Identity Theft

by Robert J. Sawyer

Identity Theft is a hard-boiled detective novella set on Mars, written by the man Anne McCaffrey calls "an absolutely marvelous writer." Cassandra and Joshua Wilkins are fossil hunters who have both recently transferred their minds into artificial bodies, but now Joshua has mysteriously disappeared. Cassandra must hire Alex Lomax, the only private detective on the Red Planet, to locate Joshua before sinister forces get to him. The novella Identity Theft is a nominee for both the Nebula Award and Hugo Award and has been optioned for film.

Genres: Science Fiction, Audiobook, Mystery, Fiction, Novella

10 pages, Audio CD

First published May 1, 2005

About the author

Robert J. Sawyer is one of Canada's best known and most successful science fiction writers. He is the only Canadian (and one of only 7 writers in the world) to have won all three of the top international awards for science fiction: the 1995 Nebula Award for The Terminal Experiment, the 2003 Hugo Award for Hominids, and the 2006 John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Mindscan.
Robert Sawyer grew up in Toronto, the son of two university professors. He credits two of his favourite shows from the late 1960s and early 1970s, Search and Star Trek, with teaching him some of the fundamentals of the science-fiction craft. Sawyer was obsessed with outer space from a young age, and he vividly remembers watching the televised Apollo missions. He claims to have watched the 1968 classic film 2001: A Space Odyssey 25 times. He began writing science fiction in a high school club, which he co-founded, NASFA (Northview Academy Association of Science Fiction Addicts). Sawyer graduated in 1982 from the Radio and Television Arts Program at Ryerson University, where he later worked as an instructor.

Sawyer's first published book, Golden Fleece (1989), is an adaptation of short stories that had previously appeared in the science-fiction magazine Amazing Stories. This book won the Aurora Award for the best Canadian science-fiction novel in English. In the early 1990s Sawyer went on to publish his inventive Quintaglio Ascension trilogy, about a world of intelligent dinosaurs. His 1995 award winning The Terminal Experiment confirmed his place as a major international science-fiction writer.

A prolific writer, Sawyer has published more than 10 novels, plus two trilogies. Reviewers praise Sawyer for his concise prose, which has been compared to that of the science-fiction master Isaac Asimov. Like many science fiction-writers, Sawyer welcomes the opportunities his chosen genre provides for exploring ideas. The first book of his Neanderthal Parallax trilogy, Hominids (2002), is set in a near-future society, in which a quantum computing experiment brings a Neanderthal scientist from a parallel Earth to ours. His 2006 Mindscan explores the possibility of transferring human consciousness into a mechanical body, and the ensuing ethical, legal, and societal ramifications.

A passionate advocate for science fiction, Sawyer teaches creative writing and appears frequently in the media to discuss his genre. He prefers the label "philosophical fiction," and in no way sees himself as a predictor of the future. His mission statement for his writing is "To combine the intimately human with the grandly cosmic."

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

Reviews

[Jamie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This very much feels like a throwback to Golden Age era sci-fi. A detective on the trail of a missing person on Mars, where things get complicated by the proliferation of technology for transferring human consciousness into artificial bodies. Nothing ground breaking or Earth shattering here, but a solid story well told.

[Fabio R. Crespi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Robert J. Sawyer apre il romanzo breve "Furto d'identità" ("Identity Theft", 2005; Delos Books, 2006, 2011 - Delos Digital, 2024; trad. di Elisabetta Vernier) con un classico taglio da hard boiled con una femme (fatale?) che si rivolge a un investigatore privato per ritrovare il marito scomparso a New Klondike, "la sola e unica città di Marte", sigillata sotto una cupola dal diametro di tre chilometri. Un posto con poche possibilità di fuga.
Siamo in piena corsa all'oro (paleontologico), come si può immaginare dal nome della città: gli introvabili fossili marziani valgono una fortuna e un sacco di gente si è trasferita in un corpo artificiale, più resistente, per partecipare alla ricerca e fare fortuna.

"La gente dovrebbe essere fedele al proprio io interiore".
Il trasferimento in un corpo artificiale comporta che l'identità non possa essere più tracciata o rivelata attraverso impronte digitali o DNA: una forma di privacy perfetta. L'autore tiene in modo particolare alla propria identità canadese (cfr. l'interessante saggio introduttivo di Salvatore Proietti) e il meccanismo del trasferimento, che può comportare il completo occultamento dell'identità, è il punto focale dell'indagine dell'investigatore marziano. Un'ottima storia ai confini tra noir e sf.

[Jane · Rating 2 out of 5]

In terms of a short sci-fi mystery novella, in the style of Asimov's robot books, it's well constructed, generally sticks to the point, and reveals a decent amount of world-building about the sci-fi around it. It's also a decent copy of noir tropes/archetypes.

With all that said, it's a little rough for female characters given that it was written in the 21st century. The protagonist is constantly remarking on the bodies of the women around him, though he rarely says anything out loud, and he seems to think he deserves kudos for resisting the urge to be a constant sexual harasser.

This books also feels pretty transphobic, generally, even if none of the characters are actually trans. It's important to remember that this story was somehow considered a good idea/concept when released in 2008, and it's hard to see it as anything other than a reaction to increasing awareness of Trans people. I am open to other interpretations, but it just gives me a bad feeling/vibe that I can't shake.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I started reading it, I found I'd read it before - but hadn't posted it here. Interesting hard-boiled detective on a Mars colony focused on fossils of ancient life there. It's shorter than a novel. It involves people transferring their minds into custom-made artificial bodies in order to more easily work on the Martian surface. (Although people get artificial bodies that look younger and better.) Years ago, two people had located a huge deposit of fossils, but they died with nobody else knowing where it is. Since then, various people have come hoping to discover it again. The coming and going of those hopeful prospectors keeps the colony going.

