Who?, Algis Budrys
Who?, Algis Budrys
1 Rating(s)
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Who?

Author: Algis Budrys

Narrator: Grover Gardner

Unabridged: 6 hr 4 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 12/11/2018

Categories: Fiction, Science Fiction


Synopsis

Set against a backdrop of Cold War paranoia, this futuristic novel about identity and technology is “one of the unrecognized classics of SF” (Locus).East and West have fused into separate superstates known as the Allied National Government (ANG) and the Soviet International Bloc (SIB). As the Cold War rages, brilliant scientist Lucas Martino works on a top-secret project known only as K-Eighty-eight that could alter the balance of world power. The project goes horribly awry at an Allied research facility near the Soviet border, and Martino is abducted.After several months of tense negotiations, he returns severely injured from the lab explosion, and under pressure from America, undergoes extensive reconstructive surgery. He has a mechanical arm. His polished metal skull—a kind of craniofacial prosthesis—contains few discernible features. Several of his internal organs are artificial. While his fingerprints are identified as belonging to Lucas Martino, they could be the result of transplant. Is he the real Martino? Or a technologically altered impostor sent by America’s enemies for the purpose of spying and infiltration? Tasked with uncovering the truth, ANG Security Chief Shawn Rogers makes some shocking discoveries.Narrated in chapters alternating between Rogers and Martino, Who? poses existential questions about the human condition.

About Algis Budrys

Algis Budrys (1931–2008) was born in Königsberg, East Prussia, where his father served in the Lithuanian diplomatic corps. The family came to the United States when Budrys was five years old. A Renaissance man, he wrote stories and novels, and was an editor, critic, and reviewer, a teacher of aspiring writers, and a publisher. His science fiction novels include Rogue Moon, Hard Landing, Falling Torch, and many others. His Cold War science fiction thriller Who? was adapted for the screen, and he received many award nominations for his work.

About Grover Gardner

Grover Gardner is an award-winning narrator with over a thousand titles to his credit. Named one of the “Best Voices of the Century” and a Golden Voice by AudioFile magazine, he has won three prestigious Audie Awards, was chosen Narrator of the Year for 2005 by Publishers Weekly, and has earned more than thirty Earphones Awards.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Jordan

3.5; having now read two of his novels, I think Budrys is best approached as a pulp existentialist-humanist, one who uses fantastic concepts not so much for their own sake but for the light these throw on and allow study of their protagonists, and what this reveals of the human condition in general.......more

Goodreads review by Bradley

I think I wanted to like this cold war espionage SF more than I did. The end makes up for a lot of the meandering middle, but unfortunately, there was a lot of normal everyday '50s feel to it with one notable exception: our hero has come back after a blown-up experiment, after having been saved by t......more

Goodreads review by Bandit

Lucas Martino, an American genius disfigured in a lab snafu and remade by the other side with metal parts, returns to his country. But as a hero or a traitor? How can the national security ascertain the identity of a man whose face they cannot see and mind they cannot read? Especially during the hei......more

Goodreads review by Sheri

It's a crying shame Budrys doesn't get the respect of the other science fiction greats. He should be right up there with Asimov or Clarke, but I digress. Who? is a wonderful piece of Cold War-era SF that seems quaint by today's standards. The basic premise is that an Allied scientist named Lucas Mart......more


Quotes

“One of the unrecognized classics of SF.” Locus

“A remarkable study of the thought processes of espionage and counterespionage.” New Worlds

“Narrator Grover Gardner captures the essence of an underrated science fiction classic while highlighting its introspective musings…Gardner subtly layers in humor and wry psychological observations…Characters feel alive and dynamic, and the scenes crackle with quiet intensity… Winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award.” AudioFile


Awards

  • AudioFile Earphones Award
  • Hugo Award