The Plagiarist

4.5 stars. Originally posted at Fantasy Literature: http://www.fantasyliterature.com/reviews/the-plagiarist/

The Plagiarist is a science fiction novella written by Hugh Howey, who recently became famous for his self-published WOOL series. The plagiarist of the title is Adam Griffey, a college professor who uses newly discovered technology at his university to visit virtual worlds where he seeks out brilliant authors, memorizes their works, and brings them back to our world. Everyone knows the works are plagiarized, but since the author doesn�??t live in our world, it doesnƒ??t count, and our protagonist gets the credit for discovering the talent and, most importantly, he gets the money for the sales. This sort of plagiarism isnƒ??t show more just for literature, though. Adam has colleagues in other departments who do the same thing, and now all fields of knowledge ƒ?? science, technology, art, etc. ƒ?? are advancing rapidly because of the discoveries made in virtual worlds.

All is going well for Adam ƒ?? his work has made him famous ƒ?? until he falls in love with Bellatrix, a woman in the latest universe heƒ??s been visiting. When he goes there, he spends all his time making a virtual life with her instead of doing his job. His relationship with his real online girlfriend is suffering and, of course, so is his teaching and research. Like a true plagiarist, he is ƒ??faking his real life so he can live his fake one.ƒ? Just when it seems that Adam canƒ??t maintain his plagiarized life any longer, his university announces that Bellatrixƒ??s world is about to be wiped from the servers because itƒ??s taking up too much space. That means that the virtual woman he loves will no longer exist, so Adam goes on a mad scramble to try to save their relationship.

Okay, if I had just read my synopsis above, I wouldnƒ??t even need to read the rest of this review ƒ?? Iƒ??d already be pressing the ƒ??buyƒ? button ƒ??cause that just sounds awesome. But for those who want to know more, Iƒ??m happy to report that I loved this story. If Philip K. Dick had lived twenty years longer, he would have written The Plagiarist.

Not only is the plot exciting, but for such a short story (58 pages in the 99?› ebook, 1.5 hours for the $2 audiobook) thereƒ??s a lot to think about: online dating; how spending time in virtual worlds might affect our real lives and relationships; parallel universes; the meaning of art; the way that rapidly advancing technology has led to information overload, mass consumerism, and perhaps a decline (or at least an inability to recognize) genuine talent. And thereƒ??s more that I donƒ??t want to tell you about so as not to ruin the plot.
The Plagiarist is a perfect introduction to Hugh Howey. I listened to the audiobook which is narrated by Alexander J. Masters. At first I was slightly put off by his stilted cadence, but as the story progressed, I found that it fit nicely. show less

I loved this. Every single word of it. It felt like such a huge layered subject and it made my brain sweat just a little with the ramifications of it all but I would have gladly read a 1000 page novel of this story.

This is a really engaging, well-realised story about a man who has become obsessed with his relationship with a woman. So what's scifi about that? Well, he's a lecturer And she's part of another world contained in a MMO that has been constructed for researchers to use for experimentation. Howey uses the novella form very well, creating a believable and sympathetic character with few words. I will be reading more by this author.

The Plagiarist by Hugh Howey – Adam Griffey teaches literature during the day, but at night he scours the virtual texts from simulated worlds for new books, which he memorizes and brings into his world. He is well paid for his nighttime literature plagiarism. However, when some of the worlds suffer devastation it becomes difficult to distinguish reality from virtual worlds and the people who populate them. This is a very interesting and unique short story that Howey weaves skillfully to a satisfactory conclusion. I liked it very much.

Versione ebook

Racconto lungo o romanzo molto breve; l'autore costruisce un gioco di scatole cinesi che si può immaginare come andrà a finire.
Il romanzo/racconto ha una costruzione abbastanza semplice ma non per questo banale: viene da farsi una riflessione sulla nostra (del mondo moderno) dipendenza dal mondo virtuale nelle sue diverse forme.
E' anche scritto bene: scorrevole, comprensibile e l'incipit del capitolo dà un tocco in più.

Not an original idea at all, and the ending is obvious early on. But it was still a fun story, and it didn't come off as pretentious.

Adam is a plagiarist. He steals works of literature from virtual people in virtual worlds. Computer generated worlds exist and function all on their own. People can log in and interact with all of these other worlds, and do. For research, fun,work. But what happens when you fall in love with this virtual world? Is it as real as real life? Are you cheating yourself of real interactions? or is this just the way of the future?
From the author of the Wool series.