The Album of Dr. Moreau

by Daryl Gregory

Overview

A 2022 Sturgeon Award Nominee!
A 2022 Edgar Award Nominee!

Daryl Gregory's The Album of Dr. Moreau combines the science fiction premise of the famous novel by H. G. Wells with the panache of a classic murder mystery and the spectacle of a beloved boy band.

It’s 2001, and the WyldBoyZ are the world’s hottest boy band, and definitely the world’s only genetically engineered human-animal hybrid vocal group. When their producer, Dr. M, is found murdered in his hotel room, the “boyz” become the prime suspects. Was it Bobby the ocelot (“the cute one”), Matt the megabat (“the funny one”), Tim the Pangolin (“the shy one”), Devin the bonobo (“the romantic one”), or Tusk the elephant (“the smart one”)?

Las Vegas Detective Luce Delgado has only twenty-four hours to solve a case that goes all the way back to the secret science barge where the WyldBoyZ’ journey first began—a place they used to call home.

At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250782113
Publisher:	Tor Publishing Group
Publication date:	05/18/2021
Sold by:	Macmillan
Format:	eBook
Pages:	176
File size:	956 KB

About the Author

Daryl Gregory is the author of the Hugo finalist novelette “Nine Last Days on Planet Earth”, published by Tor.com. He’s the author of over five novels, including Spoonbenders, a Nebula, Locus, and World Fantasy Award finalist now in development at Showtime. His novella We Are All Completely Fine won the World Fantasy and Shirley Jackson Awards, and was a finalist for the Nebula, Sturgeon, and Locus Awards. Many of his short stories are collected in Unpossible and Other Stories, a Publishers Weekly best book of the year. Daryl lives in Oakland, CA.
Daryl Gregory won the IAFA William L. Crawford Fantasy Award for his first novel, Pandemonium. His second novel, The Devil's Alphabet, was nominated for the Philip K. Dick Award and was one of Publishers Weekly's best books of 2009. His novelette "Nine Last Days on Planet Earth" was a Hugo finalist. His short fiction has appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine, and The Year’s Best SF. He has also written comics for BOOM! Studios and IDW. Daryl lives in Oakland, CA.

Editorial Reviews

02/15/2021

Gregory (Spoonbenders) constructs a clever mash-up of H.G. Wells’s The Island of Doctor Moreau, a locked room mystery, and the boy band phenomenon in this zippy but complex tale. The WyldBoyZ—comprising five genetically engineered animal-human hybrids—are one of the most popular boy bands in the world circa 2001. When Dr. M, their mentor and agent, is murdered in a Las Vegas hotel room, evidence points toward one of the WyldBoyZ as the killer. Now it’s up to Det. Lucia Delgado to untangle a web of lies, alibis, and oversized personalities before a killer escapes justice. But as she pieces together the history of how the WyldBoyZ came to be, Lucia realizes there’s more to Dr. M’s death than meets the eye. The premise is catchy, and Gregory’s exploration of identity and humanity through the lens of pop-cultural superstardom meshes well with the whodunit plot, though a glossed-over last-minute reveal goes frustratingly underexplained. Self-aware humor and punchy puns liven up the narrative, resulting in a quirky and entertaining twist on a classic. Agent: Seth Fishman, the Gernert Co. (May)

Publishers Weekly

"[Daryl Gregory] constructs a clever mash-up of H.G. Wells’s The Island of Doctor Moreau, a locked room mystery, and the boy band phenomenon in this zippy but complex tale... [A] quirky and entertaining twist on a classic." – Publisher's Weekly

"Gregory deliberately and imaginatively breaks every one of T. S. Eliot’s “Rules of Detective Fiction,” with which he has prefaced this luminous novella." - Booklist, starred review

"Both unexpected and yet completely satisfying." – Mystery & Suspense Magazine

"A stunning detective story full of all-too-human animals. Reading Daryl Gregory is so much fun you never notice until it's too late that he's got you by the feels, and he's about to squeeze. I loved this hilarious, touching, ridiculous ride." - Sam J. Miller, Nebula Award-winning author of The Art of Starving and Blackfish City

"This book has everything: a genetically engineered boy band, a great detective, a Zima-soaked tour party full of suspects, and a clever locked-room mystery. Funny, smart, and completely satisfying. I devoured it like a delicious grub snack." - Sarah Pinsker, author of A Song For A New Day and We Are Satellites

"Daryl Gregory is terrific, and The Album of Dr Moreau continues his high-roller, high-stakes streak of awesome. I laughed on page one, was horrified by page thirteen, and was delighted till the very end." – Lavie Tidhar

"Meticulous, cunning, and clever." – Elizabeth Bear

From the Publisher