All Damon Hart wanted was to be his own man. Being the son of Conrad "Savior of Humanity" Helier didn't leave a lot of room for Hart's own life, so he abandoned his family, his heritage, and his money. But when the past starts catching up with him, and the people he loves start getting hurt, Hart has no alternative but to accept the responsibility of his ancestry. Was his father, the inventor of the artificial womb, a savior or an evil madman? And who is the self-appointed judge executing retribution on everyone related to Helier?

Inherit the Earth begins with a good solid mystery that gets more involved and more involving as the complexities of the story pile one atop the next. Unfortunately, Brian Stableford is reworking ground that Bruce Sterling handled better in Holy Fire. Moreover, the plot is often lost in lengthy explications of future history that seem derivative, either of Sterling's work, or Neal Stephenson's The Diamond Age.

With the exception of Hart's pain-in-the-ass ex-girlfriend Diana (who is a pleasure from start to finish), the characters fail to evoke much interest. It is a testament to the strength of the plot that the book carries through to the end, which unfortunately fails to deliver on the strong buildup. For the most part it's a good gripping story, with gems of beautiful language and flashes of brilliance, but it's not the ultimate science fiction book on nanotechnology and longevity. --Blunt Jackson


From Publishers Weekly
Best known in the U.S. for his stylishly written horror novels and alternate histories, Stableford (The Hunger and Ecstasy of Vampires; The Carnival of Destruction), who began his career as an SF writer, returns to his roots with a complex, hard-SF tale of nanotechnology and life extension. Having barely survived the Plague Wars of the 21st century, humanity has supposedly entered a Utopian era, one in which the average life span is at least 150 years and immortality may be imminent. Damon Hart, posthumous son of Conrad Helier, the much venerated scientist who saved humanity from extinction during the plagues, wants nothing to do with his father's legacy and has cut himself off from his father's colleagues and their research. Then Damon's life is disrupted by the Eliminators, terrorists who begin to publish Net-based attacks on Helier, proclaiming that the scientist was in fact responsible for the plagues and was therefore an enemy of humankind. They also claim that Helier, supposedly 50 years dead, is still alive; eventually, they insist that Damon is Helier in disguise. Secrets and lies abound in a future where all evidence, even a dead body, can be falsified though the skillful application of computer- and nanotechnology; in time, Damon discovers that virtually nothing he has been told is true. This futuristic thriller, which contains provocative speculations about the effect of extreme life extension on society, isn't Stableford's best, but it's an enjoyable and challenging piece of work nonetheless. Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
The kidnapping of retired nanotech researcher Silas Arnett forces his foster son, Damon Hart, into a deadly game of cat and mouse with immortality as its prize. The author of The Empire of Fear (LJ 9/15/91) applies his knack for complex plotting to a tale of conspiracy and suspense set in a 22nd-century dystopia in which artificial birth is the norm and mortality a fast-fading concept. The ethical questions posed by the prospect of conquering the aging process underscore this fast-paced sf adventure, adding depth to a story that will appeal to fans of high-tech sf and conspiracy theories. For most sf collections.Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Booklist
Humanity nears the possibility of immortality in the reliable Stableford's latest. Damon Hart, a twenty-second-century composer of electronic fantasies, becomes involved in a mysterious battle between rival biomedical nanotechnological companies. Humanity was rendered sterile during the so-called Plague Wars of the previous century, but Damon's famous, reclusive father, Conrad Helior, invented the artificial womb and thereby saved the species. Now nanotechnology fights the body's battles as never before, so that "emortality" is technically possible. But should it be? The contingent that feels one must be worthy of immortality draws Damon into a series of life-threatening adventures in an attempt to pull his father, representative of another contingent, out of hiding. Stableford delivers fast-paced adventure, and each of his characters, especially Damon's spiteful girlfriend, comes to life, but quite what the corporate squabble is about remains a bit unclear. Even if it is merely sparring before a merger, it's entertaining. John Mort


Review
"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



Book Description
In the twenty-second century, biomedical nanotechnology has given everyone in the world long life and robust health. It is the New Utopia, and all live in the expectation that true immortality will soon be realized.

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.



From the Publisher
"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

FROM THE PUBLISHER

In the twenty-second century, biomedical nanotechnology has given everyone in the world long life and robust health. It is the New Utopia, and all live in the expectation that true immortality will soon be realized. 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.

SYNOPSIS

Inherit the Earth, is a wild and fascinating roller-coaster ride from the imaginative mind of Brian Stableford. It is now the 22nd century and, although biomedical nanotechnology has increased life spans dramatically, the Plague Wars have sterilized the dwindled population. Conrad Helier, the honored inventor of the artificial womb, is now being targeted by the Eliminators, a rebellious group who believe Helier played a deadly role in the Plague Wars.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Best known in the U.S. for his stylishly written horror novels and alternate histories, Stableford (The Hunger and Ecstasy of Vampires; The Carnival of Destruction), who began his career as an SF writer, returns to his roots with a complex, hard-SF tale of nanotechnology and life extension. Having barely survived the Plague Wars of the 21st century, humanity has supposedly entered a Utopian era, one in which the average life span is at least 150 years and immortality may be imminent. Damon Hart, posthumous son of Conrad Helier, the much venerated scientist who saved humanity from extinction during the plagues, wants nothing to do with his father's legacy and has cut himself off from his father's colleagues and their research. Then Damon's life is disrupted by the Eliminators, terrorists who begin to publish Net-based attacks on Helier, proclaiming that the scientist was in fact responsible for the plagues and was therefore an enemy of humankind. They also claim that Helier, supposedly 50 years dead, is still alive; eventually, they insist that Damon is Helier in disguise. Secrets and lies abound in a future where all evidence, even a dead body, can be falsified though the skillful application of computer- and nanotechnology; in time, Damon discovers that virtually nothing he has been told is true. This futuristic thriller, which contains provocative speculations about the effect of extreme life extension on society, isn't Stableford's best, but it's an enjoyable and challenging piece of work nonetheless. (Sept.)

Library Journal

The kidnapping of retired nanotech researcher Silas Arnett forces his foster son, Damon Hart, into a deadly game of cat and mouse with immortality as its prize. The author of The Empire of Fear (LJ 9/15/91) applies his knack for complex plotting to a tale of conspiracy and suspense set in a 22nd-century dystopia in which artificial birth is the norm and mortality a fast-fading concept. The ethical questions posed by the prospect of conquering the aging process underscore this fast-paced sf adventure, adding depth to a story that will appeal to fans of high-tech sf and conspiracy theories. For most sf collections.

Kirkus Reviews

A rare foray into science fiction for the British horrormeister (the Necroscope series, etc.). Toward the end of the 22nd century, a period devastated by the Plague Wars, longevity is commonplace and immortality itself within prospect, thanks to the steady advances in medical biotechnology made by such giant companies as PicoCon. After retired researcher Silas Arnett is grabbed by the Eliminators, a terrorist group dedicated to exposing the role that long-lived string-pullers like Silas played in the Plague Wars, Interpol's Inspector Yamanaka quizzes VR engineer Damon Hart. Damon's godfather is Silas Arnett, you see, whereas his biological father was the famous Conrad Helier (Conrad saved humanity after the plagues caused global sterility). Damon knows nothing about either the Eliminators or about Silas's work, although his other surviving godparents, Karol Kachellek and Eveline Hywood, are very cagey about their own current researches. Silas's kidnapper then announces that Conrad Helier, despite solid evidence, isn't dead, and that both Conrad and Damon are on the Eliminators' hit list! Who's behind the kidnap? Could it be Conrad's old rival Surinder Nahal (he's vanished) or PicoCon itself? And why? Well, after a tedious series of bluffs and double-crosses, and several more deaths that aren't, Stableford provides answers, but by this time few readers are likely to care. Smoke-and-mirrors plotting, turgid with exposition'at one point Stableford. takes two pages to tell us that a building resembles a termite mound'and entirely untroubled by fresh or innovative thinking.