The Jigsaw Man (Leisure Fiction) [Mass Market Paperback]

Gord Rollo (Author)

Book Description

Series: Leisure Fiction | Publication Date: August 2008

Homeless Michael Fox is about to commit suicide when a mysterious billionaire surgeon stops him and offers him two million dollars…for his right arm. But Fox’s arm is only the beginning, as the surgeon continues his mad experiments, removing parts of Fox’s body bit by bit and reassembling him from other parts. And Fox isn’t the only one the doctor is experimenting on.

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 289 pages
• Publisher: Leisure Books (August 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0843960124
• ISBN-13: 978-0843960129
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #927,262 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great Ideas, Average Execution, November 11, 2008

By 

Nigel Waspfinger - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Jigsaw Man (Leisure Fiction) (Mass Market Paperback)

Michael Fox receives an offer of $2 million to give his right arm to a genius surgeon. As you would expect, things are not as they seem and our hero finds himself somewhat "out on a limb".

The story itself is quite imaginative and has its share of suspense. For the bulk of the novel I found it difficult to put down. Some of the situations really require a massive suspension of disbelief, but that's not such a big problem (this is a horror novel after all). There are some excellent horror ideas in the book too.

The novel does suffer in some areas though. The characters are not well developed at all, especially the villains who are some of the most one dimensional, evil stock characters I have ever read. The dialogue is quite poor and does not feel at all "real". The author also fails to relay a real sense of dread and does not, I feel, really protray the protagonist's suffering to the reader. The hero goes through the worst experiences imaginable, but he always comes out of them the same (despite constantly claiming to be losing his sanity), only slightly more angry.

Would I recommend Jigsaw Man? Absolutley, just take it for what it is: An entertaining piece of pulp horror. Don't expect it to make too much sense and don't expect any depth. Just read and enjoy.

12 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great fast paced horror novel, July 29, 2008

By 

T. Rudy McDaniel (Orlando, FL USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Jigsaw Man (Leisure Fiction) (Mass Market Paperback)

This was my first time reading Gord Rollo, and man, what a novel to start with! I believe this was the August book of the month selection for the Leisure Horror Book Club (along with Brian Keene's Ghost Walk) and I immediately picked it up and started reading after skimming the back cover and checking out the gruesome cover. I was surprised at how quickly I was pulled into the story.

This was a fast-paced read with a bit of gore, but a lot of good character development and a really interesting contemporary take on the Frankenstein plot. Here, the story is based on a renegade scientist and his efforts to advance neuroscience by spending his fortune on top notch (but morally questionable) expertise and equipment. Test subjects are recruited from the streets and asked to sign paperwork signing over body parts for the scientist's (Dr. Marshall's) latest research. Rollo's protagonist, Michael Fox, is someone you immediately empathize with, despite his addiction to cheap booze and his life as a less than reputable homeless person (he's not above breaking into cars for the occasional Sterno high). Mr. Fox is offered a once in a lifetime opportunity -- two million bucks, and all he has to give up is his right arm! Needless to say, there turns out to be more to the "opportunity" than he thinks...

Gord cites his influences as Stephen King, Richard Laymon, and Dean Koontz, and you can definitely see their influence at work -- he focuses on the storytelling and keeps the writing simple and clean. There are also echoes of Michael Crichton (think Terminal Man) in the story.

I read the whole book in a few hours and couldn't put it down. Highly recommended for readers of contemporary horror. I will be checking out Mr. Rollo's other stories for sure.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Just read it, it's awesome!, September 24, 2009

By 

G. Guthrie "fiction book collector" (columbus, OH United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Jigsaw Man (Leisure Fiction) (Mass Market Paperback)

Jigsaw is an awesome horror tale. It is highly recommended and one of the better "new horror" books that I've read in a while. It is in a way a new retelling of Frankenstein, and that is how it is marketed. But honestly it could stand on it's own without the Frankenstein reference.

It tells the tale of a crazed billionaire scientist who is willing to give homeless people 2 million dollars for a body part - like an arm or leg. The protagonist (Mike) who is about to end his life as he has hit such a low in life decides that, sure he can give up an arm. The reasoning is he'll send the money to his daughter (whom disowned him) and send her through college. So he accepts the offer from the scientist's salesman/bodyguard thinking he can still do one last good thing in his life for his daughter.

What happens though is very horrific, the scientist Mr. Marshall has found a way to keep body parts alive by themselves, such as an arm or hand, so the scientist does know what he's doing. But the promise is not what it seems, and Mike finds himself in a whole lot of trouble. It's really hard to say anything without giving the story away, but lets say Mike figures things out pretty quickly, and it doesn't help him a bit as he's at the mercy of the scientist. In fact Mike gets to such a helpless stage so fast that it's shocking. But he finds out that he is going to be a special subject that might help out Mr. Marshall's son, and this gives Mike some hope for revenge.

Of note: this book will make you squeamish. It details some very weird and horrific things. Cool, but it might offend some.