Varley, John. The John Varley Reader (Berkley, 2004).
Collection of the author’s short stories, including several set
in the Eight Worlds, a prototype transhuman future with
biomods and sex changes as common as body piercing; see
also the related novels The Ophiuchi Hotline, Steel Beach,
and The Golden Globe.
Varley, John. Titan (Ace, 1987). In the near future, astronauts
discover a godlike alien artifact which has created its
own ecosystems and variant human races (including “realistic”
winged humans and centaurs) inside its “body.”
Sequels Wizard and Demon feature more exotic bioconstructs,
such as living guided missiles.
Warren, Adam. Dirty Pair: Biohazards (Dark Horse,
1989). Anime-influenced biopunk space opera. Notable
sequels include Dangerous Acquaintances, Fatal but Not
Serious, and Run for the Future, featuring ever-more exotic
bio- and nanotechnology.
Williams, Walter Jon. Voice of the Whirlwind (Tom
Doherty Assoc., 1992). Braintaping, bioengineered posthumans,
corporate wars, aliens, and future shock are spotlighted
in this interplanetary bio-cyberpunk thriller.
Williamson, Jack. Lifeburst. (Del Rey, 1984) Refugee
creatures designed to live in vacuum implore their hosts to
let them warn Earth about a planet-devouring race, while
oblivious humanity undergoes genetic-economic schism.
The author also coined the terms “genetic engineering” in Dragon’s Island and “terraforming” in Seetee Ship (both
1951).
Bioengineered Constructs, Plants, and Animals
Crichton, Michael. Jurassic Park (Ballantine, 1990).
Cloned dinosaurs cause havoc.
Easton, Thomas A. Sparrowhawk (Wildside Press,
2000). A future world filled with bio-constructs and biovehicles.
Martin, George R.R. Tuf Voyaging (Meisha Merlin,
2003). The adventures of a freelance interstellar ecological
engineer.
Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus
(Pocket, 2004). Originally published in 1818, this is the
classic story of a scientist’s creation of artificial life and its
tragic consequences, and is often considered the first science
fiction novel.
Cryonics
Bear, Greg. Heads (Tor, 1990). On future Luna, the
arrival of a consignment of cryogenically-preserved heads
leads to intrigue.
Niven, Larry. A World Out of Time. (Del Rey, 1986).
Cryogenics patient wakes up in a radically-changed
dystopian future.