The Body Scout by Lincoln Michel

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 readers of William Gibson and Max Barry.



An Esquire Pick for the Top 50 Sci-Fi Books of All Time



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



"A breathlessly paced techno-thriller characterized by stunning, spiky worldbuilding." -- Esquire

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 He scouts the latest in gene-edited talent for Big Pharma-owned baseball teams, but his own cybernetics are a decade out of date and twin sister loan sharks are banging down his door.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.

"I devoured it." --Jonathan Lethem

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