Chimera [Hardcover]

Will Shetterly (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 7, 2000

From the author of Dogland, a dark new vision of the future of gene-splicing and artificial intelligence

Will Shetterly has created a dark and intriguing future for this novel, a world of genetic engineering and cloning where human and animal genes can be melded to create chimeras, more often referred to as critters. These beings are human, for all practical purposes. They think, they feel, they love, and they dream. But they still have some of the qualities of the animals that they are bred from.

Most importantly, they are not granted the rights of humans. They are property. Slavery has been revived in America.

But there is also a movement for Abolition, for the granting of legal rights to chimeras. Zoe Domingo is a jaguar-woman, created to be a sex-slave. Instead, she became the property of an abolitionist, and was freed, though she remained as her former owners companion. But on a trip to Los Angeles, Zoes mentor is murdered under violent and mysterious circumstances, and Zoe is accused of the crime.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Private investigator Chase Maxwell is about to lose the rent in a poker game when a beautiful, mysterious woman walks into his life. He learns too late that his new employer, Zoe Domingo, is a chimera, a "critter," a genetic-engineered mix of human and animal genes. Chimeras have no rights--they are animals, property--and Zoe has no protection now that her human mentor has been murdered. Maxwell must help Zoe find the murderer, a relentless and powerful enemy, before they, too, are killed.

The mean streets of Raymond Chandler's L.A. stretch into a dark and dangerous future in Will Shetterly's transgenre novel, the SF mystery Chimera. The concept of intelligent animal-human hybrids is as old as H.G. Wells's The Island of Dr. Moreau, but Shetterly bravely makes explicit the parallels between his chimeras and the pre-Civil War status of African-Americans, and he is rarely heavy-handed. A thought-provoking, hard-boiled page-turner, Chimera should please both science fiction and detective fiction fans. --Cynthia Ward

From Publishers Weekly

The protagonist of Shetterly's competent and fast-paced new SF thriller (after Dogland)DL.A.-based private detective Chase "Max" MaxwellDhas the usual helpings of streetwise attitude and noir sensitivity; he's a classic down-and-out, low-on-cash, cranky PI who's a sucker for a sexy client. But as a citizen of Shetterly's hazily imagined future, he's also got a pocket inside his wrist where he keeps his gun. Desperate for money, Maxwell has accepted a case from an exotic, genetically engineered chimera named Zoe DomingoDwho's half jaguar and half human. In Maxwell's world, chimeras are regarded as slaves and animals, and Zoe's in a heap of trouble. She's wanted by the police for the murder of her adoptive mother, artificial intelligence expert Dr. Janna Gold. Things turn from the standard bad to the standard worse: Maxwell's erstwhile love interest, a cop assigned to the murder investigation, turns out to be a robot assassin who proceeds to kill Max's first lead in the caseDa non-human-rights lawyer named Amos Tauber. Meanwhile, the cops (and plenty of other bad guys) are looking for a powerful, earring-shaped device that Gold gave Zoe before she died. After a few shootouts, a car chase or two and a change in Maxwell's outlook, the PI finds himself following clues back to Oberon Chain, head of the pro-chimera-rights Chain FoundationDwhose charitable activities mask his true intentionsDand to Zoe, with whom he's fallen in love. Plenty of action, engaging characters and multilayered intrigue keep this story humming, but Shetterly's engrossing imaginary world never quite comes to life in the manner of, say, Jonathan Lethem's similar SF-noir classic, Gun, with Occasional Music. (July)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Tor Books; 1st edition (July 7, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312866305
• ISBN-13: 978-0312866303
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,133,091 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Charming SF & Noir Mix, December 29, 2001

By 

sweetmolly (RICHMOND, VA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Chimera (Paperback)

Once upon a future, there was a vegetarian, well born PI named Max and a chimera/critter (jaguar/human) named Zoe. Max takes on Zoe's case to find her "mother's" murderer for which Zoe is framed. Max's task is complicated by Zoe's lowly status in the not-so-brave new world. Critters have no civil rights, are "property" though are not called slaves. Everything in this Libertarian government is privately owned, including the police force, which is manned by Bots (trained robots.)

"Chimera" is a lively, fun, fast-paced story with ethical resonance. Some reviewers objected to the lack of depth in discussing the moral problems; I disagree. The author allows us to make our own decisions regarding what "rights" non-human entities should have. To make it more interesting, critters and A1s can reproduce among themselves and with humans.

The story takes place in LA, a ferment of sharply divided neighborhoods well described and plausible. Radical critters who hate all humans call them "skins." A human who consorts with a critter is a "furry." Critters that go inexplicably crazy are "wilding." The characters are sharply etched and most are likeable, some with remarkable (to us) attributes. Max has an Infinite Pocket attached to his wrist. You can't see it; it is about the size of a small backpack and holds his 9mm SIG Recoilless that has an infinite clip (he never needs to reload.) Zoe is amazingly fast, balanced and has a purring sort of voice. (She also has a furry ears that the author finds endearing.)

"Chimera" is good-natured, and I rooted for Max and Zoe shamelessly. The book is clever and highly readable. Treat yourself to something a little different and read "Chimera."

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A HARD-BOILED PI AND HIS JAGUAR-GIRL CLIENT, July 19, 2000

By 

William Howell Jr. (Sterling, Alaska USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: Chimera (Hardcover)

A great new SF detective story! Our detective hero follows in the tradition of Phillip Marlowe and Sam Spade, as he finds himself with a beautiful client who is also a murder suspect. His client also happens to be part jaguar; in the future,genetic technology has permitted the creation of "critters", mixtures of human and animal genes. These critters have become the new underclass, used as sex slaves and worse. Shetterly presents a very interesting society, an attempt to present a Libertarian dystopia, where respect for private property has permitted the enslavement of sentient beings and machines. In addition to these interesting societal ideas, Shetterly has dreamed up one of the coolest gadgets in recent memory, the Infinite Pocket. I sure wish I had one! A fine, fun novel, with plenty of action and lots of good ideas. You'll enjoy it!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Your cat will probably enjoy this one. . . ., October 5, 2001

By 

Michael K. Smith (South Louisiana) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Chimera (Hardcover)

A chimera is a being produced by gene-splicing human genes with those of assorted mammals, the result being an intelligent "critter" who's not quite a slave -- but who doesn't have much in the way of civil rights, either. Having found that much in the flap copy, I thought immediately of one of my favorite stories: "The Ballad of Lost C'Mell," by Cordwainer Smith. Well, Zoe Domingo isn't C'Mell and Shetterly isn't Smith, but it's still a pretty good yarn, though a little heavy on the moralizing. What makes it fun is the mix of noir crime fiction style (think Philip Marlowe as a vegetarian PI) and a semi-cyberpunk vision of the future (everyday teleportation, space-warping as a personal "pocket," and Libertarian terrorists). Two-thirds of the way through, I began to wonder how Shetterly was going to tie up all the narrative threads, but he manages it in quite well -- though I shall be waiting with greater interest for the next "Bordertown" book.