THE LAST CLONE

In Crouch’s SF novel, the fragile bliss of married clones is threatened when an old nemesis draws closer.

As this second book in The Genethic Legacy series opens, Dr. Avicenna “Avit” Arceneaux is practicing medicine in the rural town of Scorpion Hollow, in Bear Mountain, in the aftermath of an engineered pandemic that has “killed eighty percent of humanity.” He and his wife, Lazare, are harvested clones; a “rogue genetic experiment granted them unique DNA signatures.” This experiment turned them into a new species entirely, meaning Avit has the power to heal deathly ill patients—at a cost—while Lazare can kill just by willing it. Their natures create uncertainty regarding their forthcoming child, who will be the product of the first clone pregnancy. After Lazare hears suspicious clone activity on the local ham radio, their friends Mathieu Boden and Dr. Elise Casaubon arrive, having escaped from the Atlanta Disease Control Center—the former research hospital is now run by Six, an embittered clone-of-a-clone with murderous intentions. Elise asks Avit to return to the hospital, as the clones in stasis are dying, and his medical expertise is required to save them. Faced with an ethical dilemma—should he leave to save the clones or stay to protect his wife and found family?—Avit returns to the lion’s den of a ravaged city where Six is plotting his demise. Scenes of the warm community of rich characters on Bear Mountain (the tough Brielle is a particular standout) are inviting and provide an effective contrast to the devastation in Atlanta and the cohort of damaged clones. The action unfolds at a brisk pace as Six and Avit circle one another and loyalties are tested in character-driven twists that keep the reader guessing at each dramatic chapter ending. Crouch writes with assurance; she knows her characters intimately and slips in poetic turns of phrases amid the drama—Six’s dark ambition is described as “a psychic thorn that infected every other idea.”

Emotive, grounded SF that successfully centers its characters in a gripping, action-packed narrative.