Punktown, crime-ridden metropolis on the colony world, Oasis, is home to countless alien races. Among those stalking its mean streets is Jeremy Stake, a private detective with chameleon-like abilities he does not want and can’t always control. There’s his wealthy client, Fukuda, whose company makes synthetic life forms as playthings for the rich. Then there’s Fukuda’s beautiful teenage daughter, whose priceless one-of-a-kind living doll has been stolen. And there is the doll itself, growing in size, intelligence, and resentment. The destinies of all these individuals will converge, and collide, in Punktown.
A finalist for the John W. Campbell Award, Deadstock received a starred review from Publishers Weekly, who said, “For a wild ride...readers will be hard-pressed to find a better vehicle than Thomas's bizarre multiverse.â€