SFF

A Borrowed Man

by Gene Wolfe
Tor. Oct. 2015. 304p. ISBN 9780765381149. $25.99; ebk. ISBN 9781466877993. SF
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In the future of Wolfe's novel, cloned humans are kept at local public libraries, waiting to be checked out by patrons needing their expertise. E.A. Smithe is one such resource, the clone of an author of pulp novels, who is borrowed by Colette Coldbrook in the hopes that he can help her solve the mystery of a book found in her father's safe at the time of his death. Murder on Mars was written by Smithe, and he might be able to explain its value. But soon after they begin working together, the book is lost and Smithe and Coldwater are on the run.
VERDICT Wolfe ("The Book of the New Sun" series) is a grand master of the genre, and this is an absorbing tale, full of noirish elements and fun sf flourishes. The variations in tone between rough gumshoe and stuffy academic (explained within the story but still jarring), and the habit of addressing the reader directly are thought provoking if not always effective narrative choices. This isn't Wolfe's best, but it will still be of great interest to the author's many fans.
Reviewed by Megan M. McArdle , Sep 15, 2015
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