hugo and Nebula Awards * Fine, imaginative science fiction for readers who enjoy inventive, colourful and original storytelling.

Customer Reviews

Traditional SF
Set in the far future, in the far reaches of the galaxy, Bios is an unusual tale. Unlike so many other stories of human settlement on foreign planets this time we have a planet which just doesn't seem to want us there. This is not simply a wild west story set among the stars. With Bios, Robert Charles Wilson has not given us a tale of settlers getting to know their new home so much as he has given us a tale of a new home getting to know it's settlers. The planet Isis is hostile and toxic and it wants very much to break through the protective seals the invading humans have built around their outposts. It tries and tries again to get through and it learns from its past failures. Little by little it makes headway in its quest to oust the humans. But is Isis really a vindictive force out to get us or is it merely curious? And what secrets does this distant planet hold about our own nature? In the end, Bios is not so much about a journey to the stars as it is about a journey into and beyond ourselves. And what an ending it has! Robert Charles Wilson gives his readers a real kick of a surprise at the close of this book. This is sci-fi in the old tradition. This is a book that has something to say. It has all the flash and glitter we expect from the genre but it also has that underlying message that characterizes true SF. I'm glad I read this and I would recommend Bios to anyone in search of a good read.

Moving and beautifully realised
This is a beautifully written novel where every word counts. I have read it over more than three times and love every page of it.

The author has described the technology and hard science in a very realistic sense. It is an integral and fascinating part of the story. (I cannot understand how a reviewer can say that 'nothing happens and then it ends'.) The suspense is compressed and intense throughout. A brilliant and powerful thriller of both humanity and ideas. Totally original and stunning. With a heroine that you feel very deeply for.

'Bios' has so much to say, and is subtle and clever in its profundity. This is the kind of SF that should be sitting at the forefront of the bookstalls - and I hope one day that Robert Charles Wilson will get the kind of credit he deserves. He is a genius. A major find.

nice isis
don't simply pass by this book because of it's name. isis does sound like it is a cyberpunk disco book or something, but is actually much darker than the name suggests. this story is not unique, but is far different from your run-of-the-mill novel. it has taken previous ideas and reinvented them, not too badly either. the sociological and scientific ethics this story creates are important, particularly with today's level of genetics. though the story is not the best book you will ever read, it is different from those that have been in recent years and deserves to be read at least once.