The Morphodite

Luto Pternam's "Mask Factory" manufactures shock troops and assassins to maintain the static totalitarian society of Lisagor on the Planet Oerlikon. His latest "creation" is a conditioned assassin with two unique abilities. The Morphodite can initiate Change, a biochemical process that leads to regeneration and sex change. And this Morphodite has a symbolic societal calculus that allows it to identify the keystone member of a society, whose removal will instigate catastrophic change. Half believing in his creation, Pternam looses him on Lisagor society, thinking that the chaos he will cause will lead to personal advantage. The Morphodite, kidnapped and brainwashed, does his calculations, identifies the keystone individual, and sets loose forces that lead to revolution. This books is extremely well written. The society is quite plausible. Characters are well developed. The hero does the best he can in his situation, refusing to initiate further force once his situation allows for a semi-peaceful existence. The concentration on sociological themes and the care with linguistic realism is reminiscent of Frank Herbert. Simplistic ad hoc moral dilemmas are not employed, rather, the hero acts with regret when necessary, according to the logic of the situation. Justice, while often cold-blooded and delayed, is done in the end. The writing is often wry and the language is formal, but this lends an authentic atmosphere to the Byzantine culture, into which the author put a lot of thought. The hero could seek power or revenge, but in the end, refuses to "rule." I first read this book at 13 when it was published. Foster wrote two more books in this series, which I have not yet read. I have reread most of the fiction I have enjoyed over the years many times. I am happy to add this title to the list of books worth such attention.

Luto Pternam's "Mask Factory" manufactures shock troops and assassins to maintain the static totalitarian society of Lisagor on the Planet Oerlikon. His latest "creation" is a conditioned assassin with two unique abilities. The Morphodite can initiate Change, a biochemical process that leads to regeneration and sex change. And this Morphodite has a symbolic societal calculus that allows it to identify the keystone member of a society, whose removal will instigate catastrophic change. Half believing in his creation, Pternam looses him on Lisagor society, thinking that the chaos he will cause will lead to personal advantage. The Morphodite, kidnapped and brainwashed, does his calculations, identifies the keystone individual, and sets loose forces that lead to revolution. This book is extremely well written. The society is quite plausible. Characters are well developed. The hero does the best he can in his situation, refusing to initiate further force once his situation allows for a semi-peaceful existence. The concentration on sociological themes and the care with linguistic realism is reminiscent of Frank Herbert. Simplistic ad hoc moral dilemmas are not employed, rather, the hero acts with regret when necessary, according to the logic of the situation. Justice, while often cold-blooded and delayed, is done in the end. The writing is often wry and the language is formal, but this lends an authentic atmosphere to the Byzantine culture, into which the author put a lot of thought. The hero could seek power or revenge, but in the end, refuses to "rule." I first read this book at 13 when it was published. Foster wrote two more books in this series, which I have not yet read. I have reread most of the fiction I have enjoyed over the years many times. I am happy to add this title to the list of books worth such attention.

____________________________________________ This review will (very briefly!) cover all three of Foster's Morphodite books: Morphodite(1981) Transformer (83) Preserver (85) The brief review below this one will give you an idea of what's going on. In essence, these are classic good vs. evil confrontations, with the moral vigor of the Morphodite and his allies contrasted with the evil and corruption of the Mask Factory and the Galactics who built it. But they'll get their comeuppance, in the oft-appalling vengeance of the Morphodite! This closely-linked series features marvelously Vancean writing, vivid characters and weird societies. Minor plot-logic lapses. And, I'm sorry to say, PRESERVER isn't as good as the first two, so you may want to stop at #2. Pluses: good sex and better characters. The major characters are remarkably well-drawn. And Foster had a real talent for sketching weird (but plausible) human societies. Plus he's a marvelous storyteller. Minus: humor. Almost none detectable. Morphodite & Transformer are two of the best SF novels of the 80's, I think, and if you've missed out on discovering Mike Foster, you have a number of treats in store. Sadly, his books never sold that well, and so he dropped out of writing SF over 20 years ago. A real pity. Happy reading-- Pete Tillman

Focused on a planet similar to our own, Oerlikon is home to an 'unchanging' society where change has been deliberately and subtly reinforced. Certain revolutionary elements of this so-called 'unchanging' society create a unique person that can actually morph (change) into another sex. This change is one-way and irrevocable -- the perfect assasin! This assasin can change its original shape and escape, unsuspected. This assasin's mission is to find the one person on the planet that will drastically change the course of society -- though to which direction, no one knows. I found it to be an original and intriguing book, well worth reading!