The Body Scout
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- $25.99
Publisher Description
In this “timeless and original” sci-fi thriller (New York Times), a hardboiled baseball scout must solve the murder of his brother in a world transformed by body modification, perfect for readers of William Gibson and Max Barry.
In the future you can have any body you want—as long as you can afford it.
But in a New York ravaged by climate change and repeat pandemics, Kobo is barely scraping by. He scouts the latest in gene-edited talent for Big Pharma-owned baseball teams, but his own cybernetics are a decade out of date and twin sister loan sharks are banging down his door. Things couldn't get much worse.
Then his brother—Monsanto Mets slugger J.J. Zunz—is murdered at home plate.
Determined to find the killer, Kobo plunges into a world of genetically modified CEOs, philosophical Neanderthals, and back-alley body modification, only to quickly find he's in a game far bigger and more corrupt than he imagined. To keep himself together while the world is falling apart, he'll have to navigate a time where both body and soul are sold to the highest bidder.
Diamond-sharp and savagely wry, The Body Scout is a timely science fiction thriller debut set in an all-too-possible future.
A New York Times Best Sci-Fi and Fantasy Novel of 2021
"I devoured it." —Jonathan Lethem
"Completely weird and still completely real. Delightful—I couldn't put it down."—Shea Serrano
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
The bases are loaded with murder and suspense in Lincoln Michel’s grand-slam cyberpunk thriller. Kobo’s genetically tweaked adoptive brother is a baseball superstar on the Monsanto Mets—until he dies during a match against the team’s dreaded rivals. Grieving and running out of funds, Kobo tracks the killer through the high-stakes world of genetically modified athletes, where just about any shocking modification is possible. Michel’s debut novel is even weirder than his acclaimed short-story collection, Upright Beasts, and we mean that in the best way possible. He creates a beautifully discordant future where our obsession with technology has pushed us beyond our wildest dreams…and possibly beyond our own humanity. We especially enjoyed the offbeat cast of two-bit modded goons, kooky comrades, and shady moguls Kobo encounters as he seeks justice. Narrator Greg Chun channels the hardboiled style of classic film noir, imbuing this story with pitch-perfect Blade Runner vibes. The Body Scout is a darkly funny listen for anyone who, in Michel’s own words, “enjoys big-concept science fiction that doesn’t forget to have a lot of fun.”