Shortly after a married couple (who run the local mind transfer business) transfer their own minds, the wife comes to the detective because the husband has disappeared.

[Baldurian · Rating 4 out of 5]

In una città di Marte, ai confini della civiltà, la ricerca di una persona scomparsa da parte di un investigatore privato si trasforma in una caccia mortale.
Furto di identità è un romanzo breve fantascientifico molto convincente, mescolato a un giallo hard-boiled più che discreto. L'ambientazione "di frontiera" sul pianeta rosso, per quanto non innovativa, è ben costruita, così come l'idea transumanista della migrazione della mente in corpi meccanici, che dà brio e mistero all'intreccio.
Sawyer ha indubbiamente saccheggiato qua e là (ho annusato tracce dell'Asimov del ciclo dei robot, di Blade Runner e delle Cronache marziane di Bradbury), ma l'ha fatto con garbo e rispetto, confezionando un'opera che, nonostante la sua brevità, mi è piaciuta molto.

[Alex Shrugged · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perhaps I am overly loving this novella, but the idea of identity theft applying to robots/androids was an intriguing idea to me. This missing person/suicide investigation/murder mystery was well executed so to speak.

Any problems with the story? The characters could have used some filling out but given that this is a novella, it was done well enough that I didn't even think of this issue until I was done with reading it.

Any modesty issues? Prostitution and other problems with the human condition are seen as, if not normal, then tolerable.

Loved the ending. I'll probably read this novella again.

[Scott Jann · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a novella set on Mars. In the future, Mars is home to fossil hunters after ancient fossils were discovered there. I thought it was an interesting premise for an origin of a Mars colony. I loved the mystery story told from the perspective of a private investigator and Alex Lomax was a great character. I learned that this novella was expanded into a full novel called Red Planet Blues, I’d like to learn more of this universe, so that’s definitely on my list.

[Anita · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've read a lot of Sawyer's books. This novella was different. I guess I'd say it was noir detective. The writing was good and the story was interesting, but the style was not what I like. I think it might be called "gritty." I listened to the audio and the narrator really did make this more entertaining. It's only a little over 2 hours, so a short read. But don't judge Robert J. Sawyer by this book.

[Brandon Nichols · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun piece. I enjoyed it from start to finish.

Take a hardboiled Sam Snead type, put him on Mars, give him some future tech to worry about and a treasure to go after and you've got quite a story.

It felt a bit rushed and I could have gone for a bit more story, but all in all, this was a sharp, well-paced bit of intrigue and sci-fi.

Enjoy it on an afternoon where you want a little action.

[Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quirky look at a crime in the age of transcendence.
Short and worth a read.

[Keith B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great story but realized after I got started that it was expanded later into Red Planet Blues... which I had already read!

[Keith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short Story.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute modern version of a 1950's noir detective story, but on Mars.

[Gayle Parker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cleverly written genre blending hard boiled detective science fiction novella.

[Laura Hitchcock · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gumshoe meets tech meets greed on Mars. What's not to like about this story?

[Carrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The main character is terribly unlikeable. But, the idea of placing the wrong “people” into their robot bodies is interesting, so 3 stars. I won’t read this author again though.

[Jonathan Baker · Rating 3 out of 5]

bawdry but good

[Luna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Un breve giallo ambientato nel futuro. Il trasferimento della coscienza, da un biologico a un corpo meccanico, eterno, dove la coscienza trasferisce a un software interno i comandi che esso elabora ed invia alle membra. I trasferiti non hanno mobilit� facciale o quasi, e possono essere completamente differente dall'originale biologico. Difficile, quindi, dire "chi � realmente" la coscienza nascosta in queste nuove fattezze pseudo umane. Ma facile, scappare e nascondersi sotto falsa identit�. Carino, ma senza pretese. E sicuramente, una quisquilia rispetto a Killer on-line.

[Karl Stark di Grande Inverno · Rating 2 out of 5]

Abbastanza insipido.
Si legge in un paio d'ore, e questo è forse il suo maggior pregio.
La trama è un incrocio tra un hard-boiled e Terminator, con personaggi monocorde ed estremamente stereotipati, che paiono essere usciti da un romanzo di Raymond Chandler.
L'intreccio è tutto fuorchè avvincente, raccontato in modo blando, e purtroppo anche il "mistero" attorno a cui ruota il tutto non invoglia particolarmente il lettore ad elucubrare sul modus operandi e sulle motivazioni dell'assassino.
Carina l'ambientazione.
Peccato: un buona idea che poteva essere sviluppata meglio.

[PSXtreme · Rating 4 out of 5]

If ever Ray Bradbury and Mickey Spillane collaborated on a story...it would be this book. A highly enjoyable and refreshing entry into a new dimension of Noir Literature. This being my first experience w/ Mr Sawyer's work, I'll be looking to expand his presence in my library.

[pierlapo quimby · Rating 3 out of 5]

Carino. Niente di più.

[Cheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think I like this novella better than the full novel I just read. Then again I am a sucker for them.

[Mckinley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Scifi mystery

[Luca Cresta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ottimo testo. Un corretto bilanciamento tra SF e giallo, con tutti i giusti ingredienti al posto giusto e con la giusta dose. Peccato: troppo corto.