A Borrowed Man (2015) Signed First Edition Reference

A Borrowed Man is set in a future where popular authors have been cloned and their copies shelved in libraries like books — available to be checked out by patrons who need their expertise. The narrator, E.A. Smithe, is a “reclone” of a dead mystery writer who is borrowed to investigate a real mystery. Published in 2015, the novel is one of Wolfe’s most ingenious premises — a meditation on authorship, identity, and obsolescence.

First Edition Identification

Publisher: Tor Books, New York Publication date: 2015 Format: Hardcover in dust jacket

Signed Copy Market Values

• Signed first edition, fine/fine: $40–$100
• Unsigned first edition: $5–$12

The concept of an author-as-library-property resonates with Wolfe’s career-long interest in identity and memory. The novel spawned a sequel, Interlibrary Loan, making it the first volume of a late duology.