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The Cut-Up Man: And other Posthuman Cycle stories
Set in a future where what it means to be human is defined by each individual, where posthumans augment their minds and bodies to assume forms sometimes unrecognizable as human; where Earth is a sweltering hole controlled by disorganized factions of TruHumans bent upon eradicating posthumanity from the Sol system; where near-human artificial intelligences are feared by some, and incorporated by others into their very brains...The Cut-Up Man: And other Posthuman Cycle stories contains four works of short fiction that delve into disparate segments of this universe. Presented in chronological order, these stories include:
The Cut-Up Man (a novella): After nearly ten years, Hansson finally has a chance to redeem himself to Head Council. Someone on Centralport Station needs killed, and it's Hansson's job to do it. Now Hansson finds that Centralport Station is under martial law, his mission handler has gone AWOL, and he doesn't know who he's supposed to assassinate...and something is disturbingly wrong with the synthetic body he's wearing. Aborting the mission isn't an option; Hansson is going to have to improvise.
(Please Don't) Put Your Wires In My Brain (a novelette): Locked in a dank cell somewhere on Earth, visited only by a nameless technician, Dana has become the subject of a mysterious research project centering on the posthuman bioware illegally implanted in her brain. Hardened by a life in the sex slave underworld, determined to rise above her years of degradation, Dana struggles to discover the aims of this research, and to somehow parlay that knowledge into freedom, power and...revenge.
"Watching the Watcher" (a previously published short story): A frantic call from a space lane traffic controller is fielded by a helpline representative. Out in the main asteroid belt of Sol, stationed on a three-kilometer long space habitat, why does the caller find himself utterly alone? And why does the helpline representative keep fielding exactly this type of call?
"Born Into Shadows" (a previously published short story): Five posthumans working as a crew together for the first time are sent on a fact finding mission to a remote and seemingly uninteresting nebula. Their mission: investigate an anomalous object hidden there. Only one of the crew knows the identity of the expedition's mysterious backers and...what they fear the nebula might conceal.
The Cut-Up Man (a novella): After nearly ten years, Hansson finally has a chance to redeem himself to Head Council. Someone on Centralport Station needs killed, and it's Hansson's job to do it. Now Hansson finds that Centralport Station is under martial law, his mission handler has gone AWOL, and he doesn't know who he's supposed to assassinate...and something is disturbingly wrong with the synthetic body he's wearing. Aborting the mission isn't an option; Hansson is going to have to improvise.
(Please Don't) Put Your Wires In My Brain (a novelette): Locked in a dank cell somewhere on Earth, visited only by a nameless technician, Dana has become the subject of a mysterious research project centering on the posthuman bioware illegally implanted in her brain. Hardened by a life in the sex slave underworld, determined to rise above her years of degradation, Dana struggles to discover the aims of this research, and to somehow parlay that knowledge into freedom, power and...revenge.
"Watching the Watcher" (a previously published short story): A frantic call from a space lane traffic controller is fielded by a helpline representative. Out in the main asteroid belt of Sol, stationed on a three-kilometer long space habitat, why does the caller find himself utterly alone? And why does the helpline representative keep fielding exactly this type of call?
"Born Into Shadows" (a previously published short story): Five posthumans working as a crew together for the first time are sent on a fact finding mission to a remote and seemingly uninteresting nebula. Their mission: investigate an anomalous object hidden there. Only one of the crew knows the identity of the expedition's mysterious backers and...what they fear the nebula might conceal.
127 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 30, 2014
1 person is currently reading
34 people want to read
About the author
Micah R. Sisk
5 books57 followersMicah R. Sisk is a German-born American science fiction writer who has lived most of his life in Frederick County, Maryland, U.S.A. After a close encounter with Engineering, Micah received a Bachelor of Science degree in Art from Virginia Tech. He now makes his living as an Application Systems Engineer at a major U.S. corporation, while in other incarnations he is, or has been, a landscape painter, real estate agent, assistant gallery director, retail sales manager, microfilm quality control tech, musician, composer, and builder of electronic musical instruments.
Micah is often seen puttering around town on his bicycle, hanging out at coffee shops and reading/writing science fiction tales.
Micah is often seen puttering around town on his bicycle, hanging out at coffee shops and reading/writing science fiction tales.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
July 25, 2015
This review is also posted on my blog: http://theshortreviewer.blogspot.com/...
I have to admit that this is harder science fiction than what I am used to reading. I really do love sci-fi - if done well, it can be very entertaining and imaginative. This book is certainly both of those, but there were a lot of technical terms used, and at times, it made it difficult to follow. Even though there are four different stories, they all take place within the same futuristic universe where other planets are inhabited by posthumans (basically any human that has taken on a different form). I'm not sure if I'm even explaining that correctly; there are different types of posthumans, and with the evolution of technology, people no longer have to live as regular humans. It really is a fascinating world, and while I felt that I got a good look inside, I still was never able to fully grasp all of it. It's a large, complicated universe that I'm pretty sure is mapped out in the author's mind, and while I liked that the stories weren't full of in depth info dumps, I think a glossary of all the terms honestly might have been helpful!
