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The Resurrectionist
In the near future, travelers are electronically disassembled, transmitted through wires and reassembled at their destinations. It's totally safe. Except when it’s not. Sometimes travelers go in and don’t come out. Then it becomes a problem for Saul Lukas. The Resurrectionist. His job—find lost travelers and get them out. Before the wires disrupts them so badly they can never come out again. At least not in human form.
This time, a famous Russian ballerina has disappeared inside the wires. Aided by his special maintenance crew able to travel the wires without losing physical abilities, Saul combs the line. He finds no trace of the missing girl.
To improve the odds of locating her, Saul goes to The Bridge Authority, the monopoly which runs the wire network. He asks the Authority’s president, Michelle Warren, to temporarily suspend all wire services. She flatly refuses. Why? What possible reason could the Bridge Authority have for deciding to condemn this innocent girl to death?
As the ballerina’s life slowly ticks away inside the wires, and Saul races to unravel the mystery of her disappearance, the answer gradually comes to light. Bring this girl out, and the whole nature of civilization could change drastically for the better…or the worse. Is one life worth such a risk? The final decision rests ultimately on Saul’s unwilling shoulders.
This is the third science fiction novel by famed Roger Rabbit creator and Hugo Award winner Gary K. Wolf.
This time, a famous Russian ballerina has disappeared inside the wires. Aided by his special maintenance crew able to travel the wires without losing physical abilities, Saul combs the line. He finds no trace of the missing girl.
To improve the odds of locating her, Saul goes to The Bridge Authority, the monopoly which runs the wire network. He asks the Authority’s president, Michelle Warren, to temporarily suspend all wire services. She flatly refuses. Why? What possible reason could the Bridge Authority have for deciding to condemn this innocent girl to death?
As the ballerina’s life slowly ticks away inside the wires, and Saul races to unravel the mystery of her disappearance, the answer gradually comes to light. Bring this girl out, and the whole nature of civilization could change drastically for the better…or the worse. Is one life worth such a risk? The final decision rests ultimately on Saul’s unwilling shoulders.
This is the third science fiction novel by famed Roger Rabbit creator and Hugo Award winner Gary K. Wolf.
- GenresScience Fiction
182 pages, Hardcover
First published July 1, 1979
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42 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
September 20, 2020
Full review: https://sciencefictionruminations.com...
"Gary K. Wolf, best known for Who Censored Roger Rabbit? (1981), started his writing career with three SF novels for Doubleday—Killerbowl (1975), A Generation Removed (1977), and The Resurrectionist (1979). Doubleday’s art director, Margo Herr, provided The Resurrectionist‘s captivating cover, which suggests the corruption of pattern, the subversion [...]"
"Gary K. Wolf, best known for Who Censored Roger Rabbit? (1981), started his writing career with three SF novels for Doubleday—Killerbowl (1975), A Generation Removed (1977), and The Resurrectionist (1979). Doubleday’s art director, Margo Herr, provided The Resurrectionist‘s captivating cover, which suggests the corruption of pattern, the subversion [...]"
April 18, 2025
I like the author so I will round a 2.5 star up.
I'm not really a detective novel fan. The SF trappings were great and the 3rd act was totally unexpected but the whole noir-ish\gumshoe aspect was just annoying to me.
I'm not really a detective novel fan. The SF trappings were great and the 3rd act was totally unexpected but the whole noir-ish\gumshoe aspect was just annoying to me.
May 4, 2023
This is such a fantastic book. It takes all of the noir influence of Who Censored Roger Rabbit? and takes it out of the "cartoon" setting and puts it into a harder sci-fi/cyberpunk setting. A "resurrectionist" is somebody who finds people who get lost in the teleportation system that has been created. When a very famous woman gets lost in the teleportation system it becomes a race against time to try to find her before she is lost forever.
The descriptions of how to interact with and try to find people in the teleportation matrix is fantastic. But it's not in an overly scientific manner, but rather it's done in a classic noir form which makes gives the novel a nice juxtaposition between "classic" detective story and sci-fi story. The ending gets really crazy and is somewhat shocking in it's own right. Overall, it's a fantastic story and comes highly recommended.
The descriptions of how to interact with and try to find people in the teleportation matrix is fantastic. But it's not in an overly scientific manner, but rather it's done in a classic noir form which makes gives the novel a nice juxtaposition between "classic" detective story and sci-fi story. The ending gets really crazy and is somewhat shocking in it's own right. Overall, it's a fantastic story and comes highly recommended.
September 7, 2012
This book was one that my friend Dave remembered from his youth and couldn't remember the title of. Some obsessive searching and a year or two later and it was found!
I was very excited to read this story. I wasn't disappointed. The characters are decent, the plot moves along and it has some very interesting ideas. There are some very anachronistic aspects to the story, but that didn't detract from the over all story. I think it's worth your time if you can dig a copy up.
I was very excited to read this story. I wasn't disappointed. The characters are decent, the plot moves along and it has some very interesting ideas. There are some very anachronistic aspects to the story, but that didn't detract from the over all story. I think it's worth your time if you can dig a copy up.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews