Dimorphic

by Cy Wyss

It's easy to become a superhero.

First, discover a superpower. It might take a while to get used to, though --- especially if it's something as weird as being your twin brother half the time.

Second, recruit a sidekick. Or, two. It'd be nice if they weren't a pyromaniacal sycophant and a foul-mouthed midget, but you get what you get.

Third, and most important, hire a mentor --- preferably not a vicious mobster with a God complex, however, this may, realistically, be your only choice.

Finally: go forth and fight crime. Try not to get shot, beaten, tortured, or apprehended in the process.

Good luck!

Genres: Thriller, Fantasy

289 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 3, 2015

About the author

Cy Wyss writes mysteries, including the popular series Eyeshine, about a photojournalist who turns into a cat nightly. Cy studied mathematics and English literature, eventually gaining her PhD in Computer Science. In her daily life she writes a ton of SQL, which could be seen as poetry -- of a sort. Cy jealously guards writing time and has been self-published since 2012.

Reviews

[Derek Bailey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Before jumping into the review, I'd like to thank author Cy Wyss for the free digital copy of DIMORPHIC. Cy is the author of "Sinking" a short story starring Inspector Richter. I enjoyed this piece of short fiction so one could probably imagine how excited I was to be gifted a full length novel by the author. I was even more intrigued after reading the book's synopsis because it sounded very different from the type of narrative experience I enjoyed in "Sinking." DIMORPHIC is a story that's less about uncovering the truth about a murder and more about the journey of a superhero. However this hero (or maybe heroes depending on how you look at it) is not of the ordinary flavor. Judith and Ethan are fraternal twins whose lives change forever when Ethan "dies" in a tragic motorsport accident. Immediately after his passing, Judith finds that she takes over his body every time she goes to sleep and wakes up in her own when she goes to sleep in Ethan's.

In the same way that "Sinking" offered a uniquely edgy twist on the classic detective formula, DIMORPHIC is delightfully twisted spin on superpowered heroes. I should point out though that this is a VERY strange book and is therefore a bit of an acquired taste. This weirdness at the onset may be enough to turn some away, but if you bear with it, you will be treated to one of the most interesting and genuinely unique stories you have read in a long time.

CHARACTERS
The bizarre-ness begins with the characters. I know I have used the term "motley crew" before to describe odd casts of heroic misfits, but after reading this, I feel as though I've been using it as a descriptor rather liberally. A Chinese assassin whose behavior is heavily influenced by his time in Japan, a gay, black, midget, a pyromaniac who loves vampires, and a not-gypsy woman are just a smattering of what types of characters readers get to meet during the course of the story. To delve too deeply into what any of these characters' roles are would be quite a spoiler indeed. Even so much as mentioning them borders into spoiler territory because a lot of what makes this story great is that there is no possible way to anticipate who or what is around the next corner.

What can be discussed in this category though, is the main character, or maybe main characters. It's kind of complicated really since it's somewhat unclear as to whether Ethan is really 100% dead or not. Essentially, his motorsport accident leaves him brain-dead. His twin sister, Judith can't come to terms with pulling the plug on him, but she also has no way to afford his life support. It's a pretty dark scenario, but depressing soon gives way to weird when she goes to sleep and wakes up in his body. She's still her, but she also has to deal with now kind of being a man. She's able to waltz Ethan right on out of the hospital, but then she really gets herself into a pickle since she's hiding a man who's supposed to be dead. While she should be finding a way to sort that mess out, she gets herself into a deeper one when she starts trying to use Ethan's body like some kind of human supersuit. See, Judith's got a thing for superheroes. She wants to be one - just like Batman, her favorite. Aside from getting her brain-dead brother into all kinds of precarious situations, she also involves herself in an underbelly of criminal intrigue that will change the course of her life forever.

The characters here are certainly larger than life, but they are also all so strange that they feel like real people. That said, I know for a fact I have never met anyone quite like the characters in this book, but each of them has quirks that are so unique that I feel as though they COULD be real and that's a pretty nice quality to have in a cast as large and widespread as this one. .

