Short Blade
Rating
The Pequod Review:
Peter Emshwiller's Short Blade picks up where his earlier novel The Host (1991) left off, with Wally Caiper (ten years after his apparent death) now occupying the body of a wealthy member of the upper class (the "Second Level"). Emshwiller is a poor writer — his sentences are confusing and often require multiple rereadings — but he blends a lot of disparate themes: class conflict, sexism, eugenics, and procreation. This is an original science fiction novel that will stick in your mind long after you finish it.