The Extra
Michael Shea, . . Tor, $22.99 (283pp) ISBN 978-0-7653-2435-1
World Fantasy Award–winner Shea takes his 1987 short story of the same name and turns it into a trilogy of which this is the first cataclysmic volume. Imagine the Roman Coliseum expanded to encompass the whole of Rome with the Christians replaced by thousands of “extras,” who volunteer in search of enough wealth to escape their poverty, and with gladiators replaced by animatronic “aliens.” All the action in this artificial set designed by the head of Panoply Studios, Val Margolian, is filmed continuously and turned into mega-grossing “vid” entertainment for the masses. Attempting to survive the chaos and reap bonuses dropped by payboat pilots for alien “kills” are L.A. book lovers Japh, Curtis, and Jool. They're aided by a group of pilots, who are secretly sabotaging Margolian's spiderlike machines. SF fans and thriller readers alike will go for the furious action on the ground and in the air, with carnage galore, hairbreadth escapes, and heroic sacrifices.
Reviewed on: 12/07/2009
Genre: Fiction
Analog Audio Cassette - 978-1-4417-2522-6
Compact Disc - 978-1-4417-2525-7
Compact Disc - 978-1-4417-2523-3
MP3 CD - 978-1-4417-2526-4
Mass Market Paperbound - 256 pages - 978-0-7653-6394-7
Open Ebook - 1 pages - 978-1-4417-2528-8
Other - 288 pages - 978-1-4299-5542-3
Paperback - 288 pages - 978-1-250-25569-3
Pre-Recorded Audio Player - 978-1-4417-2529-5
