The Unincorporated Man (Sci Fi Essential Books) (Hardcover)

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Key Phrases: unincorporated man, reanimation specialist, psychological audit, The Chairman, Justin Cord, Hektor Sambianco (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Fans of SF as a vehicle for ideas will devour this intriguing debut. Brilliant 21st-century tycoon Justin Cord is brought from cryogenic storage into a 24th-century society where people own stock in one another, safeguarding each other's welfare only out of economic self-interest. This is anathema to the defiantly individualistic Cord, who soon becomes a danger to the corporations that control the world and a symbol of freedom to the downtrodden penny-stock people. Cord's conversations with friends and enemies fill most of the book, alongside lectures on the mechanisms of the incorporated culture. The Kollin brothers keep the plot moving briskly despite the high proportion of talk to action. Their cerebral style will especially appeal to readers nostalgic for science fiction's early years. (Apr.)
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From Booklist

Story lines involving a contemporary protagonist’s displacement to a distant future via time machines or suspended animation have been a genre staple since H. G. Wells. In this striking variation from first-time novelists Dani and Eytan Kollin, the clash between today’s cultural values and those of a vividly imagined future has never been more compelling. Justin Cord is a twenty-first-century multibillionaire who uses his fortune to cheat death by building his own suspension unit. Three centuries later, after reanimation technicians discover the unit and restore his body to pristine health, Cord awakens to a world transformed in ways he could never have imagined. As the only surviving member of civilization before the Grand Collapse, not only is he an instant celebrity, but he quickly learns that everyone is a minicorporation unto themselves. Unfortunately, there are also forces at work that will stop at nothing to make sure Cord incorporates or dies yet again—this time, permanently. The Kollin brothers’ debut captivates with unforgettable characters and an ingenious vision of the economic future. --Carl Hays

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 480 pages
• Publisher: Tor Books; 1 edition (March 31, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0765318997
• ISBN-13: 978-0765318992
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.5 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (34 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #281,882 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Compelling read!, April 9, 2009

By	George Chlentzos - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I saw the Kollin brothers read an excerpt from this book at last year's BayCon and was intrigued enough to pre-order. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book on a couple of levels and found myself discussing the well thought-out economic and social implications of personal incorporation on an almost daily basis before I'd reached the last page. The Unincorporated Man is a great combination of high concept science fiction and hard science extrapolations. This book fits perfectly in my bookcase.
It's hard to write one of these without sounding cliche, so let me just end by saying that I had the rare pleasure of looking forward to a sequel after putting the book down. Well worth your time.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Timely Social Commentary and a Great Read, April 6, 2009

By	Christine M. Davis (Allentown, PA, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The Kollin brothers take the concept of a corporation as an artificial person and turn it on its head. In their world, everyone is their own corporation and they and others own shares in themselves. The government does not collect taxes, but owns 5% of everyone.

When a 300 year old CEO is found in a life pod, they bring him back and in the process disrupt their world. He is not part of their incorporated world - hence the Unincorporated Man.

The book works both as great fiction and as an interesting "what if" in how the individual affects others in his culture. It is also an interesting study into the power of both individuals and corporations.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THE UNINCORPORATED MAN Stretches Beyond the Sci-Fi Genre and Brings a Hauntingly Possible Future to Life., June 2, 2009

By	Bookreporter.com (New York, New York) - See all my reviews

Imagine this: Asia is obliterated. Space travel is possible. Cars fly (finally!). There is no war. There is no unemployment. And while you are imagining all of this, add in the fact that you are incorporated at birth, and that in order to get a job or an education, you must trade stock of yourself. Imagine also that you likely do not own the majority of your own stock, thus your investors decide where you can work and even where you can live.

Is this slavery? Or does it encourage a person to invest in others as a way of improving the whole? That is the question raised in THE UNINCORPORATED MAN.

Justin Cord is a brilliant businessman in the early 21st century, and his success is only matched by his sorrow to hear that he has cancer. Using his vast wealth, Justin constructs a cryogenic tomb and freezes himself.

When he awakens, slowly coming to realize that the cryogenic act was a success, Justin finds himself 300 years into the future. Although there are cosmetic and some technological changes as one would expect, he is more concerned by the future incorporation of mankind. After being bullied (but refusing) to sign an incorporation agreement, thereby no longer owning himself, Justin becomes a central figure in a sinister and complex political machine in the new incorporated world.

THE UNINCORPORATED MAN is a stunning debut. Truly. Forget the genre clichés of laser guns, spaceships, and journeys through black holes and the like. This book is part Heinlein, part Bradbury, and part Asimov. This is no space adventure but a socio-economic envisioning of the future. As such, it would easily fit alongside, say, 1984 or BRAVE NEW WORLD as a chilling and thought-provoking treatise on possible futures.

Brothers Dani and Eytan Kollin have crafted a world here that is at times technologically stunning and exciting and sometimes frightening. Throughout the pages of this novel, you will encounter well-detailed environs peopled with wholly lifelike people --- some are wonderful, others are downright villainous. They have deftly designed a book that will have you questioning the economic principles and the very nature of personal freedom and individuality.

Even if you are not a fan of science fiction per se, THE UNINCORPORATED MAN stretches beyond that genre and brings a hauntingly possible future to life.

--- Reviewed by Stephen Hubbard