If you haven't read Crashcourse and Clipjoint, read them before you start Psykosis. Many of the characters are the same (Cass: the young theif, Sword: the enhanced peacekeeper of the streets, Moke: the sculpteur and more) and the universe is the same (Spacers, Aris, Umps ...). This time they aren't up against the movie studio, they're facing aliens. Really alien aliens.

Truly great concept! The possibilities are endless. This book is in a different class than first two which are decent, yet ordinary. Don't want to reveal much in order not to spoil the treat. The ending can in fact be compared to those unforgettable endings in Rudy Rucker's "Mindware", Bruce Sterling's "Shizmatrix", John Varley's "Persistance of Vision" and Tom Robbins' "Jitterbug Perfume". What a treasure!

A funny,fast paced romp thru a future you'll really like reading about( as long as Baird's writing it), but you wouldn't really want to live in. While fast and punkish there is a supprisingly tender(3? or is it 4?)way love story winding it's way thru all the mayhem.Baird gives us some fairly complex characters in nicely subtle way. She doesn't get lazy and break thru and tell us all about the characters omnipitently, as too many authors do now.A pretty good read.

....sink your teeth into this one. The main characters (a thief, a sculptor, and a handsome actor) are sucked into a reality show/movie for the money. However, they don't know that the girl they just "saved" is a snuff film actress, and she loves to kill.

Some memorable lines, too. Baird has a crisp, clean style--fiction that gleams like a space-age weapon.

This novel is what cyberpunk could be if it were allowed to grow up. Baird doesn't dwell on all the precious details of the tech behind the story; rather, she simply posits it, and credits the reader with enough imagination to do likewise. CRASHCOURSE is a story driven by character and action, a great amusement park ride with plenty of twists and "Huh? Ack! Wow!" moments. It would make a terrific film if they can resist messing up the story on the way to the screenplay. Unfortunately, the book's out of print at the moment (July 2000), but if you can find a used copy, jump at it.

Crashcourse was a great cyberpunk novel, a bit disorienting with the menage a trois that persisted in the novel. Clipjoint (the second in the series) is, to me, a further exploration of the relationship between Swordfish (one of my all-time fave novel heros) and the protagonist, Cassandra, which started in Crashcourse. Although the writing didn't quite have the tight feel of Crashcourse, I enjoyed the story better because of the very understated subtle romance developing between these two characters. Highly recommend the read. The romance is reminiscent of Tannith Lee's Silver Metal Lover though of course being cyberpunk, is written in a very different tone.

This book is simply awful. The premise was interesting, (symbiotic virus augmenting human physiology to be able to shape change, teleport and have telepathy). The worlds depicted had promise, when you could understand what she was talking about, but overall this book was badly written. The grammer, scene transitions and overall narrative were choppy. It is clear that the author was trying a new style, since she had written books before and they were reasonably received, but the editors did a terrible job of advising her on approach. This book is terrible and a badly failed experiment. The result is that I will not read her again unless I get a personal recomendation from someone whose judgement I trust.

Wilhelmina Baird has gone from pretty good(Crashcourse) to very bad with "Chaos Come Again". Not only did I not have the foggiest idea of what was going on, but I didn't care either. Skip this one.

Well, I didn't think it was as bad as the other reviews indicate. I read this before reading Psykosis, and I found it very intriguing without the background. After reading Psykosis, I can see how it represents Baird's conjecture on what would happen to humanity with the profligation of symbiotes. I was rather pleased with the aggressive direction she took and enjoyed the challenge of keeping up with the inferences she expects you to draw. The plot does tend to blur with the speed at which it is written, but overall I thought it was refreshing to see Baird cast away the safety harness of her previous formulae for novels.