Jack the Bodiless
novel 1991 Saga of Pliocene Exile
Record
| First published | 1991 |
|---|---|
| Original language |  EN |
| Work type | novel |
| Canon status | |
| First-edition ISBN | 9780679409502 |
| Internal chronology | 1 |
Synopsis
The first novel of the Galactic Milieu Trilogy follows Jon 'Jack' Remillard, a child secretly born in the Canadian wilderness who possesses all five recognized metapsychic powers at extraordinary strength, making him one of the most gifted operants ever known. His prodigious mental abilities stand in stark contrast to his physical body, which begins to fail him: he develops tumors that prove inoperable and incurable, threatening his life even as his mind continues to grow in power. After a violent attack by a malevolent entity known as Fury, Jack undergoes a radical transformation, becoming a disembodied brain sustained by technology. Set against the backdrop of Earth's tentative membership in the wider Galactic Milieu, the novel follows the Remillard family's efforts to protect and understand Jack as both a medical marvel and a being of unprecedented mental potential.
Where it sits
- Universe: Saga of Pliocene Exile
- Series: Galactic Milieu Trilogy ; position 1 of 3 in the series' recorded order
- Author: Julian May
Notes
- From the series record (Galactic Milieu Trilogy): Same universe as Saga of Pliocene Exile, set generations earlier in-universe (near-future Earth, before the time-gate exiles); the author's own connective structure links it to the core tetralogy via Intervention.
Neighbouring works
Publication order and internal chronology are tracked as two separate orderings and are never conflated: a book's place in one says nothing about its place in the other.
- Publication order, within the series Galactic Milieu Trilogy: position 1 of 3: next Diamond Mask (1994)
- Internal chronology, within Saga of Pliocene Exile: position 2 of 7: previous The Many-Colored Land (1981) · next The Golden Torc (1982)
Sources
← Saga of Pliocene Exile dossier · All universes
Part of the Library. Fields without an identified source are omitted, never guessed.