The Troika
1997 novel by Stepan Chapman
![]() Paperback cover | |
Author | Stepan Chapman |
---|---|
Language | English |
Genre | Science fiction |
Publisher | Ministry of Whimsy Press |
Publication date | 1997 |
Publication place | United States |
Media type | Print (hardback & paperback) |
Pages | 256 (paperback edition) |
The Troika is a 1997 science fiction novel by American writer Stepan Chapman. Written in surrealist style, the novel features a highly complex plot mixing fantasy and science fiction. It received the Philip K. Dick Award for 1997.[1]
Plot summary
The novel introduces three beings – a jeep, a dinosaur, and an old Mexican woman – travelling across a desert under the glare of three suns. They have been travelling for centuries though they do not know why they are crossing the desert or if they will ever reach the other side. The characters have each changed bodies several times. Their travels are interspersed with dream-sequence-like flashbacks describing various transformed versions of the 20th Century.
Major characters
- Alex – an automated jeep, who began as a man then became cyborg.
- Eva – an old Mexican woman, formerly a fish-priestess and later a whore.
- Naomi – a brontosaur who was once a military corpsicle. A daughter of Alex and Eva's.
References
- ^ Philip K. Dick Award winners
- v
- t
- e
- Software by Rudy Rucker (1982)
- The Anubis Gates by Tim Powers (1983)
- Neuromancer by William Gibson (1984)
- Dinner at Deviant's Palace by Tim Powers (1985)
- Homunculus by James Blaylock (1986)
- Strange Toys by Patricia Geary (1987)
- Four Hundred Billion Stars by Paul J. McAuley (1988) (tie)
- Wetware by Rudy Rucker (1988) (tie)
- Subterranean Gallery by Richard Paul Russo (1989)
- Points of Departure by Pat Murphy (1990)
- King of Morning, Queen of Day by Ian McDonald (1991)
- Through the Heart by Richard Grant (1992)
- Growing Up Weightless by John M. Ford (1993) (tie)
- Elvissey by Jack Womack (1993) (tie)
- Mysterium by Robert Charles Wilson (1994)
- Headcrash by Bruce Bethke (1995)
- The Time Ships by Stephen Baxter (1996)
- The Troika by Stepan Chapman (1997)
- 253: The Print Remix by Geoff Ryman (1998)
- Vacuum Diagrams by Stephen Baxter (1999)
- Only Forward by Michael Marshall Smith (2000)
- Ship of Fools by Richard Paul Russo (2001)
- The Mount by Carol Emshwiller (2002)
- Altered Carbon by Richard K. Morgan (2003)
- Life by Gwyneth Jones (2004)
- War Surf by M. M. Buckner (2005)
- Spin Control by Chris Moriarty (2006)
- Nova Swing by M. John Harrison (2007)
- Emissaries from The Dead by Adam-Troy Castro (2008) (tie)
- Terminal Mind by David Walton (2008) (tie)
- Bitter Angels by C. L. Anderson (2009)
- The Strange Affair of Spring-Heeled Jack by Mark Hodder (2010)
- The Samuil Petrovitch Trilogy by Simon Morden (2011)
- Lost Everything by Brian Francis Slattery (2012)
- Countdown City by Ben H. Winters (2013)
- The Book of the Unnamed Midwife by Meg Elison (2014)
- Apex by Ramez Naam (2015)
- The Mercy Journals by Claudia Casper (2016)
- Bannerless by Carrie Vaughn (2017)
- Theory of Bastards by Audrey Schulman (2018)
- Sooner or Later Everything Falls into the Sea by Sarah Pinsker (2019)
- Road Out of Winter by Alison Stine (2020)
- Dead Space by Kali Wallace (2021)