About Face
And you, deep read in hell's black grammar.
—Robert Burns
terry: Yes, I am. It covers my body.
—Ronin
About Face, the second Bill Damen book, is set in a world where identity is fungible and beauty is a genetically manipulated spell. Rod Glaser, engineering genius, is about to hit the big time with an alliance between his software company and Plush Biologics, a cosmetic gene therapy clinic. Just as Bill wraps a video image piece on Rod, the murder of a key player threatens the deal.
The investigation reveals surprising connections between venture capitalists and escort services, face jobs and data simulation, and the worlds of computer grammar and glamour. The word "glamour" derives from the word "grammar," harking back to the day when the alphabet was magic and spelling could cast a spell. Only now, the spells are being cast with gene targeting technology and human genome engineering.
