Please help me find this book

[magessner]

About 25 years ago, I read a book that had a plot along these lines:

A wounded soldier, near death, is restored to life by a friend/mentor scientist.

This scientist had found a portal to an alternate universe (world?) where life was based on silicon, not carbon. The inhabitants of the world are terrorized by a monster that no one can fight.

With this in mind, the scientist makes the repairs to the soldier in such a way as to give him great power on this alternate world, in the hopes that he will go there and defeat the creature.

Before they can do this, the scientist is murdered.

Eventually, the soldier learns of the scientist's plan, and finds his way to the other world, does battle with the creature, and wins.



If you know the title of this book, or the author, I'd appreciate hearing from you.

Thanks in advance,

Matt Gessner

[magessner]

Even if you don't know what this book might be, could you perhaps help me by pointing me to some resources that might help me find it? Obviously, I've used Google and other search enginers, but to no avail.

Thanks!

[redhead]

hmmm... sorry, the plot doesn't ring a bell with me, at all. the only silicon based life forms i'm familiar with tend to show up in Star Trek episodes.

but this site, "Ultimate Science Fiction WebGuide" has tons upon tons of stuff, try the 'book" and "genres" areas. he doesn't post book synopses, unless there is a book review, but maybe something will help jog your memory.

http://www.magicdragon.com/UltimateSF/SF-Index.html

[aspic]

Try Jungle of Stars by Jack L Chalker. Pub Del Rey 1976 ISBN 0-345-28960-9. Which I read recently. Doesn't fit exactly the description you gave but enough similarities for me to suggest it.

If this sounds like the book you are looking for PM me - my copy is on it's way to eBay soon.

[beenorthern]

Oddly enough, someone else was looking for this book a couple of months ago. (But maybe that post was over at Chronicles.)

This book is *Escape Across the Cosmos* by Gardner F. Fox. I actually had this in my discard box at the time, found it, skimmed it over and confirmed that I'd remembered the correct title. Fox wrote several slim SF novels, but he's better remembered for writing Hawkman comics for DC.