Matlock's System  Rudolf Steiner, Author, Reginald Hill, Author
Rudolf Steiner, Author, Reginald Hill, Author Severn House
Publishers $26 (0p) ISBN 978-0-7278-4993-9 Reviewed on:
12/02/1996 Release date: 12/01/1996 Originally published in
England in 1973 as The Heartclock, by Dick Morland, this
speculative novel is an early departure from the Dalziel and
Pascoe crime novels for which Hill (The Wood Beyond) has become
well known. In a country wracked by overpopulation, a teetering
economy is sustained by severely regulating the population. Matt
Matlock was the original sponsor of the bill that became the
""Age Law,"" requiring all English citizens to have a device
installed in their hearts that will kill them when they reach
75, the current EOL, ""Expectation of Life."" Now that Matlock
has reached the age of 69, however, he's having more than a few
second thoughts about his draconian solution. Apparently, so are
some others in high places, and they're all eager to get Matlock
on their side as a persuasive fig