| Total Recall | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Author(s) | Piers Anthony |
| Cover artist | Photo |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Fantasy |
| Publisher | Avon Books |
| Publication date | May 1990 |
| Media type | Paperback) |
| Pages | 278 pp |
| ISBN | 978-0380708741 |
The film was novelized by Piers Anthony.[1] The novel and film correspond fairly well, although Anthony was evidently working from an earlier script than the one used for the film, and was criticized for the ending of his book which removed the ambiguity whether the events of Total Recall are real or a dream. In addition, the novel had a subplot wherein the aliens planted a failsafe device within their Mars technology, so that if it were misused or destroyed, the local star would go nova and therefore prevent the species from entering the galactic community. It coincided with a comment earlier in the novel that astronomers were noticing an abnormal number of recent supernovae, giving an indication that the aliens seeded their tech as part of a galactic experiment in technological maturity. Instead of mentioning that he dreamt of her earlier in the film, Melina mentions she was once a model, explaining how Quaid could have seen her on the screen at Rekall.