Empire of Bones »

From Liz Williams comes a bold and provocative novel of the future in which the vast Indian subcontinent, home to thousands of gods, is visited by all-powerful alien beings from a distant world of controlled, sterile perfection. But what is their purpose: to free humanity–or to enslave it?

EMPIRE OF BONES

Millions of years ago alien beings seeded Earth with their genetic strands to create a new outpost of intelligent life. Now their descendants have returned to Earth’s skies, drawn by their detection of a Receiver, a human with the genetic ability to tap into alien communications. It is the signal that Earth is ready to be absorbed into a vast galactic empire.

Jaya Nihalani has been a prophet, a crusader, and a terrorist, fighting for the rights of her despised Untouchable caste. Now she lies in an Indian hospital, dying of a hideous disease. Her head is filled with voices and visions; her body is aging rapidly, inexplicably. But the voices and visions are no disease. Jaya is the Receiver whom the aliens intend to heal, enlighten...and use.

Soon the subcontinent erupts in riots and chaos as powerful forces attempt to co-opt the enigmatic alien emissaries, and a shocked world awaits its fate. Jaya must somehow discover the plans of her perfect and powerful “friends.” Have they come to end human suffering, or to make it worse? Should she help them–or lead the impossible fight against them?

Library Journal

Prematurely aging from a mysterious illness, Jaya Nihalani, a former prophet and revolutionary, lies dying in a hospital in India until a strange being, who purports to be from outer space, appears to rescue her and use her as a mediator to initiate first contact with its species. Jaya's struggle to reclaim her life and understand the mindset of a truly alien creature forms the central conflict in this thoughtful and elegantly written story of self-discovery amid the ruins of social and environmental decay. Set in a near-future India, this tale by the author of The Ghost Writer offers an intriguing glimpse into an important culture and belongs in most libraries' sf collections. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.