Tor science fiction - copyright 1999 208 pages Book read in December 1999 Rating: 5/10  (Mildly Recommended) Review by Aaron Hughes

       Bios is set on the planet Isis, thriving with life but incredibly toxic to humans.  Exposure to even a molecule of native life can bring sudden, gruesome death.  Mankind has established a few heavily shielded bases to study the planet and its biosphere.  Zoe Fisher arrives to join in the research, with the advantage of genetic engineering designed to make her more resistant to the hostile native life forms.  But things are more complicated than she realizes.  For one thing, her mission is somehow a focal point of complex Earth politics, in which her mentor Theo is obviously an important player, using her for his own purposes.  For another, she does not know that a rebellious doctor has deactivated her "regulator," an implanted device supposed to maintain Zoe's alertness and efficiency while suppressing unwanted responses such as fatigue or sexual desire.

       There is much to admire in this book, but it never came together as I was hoping it might.  Wilson had some nice ideas for Zoe.  The secret deactivation of her regulator and her unjustified faith in her mentor Theo opened up a lot of possibilities, but Wilson misses something in the execution.  Zoe never develops into a complete character, the intrigue surrounding her mission is not adequately explained, and she never even gets to confront Theo face to face.  Similarly, Wilson drops hints of alien intelligence at work throughout the book, but never follows through on the hints in any satisfying way.

       Even though none of the story takes place in our solar system, Wilson cleverly weaves in interesting tidbits about future conditions on Earth.  He compares the deadly Isis bios to ecological disasters that have occurred on Earth.  He also parallels nicely the insurmountable barriers between humans and Isis life and the social divisions between Earth and its asteroid colonies in the future.