The Sendai

by William Woolfolk

Fiction.

Genres: Horror, Fiction, Pulp

288 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1980

Reviews

[Tara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pure pulp perfection. And the inevitable mutant menagerie that was finally revealed at the end was everything I was hoping it would be and more <3

[Grady Hendrix · Rating 3 out of 5]

From the afterword:
“What you have just read is not fiction.
It is fiction immersed in fact...In England, human infants have regrown severed fingertips...A mouse with the head of a chicken has been produced in a laboratory...TIME magazine reports that scientists’ control of basic life processes have reached the point where we can have ‘baby hatcheries’ that will produce everything from superbrainy ‘Alphas’ to dronelike ‘Epsilons’...I hope the implications of the questions raised here will concern you long after the book is forgotten.”

Well, his book has been forgotten, and we’re all still living in fear of chicken-headed mice, so there you go.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had such a good time reading this very creepy and slighty gross story of the quintessential mad scientist. I recall he was bent on creating a servile and sentient species or race, but ended up with a vile bath of frightening creatures, some partially human.

[Phil · Rating 2 out of 5]

Decent, albeit dated, grade b medical thriller/horror. Mad scientist experimenting with IVF to create a new humanity until it comes unglued.

[Wayne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I never was one for medical horror, but this novel was the exception. It had everything a good horror book should, good pacing. Believable characters. Evil doctors and monstrous babies. The child birth excerpts were pretty graphic. I just wish the babies had a bigger roll in this.

It seems that a billionaire wants to build a hospital dedicated to everything about child birth, with a twist. He staffs it with geniuses who can create life. Test tube babies, in vitro fertilization, are dying during birth. They are taken away. A future generation of Sendai. A doctor and his new girlfriend are out to stop it.

[Keri Solt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good but yet interesting novel. Didn't know what to expect when i found this at a local farmers market book stand. Crazy story about a mad scientist who wants to play god and create another human super race. I found this to be one of the books i kept reading on just to find out more and whats going to happen. Though they could of came up with a better ending, not to fond of the hero of the story being a girlfriend that he met halfway though the story.

[Candace]

I read this book when I was a teenager and do not remember the details of the story. However, I remember that it addressed cloning and the potential (although far fetched) dangers of Frankensteinian genetics. The most intriguing and memorable portion of the book was the appendix which revealed the experiments that had already taken place up to that time. That was in 1983. I have never forgotten this book... remembered the title for over 30 years. That is saying something.

[Charles · Rating 3 out of 5]

Don't remember much about it to tell you the truth.

[Mark Wild · Rating 4 out of 5]

Extremely detailed, I felt like I had just witnessed the birth of a baby after reading this. Original and with a good plot, I may read this again as it's been around twenty years!

[blake · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wow, this book has everything: Cyclamates, Test Tube Babies, Three Mile Island, black turtlenecks...

And by "everything", obviously, I mean "1980" everything.

It's the story of an OB/GYN who crosses path with a young lady whose sister has been the victim of mad science in the form of a fertility clinic that acts as a front for genetic engineering. And there's your book.

The prose is plain and never really grabbed me, to be honest. Sort of oddly, the book is mostly focused on the doctor—who basically vanishes for the third act of the book as the heroine tries to rescue him. Woolfolk was best known as a comic book writer, and I think that shows in the sort of abrupt way some things happen. (Like, the hero and the heroine have one date before confessing their love for each other.)

But it's not bad. And like a lot of old books it has a certain charm as a time capsule. There's even a cheesy, almost Criswell-like ending where the author credulously sites a Time magazine article describing how Brave New World-style baby vats are right around the corner!

I can't back this up, but it seems to me that in the era of Roe vs. Wade there was a surge of horror centered around pregnancy and childbirth. Rosemary's Baby, It's Alive!, Demon Seed, The Manitou, etc.

In any event, this book is definitely a creature of its time.

