The Body Scout

A Novel

By: Lincoln Michel

Narrated by: Greg Chun

Length: 9 hrs and 49 mins

Publisher's summary

In this “timeless and original” sci-fi thriller (New York Times), a hardboiled baseball scout must solve the murder of his brother in a world transformed by body modification, perfect for listeners of William Gibson and Max Barry.

In the future you can have any body you want—as long as you can afford it.

But in a New York ravaged by climate change and repeat pandemics, Kobo is barely scraping by. He scouts the latest in gene-edited talent for Big Pharma-owned baseball teams, but his own cybernetics are a decade out of date and twin sister loan sharks are banging down his door. Things couldn't get much worse.

Then his brother—Monsanto Mets slugger J.J. Zunz—is murdered at home plate.

Determined to find the killer, Kobo plunges into a world of genetically modified CEOs, philosophical Neanderthals, and back-alley body modification, only to quickly find he's in a game far bigger and more corrupt than he imagined. To keep himself together while the world is falling apart, he'll have to navigate a time where both body and soul are sold to the highest bidder.

Diamond-sharp and savagely wry, The Body Scout is a timely science fiction thriller debut set in an all-too-possible future.

A New York Times Best Sci-Fi and Fantasy Novel of 2021

"I devoured it." —Jonathan Lethem

"Completely weird and still completely real. Delightful—I couldn't put it down."—Shea Serrano

©2021 Lincoln Michel (P)2021 Orbit

Wow!

What a ride! This is such an evocative and exciting story. If you like sci-fi or film noir, this book is for you.

I loved it.

thoughtful concepts

Overall I liked this cautionary tail of a possible future. At times it was overwhelming but I suppose the future can be that way.

Really satisfying

This story is a great blend of noir/thriller/cyberpunk/science fiction — hits so many of my favorite tropes (mysterious murders! body mods — can’t live with ‘em, can’t live without ‘em! evil corporations! corruption! loss of innocence! medical experiments on humans! investigators in over their heads!) — and the BASEBALL theme fits in great! (I wished there’d been a little more baseball.) But you don’t need to know a lot about baseball to enjoy it.

Well written. Well narrated - the narrator has that talent of disappearing but also making it possible to tell the characters apart. I love the way that style of narration immerses me in the story.

It’s my first time reading Lincoln Michel and I’ll be checking out his other stuff.

Content note - a lot of genre-typical graphic violence, body horror, pain and other unpleasant physical experiences lovingly dwelt upon.

Cyberpunk at its best - fun, twisty, timely, gross

Really enjoyed this! Everything you want from great cyberpunk: action, suspense, too-plausible dystopia, humor, techno body horror, themes that are there if you want them but don't overwhelm the story. This feels like a story written by someone who has been paying attention to our modern age and thinking about it hard. The characters all felt like different people with their own agendas, and the protagonist is scrappy and capable without being overpowered.

The narrator is fantastic; as soon as I finished this, I went looking for more work by him. (Sadly there isn't a huge collection yet - guys, give Greg Chun more books!) I hope nobody ever tells him that he's mispronouncing "lichen" XD

Solid Noir-Style Story!

This was worth the listen. Good performance. Good imagination and the story kept me engaged on my walks for several days. Solid production values, too with a little twist at the end that did surprise me. And it seemed like a feasible not too distant future. All in all, a solid A-

loved this fast paced book.

great read and fabulous narrator!! This book is not just for Sci-fi lovers. The author has a unique writing style with lots of humor intertwined in a dystopian although not unbelievable future.

Very enjoyable

Good narration
Easy to listen to
Engaging story and interesting characters
I recommend this book

Great concepts and narration…lacking in depth.

The future imagines by the author is like a fever dream of genetic mutations and feels a little cyberpunk at times and a lot dystopian future at others. Sometimes it’s too much or conceptually not possible or described inaccurately (I’m a hard sci-fi guy) but it’s also being told from the point of view of somebody who wouldn’t necessarily know all the details so I’ll forgive that.

The story moved along at a fast pace and I was never bored. I just wanted a little more. Some time this felt like it was trying to be a mix of different stories or writing styles. Others it just clicked. All that said I still enjoyed the hell out of it.

Great sci-fi take on baseball

Great narrator. Funny, dark and fast paced. Many baseball references though not about baseball. Actually book and narrator did a good job on baseball play by play so that it all worked smoothly in the overall detective story. Explored characters well. Several twists I didn’t expect.

Body Scout Soars

The future is upsetting but fascinating. Read it and try to believe that every institution has your best interests at heart.