''The Troika'' is a 1997

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

novel by American writer

Stepan Chapman Stepan Chapman (May 27, 1951 — January 27, 2014) was an American writer of speculative fiction and fabulation. He is best known for the Philip K. Dick Award winning novel '' The Troika''. Chapman was born and raised in Chicago and then studied ...

. Written in

surrealist Surrealism is a cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. Its aim was, according to l ...

style, the novel features a highly complex plot mixing

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...

and science fiction. It received the

Philip K. Dick Award The Philip K. Dick Award is an American science fiction award given annually at Norwescon and sponsored by the Philadelphia Science Fiction Society and (since 2005) the Philip K. Dick Trust. Named after science fiction writer Philip K. Dick, ...

for 1997.Philip K. Dick Award winners
/ref>

Plot summary

The novel introduces three beings – a jeep, a dinosaur, and an old Mexican woman – travelling across a desert under the glare of three suns. They have been travelling for centuries though they do not know why they are crossing the desert or if they will ever reach the other side. The characters have each changed bodies several times. Their travels are interspersed with dream-sequence-like flashbacks describing various transformed versions of the 20th Century.

Major characters

* Alex – an automated jeep, who began as a man then became cyborg. * Eva – an old Mexican woman, formerly a fish-priestess and later a whore. * Naomi – a brontosaur who was once a military

corpsicle Suspended animation in fiction is the temporary halting of life processes of fictional characters followed by their later revival. The process often serves as a plot device and is used in innumerable science fiction stories as a means to transport ...

. A daughter of Alex and Eva's.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Troika 1997 American novels 1997 science fiction novels American science fiction novels