[Matteo Recrosio · Rating 3 out of 5]

Un buon libro di fantascienza sul genere esperimenti e dottori che giocano a modificare gli esseri umani. Interessante il nome dato a questi esseri modificati geneticamente (Sendai), così come le motivazioni dietro al dottor Bradford, ovvero creare esseri forti ma stupidi in modo da lasciare a chi è intelligente la possibilità di lavorare in quei campi e non in altri settori più svilenti per le loro capacità. Interessante anche il discorso bambini e una certa immagine per i feti e l'inseminazione artificiale, ancora lontana ovviamente quando uscì il libro. Tutto l'atto finale è la parte più densa e accattivante della storia, con un ruolo femminile distante da quello che si possa pensare, soprattutto nella fantascienza. Per il resto non brilla sicuramente ma è una lettura scorrevole e a modo suo intrattenente.

[Flavia Romano · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un libro su temi come la manipolazione genetica e la procreazione in vitro appare al momento datato eppure la storia, se ci si mette nell'ottica del periodo in cui è stata scritta, è coinvolgente e scorrevole. Mi ha preso tantissimo e l'ho letto tutto d'un fiato. Se qualcuno dovesse trovarlo su qualche bancarella, come è successo a me, lo prenda e non rimarrà deluso!

[Karen Berriman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book!

[Arin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome fast read, with a great afterword going into some of the science fact of the day.

[Zago Thomas · Rating 2 out of 5]

per fortuna so che non è possibile portare avanti certe idee, però so anche che gli uomini non smettono mai di sfidare se stessi e il mondo e di solito lo fanno in peggio

[Sean Hall · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just barely entertaining enough to keep reading. Started off strong then things slowed down for a while and picked up rising tension till the ending. Sort of a spoiler - the hero badass is not who you think it would be.

[George K. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Τρομακτικά γενετικά πειράματα γίνονται σε μια από τις μεγαλύτερες κλινικές των ΗΠΑ, με αμφίβολα αποτελέσματα. Υπεύθυνοι αυτών των μυστικών πειραμάτων είναι οι μεγαλύτεροι και γνωστότεροι γιατροί της κλινικής. Όμως δεν πάνε όλα πρίμα, κάποια πράγματα ανακαλύπτονται από κάποιους γιατρούς και έτσι πρέπει να βγουν από την μέση. Ιατρικό θρίλερ που τρομάζει λίγο όσον αφορά τα πειράματα και τα αποτελέσματα αυτών, θα μπορούσε κάλλιστα να γίνονται και στην πραγματικότητα όλα αυτά χωρίς να το ξέρουμε. Όσον αφορά το ίδιο το βιβλίο, δεν ήταν κάτι το συγκλονιστικό από άποψη γραφής, δημιουργίας χαρακτήρων και εξέλιξης της υπόθεσης. Είναι δηλαδή από τα βιβλία που είναι σχετικά καλά αλλά μάλλον χαμηλών προδιαγραφών. Για να περάσει η ώρα, πάντως, δεν είναι καθόλου άσχημο.

[Αγγελική · Rating 5 out of 5]

Omg ! I really fell in love with this novel ! It definitely intrigued my interest to search for more information about genetic engineering and to consider the ethical conserns that arise...It is possible that similar experiments take place in laboratories espessialy nowadays due to technology's constant progress...This novel was written 40 years before, so just think what are now able the scientists to do !
Very nice plot and much suspence ! Congratulations to Mr Woolfolk !! <3

[Tywyll · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reminded me of an episode of Dark Matters. Scientist making hybrid animals & engineering humans thru IVF. The whole 'doctor detective' bits were intriguing and held my attention. However, the last couple chapters where his girlfriend of a day, who works for an A/C company, made it deep inside the lab without getting caught were quite unbelievable - and not in the good way.

[Andy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun romp thru 1980’s DNA sequencing. Oh, and doctors that breed giant babies for nefarious purposes.
Loved it.

[Moon Captain · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF
I couldn't make it very deep into the second chapter. I couldn't fight the voice inside me screaming "You can never get this time back! Don't read this! Don't!"
So.

[Mikepottz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Evil doctor wants to create a bunch of humans via IVF in a secret area of a clinic. Might not want to mess too much with our DNA. Imagine some of the freaks that could be created.

[Fiorella Tarantino · Rating 3 out of 5]

scritto forse in maniera sempliciotta , ma a dir poco avanguardistico