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But the achievement of paradise was not without cost. The Plague Wars of the previous century have left the entire world much reduced in population, and all sterile. Humanity would have died out in a generation if not for Conrad Helier's invention of the artificial womb.

Now in the new world of the twenty-second century, Helier's son, Damon, would rather forget his famous father and get on with his own life as a virtual-reality artist. But a shadowy terrorist group known as the Eliminators forces Damon to confront his heritage. The Eliminators have kidnapped one of Conrad's colleagues still alive, to expose Helier's role in the germination of the Plague Wars.

Thus begins a cat-and-mouse game pitting Damon against Interpol and the enormous corporate entities who control the biotechnology of the future, upon which everyone's life depends.

Cover art by Donato. Jacket design by WWW.CHOPPINGBLOCK.COM

Published 1st September 1998 by Tor.
ISBN:0-312-86493-0

Damon Hart, son of the scientist responsible for much of the wonders of the new world, would rather forget his famous father and get on with his own life. But a shadowy terrorist group forces Damon to confront his heritage, launching a cat-and-mouse game that pits Damon against the terrorists, Interpol, and the powerful corporations that control the biotechnology of the future...a game Damon is ill-equipped to survive.

"This is live-wire, hard science fiction, thoroughly thought through, well imagined, with no false props and easy answers. If you haven't caught on to Stableford, this is a great place to start. " - Gregory Benford

"Tough, gritty, and ultimately hopeful, you can't do much better than Inherit the Earth. " - David Brin

"Stableford has created in this novel a totally believable world, and wrapped it around a series of mysterious events, surprise revelations, double crosses, confused motivations, rumors, lies, plots, and counterplots....Tightly controlled and suspenseful throughout." - Science Fiction Chronicle

Published 1st April 1999 by Tor.
ISBN:0-312-87165-1

Published 1st July 1999 by Tor.
ISBN:0-812-58429-5
Cover art by Donato.

Review by Ian Braidwood

Cast of characters:
Damon Hart, Silas Arnett, Catherine Praill, Diana Caisson, Inspector Hiru Yamanaka, Madoc Tamlin, Lenny Garon, Karol Kachellek, Rachel Trehaine, Eveline Hywood, Frederick G Saul, Harriet aka Tithonia aka The Old Lady.

How can I tell you how good this book is? How about the simple fact that I left work early, so I could sit in the dentist's waiting room and read another chapter. Imagine, rushing to the dentist!

Brian is a chameleon. He will dress his stories up as dark historical fantasies like The Empire of Fear or encase his novels in a shell of epic fantasy such as the Genesys stories. Get used to phrases such as 'on the face of it' and words like 'ostensibly' when reading about Brian's work; every good review should have one.

This time Brain is 'doing' Cyberpunk and makes a nod to Raymond Chandler, to whom the field owes so much; but this is no rehash of The Maltese Falcon. Yes this is a mystery, there is a crime to be investigated and it's a grade one page - turner, but don't be fooled.

What shines through this novel is the depth of thought, which calmly and logically extends to surprising conclusions. For instance, in a world of relatively cheap internal technology, which can repair physical harm and alleviate pain, people become careless about injuring themselves and young men risk all in brutal contests for the hope of earning enough to buy a toehold on the ladder to emortality.

With Inherit the Earth Brian has written as good a story as anyone in SF is writing at the moment; but it's just a preamble, a scene setter for what is to come and a very good place for new readers to come aboard.

Nick Gevers' review is online at Infinity +.
Another review is available on SF Site.
Clinton Lawrence's review is online Here.

The Brian Stableford Website