The Ressurectionist Summary
E. B. Hudspeth

The Ressurectionist Overview

The Resurrectionist presents the life and work of Dr. Spencer Black, a doctor fascinated with the idea that mutations in normal humans might indicate a forgotten past trying to reassert itself genetically. Early in his career, Dr. Black makes a name for himself as a surgeon and doctor, but when his interest turns to mythical creatures like harpies and minotaurs, he uses uncommon surgical techniques to stitch together living creatures to resemble the lost mythical creatures: Cerberus, the three-headed hound at the gate of Hades, or the Sphinx, or mermaids. This highly unconventional fascination turns his early fame into ridicule and persecution later in his career, but the novel presents his notebooks with exquisite drawings of the creatures he believes might lurk in the human evolutionary past—or in its future.