Solomon's Knife [Paperback]

Victor Koman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 20, 2006

SOLOMON'S KNIFE Victor Koman's Prometheus Award-winning novel is back in a new edition! Ray Bradbury says of him, "Would that there were a dozen more writers like him in the field." Dr. Evelyn Fletcher is a surgeon caught in a maelstrom of controversy. She has secretly devised a surgical procedure that could alter the lives of millions. When the beautiful and successful Valerie Dalton walks into Fletcher's office for a routine abortion, the doctor realizes that she has found the perfect experimental subject. Karen Chandler and her husband sought pregnancy for years with no success. They greet Fletcher's offer of a radically new procedure as a miracle. Karen, with no hesitation, agrees to undergo the clandestine surgery. When little Renata is born and then falls deathly ill, only one person can save her life. A woman who does not even know her daughter exists. Under a barrage of media scrutiny, Valerie Dalton must face the courts with her lover in an unprecedented custody battle. Ultimately, she plumbs the depths of her shattered soul to find the answer to the conflict that rages within her and all society. Solomon's Knife is a masterful and fiery mixture of medical thriller and courtroom drama that fuses every facet of the most violently debated issue of our age. The reality it foreshadows is only years -- perhaps months -- away. Praise for SOLOMON'S KNIFE: "Solomon's Knife... is a species of that too-rare genus, moral fiction. But it is inhabited by real people instead of cut-outs stenciled with a specific point-of-view. I cared about these people even as I was swept up in the fascinating legal/ethical/moral conundrum they faced. Riveting, spellbinding, intellectually challenging, and emotionally satisfying." -- F. Paul Wilson "...an exciting page-turner sure to offend readers of all views.... Rousing pulp-fiction-cum social-prophecy." -- Kirkus "... 'transoption' would neatly put to rest all the outrage surrounding abortion." -- Publishers Weekly "Gripping.... Solomon's Knife is a novel that does what only a great novel can do: It gives us a new context." -- Brad Linaweaver, Atlanta Journal-Constitution "Solomon's Knife is that rare accomplishment, a philosophical novel with characters who seem like real people you can come to care about. Victor Koman has managed to fuse a serious, fair-minded, and sensitive explication of one of the more emotional issues of our time with a page-turner of a story.... Koman's novel will not only entertain readers, it will help those on all sides of the abortion issue clarify their thinking." -- Orange County Register "Aptly named for the biblical story of King Solomon, this novel will be a welcome addition... in light of all the ethical questions it addresses." -- Library Journal Victor Koman has also written a screenplay of Solomon's Knife. He lives in southern California with his wife, Veronica, and daughter, Vanessa, as well as their cat, Kali. Koman graduated summa cum laude from Redlands University in 2001 as a Bachelor of Science in Information Systems. In 2004, he received his MBA from Pepperdine University. His weblog and bookstore are accessible at komansense.com

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

An aborted fetus is "transopted," or plunked, into an infertile woman and brought to term in this tendentious morality yarn. When Valerie Dalton opts for abortion, physician-with-a-mission Evelyn Fletcher lies about her intentions for the fetus. Alas, baby Renata is born with immune system problems due to prescribed hormone treatments, and only a bone-marrow transplant can save her. Of course, only marrow from the natural mother will do, so the "transoption" is inveiled to public scrutiny, much to the delight of the press, pro-lifers and pro-choicers. A trial ensues, and Fletcher argues that "transoption" would neatly put to rest all the outrage surrounding abortion. Perhaps it would, and if so, we will all be spared a reprise of this two-dimensional story--not to mention its gory (and often gratuitous) details of clinical procedures.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Unmarried and pregnant, Valerie Dalton decides to have an abortion, only to find out seven months later that, because of a doctor's revolutionary new procedure, her unwanted embryo was secretly implanted in the womb of Karen, a woman who was unable to conceive. This starts a custody battle comparable to the Baby M case: Valerie now wants back the baby she relinquished as a fetus; Karen wants the baby she gave birth to. Legal and ethical questions are raised about the medical procedure as well as the question, "Whose baby is it?" The novel describes the anguish that the litigants endure while the courts decide the fate of baby Renata. Aptly named after the biblical story of King Solomon, this novel will be a welcome addition to public libraries in the light of all the ethical questions it addresses.
- Jeannette Rice Erbst, Marlboro Psychiatric Hosp. Lib., N.J.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 268 pages
• Publisher: KoPubCo (July 20, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0977764915
• ISBN-13: 978-0977764914
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,194,290 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars New Technology Changes Everything!, February 15, 2010

By 

John C. Legg (Charleston, WV) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Solomon's Knife (Hardcover)

Excellent read. I don't want to give away any of the plot and in so doing diminish the reader's enjoyment of this thought provoking novel. (I must confess, however, I did read the dj blurbs, reviews, etc. before hand and it did take away some of the novel's surprise, but if I hadn't read those things, I probably wouldn't have ever read the novel, i.e., sort of a catch twenty-two.) Solomon's Knife is quote a "science fiction" novel, but since it takes place in the present or near present, it doesn't seem to be SF at all, i.e., it's easy to read and understand, and it has understandable character names, locations, etc., i.e., it is for all appearances a main-stream novel (for readers who may be put-off/frightened by SF). The novel is about how the development of a new technology can remove old dependencies, create new possibilities, and lead to the establishment of new basic human rights and freedoms. But social change doesn't come easy, i.e., it shakes us up, makes us want to kick the butts of those we believe to be transgressors, and seems to take forever to be accepted and permissible. The only crime here is that no one before me reviewed this book. How can this be?