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Publisher Description
An eerie and offbeat mystery by a Kafka Prize–winning author.
The case confronting Lieutenant Gregory is not one that a man of Scotland Yard would expect. In fact, it is not one any sane man would care to entertain. Bodies are disappearing. The initial assumption is that a grave robber is roaming London and defiling local morgues. But upon further examination, it seems the deceased are, in fact, resurrecting.
As Gregory stumbles his way through the tangled clues, seeking advice from scientific, philosophical, and theological experts alike, he finds himself tossed into a baffling metaphysical puzzle of incomprehensible truths and unbelievable realities.
Hailed by Kirkus Reviews as “closer to Kafka than the police precinct house,” Lem’s intelligent and puzzling foray into the mystery genre offers an appealing combination of disturbance and delight.
The case confronting Lieutenant Gregory is not one that a man of Scotland Yard would expect. In fact, it is not one any sane man would care to entertain. Bodies are disappearing. The initial assumption is that a grave robber is roaming London and defiling local morgues. But upon further examination, it seems the deceased are, in fact, resurrecting.
As Gregory stumbles his way through the tangled clues, seeking advice from scientific, philosophical, and theological experts alike, he finds himself tossed into a baffling metaphysical puzzle of incomprehensible truths and unbelievable realities.
Hailed by Kirkus Reviews as “closer to Kafka than the police precinct house,” Lem’s intelligent and puzzling foray into the mystery genre offers an appealing combination of disturbance and delight.
3 Reviews
2.5
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Gayane Aslanyan
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Dwight Hurst
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“Intriguing idea and a relatable main character. There are dead bodies found that appear to have gotten up and moved. The detective in the case investigates through scientists, religious philosophers, and even his police leadership to try to establish what is happening.
The writing is solid and character development is quite good, but the story has a lot that never comes to pass, and ends with a lack of payoff.
SPOILERS:
My main complaint is that the key mystery, why the corpses are moving, is never actually solved. When setting up a classic whodunit with a clever twist, I felt like the reader is owed a WHO(or at least HOW)dunnit at the end. Lots of leads and maybes are proposed in such a way that we believe we will have a satisfactory ending, but it doesn't pay off.”
About Stanislaw Lem
Stanislaw Lem is the most widely translated and best-known science fiction author outside of the English language. Winner of the Kafka Prize, he is a contributor to many magazines, including the New Yorker, and the author of numerous books, including Solaris.
Other books by Stanislaw Lem
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