WORLD/SETTING
The setting itself is fairly contemporary. There are a lot of really interesting locations that readers are taken to, but I'm not sure if mentioning them would be considered a spoiler or not since some are as strange as the characters they belong to. Maybe it will suffice to say that there is a nice range of places here. Some are serene, some are dingy, others seedy, and a bunch have this modern urban Asian feel to them. All have a dark sort of pallet to them though that's hard to describe. I think a lot of this has to do with the characters who inhabit these spaces and the bizarre gravity that they bring with them. Ultimately it's just important to know that the locations are fun and there's a lot of destruction that is done to them which can turn even the dingiest building into a vibrant stage for the action.

PLOT/TONE
I think I've mentioned a thousand times already that this is a VERY strange novel. The tone is quirky, gritty, brutal, sexual, and ultimately there's just a lot of strange odd stuff that gets thrown into the mix. One example is that Judith wants to have gay sex when she's in Ethan's body, which maybe wouldn't be actually gay? There's also a seen where she has heterosexual sex in Ethan's body, but doesn't really know how to use the male anatomy. There's a lot of sexually-charged swears that get thrown around which I can honestly say I would never even dream of someone saying. There's actually a lot of swearing in general which some may want to know. Most of the time it does make sense in context, but there were some occasional spots where it felt out of place like when they randomly get dropped in a more casual conversation.

So far as the plot is concerned, I dare not reveal too much. Some generally safe things to mention would be that there is a ton of violent action that keeps things interesting and that the plot in general can't really be compared to anything I am familiar with. Part super-hero story, part crime drama, and part gritty action adventure, I ultimately found that I never really knew what direction the author was taking with this story. Normally, that would annoy me to no end, but a lot of the fun came from never knowing what I should expect. At any point, I could meet some weird new character, witness an unnervingly bizarre exchange, or run into a tense fight scene. The surprises are pretty much endless and it's nice that it's not just pure shock value - there is some substance here as well.

CONCLUSION
It you are in the mood for something a bit different from what's offered in the mainstream market, then I would highly recommend that you give this indie author a look. Having an open mind is definitely a prerequisite to fully enjoying everything that this book has to offer, which by the back half is actually quite a lot more than most will expect. It's just one of those rare kinds of treats that can't really be compared to anything else. There's also a sort-of-open ending that has potential for the story to go on, not a cliffhanger mind you, just an ending that invites the possibility for more to come. And hopefully the author does do more within this space because I think this is a fictional world that has even more to offer.

[Savannah J. Goins · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book. The unexpected situation, fun characters, and Asian culture made it a really unique and enjoyable read. It's been a while since I read a book in two days, but I really read this one that fast. I definitely recommend it!

[T.S. O'Neil · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dimorphic is an inventive tale that's told in the first person, which is a style that's underused, but I like it. The plot involves fraternal twins, one who dies in a motocross accident and his sister, the protagonist. The brother lies brain dead, and she begins to have strange dreams that she's morphing into her brother. Hence the title. She wakes up to discover that it's not a dream. Intrigued? I was. It's a good, quick read. The chapters are short, and the characters aren't complexly drawn--which is great as it's mostly about the story. Basically, the sister is a klutz, while the brother was (?) a polished athlete.

This sets up interesting possibilities for the sister to use her brother's ability as her own. This involves hopping from tree to tree and running across rooftops. Something was bound to go wrong, and the FBI soon becomes involved. I'm not sure that they would be involved in a missing body case, but hey you decide. Believability is further strained by the May-September nature of a relationship that the Special Agent has with our hero. There seems to be a plot inconsistency from Chapter three to four about the location of the brother, and certain plot developments are not fully explained—such as how two women would easily move a two hundred pound body. My wife swears she could, but a furniture mover she isn't. The funny thing is it could have been addressed by one line about bringing a hand truck from the junk yard or they could have complained how arduous it was, but not to address it strains credibility. Still, it's a decent read, and there are some interesting characters, such as a little person with dreadlocks who runs a comic book store and a punk gal whose mother owns a junk yard. I think you see where the story is venturing, and I don’t want to run the risk of spoiling your fun, so pick up a copy. I don't think the author was trying for an epic story, but it's still an enjoyable read.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is really a 3.5-star book, but I didn't quite like it enough for four stars.

