Of Man and Manta
Encyclopedia
Of Man and Manta is a trilogy of science fiction
novels written by Piers Anthony
. It consists of the three books: Omnivore (1968), Orn (1970), and 0X (1975).
Omnivore has as its frame the investigation of the deaths of eighteen travelers from Earth to the distant planet Nacre. Nacre is seen through the eyes of three surviving scientist-explorers: Cal, Veg, and Aquilon.
The planet Nacre's dominant species are fungi
, including the intelligent mantas. The mantas are soft-bodied creatures capable of high speeds and flight, superficially resembling manta rays. They are carnivores who farm the one extant herbivore species by protecting them from the voracious omnivore species. The planet is notable for its thick atmosphere, which allows flight to be performed with less energy, and permits the existence of air-borne phytoplankton
. The herbivores eat the plankton, and the omnivores eat anything they can. The human characters' diets play an important role in their interaction with the native species. Aquilon eats a normal human diet—she is an omnivore. Veg is a vegetarian. Cal is forced to drink blood to survive, due to a medical condition.
Orn involves travel by the scientists and mantas into a parallel dimension they dub Paleo, resembling the distant past of Earth, where they encounter dinosaur species and an intelligent flightless bird called Orn. Orn has the ability of genetic memory, able to remember anything that happened to an ancestor prior to the time of their reproduction. Much of the plot conflict stems from the love triangle between the protagonists and the mysterious motives of a cybernetically-augmented government agent sent along to monitor their progress.
0X involves the three scientists attempting to return to Earth from another dimension inhabited by hostile machines. Interlopers from other realities (using technology similar to that of the scientists' government) guide and hamper the explorers. A secondary story tells of a multidimensional cellular automaton
energy being named 0x and its attempts to share living space with an infant human male, a fledgling creature of Orn's species, and one of the manta-carnivores; their developing relationship leads to attempts to learn the reasons for their strange isolation from others of their kind, which eventually ties in to the story of Cal, Veg, and Aquilon.
found Orn to be "the most enjoyable book by Anthony" to date (1972), an improvement "in many ways" over Omnivore.
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
novels written by Piers Anthony
Piers Anthony
Piers Anthony Dillingham Jacob is an English American writer in the science fiction and fantasy genres, publishing under the name Piers Anthony. He is most famous for his long-running novel series set in the fictional realm of Xanth.Many of his books have appeared on the New York Times Best...
. It consists of the three books: Omnivore (1968), Orn (1970), and 0X (1975).
Omnivore has as its frame the investigation of the deaths of eighteen travelers from Earth to the distant planet Nacre. Nacre is seen through the eyes of three surviving scientist-explorers: Cal, Veg, and Aquilon.
The planet Nacre's dominant species are fungi
Fungus
A fungus is a member of a large group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds , as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, Fungi, which is separate from plants, animals, and bacteria...
, including the intelligent mantas. The mantas are soft-bodied creatures capable of high speeds and flight, superficially resembling manta rays. They are carnivores who farm the one extant herbivore species by protecting them from the voracious omnivore species. The planet is notable for its thick atmosphere, which allows flight to be performed with less energy, and permits the existence of air-borne phytoplankton
Phytoplankton
Phytoplankton are the autotrophic component of the plankton community. The name comes from the Greek words φυτόν , meaning "plant", and πλαγκτός , meaning "wanderer" or "drifter". Most phytoplankton are too small to be individually seen with the unaided eye...
. The herbivores eat the plankton, and the omnivores eat anything they can. The human characters' diets play an important role in their interaction with the native species. Aquilon eats a normal human diet—she is an omnivore. Veg is a vegetarian. Cal is forced to drink blood to survive, due to a medical condition.
Orn involves travel by the scientists and mantas into a parallel dimension they dub Paleo, resembling the distant past of Earth, where they encounter dinosaur species and an intelligent flightless bird called Orn. Orn has the ability of genetic memory, able to remember anything that happened to an ancestor prior to the time of their reproduction. Much of the plot conflict stems from the love triangle between the protagonists and the mysterious motives of a cybernetically-augmented government agent sent along to monitor their progress.
0X involves the three scientists attempting to return to Earth from another dimension inhabited by hostile machines. Interlopers from other realities (using technology similar to that of the scientists' government) guide and hamper the explorers. A secondary story tells of a multidimensional cellular automaton
Cellular automaton
A cellular automaton is a discrete model studied in computability theory, mathematics, physics, complexity science, theoretical biology and microstructure modeling. It consists of a regular grid of cells, each in one of a finite number of states, such as "On" and "Off"...
energy being named 0x and its attempts to share living space with an infant human male, a fledgling creature of Orn's species, and one of the manta-carnivores; their developing relationship leads to attempts to learn the reasons for their strange isolation from others of their kind, which eventually ties in to the story of Cal, Veg, and Aquilon.
Reception
Lester del ReyLester del Rey
Lester del Rey was an American science fiction author and editor. Del Rey was the author of many of the Winston Science Fiction juvenile SF series, and the editor at Del Rey Books, the fantasy and science fiction branch of Ballantine Books, along with his fourth wife Judy-Lynn del Rey.-Birth...
found Orn to be "the most enjoyable book by Anthony" to date (1972), an improvement "in many ways" over Omnivore.