The Big Fix

About the book

Wally Wilson operates in a world where telepathy and other psychic abilities have become part of gambling's everyday contest. Reading opponents, shielding thoughts, and interfering with outcomes require constant attention, but none of these talents makes people honest. When an intimidating criminal demands a particular finishing order in the Kentucky Derby, Wally faces an assignment that seems impossible even by his profession's elastic standards. Police interest adds another pressure, and the supposed advantage of knowing other minds becomes one more complication. George O. Smith treats extraordinary abilities as tools that human ingenuity and dishonesty can always adapt around. The story develops as a clever practical puzzle, with survival depending on understanding exactly how its unusual rules can be used.

• Psychic powers
• Gambling and deception
• Ingenuity under pressure

Why read it

Read it for a caper whose speculative rules make cheating more complicated rather than making it disappear.

English text