I read about it in a guest post by the author, and liked the idea of an ordinary person with an unusual situation (able to inhabit the body of her brain-dead twin brother while she is asleep) deciding to become a superhero. The sample seemed well-edited and showed promise of an action-packed and gripping story.

Further in, though, I started hitting more copy editing issues - including several basic homonym errors - and, more importantly, I felt that the story lost its way a bit. The main character stayed reactive and largely incompetent, rather than becoming proactive and effective, although she did manage to escape from custody at one point (but only in order to send a message to get herself properly rescued, the rescue occurring in a manner that I found hard to believe). The plot seemed to thrash about without a clear goal for the main character that she was pursuing with focus and urgency. There were plenty of reactive goals, but no clear story question that I could see.

The "one person in two bodies which are different genders" aspect could also have been developed more, I felt. On the other hand, it often wasn't clear until partway into a chapter which body the consciousness was in, which led to unnecessary moments of reorientation. The fact that the protagonist's confederates didn't push the question of why the two bodies were never awake at the same time was another aspect I found difficult to believe. And the love triangle (plus side seduction) just reduced my, by that point, already low respect for the main character's life skills and general head-togetherness.

I think that was the main problem, in fact. I didn't like or respect the main character much, in part because she didn't have or pursue a clear and definite goal with growing competence, urgency and determination, which is what I look for in an action-oriented story.

[Eden Sharp · Rating 5 out of 5]

Original, thought-provoking, fun, kickass entertainment. This works on so many levels.

Dimorphic is the first thing I’ve read from this author in a while. Previously I had only experienced her Inspector Richter stories which I loved. Reading this new work reminded me of just what a talented writer she really is.

After an accident which has left her brother, Ethan, in a coma, Judith, his twin sister, discovers she can psychically inhabit his body and live a second life utilising his form.

From this premise we are catapulted into an exciting world of memorable characters and action involving the Chinese and Russian underworld, the FBI, and the military.

More than this there is the wonderful Shakespearean misunderstanding of identity as Judith’s lover knows her as herself as well as believing he is training and working alongside her brother. This makes for some delightful gender play. Protagonist Judith must face obstacles galore on both a physical and physiological level. Can she trust the man she is falling in love with or will she ultimately be betrayed for instance?

This is a story which is beautifully written, exciting, original and which demonstrates a technical skill in the handling of a story structure complicated by two differing timelines. The vivid description creates a visual, cinematic feel which can only enhance the exhilarating action scenes.

It is not only enjoyable and fresh, but it lingers in the memory and provides potential for further adventures with this kickass heroine and her compatriots. Whether the author intends for this to be a standalone or series I don’t know but I would most definitely look forward to meeting several of these fascinating characters again.

[Wall-to-wall books - wendy · Rating 5 out of 5]

First - I LOOOOVED this book!
Second - I was so excited to finally do my review, because I LOOOOVED this book LOL.

No, this is not your typical mystery/paranormal book, but that's what I loved about it. This book just "hit me", I got it, it connected with me! Don't you just love when that happens? When you start reading and you just know - this is the book for me!

I fell in love with this book after the very first chapter. It was freakin hilarious! I was laughing so hard, with tears in my eyes all throughout the book! It was exciting, adventurous, and hilarious!
I tried to take this story seriously, I really did. But that is hard to do when you are literally laughing all the way through.

Character development was EXCELLENT. I loved Judith. Loved, loved, loved her. She may be one of my top favorite characters ever! What a great but unlikely superhero she turned out to be. I think this book should be a series :-)
I also loved Goom and Jack, and Kyle (who was really Judith anyway)- everyone was very well done.

There is a LOT of swearing but... primarily from one character. So it was very realistic. Normally I don't like a lot of swearing, but strangely enough I didn't mind it here. It worked! You just expected it from that character, Goom, and it made the book even funnier. He very much reminded me of the character, Ula from "50 First Dates", played by Rob Schneider. Everytime I read about Goom I kept picturing him!

