She was very good at organizing stores and cargo, at pigeonholing carton A in storage chamber B or matching up manifests. But she lacked real inspiration and the powerful maturity of thought characteristic of the prodreamer. She had a little ingrained dream talent and more flexibility of imagination than her companions. Of them all, Ripley came closest to possessing that special potential. A subtle weaver of speculation, not straightforward and clumsy like you or I.
A professional dreamer is simultaneously the most organized of all artists and the most spontaneous. It requires the ability to regulate semiconscious creative impulses and to stratify imagination, an extraordinarily, difficult combination to achieve. Dreaming professionally, so that one's dreams can be recorded and played back for the entertainment of others, is a much more demanding proposition. Like the majority of us, these seven dreamt without effort or discipline.
Professional dreamers are highly paid, respected, much sought-after talents. “Foster’s high-concept novel is a gripping tale of serenity amid sorrow.You must understand that they were not professional dreamers. “Foster’s sympathetic novel successfully surveys human frailty, the tendency not to learn from history, and an enduring capacity for adaptation and emotional attachment.” -Publishers Weekly A true first contact novel on many different levels.” - Library Journal “The stunning plot of Foster’s stand-alone novel will intrigue readers for not only the ‘last man in the universe’ trope but also the well-developed alien species. The plot spans galaxies!” -Hugo and Nebula Award–winning author Greg Bear With Alan Dean Foster’s trademark invention in both the psychology and physiology of his aliens, he also enriches the narrative with their complex cultures. “ Relic is a thrilling and thoughtful epic. Thus begins an epic journey of adventure, danger, heartbreak, and hope, as Ruslan sets out in search of a place that may no longer exist-drawn by the slimmest yet most enduring hope. But then the Myssari make Ruslan an extraordinary offer: In exchange for his cooperation, they will do everything in their considerable power to find the lost home world of his species-an all-but-mythical place called Earth-and, perhaps, another living human. Though the Myssari are determined to resurrect the human race, using Ruslan’s genetic material, all he wants for himself and his species is oblivion. Rescued from the charnel house of his home planet by the Myssari-an intelligent alien race-Ruslan spends his days as something of a cross between a research subject and a zoo attraction. That man is Ruslan, the sole known surviving human being in the universe. As had happened many times before, the basest, most primal human instincts rose up, only this time armed with the advanced scientific knowledge to create a genetically engineered smart virus that quickly wiped out humanity to the last man. Once Homo sapiens reigned supreme, spreading from star system to star system in an empire that encountered no alien life and thus knew no enemy. “A provocative read.”- The Washington Post The last known human searches the galaxy for companionship in a brilliant standalone novel from the legendary author of the Pip & Flinx series. His published oeuvre includes more than 100 books. His novel "Cyber Way" won the Southwest Book Award for Fiction in 1990, the first work of science-fiction ever to do so.įoster's sometimes humorous, occasionally poignant, but always entertaining short fiction has appeared in all the major SF magazines as well as in original anthologies and several "Best of the Year" compendiums. In addition to publication in English his work has been translated into more than fifty languages and has won awards in Spain and Russia.
His novel "Shadowkeep" was the first ever book adapation of an original computer game. Other works include scripts for talking records, radio, computer games, and the story for the first "Star Trek" movie. He has also written numerous non-fiction articles on film, science, and scuba diving, as well as having produced the novel versions of many films, including such well-known productions as "Star Wars", the first three "Alien" films, "Alien Nation", and "The Chronicles of Riddick".
Alan Dean Foster's work to date includes excursions into hard science-fiction, fantasy, horror, detective, western, historical, and contemporary fiction.