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Jason Taverner is a Six, the result of top secret government experiments 40 years before which produced a handful of unnaturally bright & beautiful people. He's also the prime-time idol of millions until, inexplicably, all record of him is wiped from the data banks of Earth. Suddenly he's a nobody in a police state where nobody is allowed to be a nobody. Will he ever be rich & famous again? Was he, in fact, ever rich & famous?
After waking up in a world where his entire identity has been erased, a famous television star must navigate a hostile police state to reclaim his existence. Jason Taverner, a genetically enhanced 'Six', finds himself stripped of his fame and legal status overnight, forcing him to evade authorities who view his lack of documentation as a criminal offense. As he moves through a surreal, decaying version of America, he encounters figures from his past who deny his very existence, leading him to question the stability of his own reality. The narrative unfolds through a disorienting, third-person perspective that mirrors the protagonist's growing paranoia and existential dread.
This work is widely regarded as a quintessential example of the author's preoccupation with the instability of reality and the erosion of the self. Critics often highlight the novel's ability to blend high-concept science fiction with the visceral anxiety of a man losing his grip on his own life. The narrative is frequently praised for its claustrophobic atmosphere and the way it forces the reader to confront the arbitrary nature of fame and social recognition. It remains a significant entry in the author's bibliography, noted for its sharp critique of authoritarian systems and the fragility of human identity in a technological age.
Page Count:
208
Publication Date:
1974-02-01
Publisher:
Voyager
ISBN-10:
0006482473
ISBN-13:
9780006482475
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