Alqua Dreams — Rachel Pollack

The corpse people of Planet Keela believe that life is an illusion. Earthman Jaimi Cooper finds their practices bizarre but is attracted by a beautiful tribeswoman. Cooper's task on the planet Keela: offer the native Lukai fair price for their rare ore rhovium, but first convince the powerful Death Woman that he and the Lukai themselves are more than illusions in a world where everyone has already died. The fascinating story of one man confronting a totally alien culture.