"The Cut-Up Man" was the first story in this book, and I had some trouble getting into this one at first, but then it really picked up as the story moved along. It's really a strange story, like nothing I'd ever read before, so it definitely gets points for its uniqueness. Just the fact that the main character is referred to as the Head for most of the story (because he's essentially just a head until he's given a temporary body) is very different. And the Head is a hired assassin, so he's not exactly a good person (head), but his backstory is intriguing, and there are some twists that keep you turning the pages. 3/5 stars
"(Please Don't) Put Your Wires In My Brain" was the most powerful of any of the stories in my opinion. A woman has been forced into a life of sex slavery, but it's not anything like it is today. It's in the future, so technology is used to make her appear more attractive and desirable than she actually is to the person she is with. And now she is unwillingly part of a research project where she discovers she may find a way to become free... This was a dark and gritty read and tough to take at times, but it was quite impactful. 4/5 stars
"Watching the Watcher" was my favorite of all the stories. It was easy to follow, even though it was a bit trippy. A space lane traffic controller calls a helpline, and what he begins to discover is unnerving. This was a really clever story that had a Twilight Zone feel to it with quite the twist in the end. I loved it! 5/5 stars
"Born Into Shadows" was a difficult one for me. Five posthumans are sent on a mission to a mysterious nebula in space. It was an interesting concept, but it was lacking character development. And even though the end was quite shocking, I wasn't invested enough in the story for it to have a huge impact on me. 2/5 stars
Overall, this was a very well-written and creative book that I would recommend to anyone who's into hard sci-fi. I think some of it was lost on me for the simple fact that I prefer my sci-fi to be softer! I am going to give this an overall rating of 3.5 stars, but I will round it up to 4.
*Disclosure: I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
I have to admit that this is harder science fiction than what I am used to reading. I really do love sci-fi - if done well, it can be very entertaining and imaginative. This book is certainly both of those, but there were a lot of technical terms used, and at times, it made it difficult to follow. Even though there are four different stories, they all take place within the same futuristic universe where other planets are inhabited by posthumans (basically any human that has taken on a different form). I'm not sure if I'm even explaining that correctly; there are different types of posthumans, and with the evolution of technology, people no longer have to live as regular humans. It really is a fascinating world, and while I felt that I got a good look inside, I still was never able to fully grasp all of it. It's a large, complicated universe that I'm pretty sure is mapped out in the author's mind, and while I liked that the stories weren't full of in depth info dumps, I think a glossary of all the terms honestly might have been helpful!
"The Cut-Up Man" was the first story in this book, and I had some trouble getting into this one at first, but then it really picked up as the story moved along. It's really a strange story, like nothing I'd ever read before, so it definitely gets points for its uniqueness. Just the fact that the main character is referred to as the Head for most of the story (because he's essentially just a head until he's given a temporary body) is very different. And the Head is a hired assassin, so he's not exactly a good person (head), but his backstory is intriguing, and there are some twists that keep you turning the pages. 3/5 stars
"(Please Don't) Put Your Wires In My Brain" was the most powerful of any of the stories in my opinion. A woman has been forced into a life of sex slavery, but it's not anything like it is today. It's in the future, so technology is used to make her appear more attractive and desirable than she actually is to the person she is with. And now she is unwillingly part of a research project where she discovers she may find a way to become free... This was a dark and gritty read and tough to take at times, but it was quite impactful. 4/5 stars
"Watching the Watcher" was my favorite of all the stories. It was easy to follow, even though it was a bit trippy. A space lane traffic controller calls a helpline, and what he begins to discover is unnerving. This was a really clever story that had a Twilight Zone feel to it with quite the twist in the end. I loved it! 5/5 stars
"Born Into Shadows" was a difficult one for me. Five posthumans are sent on a mission to a mysterious nebula in space. It was an interesting concept, but it was lacking character development. And even though the end was quite shocking, I wasn't invested enough in the story for it to have a huge impact on me. 2/5 stars
Overall, this was a very well-written and creative book that I would recommend to anyone who's into hard sci-fi. I think some of it was lost on me for the simple fact that I prefer my sci-fi to be softer! I am going to give this an overall rating of 3.5 stars, but I will round it up to 4.
*Disclosure: I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
July 27, 2016
Great stories! Good timing after reading Nexus, these short stories are similar in flavour yet have a slightly darker feel to the post-human enhancements. Sisk explores some of the ideas behind humans transforming into something a little less human. Dangers, conflicts, benefits are all there. The subject matter was well thought out and plausibly described in very entertaining stories. The writing was a bit rough at times and they feel like stories written early on in a career.
(Please Don't) Put Your Wires In My Brain was my favorite. Very dark yet with a bit of redemption at the end. I would love to come back to that piece of the world.
Well worth the time and $3.
(Please Don't) Put Your Wires In My Brain was my favorite. Very dark yet with a bit of redemption at the end. I would love to come back to that piece of the world.
Well worth the time and $3.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews