Mute by Piers Anthony

I have been a fan of Piers Anthony since I was in high school (1985) and a friend told me to read a Xanth novel. I read the first book in that series and enjoyed it so much that I picked up everything I could find from Piers Anthony. I found a little known treasure called Mute.

Mute is one of Piers best single Sci-Fi books. It is truly unique and one of those books that draw you in and is like a roller coaster some downs but mostly a wild ride.

The premise is a man named Knot who manages an enclave of mutants. The mutants have been placed apart from the rest of the universe and it is Knot’s job to oversee them. The mutants come in all shapes and sizes, some physical some mental, all however are shunned by “normals”.

Knot is special in the fact that he looks normal ( except for an extra finger & toe ) but, he is one of the few mutants that have a second hidden mutant ability. After he leaves the proximity of people he interacts with they lose all recall of him. This field is on all the time and he is perpetually being re-introduced to people he knows. It makes for an interesting life.

The larger picture is world where a central computer takes care of humanity, and it has been over taken and it seeks out the key people that could save it and the rest of the world. Knot is conscripted into its service along with memorable characters (non-human and with psi-powers of there own)

The book is well written, original and pretty thought provoking since Piers always writes on a couple of level you can enjoy the ride or read into his thoughts about discrimination and such.

I recommend this book for all lovers of Piers Anthony’s Sci-Fi selections. The book gets a little loose at the end but all together something to have in your bookcase for a rainy day.