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It's well into the 21st century and our world has changed. Nations have realigned with each other, technology has been pushed onward to affect every life on Earth, and death is no longer a final certainty. There have been a string of murders and Detective Marylin Blaylock has come to the conclusion that the murderer is her ex-boss PI Jonah McEven. They had parted with bad feelings three years earlier, and when the murdered and mutilated bodies of women were discovered, all bearing a too striking resemblance to herself, evidence started accumulating that Jonah McEven had been around the location for each of the murders, now numbering in the teens. A body is found submerged in a tub of protein gel and when revived it turns out to be Jonah McEven. Tests are done and it's proven he's been in suspended animation in that tub for three years. He couldn't be the murderer. But his genetic identity code has been near each killing. The only answer to the problem is that a copy of him has been made and that the facsimile must be the one doing the killings. Or is the John McEven they have in custody a copy and the real John is the guilty culprit? The theory isn't that far-fetched in this future world. It seems that every murdered victim has been a copy of a person who had no idea that had been replicated. It's highly illegal and the authorities say it's impossible, but duplicates of people can be made by the use of the d-mat technology. It's a variation of the "beam me up Scotty" transporter that is in use every day in the future. But how are the police to know who is the copy and who is the murderer? Also, can it be considered to be a true crime if the actual people aren't involved, if only copies of real people are dead? Sean Williams's THE RESURRECTED MAN is 529 pages filled with the latest thoughts in science fiction. Though its premise is a murder mystery, THE RESURRECTED MAN focuses more on how the world will be changed in the future and, though a lot of pages are spent in going over collected evidence, technology is ultimately of more importance. Unfortunately, the tension in the story is nullified with the idea that people can be resurrected from the dead if permission is given or if they have enough money to have it done. A lot of time is spent trying to prove that people are still terribly saddened by death, but the emotion doesn't ring true when anyone can reappear in perfect health after they are killed. The lack of finality to the state of death also ruins the die-hard mystery readers' fun. When suspects are eliminated because they are dead, only to resurface as living at the whim of the writer, mystery fans haven't a chance to figure out the solution to the crime. It doesn't satisfy as a mystery but THE RESURRECTED MAN would works for readers who enjoy futuristic science fiction stories.
Reviewed by Sharon Katz, July 2005
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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