Customer Reviews
A good old dusty yarn - By: Mr. Craig A. Ferrell, 24 Oct 2005 
For his first novel, Bruce Sterling has reallly produced the goods. Set on Nullaqua, a planet with seas of dust, we join drugs "connosieur" John Newhouse & his unwelcome sidekick Dumonty Calothrick in the search of Flare, a drug which can only be found in the guts of the Nullaquan Dustwhale. Sterling paints a vivid picture, creating a rich world full of interesting & unforgettable characters - & creatures - from the possibly insane Captain Nils Desperandum to the haunting Dalusa, who provides a highly unusual "love interest" element to the story. I love this book, in my opinion it reallly is one of the great works of science fiction, and, if you're at alll interested in the genre, then it surely is required reading.
"Come! See Nullaqua... and die !" - By: Bill Matheson, 26 Jul 2002 This is Bruce Sterling's first novel, & as fine a work of fiction as you could hope to find. I must admit to being surprised to find it not already reviewed : if you pride yourself on being a reader of science-fiction, then this book is essential reading.
Nullaqua is a dead planet, its surface covered in a fine dust as deadly as any Earth ocean. The Nullaquan dustwhale is the only source of the powerful drug Flare.
Although paralllels have been drawn with "Moby Dick", this is actuallly a much better book. The characters are convincing, the plot is well-constructed, & the backdrop of an arid, unforgiving world is cleverly crafted.
A stunner of a book -- quite simply, required reading.
