STAR SPLIT

PLB 0-7868-2401-8 In a work of science fiction, Lasky (A Brilliant Streak, 1998, etc.) tackles both the morality of human cloning and the potential for people to cover their tracks through the time-honored tradition of manipulating language. Darci has grown up believing she’s a “Genhant,” or genetically enhanced human, one of the privileged people in a future society where all babies are to some degree genetically planned. She doesn’t understand why she is attracted to the “Originals,” people with only minimal genetic alterations, or why she is interested in the meaning of words others take for granted. Through careful plotting, Lasky throws readers some intriguing “ethical” bones to chew on, e.g., when Darci comes face to face with her own clone, are they exactly the same person or is there some intrinsic difference’something like a soul? Can language cover up as well as it can explain? These intellectual tussles will foster discussion, especially since the issues are already part of the public forum. If the story has weaknesses, it is in some of its assumptions, e.g., that hundreds of years into the future, societal structures such as the nuclear family will still exist, when even today it seems to be crumbling. (Fiction. 11-15)