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The Wonderland Gambit #3
The Hot-Wired Dodo
TRUMP CARD
Reality wasn't what it used to be. Life after life, as man, woman, and child, Cory Maddox was trapped in an endless cycle of ever-changing realities, on the run from his ruthless companions and from the shadowy figures that seemed to exist outside the increasingly unstable matrix.
As each new world proved increasingly bizarre, Cory wanted nothing more than to find the way home. Fragments of knowledge--a mysterious UFO crash, alien technology, glimpses of a computer that was controlling his fate--all pointed toward Matthew Brand, the virtual reality genius. But Brand had vanished long ago, into, or perhaps beyond, the borders of reality.
To break the cycle of cyber-reincarnation, Cory had to find Brand--before the actions of his enemies destroyed reality altogether . . .
Reality wasn't what it used to be. Life after life, as man, woman, and child, Cory Maddox was trapped in an endless cycle of ever-changing realities, on the run from his ruthless companions and from the shadowy figures that seemed to exist outside the increasingly unstable matrix.
As each new world proved increasingly bizarre, Cory wanted nothing more than to find the way home. Fragments of knowledge--a mysterious UFO crash, alien technology, glimpses of a computer that was controlling his fate--all pointed toward Matthew Brand, the virtual reality genius. But Brand had vanished long ago, into, or perhaps beyond, the borders of reality.
To break the cycle of cyber-reincarnation, Cory had to find Brand--before the actions of his enemies destroyed reality altogether . . .
338 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published February 1, 1997
3 people are currently reading
175 people want to read
About the author
Jack L. Chalker
132 books354 followersBesides being a science fiction author, Jack Laurence Chalker was a Baltimore City Schools history teacher in Maryland for a time, a member of the Washington Science Fiction Association, and was involved in the founding of the Baltimore Science Fiction Society. Some of his books said that he was born in Norfolk, Virginia although he later claimed that was a mistake.
He attended all but one of the World Science Fiction Conventions from 1965 until 2004. He published an amateur SF journal, Mirage, from 1960 to 1971 (a Hugo nominee in 1963 for Best Fanzine).
Chalker was married in 1978 and had two sons.
His stated hobbies included esoteric audio, travel, and working on science-fiction convention committees. He had a great interest in ferryboats, and, at his wife's suggestion, their marriage was performed on the Roaring Bull Ferry.
Chalker's awards included the Daedalus Award (1983), The Gold Medal of the West Coast Review of Books (1984), Skylark Award (1985), Hamilton-Brackett Memorial Award (1979), as well as others of varying prestige. He was a nominee for the John W. Campbell Award twice and for the Hugo Award twice. He was posthumously awarded the Phoenix Award by the Southern Fandom Confederation on April 9, 2005.
On September 18, 2003, during Hurricane Isabel, Chalker passed out and was rushed to the hospital with a diagnosis of a heart attack. He was later released, but was severely weakened. On December 6, 2004, he was again rushed to hospital with breathing problems and disorientation, and was diagnosed with congestive heart failure and a collapsed lung. Chalker was hospitalized in critical condition, then upgraded to stable on December 9, though he didn't regain consciousness until December 15. After several more weeks in deteriorating condition and in a persistent vegetative state, with several transfers to different hospitals, he died on February 11, 2005 of kidney failure and sepsis in Bon Secours of Baltimore, Maryland.
Chalker is perhaps best known for his Well World series of novels, the first of which is Midnight at the Well of Souls (Well World, #1).
He attended all but one of the World Science Fiction Conventions from 1965 until 2004. He published an amateur SF journal, Mirage, from 1960 to 1971 (a Hugo nominee in 1963 for Best Fanzine).
Chalker was married in 1978 and had two sons.
His stated hobbies included esoteric audio, travel, and working on science-fiction convention committees. He had a great interest in ferryboats, and, at his wife's suggestion, their marriage was performed on the Roaring Bull Ferry.
Chalker's awards included the Daedalus Award (1983), The Gold Medal of the West Coast Review of Books (1984), Skylark Award (1985), Hamilton-Brackett Memorial Award (1979), as well as others of varying prestige. He was a nominee for the John W. Campbell Award twice and for the Hugo Award twice. He was posthumously awarded the Phoenix Award by the Southern Fandom Confederation on April 9, 2005.
On September 18, 2003, during Hurricane Isabel, Chalker passed out and was rushed to the hospital with a diagnosis of a heart attack. He was later released, but was severely weakened. On December 6, 2004, he was again rushed to hospital with breathing problems and disorientation, and was diagnosed with congestive heart failure and a collapsed lung. Chalker was hospitalized in critical condition, then upgraded to stable on December 9, though he didn't regain consciousness until December 15. After several more weeks in deteriorating condition and in a persistent vegetative state, with several transfers to different hospitals, he died on February 11, 2005 of kidney failure and sepsis in Bon Secours of Baltimore, Maryland.
Chalker is perhaps best known for his Well World series of novels, the first of which is Midnight at the Well of Souls (Well World, #1).
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
September 3, 2017
I just read this in about a day. It was an entertaining conclusion to this series, by the somewhat forgotten sci fi writer of Baltimore, Jack L. Chalker. Chalker died relatively young about a decade ago, and I only became newly interested in his books after running into weatherbeaten copies at the Last Bookstore in LA. I had bought his Wellworld series as a teenager in the 70s at the Price Chopper on Black River Boulevard in my upstate hometown, which at that point did not have much in the way of bookstores, so you bought reading material at the supermarket. I wonder if there is a bookstore there now? Anyway, here's to you, Jack, I have enjoyed your stuff with a 30 year gap between, and your body-transfer gender-bending stuff might have seemed shocking in 1976 but barely registers now. Some references seem dated, especially the computer technology (they never foresee cellphones), but a big chunk of this book takes place on a world where men are weak and purely ornamental, used for sex and not much else, and that was probably the best part.
October 10, 2013
While not as compulsive as the earlier 'Four Lords of the Diamond' or 'Rings of the Master', the trilogy that is completed by 'The Hot-Wired Dodo' is among the best of Chalker's later works.
August 28, 2017
Sigh. Simultaneously interesting, frustrating, and confusing. Like the ending tho. So, there's that.
June 14, 2021
from 1997-'good finish to the series' but noted a familiar trick ending a la Well of Souls.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 10, 2007
A confusing mix of Alice in Wonderland and cyberpunk. Third book of 3. Everything you know is wrong. I don't think it could get more confusing. Everything changes during this book and the reader is left guessing what was real and what was fictional. Or everything was? Intrigues and manipulations are on full speed and the ending does not really clear anything.
August 2, 2015
At the start of Hot Wired Dodo, it seemed as though the series had lost its way, but the final third of the story wrapped up the series nicely and relatively cleanly... Except that is for the major transition half way through...
February 3, 2011
The trilogy was very good throughout, but the third book was definitely the weakest, and the ending was a definite letdown.
October 5, 2014
Disappointing end to the series - really unresolved in my opinion. Very similar concept to the movie The Thirteenth Floor. Not at all what I was expecting.
March 8, 2015
A series to out-Matrix The Matrix.
April 9, 2015
Very good series, I enjoyed reading. There are not many books to compare to this series. Heir Apparent and Ready Player one are similar in my mind.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews