Transfigurations

In a clearing of the great forest of the planet Bosk Veld, a strange, ape-like species of alien, the Asadi, act out their almost-incomprehensible rituals, rainbow eyes flashing, spinning like pinwheels.

Egon Chaney, in his anthropological study, 'Death and Designation Among the Asadi' has shown how their life-style has apparently degenerated from a level of complex technological sophistication and devolved to a primal simplicity. Long after his disappearance in the forest, his daughter, Elegy Cather, comes to Bosk Veld to carry on his studies of the Asadi where he left off. With her is an intelligent ape, Kretzoi, physically adapted to resemble the aliens.

Together with Thomas Benedict, Chaney's old partner, Elegy begins to unravel the enigma of the Asadi. As Kretzoi insinuates himself into their rituals, so we are drawn into what is perhaps the most convincing portrayal of the alien yet.

Short-listed for British Science Fiction Association Award for Best Novel 1981 (UK)

Michael Bishop was born in 1945 in Lincoln, Nebraska. After receiving an MA in English from the University of Georgia, Bishop taught at the USAF Academy Preparatory School in Colorado, but soon began placing his short stories with the likes of GALAXY SCIENCE FICTION, IF and THE MAGAZINE OF FANTASY AND SCIENCE FICTION. His first novel, A FUNERAL FOR THE EYES OF FIRE, brought comparisons with Ursula Le Guin and James Tiptree, Jr and received a NEBULA nomination. It was followed by a number of critically acclaimed works including BSFA AWARD-nominated TRANSFIGURATIONS, ARTHUR C. CLARKE AWARD-nominated ANCIENT OF DAYS, and NO ENEMY BUT TIME, for which he won the NEBULA AWARD FOR BEST NOVEL. Michael Bishop lives in Georgia, where he is writer-in-residence at LaGrange College.

In a clearing of the great forest of the planet Bosk Veld, a strange, ape-like species of alien, the Asadi, act out their almost-incomprehensible rituals, rainbow eyes flashing, spinning like pinwheels.Egon Chaney, in his anthropological study, 'Death and Designation Among the Asadi' has shown how their life-style has apparently degenerated from a level of complex technological sophistication and devolved to a primal simplicity. Long after his disappearance in the forest, his daughter, Elegy Cather, comes to Bosk Veld to carry on his studies of the Asadi where he left off. With her is an intelligent ape, Kretzoi, physically adapted to resemble the aliens.Together with Thomas Benedict, Chaney's old partner, Elegy begins to unravel the enigma of the Asadi. As Kretzoi insinuates himself into their rituals, so we are drawn into what is perhaps the most convincing portrayal of the alien yet.

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