Sims

by F. Paul Wilson

Book Overview

F. Paul Wilson, a practicing physician as well as the bestselling author of the Repairman Jack series, turns his attention to the day after tomorrow and shows us how genetic engineering might change the world. Just a few hundred genes separate humans from chimpanzees. Imagine someone altering the chimp genome, splicing in human genes to increase the size of the cranium, reduce the amount of body hair, enable speech. What sort of creature would result?...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0765305518
• ISBN13: 9780765305510
• Release Date: April 2003
• Publisher: Forge
• Length: 416 Pages
• Weight: 1.67 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.6" x 6.4" x 9.6"

Customer Reviews

Wilson writes another hit !

The Sims story goes against the grain of the Repairman Jack series by Wilson, but with great success. I love novels that take a bit of present day science headlines and spin them into a tale of the world gone amuck. A slave race of simians has been bio-engineered and then leased to businesses and the general populace to carry out work that the human race finds too distasteful to do themselves. But some people believe the Sims should have rights and be treated more like their human brethren. Thus is the basic plot of this book. I loved reading this story and so did my wife. She normally hates these kind of stories, but once she pick this book up, she couldn't put it down! What better recommendation than that?

Great thriller

I am a huge fan of F. Paul Wilson. Ever since I read the short story collection, Soft and Others and his first Adversary Cycle novel The Keep back in the 1980s, I've kept my eye out for every Wilson novel since. I especially enjoy the Repairman Jack series. So when I saw that Wilson was releasing a set of novellas called Sims, I panicked because each one was $35 each and I knew I couldn't afford to get them all. Imagine my relief when I noticed that they had been combined into one volume. Sims is a science thriller about gene splicing. Scientists, armed with the information that humans and chimps share 98.4% of their DNA, have hybridized the two into a new species, the sim. Sims are used primarily as servants, entirely owned by and leased from SimGen, a conglomerate owned by the two Sinclair brothers--Mercer and Ellis. Lawyer Patrick Sullivan is asked one day by a sim to represent them in a suit to unionize all sims. When he accepts, all hell breaks loose. Who knew sims could think that way, does that make them more human than monkey? Author F. Paul Wilson raises this question in others while keeping the story moving. He is at his best in this type of thriller. And there are lots of interesting characters along for the ride, not least the mysterious Zero who is leading the fight against SimGen. But why? And who is behind Zero, financing his ventures? All the questions are answered in the end. Sims is a wild ride from one of the great modern authors, showing us he is still at the peak of his game. I can't wait for the next F. Paul Wilson thriller.

Compelling and current

Patrick Sullivan is a lawyer, not an activist. If the country club managers hadn't been so rude and so contemptuous, he would have walked away from the sims seeking a union. In a moment of pique, however, he took on the clients and the case--and set himself up for a world of trouble. SimGen has become one of the largest corporations in America largely on the strength of one 'product.' A genetically altered species of chimpanzee, with human genes spliced in--the sim. Thanks to hardworking sims (engineered to work without complaining, without pay, and without weekends and holidays), the U.S. is able to compete with low-wage countries again, able to spare its 'humans' from the worst jobs, and able to enjoy an economic boom. When Patrick files his lawsuit, SimGen turns its legal and extra-legal weapons directly on him--because sims are property, and property cannot unionize, cannot petition the government, and certainly cannot be considered 'people' in any sense--not if SimGen is to stay in business. Worse, SimGen has powerful backers--backers that frighten even the corporation's founders. They don't like Patrick much either. Fortunately, Patrick finds a few allies--in an organization that is trying to eliminate the entire sim industry. But allies like that can get him killed too. Author F. Paul Wilson has created a powerful and exciting story out of current headlines. In scientific circles, there is currently a debate about whether chimpanzees should be reclassified as part of genus homo--as part of the human family. They are, in fact, more closely related to humans than they are to gorillas. DNA research is inserting genes from one species into another--to produce insect resistant crops and specialty animals for medical research. Science could allow development of something like the sims, and allow it relatively soon. Wilson's fears about the government backing down to financial pressures and of secret government funding of projects is also based on current trends--the C.I.A. has even created a venture capital fund to promote research into areas of its interest. Wilson didn't even get into the heart of the problems of government agencies who have their own funding and no need to go to Congress for funding and authorization. Wilson's strong writing propells the story forward. Although many of the plot twists are predictable, they are, nevertheless, enjoyable and satisfying. SIMS is hard to put down. I read it in a single sitting.

Get in touch with your inner chimp!

Don't worry, I'll just cut to the chase and not bore you with "in 2000 I read my first book from this author, blah-blah..." This book is simply fantastic. Read on.Maybe you've read the synopsis somewhere, maybe online, maybe on the inside cover of the book; for those who came in late...here it is again: It is sometime in the future (F. Paul Wilson doesn't even waste time saying "in the not-too-distant-future" or "in the year 20--", so don't worry), and mankind has tampered with nature to suit his needs yet again.There are proto-human creatures called sims that have been created for the work force. Two brothers, Mercer and Ellis Sinclair, after raising tons of money from creating genetically altered domestic cats (so they don't give off dander), have created--and are the owners of--the sims. Sims mostly appear human, but have flatter noses, larger ears, and other easily distinguishable features. They were created from chimpanzees that had their DNA altered so as to become taller, stronger, and more capable of intelligence--yet not enough to become another species of human; this way, the Sinclairs can officially sell the sims to the work force as if they were a PRODUCT, as opposed to an ORGANISM. And it shows--every sim has a barcode tattooed on the back of their neck. Does this seem at all cruel to you? Well, it certainly does to a few people in here, especially to one of the main characters, Patrick Sullivan, a lawyer who runs into an aging sim in the men's room at a golf course...and makes the decision that changes his life forever...but to give away much more than this would be to spoil the wonders of this gem of a book.A combination of work, reading other books, and going to a writer's convention where I met F. Paul Wilson himself, made for a bumpy ride reading the book--it took me almost two MONTHS to finish it--so my opinion may be a little biased; however, I think it is safe to say that this is a quick read, and I can say without hesitation that it certainly is a great one. Superb characters, good description (without overdoing it, though!), plenty of humor, some scares, some tears, so many good things...just like everything that F. Paul Wilson has written.Now order a copy and read, and in Wilson's words that he inscribed in the front cover of my own copy, "Get in touch with your inner chimp!"

thought provoking SF

In the near future, two brothers Mercer and Elias Sinclair formed a company called SimGen that spliced chimpanzees and human genes creating a new life form, Sims that is neither human nor chimp but a sterile hybrid. Sims have forty four chromosomes and humans have forty six but the most crucial difference of all is that Sims are considered property even though they can think, talk and pray to the same God humans worship.They are leased to individuals and corporations but SimGen owns them and this situation is very repugnant to Romy Cadman who works for a secret organization headed by Zero. He is dedicated to forcing the public to accept Sims as a branch of the human family. Patrick Sullivan is approached by a group of Sims who desire to form a union. What starts out as a task becomes a cause as the attorney comes to believe totally Sims deserve civil rights. What the public doesn't know and Romy and Patrick are only beginning to learn is that there is a shadow organization within SimGen that will go to any lengths to protect their experiments and dirty secrets.This work is science fiction though the technology to create a Sim outside of the game world seems just around the corner. The story line is exciting, fast-paced and scientifically based raising powerful social issues that should be dealt with sooner than later. F. Paul Wilson is well known for his repairman Jack Horror novels but readers should note that SIMS is totally different but just as creative and cutting edge.Harriet Klausner