Radix (novel)
{{Short description|1981 novel by A. A. Attanasio}}
{{More citations needed|date=June 2023}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox book |
| name = Radix
| title_orig =
| translator =
| image = Radix (novel).jpg
| caption = First edition
| author = A. A. Attanasio
| cover_artist = Fred Marcellino
| country = United States
| language = English
| series = Radix Tetrad
| genre = Science fiction
| publisher = William Morrow
| release_date = 1981
| media_type = Print (hardback & paperback)
| pages = 467
| isbn = 0-688-00135-1
| dewey= 813/.54 19
| congress= PS3551.T74 R3
| oclc= 7306214
| preceded_by =
| followed_by = In Other Worlds
}}
Radix is a science fiction novel by American writer A. A. Attanasio, published in 1981.{{cite web |url=http://ferretbrain.com/articles/article-181 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090106014024/http://www.ferretbrain.com/articles/article-181 |url-status=usurped |archive-date=January 6, 2009 |title=Reading Canary: The Radix Tetrad |publisher=FerretBrain: Reviews, Articles and Shiny Things |author=Arthur B |date=14 October 2007|accessdate=10 May 2017}} It was nominated for the Nebula Award for Best Novel in 1981.{{cite web |url=http://nebulas.sfwa.org/award-year/1981/ |title="1981 Nebula Awards |publisher=Nebula Awards: Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America |accessdate=10 May 2017}} It is the first of four books in Attanasio's Radix Tetrad, followed by In Other Worlds in 1984.{{cite web |url=http://www.radixtetrad.com/tetrad_index.html |title=The Tetrad |publisher=The Radix Tetrad |author=Alfred Angelo Attanasio |accessdate=10 May 2017}}
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.{{cite web |url=http://www.radixtetrad.com/radix_syn.html |title=Radix |publisher=The Radix Tetrad |author=Alfred Angelo Attanasio |accessdate=10 May 2017}}
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 =
External links
- [http://www.aaattanasio.com A. A. Attanasio official website]
References
{{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Radix (Novel)}}
Category:1981 science fiction novels
Category:American science fiction novels