The Brains of Rats

Blumlein, Michael (with An Introduction by Michael McDowell)

ISBN 10: 0910489289 / ISBN 13: 9780910489287

Published by Scream Pr, Los Angeles, CA, 1990

About this Item

B&W Illustrations; This book is in Very Good+ condition and has a Very Good+ dust jacket. The book and its contents are in mostly clean, bright condition. There is some light bumping to the spine ends of the book covers, and some light rubbing to the bottom front edge by the corner. The text pages are clean and bright. The dust jacket spine ends have some light bumping and beginning wear. "Michael Blumlein, M. D. (June 28, 1948 - October 24, 2019) was an American fiction writer and a physician. He attended medical school at the University of California, San Francisco and worked as a practicing MD and member of the faculty at UCSF for decades. [1] Blumlein attended medical school at the University of California, San Francisco and worked as a practicing doctor and member of the faculty at University of California, San Francisco for decades. [2]Most of his writing is in or near the genres of science fiction, fantasy, and horror. His novels include The Healer, The Movement of Mountains and X, Y. He has been nominated for the World Fantasy Award and the Bram Stoker Award. His short stories have been collected in anthologies and published in Interzone and The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, among others. " (from Wikipedia).

Seller Inventory # A41213

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Brains of Rats
• Publisher: Scream Pr, Los Angeles, CA
• Publication Date: 1990
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0910489289
• ISBN 13: 9780910489287
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Illustrated by Caldwell, T. M.
• Edition: 1st Trade Edition; 1st Printing.
• Condition: Very Good+
• Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good+

About this title

Synopsis

In these twelve stories we enter the darkest corridors of America s hospitals. Meet a scientist who discovers how to predetermine and alter the sex of a pregnant woman s fetus, and proceeds to contemplate his own gender...and a surgeon whose primary practice is removing organs and limbs from unwilling patients to redistribute them to unfortunate victims in impoverished countries. Filled with dark surprises, these splendid tales invite us to glimpse the world of high-tech medicine from a disturbing new angle.

Reviews

The dozen stories in Blumlein's first collection signal the appearance of a major talent on the horror scene. Subtle and chilling in their spare suggestiveness, many of the short tales revolve around medical and surgical matters, but are not grossly gory. In "Tissue Ablation and Variant Regeneration: A Case Report," an extensive surgical procedure becomes a metaphor for Reaganomics at its cruelest. In a similar vein, "Bestseller" concerns a failed writer who is forced to sell off parts of his body to support his family. The title story, a 1987 World Fantasy Award nominee, examines the distress of a mad scientist torn by the contradictions of his own sexuality and by the amorphous nature of male and female sexual roles in general, for which he proposes a drastic solution.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

An ambitious writer discovers a truly saleable commodity in "Bestseller," a new story which, together with 11 other titles previously published in periodicals, illustrates the highly visceral talent of the author of The Movement of Mountains (LJ 8/87). Though explicit descriptions of graphic sex and violence may limit the audience for these stories, this collection is recommended for libraries with a sophisticated readership.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.