''Radix'' is a

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

novel by American writer A. A. Attanasio, published in 1981. It was nominated for the

Nebula Award The Nebula Awards annually recognize the best works of science fiction or fantasy published in the United States. The awards are organized and awarded by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA), a nonprofit association of pr ...

for Best Novel in 1981. It is the first of four books in Attanasio's

Radix Tetrad ''The Radix Tetrad'' is a group of four science fiction books by A. A. Attanasio. The first novel, the Nebula Award-nominated ''Radix'', was published in 1981, and the last novel, ''The Last Legends of Earth'', was published in 1989. The Tetrad ...

, followed by ''

In Other Worlds ''In Other Worlds'' is a 1985 novel by American writer A. A. Attanasio, the second in his Radix Tetrad. It contains humans, zōtl, Rimstalkers, other spatial dimensions, and time-travel/temporal distortion as do other novels in the Radix se ...

'' in 1984. ''Radix'' is the story of a young man's odyssey of self-discovery, from dangerous adolescent to warrior, from outcast to near-god, in a far-future Earth dramatically changed from the one we know.

Characters

Sumner Kagan's alter-egos

*Sumner Kagan: The novel's hero, an overweight rebellious young man from a dysfunctional single-parent family. Father of Corby. *The Eth: One of Sumner Kagan's alter-egos, a powerful being created by accident by the Delph's fears. *Lotus Face: The name the Serbota tribe give to Sumner Kagan because of a facial scar in the shape of a lotus. *Sugarat: One of Sumner Kagan's alternate identities, an unlikely vigilante who exacts a brutal revenge on local gangs that have negatively affected his life in some way.

Sumner's companions

*Corby: A voor, child of Jeanlu and Sumner Kagan. Eventually he puts his mind into Sumner Kagan's body. *Nefandi: An artificial man bioengineered by the eo. He serves the godmind called the Delph in return for a drugless brain stimulator called Coobla. *Dice: An inmate at a military prison called Meat City who befriends Sumner Kagan. *Ardent Fang: A member of the mutant Serbota tribe. *Drift: A né, also a member of the Serbota tribe and a genderless being with telepathic abilities.

Minor characters

*Zelda: Sumner Kagan's mother, who makes a living as a spirit guide. *Johnny Yesterday: A lodger at Sumner Kagan's mother's house. An old man whose genetic mutations allow for "deep mind" abilities, which occasionally manifest themselves telekenetically. *Jeanlu: A voor, who lives in the Rigalu salt flats. Mother of Corby. *Broux: The commander of Meat City who trains Sumner Kagan. *Bonescrolls: A long-lived being who has had many different bodies. He has powerful mutant abilities and is a protector of the Serbota tribe.

The Delph

*The Delph: A godmind whose powerful mental abilities are waning. *Jac Halevy-Cohen: A mutant from an earlier time whose mental abilities evolve him into the Delph.

External links

A. A. Attanasio official website

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Radix (Novel) 1981 American novels 1981 science fiction novels American science fiction novels Debut science fiction novels 1981 debut novels