Now this book is definitely not for everybody! But it was definitely for me!
It was pretty crazy, but it was all that craziness that I loved.

Thank you Partners in Crime for sending me this book for my honest review!

[Connie Lacy · Rating 4 out of 5]

According to Merriam-Webster “dimorphic” means “occurring in two distinct forms or combining qualities of two kinds of individuals in one.” In this novel you have a female main character, Judith, who inhabits her twin brother Ethan’s body when she’s asleep. (Read the novel to find out why.) Judith wants to make the world a better place and decides that being Ethan by night might allow her to become a superhero, of sorts.

But her plans run into some significant obstacles, in the form of a Chinese mafia, a zealous FBI agent who appears to be in love with her, a foul-mouthed black midget and various other questionable characters on the seamy underside of metro Atlanta. State secrets are being sold and Judith is sucked into the dizzying mystery of who’s selling what to whom. But even when the going gets tough, there’s a lot of smart-ass banter and X-rated name calling.

It’s an action-packed story complete with characters who use Parkour to get around – tumbling and leaping through the urban landscape – where guns seem to be standard issue and where comic book conventions, like the words “wham,” “whoosh,” and “boom” get tossed in to let you know what’s happening at any given moment. In fact, it reminds me of a comic book in novel form – for readers who enjoy a fast-paced story with a gritty heroine who learns what it’s like to be a man.

[Robin Peacock · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book tells the unusual story of a woman who has the ability to possess her dead brother's body while she is asleep. It managed to throw me off course right from the start. I had difficulty getting my head around the idea that someone could possess the actual dead body rather than the deceased's spirit. What was happening to the body and where was she keeping it hidden, considering it had been donated to the hospital for organ transplants? The story from then on is a wild dash around and over and through the city of Atlanta where we encounter a mixed bag of absurd, almost Lewis Carroll characters. Absurd in the sense that they make no sense, rather than silly. The plot is sometimes obscured in the frantic antics of the protagonists as they chase, lose, find and ultimately confused me with all the twists and turns occurring at such a frenetic pace.
There are some holes in the plot, mainly concerning Ethan's body and the POV shifts and goes places it shouldn't. The story is told in the 1st person but we know what people are thinking on several occasions. Other than these niggles, I enjoyed the story well enough and enjoyed the dialogue more than it deserved!

[Emma Jaye · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun read, with bantering, odd characters all rolled up with international spies, torture and a little romance.
I loved Goom, and who couldn't be fond of a dread locked midget pretending to be a vampire with a very expressive set of insults?
It's an eclectic mix, but the author manages to weave it all together and had produced a real page turner in the process. I loved Judith who attempts to act like a bloke when in her brother's body, but I did wonder why no one noticed that they use the same phrases and insults, unless they put it down to the 'telepathic' link the two share, although only Jack and Goom seem to pick up on this.
I was left with my finger poised to buy the next book in a series, wanting to know how the future plays out. Is poor Ethan gone for good or is there a spark of consciousness left? Only to find that it hasn't been written.
Bum.
I live in hope that there will be a sequel.

[Eugene Linn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dimorphic is well written and entertaining. It tells about a quirky young woman who longs to be a superhero and somehow is able to occupy the body of her daredevil, athletic brother just before he dies from a motorcycle accident. But she is in his body only while she is asleep. At other times she is still in her own body – thus dimorphic. It’s an interesting idea, though obviously far-fetched. But, hey, it’s a novel. And Cy Wyss, the author, excels at creating engaging characters and scenes -- adding vivid, imaginative, and often witty descriptions that provide enough information to move the story along, but just about never so much that the story slows down. That really impressed me. I would have considered giving Dimorphic five stars, but until late in the novel I had a hard time discerning where the narrative – as entertaining as it was – was headed. Still, I enjoyed Dimorphic and would be interested in reading more of Wyss’s work.

[Glen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I won this novel in a goodreads drawing.

This is a gender bending superhero novel about a woman who switches bodies with her identical twin brother and fights crime.

Very self satisfied, and probably not for everybody.