BOWKER, Richard (John)

(1950-)

   US writer who began publishing sf with "Side Effect" for Unearth in 1977. His first novel, Forbidden Sanctuary (1982), treats a ticklish theological problem - whether an ALIEN whose possession of a soul is moot can claim sanctuary in a church - with due regard for the likely Roman Catholic view on the issue (RELIGION). Replica (1986), a political thriller also set in the NEAR FUTURE, is less engaging, but Marlborough Street (1987), a FANTASY about a man with PSI POWERS, is of considerably greater interest, and Dover Beach (1987), set in Boston and the UK a generation or so after a nuclear HOLOCAUST, is yet more substantial. The protagonist of the book - that he is a detective obsessed by genre thrillers from before the holocaust does not seriously detract from the tale - serves as an effective mirror of our state, reflecting the new world complexly and with wit. The title - it is that of Matthew Arnold's 1867 poem about the loss of faith and a world which continues - strikes an appropriate note. There is some sense that RB's liking for thriller modes - his next novel, Summit (1989), is an espionage thriller involving yet another psychic - consorts uneasily with his gift for the elegiac anatomy of individuals and their worlds; at the time of writing it is not certain which direction he will next take.

   JC

   See also: ANDROIDS.