A Borrowed Man

Smithe #1

by Gene Wolfe

A new SF novel, a first person narrative in the mode of the detective story, from the celebrated author of the Book of the New Sun series.

It is perhaps a hundred years in the future, our civilization is gone, and another is in place in North America, but it retains many familiar things and structures. Although the population is now small, there is advanced technology, there are robots, and there are clones.

E. A. Smithe is a borrowed person. He is a clone who lives on a third-tier shelf in a public library, and his personality is an uploaded recording of a deceased mystery writer. Smithe is a piece of property, not a legal human.

A wealthy patron, Colette Coldbrook, takes him from the library because he is the surviving personality of the author of Murder on Mars. A physical copy of that book was in the possession of her murdered father, and it contains an important secret, the key to immense family wealth. It is lost, and Colette is afraid of the police. She borrows Smithe to help her find the book and to find out what the secret is. And then the plot gets complicated.

Genres: Science Fiction, Mystery, Fiction, Fantasy, Speculative Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy, Adult

300 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 20, 2015

About the author

Gene Wolfe was an American science fiction and fantasy writer. He was noted for his dense, allusive prose as well as the strong influence of his Catholic faith, to which he converted after marrying a Catholic. He was a prolific short story writer and a novelist, and has won many awards in the field.

The Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award is given by SFWA for ‘lifetime achievement in science fiction and/or fantasy.’ Wolfe joins the Grand Master ranks alongside such legends as Connie Willis, Michael Moorcock, Anne McCaffrey, Robert Silverberg, Ursula K. Le Guin, Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury and Joe Haldeman. The award will be presented at the 48th Annual Nebula Awards Weekend in San Jose, CA, May 16-19, 2013.

While attending Texas A&M University Wolfe published his first speculative fiction in The Commentator, a student literary journal. Wolfe dropped out during his junior year, and was drafted to fight in the Korean War. After returning to the United States he earned a degree from the University of Houston and became an industrial engineer. He edited the journal Plant Engineering for many years before retiring to write full-time, but his most famous professional engineering achievement is a contribution to the machine used to make Pringles potato crisps. He lived in Barrington, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago.

A frequent Hugo nominee without a win, Wolfe has nevertheless picked up several Nebula and Locus Awards, among others, including the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement and the 2012 Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award. He is also a member of the Science Fiction Hall of Fame.

http://us.macmillan.com/author/genewolfe

Reviews

[Bradley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was certainly less strange than the rest of Wolfe's work that I've had the pleasure to read, but I kinda expected something a bit more progressive. I mean, the idea behind a genetic library that reconstructs men and their lives to be checked out of a library *does* sound pretty interesting, and I can think of several storylines right off the bat that would really lend themselves to a very interesting story, even when it's an author who had been dead for a hundred years coming back to play a part in someone's game.

But here's where managed expectations come in very nicely. If I had gone into this just knowing that we're dealing with a mildly clever *character* concept to be dumped into a full blown Mystery novel that also happens to be SF, I wouldn't have much of an issue with it at all. I tweaked my expectations and soon just got into the novel for what it was and it was fine.

There was a shadow of Castle (tv), a shadow of Kiln People, and even a pretty cool jaunt into a different world, but mainly it was all mystery-times following all normal conventions. It was entertaining and standard, with even reveals and a solid end.

On the other hand, if you're reading the novel from a slightly deeper perspective, you'll be pleased to note the over and undertones of the book publishing industry, including shelf-life for novels, reprints, and expectations for new works. Read this way, it's a very entertaining novel and extremely tongue-in-cheek.

If you don't care about that kind of thing, however, you might not really connect with the character concept too much. Maybe. It just feels a bit odd with a few major logical gaps. In other words, this is genuine Gene Wolfe. :)

[Panagiotis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ο Τζιν Γουλφ, για όσους τον ξέρουν καλά - εννοώ αυτοί που τον έχουν διαβάσει όχι υπό την πλάνη πως πρόκειται για ακόμα έναν φανταζά, αλλά για έναν ξεχωριστό συγγραφέα,- θα έχουν καταλάβει πως αγαπάει το μυστήριο. Λατρεύει την εγγενή του είδους εγκεφαλικότητα και αγαπάει έναν ορθολογισμό σχεδόν αφύσικο, αγαπάει την εμβρίθεια και την οξυδέρκεια - αρετές με τις οποίες προικίζει συνήθως τους χαρακτήρες του. Αγαπάει τις γυναίκες και ό,τι είναι ικανές να καταφέρουν εκκούσια ή ακούσια. Αγαπάει πολλά πράματα τέτοια, και τα οποία πολλές φορές συνθέτουν άλλοτε λίγο άλλοτε πολύ, ιστορίες μυστηρίου, εγκλήματος και μυστηρίου.

Αυτή του η αγαπή έχει γίνει φανερή στο παρελθόν είτε με διηγήματά του, είτε με μυθιστορήματα, όπως το Pandora's Box. Θεωρώ, δε, πως τελευταία έχοντας αφήσει πίσω του τα σύνθετα δημιουργήματα φαντασίας και καθαρής επ. φαντασίας, επιδίδεται ανενδοίαστα στην αγάπη του να αφηγηθεί μια καλή ιστορία μυστηρίου, όπως φερειπείν το The Land Across, Home Fires και The Sorcerer's House. Έτσι κι εδώ, με ένα έξυπνα κατασκευασμένο sci fi περιτύλιγμα συνθέτει ένα αίνιγμα.

Εν συνόψει, σε μια εναλλακτική πραγματικότητα ή ένα ασαφές μέλλον, όπου μάλλον έχει προηγηθεί μια καταστροφή, η ανθρωπότητα έχει αποκατασταθεί. Ο Γουλφ κάνει νύξεις, αλλά μόνο ο παιδευμένος αναγνώστης θα συνθέσει το υπόβαθρο το κοινωνιολογικό, το οποίο δεν εξυπηρετεί παρά μόνο την ιστορία του: άνθρωποι-ρέπλικες γνωστών συγγραφέων, τοποθετούνται στις βιβλιοθήκες εξυπηρετώντας το κοινό. Δεν θεωρούνται πολίτες, δεν έχουν παρά ελάχιστα δικαιώματα, και όταν η ζήτησή τους πέσει, καίγονται σαν ένα κοινό βιβλίο. Ο πρωταγωνιστής είναι ένας τέτοιο άτυχο γενετικό κατασκεύασμα, κατά τ' άλλα έξυπνος και πνευματώδης, ζώντας στο ράφι του, μια αποστειρωμένη, πληκτική ζωή. Ώσπου μια μέρα, μια μοιραία κοπέλα ζητά τις γνώσεις του για ένα βιβλίο που έχει γράψει στην πρώτερη ζωή του, αλλά ο ίδιος δεν το θυμάται.

Σε μια εποχή μασημένης τροφής, όπου το goodreads κατακλύζεται από καρδούλες και σαχλαμαρίσματα (δείτε τι συγκεντρώνει τα μεγαλύτερα ποσοστά δημοφιλίας, και θα καταλάβετε τι εννοώ), ένας τέτοιος συγγραφέας, θιασώτης της έμμεσης περιγραφής, που δεν δείχνουν να τον καταλαβαίνουν ούτε οι αναγνώστες που θα του αναλογούσαν, έχει πιάσει την δική του σκοτεινή γωνιά. Ένα καλά κρυμμένο μυστικό, όπως λένε. Είναι ο αγαπημένος μου συγγραφέας, σαν αυτόν δεν έχει άλλον και θα του βάλω πέντε αστέρια - όχι τα πέντε τα παραινετικά, άξια ενός αναγνώσματος καθολικής αποδοχής. Πέντε δικά μου, να τα βλέπω, να τα προσέχω και να τα γυαλίζω, κι ας είναι δύο για άλλους.

Τόσα τα βλέπω εγώ.

[Traci · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's surprising to me that so many reviewers, knowing Gene Wolfe's style, still chose to take this story at face value. If you thought this was a light, easy, and uncomplicated read, then you really need to re-read it. If you thought the central mystery was solved at the end, then I strongly suspect you never even knew the central mystery in the first place.

Gene Wolfe lies to his readers---never forget that. The plot of A Borrowed Man might at first seem like a standard mystery, with the major plot points wrapped up at the end . . . but pay attention. Look at what elements make no sense. (Hint: quite a lot of the ending makes no sense at all if you actually think about it.) Look at what elements the author doesn't even pretend to explain. Pay attention, and don't let yourself be fooled. If you do that, and don't just take the story at face value, I think you'll be surprised at what you discover here.

If anything, the fact that Gene Wolfe managed to thoroughly fool so many readers, readers who really should have known better, speaks particularly highly of the quality of this book.

[Mogsy · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 of 5 stars at The BiblioSanctum http://bibliosanctum.com/2015/11/10/r...

Disappointingly, A Borrowed Man turned out to be less than I expected. I was initially drawn to the book because of the vague hints at a futuristic dystopian setting, but it was undoubtedly the description of the protagonist that sealed the deal. E.A. Smithe is a clone, created for the sole purpose of being an educational resource and made available on loan to all patrons of the public library where he sits displayed from a third-tier shelf. It’s an interesting premise, and paired with a mystery plot, this book should have scored a hit with me. However, having great ideas for a story is one thing, but I suppose carrying them out is another.

First though, a bit more about Smithe. As a library “reclone”, our protagonist is seen as more of a tool than a human being, just a piece of property with no legal rights. When you think about libraries today, they are vast storehouses of knowledge where literary works are preserved for eternity, and anyone with a library card can borrow the great works of authors long since dead. However, in Smithe’s world, they’ve gone even further than that. Actual authors and artists from the recent past have been cloned, their brains filled with information from the last saved scans of the original individuals before their deaths. So now not only can you borrow books and other media from the library, you can even choose to borrow their creators, whether you want to take them off the shelf for a consultation or lead them to the checkout counter to bring them home.

The real E.A. Smithe, the man who the main character was cloned from, was a pretty well-known mystery writer in his day. At the beginning of this story, a wealthy woman named Colette Coldbrook borrows his reclone, hoping to find out more about a book he wrote called “Murder on Mars”, a physical copy of which was in the possession Collette’s late father. Collette is convinced that the book contains important secrets and may be the key to the mystery of her murdered brother.

I have to say, despite my issues with A Borrowed Man, the ideas in it are fascinating. Smithe lives in an outwardly perfect world where civilization has been replaced by another system entirely, and most of humanity’s problems have been eradicated with the population down to a sustainable billion or so. However, dig deeper and you’ll discover that those problems aren’t really gone—just carefully hidden or swept aside like they don’t exist. Then there’s the situation with reclones. As library property, we’ve already established that Smithe isn’t considered a real person, but it gets even darker and more disturbing than that. Like other library resources that get too old or outdated, reclones are disposed of when they demand for them dwindles or when they aren’t borrowed anymore. Those who outlive their usefulness are drugged and then thrown unceremoniously into an incinerator.

But ideas only got this story so far. The plot started well enough before going downhill very early on; the narrative had me but then it lost me, which is perhaps the most frustrating feeling of all when a great mystery doesn’t meet its potential. I didn’t feel that the story was well developed, with frequent derailments by trivial matters that added nothing to the mystery. These overcomplicated devices only made things feel more tedious, along with a protagonist who was uninspiring, irritating, and repetitive. I wasn’t entirely ambivalent about the ending and how things would play out, but neither did I feel all that invested in solving the mystery.

Audiobook comments: I’ve enjoyed many audiobook narrated by Kevin T. Collins in the past, and I think he’s great. However, I felt he was the completely wrong choice to read this book. Collins is amazing in high-energy roles, which is the exact opposite of how I would describe the protagonist E.A. Smithe, who came across as fussy and somewhat prim and old-fashioned compared to those around him (which actually makes sense since his memories and mannerisms belonged to a man from an earlier time). I also pictured Smithe to be older man. Collins’ voice sounds much younger, marking him well suited for the Young Adult audiobooks I’ve listened to that were performed by him, but for A Borrowed Man, perhaps not so much.

Overall, I didn’t feel this novel lived up to its potential. As a noir mystery, the story fell short, but I did find a lot of the sci-fi aspects interesting and wished they had been better developed.

[L.S. Popovich · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 stars!
Clearly, Gene Wolfe wrote many works of depth and breadth and of inestimable worth to genre fiction, if we deign to call it that.

A Borrowed Man was his final published novel, from 2015, published 45 years after his first one. In this slightly futuristic tale, he adopts an unaccustomed voice and tells an unpredictable tale with a wacky conceit. I can see how the narrator, Ern A. Smithe, will fluster a lot of fans, but since this character was a mystery writer - before his 'recloning' - I found the somewhat average to sub-par word choice strangely appropriate. What is more likely, that Gene Wolfe wrote all of these mediocre sentences in order to construct the illusion of reality around his pulp concoction world building and further obfuscate his satire and sleights of symbolism, or he suddenly lost his writing ability after 45 years? You can believe the reviewers who bash the book if you want, but you'd be missing out on another absorbing, fast-paced, layered Wolfian creation.

In this version of the future, libraries have other uses, 'bots, and clones intrude into the lives of jaded aristocrats, and murder is an act as cliched as it is serious. What better way to poke fun at the mystery genre than to write a mystery with a mystery writer as the main character, and put this character through the ringer in ways that he could not predict or extricate himself from?

Aside from the subtle comments on publishing, genres, and the subliminal library puns there is an underlying sadness to Smithe's less-than-human life, his lost love, and the tired tropes he embodies. Like Wolfe's An Evil Guest, what might have been a clever, light reading experience is complicated by contortions of reality and the slow-burn surprise of the ending. Relish the hidden clues in minor details, and even if you don't read between the lines, you will be entertained.

[Gavin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This sci-fi/mystery novel had an intriguing premise, but sadly that did not translate into an exciting story. The story was slow paced and a little dull.

E.A. Smithe is a reclone living in a dystopian society in the twenty-second century. He is a clone of the original E.A. Smithe who was a mystery writer of note in his day. The recloned E.A. Smithe is a borrowed man. He has no human rights and is not considered a real person. He belongs to the Springbrook public library and is a resource that people can check out as they would a regular book!

Colette Coldbrook does just that as one of the original E.A. Smithe's books, Murder on Mars, was the only thing found in the safe of her missing father and she believes the secret of the book is also connected to the recent murder of her brother. She hopes the reclone E.A. Smithe might be able to shed some light on the situation.

The mystery of the book and the deaths is mildly interesting, but nothing more. The world building is so vague that it is tough to get a real feel for life in this dystopian twenty-second century, even if the few glimpses we do get seem pretty interesting. Ern Smithe was an interesting protagonist despite some of his inbuilt limitations.

Another slight irritation was the fact that Smithe did not prove to be the most trustworthy of narrators. It made it tough to follow some of the happenings and to trust some of those that we did apparently witness through the eyes of Smithe.

I must admit to being a bit disappointed that this did not turn out to be better. That said, it was an OK read.

Rating:2.5 stars.

Audio Note: I thought Kevin T. Collins gave a decent enough performance.

[Yórgos St. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wolfe is, by far, my favorite writer. He probably is the finest living American author.

A borrowed man is simply one of his best stand alone novels. It is a book about writers and books. Books that can literally open passages to other green worlds.

It is a Gene Wolfe novel and like any Gene Wolfe novel it demands your full attention.
A borrowed man is about the author and the immortality that the author can achieve through his work.

"One by one across the dessert
Until our boots grow too heavy with
The sands of time."

[Bryan Alexander · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read A Borrowed Man honor of Gene Wolfe's passing last month.

If anyone else had written this novel, I'd commend them for nicely mixing together two genres. A Borrowed Man is one part mystery, one part science fiction. We follow a mystery writer (well, his clone) as he is hired (actually, borrowed, hence the title) to solve one mystery, which then yields others. This draws from classic American private eye stories, complete with wisecracking thugs, interrogations, beat-downs, escapes, a Macguffin, and the plots ultimately explained in a very satisfactory way.

At the same time we follow our clone narrator into the future, a high tech world with flying cars, ubiquitous screens, plenty of robots, consumer-grade atomic power plants, underpopulation (143), public pornography, a new calendar system (232), and, of course, cloning. Cloned authors can be checked out of libraries. The United States is now the Continental Government. And yet enough of our present world persists to make things credible: bus stations, inter-library loan, bad family portraits. Through this classic sf trope (present-day-ish person enters the future) Wolfe sketches out a fascinating world... and more I don't want to say, because of spoilers.

So a good novel. It's very well written, the plots reveal themselves neatly, some action appears, as do several romances. Fortunes are reversed. Shadowy character details resolve. But because this is a Gene Wolfe story there's a lot more going on that merely combining two genres and doing it well.

For one, A Borrowed Man's world is one that's much darker than I think most reviewers have caught. From the second page we're informed that our narrator is a human being defined as subhuman, facing torture if he doesn't obey orders (115) and being burned alive if he fails to perform (9, 222). Reclone women appear in publicly screened porn videos, and seem to be raped (141). Nobody protests at this Fourth Industrial Revolution form of slavery. Meanwhile, characters repeatedly come across "old ruined towns" and "starved-looking children in rags" (144); is this a result of whatever mysteriously depopulated the world? The world's nations have experienced a decline in skills and knowledge, along with experiencing a legitimation crisis (273). "Defective" people are terrified of being found out. Police and criminals are equally terrifying and hard to tell apart. And the solutions to several mysteries are brutal.

We are also in the hands of a narrator who doesn't tell us everything, a classic Wolfe figure. We rarely see how characters react to him, even when he appears in public covered in blood. He explicitly and implicitly hides his thoughts and plans from other people, including the reader. The first and second paragraphs are a game played with the author, challenging us to continue. We know Smithe has been shaped by mental condition to not do certain things, and to speak in a very formal style.

Wolfe stretches our imagination into surreal territory several times, nearly making me consider it a fantasy. How reclone authors actually fit in libraries isn't quite clear. They sound like books, with multiple shelves, yet they also inhabit apartments with common areas. Are the libraries actually vast buildings, something like tenements, or is some spacetime warping going on? (That would fit a key plot theme) Also - ahem, getting into the accessible alien world is described in very dreamlike, un-hard-science-fiction ways, as if the plot had slid sideways. Is this just an effect of Clarke's Law? (Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.)

Various references stir my curiosity. Our narrator is known as "E.A.", which naturally makes me think of Poe, relevant here as one of detective fiction's founders. His first name, Ern, is a homophone for "urn," a fitting link given the character's promised fate (ashes), as well as his cultural status (holding a dead thing, a writer's memories). There's a fine Clark Ashton Smith poem quoted, which suggests that our hero is a victor in imagination only, which sounds about right (285). The new United States is run by a Continental authority, which suggests Hammett's Continental Op, which does make sense for how Smithe proceeds. I'm not sure what to make of all of the C's: Coldbrook, Colette, Conrad.

Let me turn to the end. On the one hand, there is a lot of narrative satisfaction. A bad guy gets his, sidekicks are rewarded, the main mysteries are revealed, and our hero escapes termination. Smithe finally writes... the book we read. Yet the world of reclones remains, and the broader world is untouched. Smithe is still trapped in the third tier. He reconnects briefly with beloved Arabella, then leaves her for good. Humanity has made an extraordinary breakthrough by creating a bridge to a new world - and Smithe literally closes the door on it. He ensures that a murderer - Colette, a parricide - goes free.

John Clute says this:

one might almost be able to say this is the saddest story I have ever heard, even though A Borrowed Man, which tells a tale out of the old age of the author of Peace (1975), may not be quite the most adamantly terminal novel Gene Wolfe has ever written... A Borrowed Man does not escape from prison through doors; it is a prison upon which the doors have shut.... a trap without exit.

I feel much of this as well.

At the same time this novel is a song in praise of books and their writers, despite its many messages of dread. A book holds the key to many of the story's mysteries. People can still turn to libraries for help. A writer solves riddles. Books are gateways.

I'd put A Borrowed Man in the second rank of Wolfe's books. Four and a half stars, nudged to five because RIP.

[Jenny (Reading Envy) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a review copy of this book from the publisher through Edelweiss.

The other books I have read by Gene Wolfe were intricate, dense books of detail and magic, books that almost required a re-read once you reached the end. This is not like those books, and I'm trying to separate my surprise at the change in writing style from the book itself.

The publisher describes it best:

"E. A. Smithe is a borrowed person. He is a clone who lives on a third-tier shelf in a public library, and his personality is an uploaded recording of a deceased mystery writer. Smithe is a piece of property, not a legal human.

A wealthy patron, Colette Coldbrook, takes him from the library because he is the surviving personality of the author of Murder on Mars. A physical copy of that book was in the possession of her murdered father, and it contains an important secret, the key to immense family wealth. It is lost, and Colette is afraid of the police. She borrows Smithe to help her find the book and to find out what the secret is. And then the plot gets complicated."

At its heart it is more of a mystery novel with a twist. Light and fun to read, but I'm not sure it's a reread type.

[Marianne · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Borrowed Man is the first book in the Borrowed Man series by award-winning American author, Gene Wolfe. It’s the twenty-second century, the human population is down to a billion, technology is highly advanced, and ‘bots, sims and clones are part of everyday life.

Not in great demand, and having thus languished on his Level Three shelf at the Spice Grove Public Library for some time, E.A.Smithe is inordinately pleased when Colette Coldbrook arrives to check him out of the library. For one thing, it extends the period before he is burned due to undemand; for another, it relieves the boredom.

Ern is a reclone of the (long-ago-deceased) author of several mystery novels, including Murder on Mars, and Colette needs him to help her solve a mystery involving just that book. In the past six weeks, Colette tells Smithe, she has lost first her father, then her brother. Cob was murdered just after he delivered to her the sole item he had found in their father’s safe, a copy of Murder on Mars.

Colette is convinced it holds the key to the family’s fortune, and that Smithe, as the author of the book, can help her find it. Ern is certainly willing, if it means he will be checked out. Ern wonders about her precautions with regards being overheard, but it quickly apparent that her paranoia is justified.

Collette explains that her father was a financial genius, brilliant but also very secretive. By the time Ern has examined Conrad Colbrook Senior’s house and laboratory, and made enquiries, he begins to figure out what is going on, and understands that Colette has been less than truthful.

Part dystopian tale, part sci-fi, this cleverly plotted story manages to include murder and violence, emeralds and aliens, listening devices, crooked cops and nuclear reactors. Wolfe’s world-building is subtle and seamless: bearing in mind that his original self died over a century ago, Smithe’s lengthy sojourn on his shelf in the library is the perfect excuse for his ignorance of things modern, and his curiosity.

As a mystery writer, Smithe spends a good deal of time on deduction and logistics, and his conclusions about motivation and behaviour are reminiscent of a 1940’s detective. At a deeper level, there is also the dystopian aspect, a commentary on society: reclones considered subhuman; humans with disabilities live in fear; sexism, poverty and violence commonplace; and more. However, the resolution is extremely satisfactory, and readers who enjoy this novel will be pleased to know that E.A.Smithe reappears in the sequel, Interlibrary Loan. This is a superb read!

[Vicky Hunt · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Borrowed Book

Yes, I... um... checked this out through interlibrary loan. Kind of ironic, I'd say. I finished it about a month ago, and returned it in a timely fashion, of course. Okay, so the library phone app says my overdue fine was twenty cents. But, it was worth that twenty cents to finish this 'out there' book, my first of Gene Wolfe's to date. Reading the book has taken me through a time loop of sorts. I had to use the backspace button when I started this review, just to delete the paragraph indention I almost started with. Talk about time travel! The book is set in a near future with clones and flying cars. But, the 'borrowed man' aspect really gives it a retro spin, as does the mental framework of the now-dead author, and his main-clone-character.

It is that mental framework that I have cogitated upon... for the past month since I finished the book. (This tone of formality is making me sound like the borrowed man, I know. But, I can't resist.) I've re-read it since then with the audio format. I splurged an Audible credit since I had been compelled to return him. So, I can hear the narrator's voice in my mind as I type this review. But, the plot... this mental framework I mentioned... reveals a basic underlying layer of plot, when you peel the cover off it. I won't go into the psychology of relationships behind it, because I wouldn't want to deprive you, as a potential reader, of the experience of reading this for the first time. I think you will enjoy all the nuances of innuendo behind the situation the author has painted. But, all in all, the story has some unique situations.

Some books and authors bear settling in our minds before moving on, as does Salman Rushdie and his books, which I've had on my mind since finishing The Borrowed Man. In random moments, I find myself thinking of the borrowed man and the story. I doubt I will forget it, or Gene Wolfe, anytime soon.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one is a really strange mix. It's like a detective/noir sci-fi in a dystopian society that's only occasionally mentioned. Or maybe the dystopian parts are noir-ish? At the same time there's a cheer and naivete to the narrator's telling of the story. Cheerful sci-fi noir? Whatever the case may be, it's an odd book.

E.A. Smithe is a reclone, which means they grew a clone body of the real Smithe, who was an author, and downloaded a brain scan so that he would have all of his memories. Reclones can be checked out of the library, or just called up for an hour's chat, which does indeed mean they sleep on library shelves, or something like that that is man sized.

Colette's brother was murdered shortly after their father's death and the only clue she has is a copy of a book that Smithe wrote. She checks him out of the library so he can help her try to figure out what's going on. But like all good dames, the lady's got a lot of secrets. Solving these secrets along the way is what makes up the story. We have the reclone of a writer of mystery novels that is using his research and knowledge gained through writing to solve a real life mystery.

I've seen a couple of complaints about this book. One is that sexism is alive and well in this society. It's set 100 or so years in the future and women are pretty much back to being patted on the head and told not to worry their pretty little heads. I thought this actually represented the society rather than being the author's beliefs, especially since there was a scene at a bus stop where they were showing various porn films on the screens while the passengers waited. It was like you were getting drops of clues that brought the noir feel in but not all the way, which made it feel sexist instead of cultural.

The other complaint I noticed was about how two-dimensional the characters felt. They did indeed feel that way. I attributed it to the fact that although the character had a lifetime of memories, he had no real world experience and this was told in first person. It was this element that made the book feel like cheerful naivete to me.

It really is a weird book and I can see how it would be divisive in opinions. It doesn't seem to be enough of any one thing to hang your hat on, genre-wise. I enjoyed it but I'm unlikely to revisit it in the future.

[Lis Carey · Rating 5 out of 5]

E.A. Smithe is a reclone--a clone of, in his case, a dead mystery writer, with the writer's recorded personality and memories uploaded to him. He's not a legal person, but a piece of property, specifically the property of a local library. He lives on a "shelf"--a three-walled room--at the library, and patrons can consult or borrow him.

Which is what Colette Coldbrook does.

She's trying to find the secret she believes must be hidden in the book her brother found in their father's safe--Murder on Mars by (the original) E.A. Smithe. Her father had gone from midlevel executive to widely respected financial genius--but where his original capital came from remains mysterious. Now he's dead, and her brother was murdered, apparently for the book, and Colette wants to find answers.

The story she tells is confusing, but she really is being pursued by quite dangerous people. The current E.A. Smithe has lived a very sheltered life, but he has his original's memories of writing--and researching murder mysteries, and despite a mild, professorial manner, he's not easily intimidated or confused.

And he's very, very observant.

He also has his own agenda--remaining valuable enough that he won't be deaccessioned and disposed of.

Calling this a nicely intricate tale will be recognized as an understatement by anyone familiar with Wolfe's work, and his use of the English language remains as beautiful as ever. The plot moves, and the characters, not just Smithe himself but Colette, the friends Smithe finds, and others along the way are developed and interesting. You'll be confused until the end, and you'll enjoy the ride.

Highly recommended.

I received a free copy of the audiobook from Audible in exchange for an honest review.

[Scottsdale Public Library]

What a great combination of science fiction and mystery, set in the not-too-distant future! E.A. Smithe is a borrowed person or a clone of a long-deceased author, living on a shelf in a library. He's thrilled when a patron, Collette Coldbrook, checks him out, only to learn that one of the original author's novels may hold the key to a Coldbrook family mystery, involving the death of Collette's brother and the disappearance of their father and some rather odd characters who are trailing the young woman, hoping to solve the mystery and become wealthy in the process. It's a tale full of wit and humor, and sure to be enjoyed by fans of both genres of fiction! – Louisa A.

[Liviu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading the freely available preview, I was quite excited as this novel promised a return to the style of the wonderful recent novels (Sorcerers' House and home Fires - especially this last which I greatly enjoyed with its weirdness and twists) rather than the Ok but not great Land Across; sadly once i got and read the book, the original twist (see the blurb - clone housed in a library, available to be borrowed/consulted, discarded if not popular enough etc etc) turned out to be quite thin and not able to support a novel that quickly became a noir pastiche in a strange-ish future; enjoyable enough to keep turning the pages, but another mostly forgettable novel which did not live up to my expectations

[Ints · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jāatzīst ka autors kārtējo reizi nelika vilties. Tāla nākotne, cilvēce sevi ir izsmēlusi, resursu nekādu dižo vairs nav, viss ir tik vienalga, ka valstis savā starpā vairs pat nekaro. Bagātie dzīvo savās eigēnikas paradīzēs, metropolēs. Pārējie sitās kā var. Bet tas viss ir tikai fons stāstam. Stāsta galvenais varonis kāds E.A. Smithe ir aizlienēta persona. Precīzāk, nākotnes tehnoloģijas ļauj ja vien tev ir personas DNS un kāda dzīves perioda smadzeņu noraksts, izveidot personas kopiju miesā un garā. E.A. Smithe ir bijis rakstnieks un nu viņa kopija dzīvo bibliotēkā, trešajā plauktā. Kopā ar citiem autoriem, jo modernā bibliotēkā grāmatas nav vajadzīgas, tās katrs var izdrukāt pēc pieprasījuma, taču ja vēlies vari aiziet uz bibliotēku un paņemt pašu autoru, ne ilgāk kā uz nedēļu iemaksājot depozītu un ja vairāk par dienu jānodrošina ēdināšana. Savukārt, ja autoru pāris gadus neviens neizčeko, viņu mēģina pārdot izsolē un ja nav pircēju tad sadedzina. kloni to apzinās, bet viņi zina, ka ir tikai lietas. Kādu dienu pie mūsu autora ierodas Colette Coldbrook, lai pakonsultētos par grāmatu Murder on Mars.

Kā jau šim autoram pierasts grāmatu var izlasīt kā labu detektīvu SF žanrā, tāla nākotne, kas no ārpuses spīd un laistās, bet paskatoties dziļāk, var redzēt distopiju visā tās baisumā. Eigēnika dominē kultūrā, viss kas nav perfekts tiek noslēpts no sabiedrības acīm. Lai klonus atšķirtu no parastiem cilvēkiem, viņiem ir noteiktas disproprcijas, vai kā šīs grāmatas varonim, viņš vienmēr runā nosvērti it kā lasītu pats savu grāmatu. Policija no kriminalitātes ne ar ko neatšķiras un nauda pāri visam. Klonētajiem nepiemīt nekādas tiesības un sabiedrībā lēnām atgriežas arī pie tā ka tiesību pārāk daudz nav arī sievietēm. Šī gan ir autora vājība, parādīt sievietes vairāk kā objektus. Arī te Colette jau sākumā paziņo, ka visas sievietes ir meles un ļauj savu dzīvi vadīt citiem. Pats detektīvs ir dubulta slepkavība, noslēpumaina grāmata kas kalpo kā atslēga kaut kam. Beigās ja kādam viss nav pielecis viss tiek paskaidrots.

Taču zinot autoru, izlasot beigas man smadzenes neticēja tam ko redzēju. Viņam nekad nav skaidru beigu, tās ir vienkārša miglas pūšana acīs. Nācās iziet pastaigā un stundu visu apdomāt kārtīgi. Pirmā nodaļa noteikti ir atslēga, jo tā runā par dažādiem veidiem kā grāmatā var paslēpt informāciju, galvenais varonis pēc idejas ir grāmata. Viņam riņķī cilvēkiem vārdos ir apslēpts karsts un auksts. Grāmatas vidū ir daži dialogi, kas ir pilnīgi ne par tēmu. Skaidras atbildes man nav, bet ir viela pārdomām. Ko gan vairāk no grāmatas var vēlēties. Gan jau ka būšu spiests lasīt vēlreiz 10 no 10 ballēm.

[Denise · Rating 1 out of 5]

Loved the premise but found the dialog and characters flat. As another reviewer mentioned Wolf is very behind the times in his characterization of women which I found very grating. For example there were numerous generalizations about women not wanting to be considered brave or being prone to lying.

[Ben · Rating 1 out of 5]

I love Gene Wolfe, but this was bad.

[Nadine in NY Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gene Wolfe is one of my all-time favorite authors, the author of one of my favorite series (The Book of the New Sun, I wrote my college entrance essays about that series!) so it pains me to say this, but: I did not love this book.

It was good, don't get me wrong. It's really more of a murder mystery than a science fiction novel, a murder mystery set in the future, with sci/fi elements that are part of the mystery, and it was a mystery that I didn't even come close to solving (perhaps partly because I wasn't trying, because I kept waiting for the science fiction part to play a bigger role). So it surprised me, and it was different, and much more layered than it seemed at first, and I'll probably think about it for a long time. But it was just too easy to set aside and leave for another book. I started this on February 10th, it is now February 27th and I've finished eight other full-length books since then.

I didn't really care for the character's voice. And that's sort of an odd complaint, because the voice is very GeneWolfeish (for lack of a better word!). I don't know if I've changed, or if it wasn't the right voice for this story, or if there was some other problem, but it didn't work for me. He was too calm, and curt, and superior, and emotionless. (At first I wrote "completely emotionless" and that's not quite right, there was some emotion, just not enough.)

Here is a (longish) sample:

I could study the mountains in the middle distance when we landed in what looked like the ruined garden of some abandoned estate. There were trees like towers of bells, and patches of golden-green sunlight. A waterfall roared about a hundred paces away. "This grass is fresh and very soft," I said when our hover-cab had lifted off, "but I wouldn't think you'd want to sit on the ground in that skirt."

Colette nodded and waved her hand, leading me to a couple of stones about a hundred steps away. I dusted off both with my handkerchief, which got me a really great smile, and I sat on mine after she had sat down.

Opening her shaping bag, she took out the plastic-bound book she had shown me before. "Books like this are almost obsolete now. Did you know it?"

"The librarians have told me so. I would hate to believe it."

"You must, because it's true."

I wanted to walk. That was a new feeling for me, or maybe only an old buried one coming back, one so old I had forgotten it. I got up and walked up and down, not fast but not slow. Books - real books printed on paper - were the heart and soul of a whole culture that had been mine. Cultures are like people, it seems. Sure, they get old and die; but sometimes they die even when they are not very old at all.

"I can see you're trying to keep this age straight. " Colette herself was trying hard not to laugh.

Still dizzy with thought, I nodded.

"That's good. Do it. I'll stop talking until you sit again."

Without paying much attention to what I did, I had gone to the edge of the waterfall. I guess it was pretty small, no higher than some of the belltower trees, but really pretty. I must have watched it for ten or fifteen minutes. Maybe more.

At last I went back to her. "You told me that books are almost obsolete, yet you carry that one in your shaping bag. That must mean that this secret you're looking for is in there, or you think it is. You were afraid of our being overheard - afraid there were hidden listening devices in the library.

She nodded, looking grim.

So either you like that or you don't. Wolfe's style usually works really well for me, but in this book it did not. And - okay I KNOW this is minor, but - the term "shaping bag" is used A LOT and it really really bugged me, partly because it was never defined, and partly because it was some lady-device that only ladies carry around.

Which brings me to the main thing that didn't work for me in this book: the constant undercurrent of sexism. This story is set in the fairly far future: the main character (who narrates this story), Ern, is a "re-clone," the clone of a popular author from 100 years in the past. And from what Ern mentions of his own time, he is from some time in our (near) future. So this book takes place at least 120 years in the future. One would hope that, by then, all the sexist crap would be gone. But not in this book. We are constantly told that women do this, men do that when they are with women, and so on. Not to mention how Ern objectifies women.

Have I described Arabella already? Well, probably, but I am going to do it again. If you already know, you can skip this part. Long dark curls flying, cast-a-spell dark, dark eyes open wide, and tiny mouth open wider. An old-gold complexion that made you want to run your hands over every square centimeter of her, then push her skin up against yours."

Got it?

Very, very hot. Pocket-sized. High, high heels, perfect legs, hula-hips, narrow little waist, and tits to die for.

Just, no, none for me, thanks.

All of the women in this book serve as plot devices, they are empty vessels or reflecting bowls, moving the plot along by serving some purpose or another. The men are the ones with personalities, will, and agency. The men take action, the men affect outcomes.

And then there was the slow pace. Glacier slow. The action doesn't really start until page 190! But even then, it's not quite as exciting as I had hoped it would be. Some crazy shit happens! But Ern just continues to describe it in his I-never-get-ruffled sort of way.

Here is my sad face :-( Because underneath all this dull, dry, sexist narration is a set of really fascinating concepts: the ethics of human beings vs objects (the re-clones have human thoughts and feelings, but they are objects who know they will be incinerated while still alive and somewhat conscious when they are no longer useful), the reduced population (was this intentional or due to a disaster?), the oppressive government that pretends it is better for everyone (so long as you are not "damaged" such as blind or mute, then you are hidden away in an institution), and last but not least the amazing world that could be created or accessed by learning to manipulate space the way one could manipulate objects. All of this is made more interesting by being filtered through the unreliable narrator (I love a good unreliable narrator!) Yes, all that is there, writhing around under the surface, tantalizing the reader. But the surface that we float along on is about as interesting as a gray and becalmed ocean.

And, while I didn't really have the mystery solved, and I was surprised by the conclusion, I didn't really care, either.

[Debbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Borrowed Man by Gene Wolfe combines science fiction, mystery and a story that focuses on libraries and books. I keep thinking that I should have liked this more. I think one of the problems was the narrator of the book, E.A. Smithe. Smith was a clone who lives in the library and as a clone he was programmed to speak in a literary way that felt flat and unemotional. In the future, famous authors are cloned and can be checked out of the library. And just like today, if he goes too long without being checked out, he will be discarded and sent to the furnace to be burned.
Smithe is checked out of the library by Colette Coldbrook. Colette’s father and brother have recently died and the only thing that was found in her father’s safe was a copy of Murder on Mars by E.A. Smithe. Colette suspects there is some clue within the book that will lead to her father’s wealth. So many people are lying to Smithe about what happened and when it happened that he has a great deal of difficulty in solving the mystery. There were some strange plot twists that I never expected and a timeline of events that seemed to keep changing – another thing that annoyed me. Overall it was still an enjoyable read – who could resist a book about libraries of the future?

[Nooilforpacifists · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very clever mystery/mild SF in a world where the population has been slashed by, for example, relegating clones of authors to library shelves, awaiting checkout. The narrator had been a mystery writer, now crouches on a stack. He talks in professorial mode, like Nero Wolfe, because his narrators always spoke the Queen’s English to distinguish from argot, dropping “h’s”, and similar sins.

Anyway, he’s checked out by a lovely lady with a mystery to solve. And, to be fair, there’s a clever “Agatha Christie-type” finger pointing scene at the end. But in between is a monotone, and the resolution of the book is at odds with about two dozen spare characters (three old male, one older female character actor, and a juvenile) in between.

Inventive: yes. But although I own the just-released sequel, I’m in no rush to read.

[Nicky · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gene Wolfe’s work is reliably weird, and this is another example. It’s nearish-future SF with a noirish mystery plot — I say noir because of the characterisation and treatment of women, and some of the protagonist’s ways of talking. He sounds like he stepped out of Chandler, and some of the narration feels like that too. The background idea, that an author can be scanned, cloned, and then the clone be made available like a book to be borrowed from libraries, is intriguing and weird and creepy all at once. Honestly, I’m not sure this book really used to the idea to its fullest extent: in a way it’s just Castle, only with a clone of the author coming along to solve things based on his books instead of the author himself.

(Except Ern is less charming than Rick Castle.)

I was hooked as long as I didn’t think too much about it, and then I took a moment to think about the way Colette (the main female character) and Arabella (love interest, ex-wife) are treated and just felt kind of grossed out. Curves in all the right places, every man’s daydream kind of women — bleh. They’re just there to be desired, particularly in Arabella’s case.

I worked out the mystery fairly easily too. Overall, it’s entertaining, but I doubt I’ll keep thinking about it or come back to it in the future. The idea is pretty awesome; the execution is pretty slender.

Reviewed for The Bibliophibian.

[Pinkyivan · Rating 3 out of 5]

After a lot of much better light hearted pulpy novels such as Lankhmar series and Stars my Destination this was a dull read. Wolfe isn't in my experience a good writer of pulp as it's always what he makes out of it what makes him such a magnificent author. When he lays low it is very underwhelming. I'm saddened by the fact he hasn't aimed at a greater work in quite some time and read this in high hopes as the premise isn't the one which seems fitting for a mystery novel, it's far more fitting to be something very philosophical and polemical like some of his other works.

[Ken · Rating 3 out of 5]

With typical Wolfean-subterfuge, it is clear that A Borrowed Man is only the first chapter of a new yarn being spun by this master of tales.

[Bonnie McDaniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I hadn't read Gene Wolfe before now, and while people more familiar with his backlist would probably suggest better places to start, this one is pretty damn good. Strictly from a craft point of view, the first pages let me know I was in the hands of a master: the simple but not simplistic prose, the smooth unveiling of backstory and worldbuilding without infodumps, the careful and subtle ratcheting up of tension which would occasionally explode in shocking bursts, only to fall back and start climbing up again. It's a quick read, but it's not a light one.

On the surface, this is a science fiction murder mystery, but it's so much more than that. There are layers upon layers to this story, and I think it would only benefit from rereads. Ernest A. Smithe is the titular "borrowed man," the "reclone" of a dead author imprinted with said author's memories. As a "library resource," he is owned by the library, basically a living piece of property without rights. Indeed one of the running themes of the story is his meditation on what he believes will eventually be his fate: when old library books are no longer in fashion and no one checks them out anymore, they are discarded. Only in his case, he will be burned. One of the (many) twists in the book's final chapter is the realization that Smithe has been manipulating events to escape this.

But the gradually unfolding history of this future Earth is also fascinating in its own right: Wolfe describes a world presumably after the coming upheavals of climate change, where the population has been reduced to one billion (by what method is never stated, which is a creepy background note), and humanity realizes it will probably never reach the neighboring planets, much less the stars. Smithe calls it "full humanity's retirement," and although discussion of that is a side point and takes up less than a page, it's still reverbating in my head. The entire book is like this: every so often in the narrative, Wolfe jumps out and gobsmacks you with a pure science-fictional idea. Another instance is when Smithe is riding on a bus and another man (full human) takes his seat, and after Smithe asks him to move and he doesn't, the reclone proceeds to beat the snot out of the full human, kicking him in the head several times for good measure. It's a shocking burst of violence that shows the danger lurking behind the reclone's bland, mild-mannered surface; this is an alien being here, and Wolfe doesn't let us forget it.

The murder mystery, while adequate and a suitable driver of the plot, takes second place to the background, ideas and worldbuilding. This book sneaks up on you, takes hold, and doesn't let go. I don't know if Gene Wolfe is the "it" author he used to be, but if there's any justice, this should be up for some awards.

[Robert Beech · Rating 5 out of 5]

A murder mystery as only Gene Wolfe could tell it. Although he tells you the ending in the first chapter, you're not sure whose murder is being investigated (or if there has really been a murder) until the end. The borrowed man of the title is the protagonist, a clone of a deceased author who can be checked out of the public library like a book in this not too distant future. As always with Wolfe, figuring out the rules of the world is half the fun.

[Christopher · Rating 4 out of 5]

An intensely rewarding multi-layered pulp noir.

Wolfe's "A Borrowed Man" takes place in a future that's not quite dystopian but still chilling. Society still has high-technology, but the population has dwindled to only 1 billion people. Humanity is described as "tired" and it certainly feels like something is "off" with the whole enterprise.

Technology is advanced enough that public libraries no longer store physical books, but rather clones of the authors themselves, with all their memories as well as the same basic biological needs as humans, though they are not legally human--E.A. Smithe is one such clone of a famous mystery writer from the previous century.

Like any good pulp detective novel, Smithe meets a beautiful and mysterious woman Collette Coldbrook, who checks him out in order to help her solve the mystery of her missing father and murdered brother. Collette thinks Smithe can help because found in her father's safe is a physical copy of one of Smithe's novels "Murder on Mars" which Collette thinks contains a clue.

With that as a starting point we get a slowly unfolding mystery as Smithe uses his inherited memories and skills to puzzle together what really happened to the Coldbrooks.

Smithe is one of the more reliable of Wolfe narrators (to the extent any of his narrators are reliable) but not the most forthcoming. He will often make a statement of discovery and then say something to the effect of "but I won't tell you just yet" or "surely you know what I figured out" and it's delightfully maddening as a reader because I definitely DO NOT KNOW.

Like any good mystery, there are clues and puzzles and nobody can be trusted. Smithe as a character is part detective but also part wide-eyed innocent. While he has the analytical mind of his namesake, he's also a created man and has spent his entire "life" in a library. So his knowledge of the world as it exists is limited. this extends to his interactions with people as well, shifting from hard-nosed negotiator to nervous teenager. It's an interesting dichotomy. There remain multiple quotable lines throughout the book but coming as they are from Smithe, their profundity is more straightforward is an "out of the mouths of babes" kind of feel.

Unlike most Wolfe novels, the mystery here actually is solved and while there is a touch of the fantastical that is left unexplained, the central mystery is concluded.

As mentioned, the future world Wolfe describes is unsettling -- but not in a Blade Runner urban nightmare sense -- but more like the engines of humanity are slowly winding to a halt. The world feels tired and despite all the technology at hand, humanity has grown complacent. As a meta-narrative, it's terrifying.

There's a strong possibility that this is Wolfe's final novel (published in 2015, Wolfe is 87 now), and if this is the end, a fine end it is.

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

I usually approach a Gene Wolfe novel with anticipation as well as some trepidation. The reason for the anticipation is clear, Wolfe is one helluva a stylist and storyteller. If one has never read Gene Wolfe before then there's no understanding the trepidation. But I have read several of his novels, and I have re-read them, and even re-re-read a couple of them. Thus the trepidation.

Wolfe writes on many levels at the same time. A straight reading will yield an eminently satisfying and enjoyable experience. Yet niggling at the back of one's mind is the disconcerting notion that one has missed the point. Listen to the niggles, they are almost always right. A re-read unearths some easter eggs, a layer (or more) of allusions, references to (other) pertinent works, and of course what one hopes was the (whole) intent of the author. Hah! This is a Gene Wolfe book! I'm convinced that one - at least I - can never winkle everything out of a book by Gene Wolfe. And therein lies the trepidation; will I "get it" at all? Will I "get it" right? And, how much of it will I get?

In many ways A Borrowed Man, I think his his penultimate book, provides a superb entree to his oeuvre. On the face of it what we have is a meta-fictional mystery set in a future world well past an apocalypse. The writing is so smooth that it is difficult to tear oneself away to eat or to sleep or to...

However, when the easter eggs - some more obvious than others - show up, and when one stops now and then to think - REALLY think _ about the plot - how it's developing and somehow
sprinkled with inconsistencies, one quickly realizes that this is no simple mystery set in the future.
In many ways Wolfe is a magician, he shows you 'this' (the surface story) and does it with such elegant mastery that you miss the 'thats' (ie. the real story(s)).

I've now read A Borrowed Man twice. Both were wonderful reads. Of course the second read was more of rich experience; but even after a second read there are a couple (Gee, I hope it's only a couple) of things which remain puzzles. I will not read it for a third time; I'm lazy, I'm hoping that reading it's sequel Interlibrary Loan will answer my questions about A Borrowed Man.

Let's see how I make out....

[Julie Rothenfluh · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a librarian, I particularly enjoyed this story about clones who can be borrowed from the library! This particular clone is of a mystery writer and he’s borrowed by a woman whose father has disappeared and been presumed dead. Now her brother has been murdered after giving her the only thing he found in their father’s safe: a book by this author. There’s an echo of noir mystery here that I enjoyed, along with musings on what makes people real (clones are not considered real people) and the nature of clones (who are they, really?).

[Laura Knaapen · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting little murder mystery along with astrophysical and ethical quandaries/enigmas. Enjoyable characters, though there were some inconsistencies in the plot/story: timing of events, which were mostly resolved at the ending explanation, but worst of all, for me, was the way the locked door worked (or later didn't). I'll try another one.