Grokking the Subaqueous Consigliere John Clute

Given the near constant "WTF-is-this"-itis afflicting those who comment on John Clute's reviews—ever since that feature was added when SciFi Wire and SF Weekly merged—I thought I'd perform a public service by explaining Clute. Thus, a few sentences from his review of The Wind-Up Girl…

ORIGINAL: Like so many of the mad scientists and realpolitiking consiglieri who claimed sovereignty over the rest of us throughout the literature of the past century, he is a Faustian entrepreneur, a transformer ...