Cerberus: A Wolf In The Fold (1987) - Plot & Excerpts
Jack L. Chalker's "Cerberus: A Wolf in the Fold" holds no surprises (assuming you've read the first book, "Lilith: A Snake in the Grass"). For all intents and purposes, the writing is the same. The interesting thing here is the comparison of how the protagonist's character changes against his baseline in a technological world (Cerberus) vs in a pastoral world (Lilith). Just like the first book, it's a nice, easy, fast-paced read. I rate the book at a Very Good 4 stars out of 5.The books in Jack L. Chalker's "Four Lords of the Diamond" series are:1. Lilith: A Snake in the Grass (The Four Lords of the Diamond Book 1)2. Cerberus: A Wolf in the Fold (The Four Lord of the Diamond Book 2)3. Charon: A Dragon at the Gate (The Four Lord of the Diamond Book 3)4. Medusa: A Tiger by the Tail (The Four Lord of the Diamond Book 4)
SF/Action. Second book of the Four Lords of the Diamond. 243 pages. All the books in the series start with the same premise. There’s a micro-organism that infects creatures and things in a solar system with four inhabitable planets that prevents people from leaving but gives some special powers. So naturally humans use this as a prison planet. When Earth authorities find out that the heads of the planet are making deals with aliens who may become enemies, they send an agent out to download his personality into four bodies, one for each planet, to overthrow the ruler. Jack Chalker is always entertaining, even if some of his quirks show up here – on the second planet, people swap bodies if they are close together when sleeping.
What do You think about Cerberus: A Wolf In The Fold (1987)?
Having grabbed off the Audible shelf the first of this series, LILITH: A SNAKE IN THE GRASS, I had to go right on to the next book - this time in print. An assassin's mind has been planted into a body destined for a convict planet. Cerberus is a totally water world, with trees growing up from the ocean bottom so big that cities are built in their branches. The assignment of the assassin is to kill the Lord who controls the planet. Once he is stranded on Cerberus, he gets his own ideas.Between mind-swapping and computer scams, the plot is so complicated one has to pay close attention; but the development of humans and worlds makes it well worth while.
—Joy
