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Aug 24, 2020danielestes rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
The post-human cloning world of Mur Lafferty's Six Wakes is extraordinary in its detail and plausibility. The politics, ethics and long-term incentives for misuse of human cloning make its successful integration a game changer for civilization. The main narrative is an engrossing murder mystery whodunit, which takes place in the present day aboard an interstellar ship. But it's the worldbuilding and character backstories that makes the whole novel delightfully more than the sums of its parts. The history of the future is elongated because of how cloning can extend one's life, sometimes lasting for hundreds of years. You get the sense that there are now two human cultures, those who clone (indefinitely) and those who live normal, shorter lifespans. I also got the impression that clones are emotionally 'thinner' versions of their former selves even though this isn't directly addressed in the story. This theme of a short vs a long life is a fascinating one and isn't fully explored in Six Wakes. I would absolutely love to read this potential book if it were ever written. ** Mild Spoilers Ahead ** I won't reveal how it ends but I wanted to say I was hoping the final chapters climaxed to a thematically bigger punch than they did. The scope of Six Wakes transcends time and space, but the actual ending feels smaller by comparison.