Flesh and Silver

by Stephen L. Burns

A brilliant doctor gives up his status as a human being when he becomes a Bergmann surgeon--healing fatal sickness and wounds with psychic powers and mechanical precision. Though a great healer, he is an outcast, and he and his kind wander from emergency to emergency, at the beck and call of MedAm. When not working, he is drinking, lost in a fog, trying to forget the things which he has lost. But when a dying despot hijacks him, he is forced to face what his life has become, and--with the help of a killer for hire--reclaim what it means to be a healer.

Genres: Science Fiction

352 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

Stephen L. Burns has been selling fiction since the mid-eighties, the bulk of his work short SF to ANALOG magazine. Bulk is a fair description; at last count ANALOG has published 42 of his stories.
His 1999 novel FLESH AND SILVER was the winner of the Baltimore SF Society Crook/Tall Award for best first novel.
His 2000 novel CALL FROM A DISTANT SHORE was a finalist for, but not the ultimate winner of that year's Philip K. Dick Award for best paperback original novel.
In the years since those novels came out his relationship with his agent collapsed. He kept writing novels, certain he could secure the services of another. That never happened.
So, reluctantly, he has begun publishing Kindle Direct e-book editions of some of those novels.
His somewhat off-center fantasy novel FESTIVAEL just came out in e-book, and can be checked out with the following link:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00B4J6O6K
He plans to have two more novels available before spring, the satiric SF novel ZERO DAY BABY and the feminist SF/Fantasy thriller BLOOD AND BREAD.

Reviews

[Sammy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A genuinely enthralling and well-written book, which is surprisingly hard to come by. It made me want to read more sci-fi and solidified it as one of my favorite genres, Burns kept up with an exciting adventure all the way through. The only thing I have qualms with is the main romance happening between Marchey and Angel – I felt no real connection there between them, and overly forced just to have a nice happy ending – at one point mentioning how young and fresh and naïve Angel is compared to Marchey. The short-lived could-be romance between him and the sex worker Delores held much more interest and weight for me than whatever Angel had to offer. Other than that, it’s a fun ride to get through and I really wished there had been some follow-up with it considering all the worldbuilding left behind.

8/10

[Caitlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I remember really loving this as a teen, but a reread found it a bit flat.

[MizzyRed · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this when I was younger. It is still interesting and I had fun reading it. I like the concept of the Bergmann surgeons.

[Nadia · Rating 3 out of 5]

The concept is fascinating. The execution is meh. I'm still glad I read it.

[Megan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didn't love it, didn't hate it. Interesting concept. On several occasions plot points wrap up a little too conveniently for the sake of plausibility. Ultimately, this book is mostly about the two main characters' journeys to recreate themselves. The sci-fi setting and plot are mainly there to explain why the characters are fracked up in the first place and to provide the catalyst for those changes. Not really my thing, but I don't think it was terribly done if you're in to that sort of thing.