Sun 29 Aug 2021
SF PI Stories I’m Reading: RICHARD A. LOVETT “A Pound of Flesh.â€
Posted by Steve under Science Fiction & Fantasy , Stories I'm Reading[3] Comments
RICHARD A. LOVETT “A Pound of Flesh.†Alex Copley #1. Novella. Analog SF, September 2006. Never reprinted.
A tale of the not-too-distant future, but if the author is to be believed, PI’s are always destined to be down on their luck and work in dingy offices in the bad part of town. Alex Copley, who tells his own story is one such, and speaking on down on his luck, here’s the way his life is going. He is behind on his rent, no surprise there, but here’s the thing, and it’s the thing that makes his a science fiction story.
Nanotechnology has made it possible to avoid having to call in bill collectors when tenants cannot come up with the rent. When a contract is signed, the signee agrees to be injected with nano bots that, if/when the time comes and a loan is not paid, the defaulter is automatically infected with a pre-specified ailment or disease, which lasts until a antidote nano is taken. No more bail bondsmen, in fact no more lawyers. A brand new way of conducting many a business or financial attraction.
Or in other words, Copley has a lot to worry about. Until, that is, a beautiful lady client comes knocking on his door. She needs his help, and what’s more, she has money, and she’s willing to spend it. What she needs Copley for is to find a former partner in formulating a another type of nano that can tell if a person, once infected, is telling the truth or not.
It’s a great beginning, but the rest of story is wasted on finding the former partner, who has gone off hiding in deep backwoods country, and far too many pages are spent with Copley’s adventures in tracking him down, including traveling down a river in a kayak over several whitewater rapids.
The initial concept is good, but the follow through failed to grab me. It’s still nice to know that you can find PI stories almost everywhere. (This is apparently Alex Copley’s only recorded case.)
August 30th, 2021 at 7:16 pm
The problem with SF mystery in genre is not letting the mystery element replace the SF or the SF overwhelm the mystery. Most don’t do it too well either ending up too mundane or too fantastic.
There are a handful of excellent examples, but it is a tricky game to pull off.
August 30th, 2021 at 7:31 pm
Very very true. I’s a sucker for them whenever I find them, but I’m usually disappointed. What I can’t read, though, is the occasional Fantasy/PI hybrid. Raymond Chandler and elves simply don’t mix. Not for me, they don’t.
August 30th, 2021 at 9:07 pm
Poul Anderson brought off Sherlock Holmes and faerie at least once, but I tend to agree with you.