A Borrowed Man / Gene Wolfe

A Borrowed Man

by Gene Wolfe

science  fiction, mystery

copyright 2015

read in May 2017

rated 7/10: well worth reading

As you are reading this book, here's a hint: think of it as a murder mystery story. That way, you will avoid the annoyance that I felt in the last couple of chapters.

I had been thinking, is the author senile? A major plot point at the start is being changed at the end. And there's an incident which stands out as stupid, near the start. That was my thinking.

Turns out, these are *clues*.

If you realise that, the contradictions will be clever. You may even spot the more subtle clues which the author throws at the reader. You may even solve the mystery before the hero throws it in your face.

You may avoid the annoyance of thinking, if I knew it was a "mystery" then I would have looked for "clues". Instead of thinking, this is science fiction written by a man with a gloomy view of humanity. Well, that much is true. But that's not all that this book has to offer.

It's clever. It's gloomy. It offers a future "utopia" which is quietly dystopic. Humanity has advanced -- and died inside. Worse yet, new opportunities for growth will bring back the worst aspects of humanity.

The story is clever. The society is rich, and rotten to the core. Ordinary people can be nice, but can never be trusted.

The central plot is resolved, very satisfactorily. I'm annoyed that I only discovered a mystery when the solution was thrown in my face. Characters get what they deserve, good and bad. It seems to be a good book.

Except that I am left with a depressing view of humanity. And annoyance that I did not realise that there was a "mystery" to be solved.

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06sep20: I picked up this book again -- not realising that I had read it before. Well, I soon realised it. And -- three years on -- I could not remember much about it. But this is interesting:

I read a few chapters -- and was not interested in reading any more. So I stopped reading.

I would have rated it as 5 or 6, my original rating is 7. It must improve. Two points: the book starts slowly and with little of interest. And I no longer have the "read to the end no matter what" attitude.

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Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper
Agamedes Consulting / Problems? Solved.
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"The man who has no imagination has no wings." … Muhammad Ali