The Rapture Effect

War between the stars…

It was started and fought by an AI. Few humans even knew there was a war at all. But now people are dying—and the AI wants it to stop. But a war is easier to start than to stop, and the computer can’t alter its course without outside help. When the Gnostic Control System searches for co-conspirators, it chooses its friends carefully.

• Pali: a brooding public relations director.
• Ramo: a flamboyant senso-dancer and sculptor, who prefers a musical jamdam to serious conversation.
• Sage: an awkward systems designer, for whom the AI rapture-field is realer than life.
• And three of the alien Ell: Harybdartt, who would rather die with dignity than betray his people; Lingrhetta, who tries to unravel the meaning of human dance and music, pain and love; and Moramaharta, the binder, who must persuade his fellow decision-makers to risk everything for the sake of a fragile bridge of understanding across the stars.

A thought-provoking novel from the award-winning author of Eternity’s End and The Chaos Chronicles, and recipient of the Frank Herbert Lifetime Achievement Award for science fiction writing.

Print editions

• Starstream Publications trade paperback, 2024 ISBN: 9781951612665
• Tor hardcover, 1987 ISBN: 0-312-94381-4
• Tor paperback, 1988, ISBN: 0-812-53325-9
• Science Fiction Book Club selection

Reviews

“The story is meaty and satisfying. I enjoyed this one greatly.” —Analog Science Fiction

“An absorbing, suspenseful novel of first contact and interstellar war. It’s a complex book, requiring concentration from the reader, and is well worth the effort.”—Aboriginal SF

“A lively dance of ideas—first contact, interstellar war, artificial intelligence, alien culture—and it moves at a rapid pace, from Earth through cyberspace to the Horsehead Nebula, and various points between. It’s well-worth the trip ticket.” —Roger Zelazny

Original Cover

Here’s the original art by David B. Mattingly, used in earlier editions.