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Wednesday, August 04, 2021

Constance by Matthew Fizsimmons

 

Constance is a strange book, a mix of intriguing ethical questions to ponder and some over-the-top events that take it from future possibility to B movie horror.  

from description: In the near future, advances in medicine and quantum computing make human cloning a reality. For the wealthy, cheating death is the ultimate luxury. To anticloning militants, it’s an abomination against nature. For young Constance “Con” D’Arcy, who was gifted her own clone by her late aunt, it’s terrifying.

Constance has not recovered from the accident that put her boyfriend into a permanent vegetative state and left her with severe damage to one of her knees.  

Con's Aunt Abigail, with whom Constance has had only one brief encounter as a child, is a brilliant scientist whose work has made cloning a possibility.  

When Abigail's work is successful and her company Paragenesis is worth millions, Abigail gives her family the opportunity to have a clone--sort of giving them all her middle finger because she knows they won't accept.  Con, who also left her dysfunctional home, accepts the opportunity for a clone --mostly for the same reason, to thumb her nose at her family.  But after a scheduled update or "refresh" to put Con's most recent memories into the clone, something goes wrong.

Slow beginning, then suddenly intense and fast-paced, when Con's clone is activated.  When Con2 is activated, she is missing memories of the last 18 months and has no idea what happened to her "original."  

On the run, Con2's compulsion to find out what happened during the 18 missing months, while trying to evade those who have been sent to recover her, leads her into dangerous situations.  Unable to trust those who tell her they are trying to help her, Con2 pursues her quest to fill in the memory blanks and to find out how and why her "original" died.  There are plenty of twists.

I raced through this one.  The middle is satisfying and suspenseful, but the conclusion feels like the author lost track of his purpose or self-control and let his over-heated imagination have free rein.  :)  

Quotes:  

"No hint that, deep in the bowels of the building, the laws of nature were being systematically rewritten." (about the Paragenesis building and labs where the cloning takes place)

"Humans are very good at inventing solutions and very, very bad at anticipating consequences."

"In this country, power doesn't derive from defeating a threat; true power comes from the fear of the threat.  And maintaining power requires a continuing threat."

Science Fiction.  Sept. 1, 2021.  Print length: 352 pages.








 

 

16 comments:

  1. Sounds a bit crazy, but fun, too. :)

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    1. Yep. Certainly an interesting premise with both a resolution to the plot and a hint that there will be another book. :)

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  2. Sounds intriguing! I don't think I've seen this one before, but you've definitely got me curious. :)

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    1. Matthew Fitzsimmons is the author of the Gibson Vaughn series which I enjoyed. Constance was a Kindle First Read book. :)

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  3. You gotta love that cartoon! That book has an interesting premise. I haven't read much science fiction in a while. Maybe it's time to check some out again.

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    1. It is an interesting premise and so are some of the questions about whether a clone would have legal rights or have a right to the "original's" bank account. It was interesting--especially the idea of clone investigating it's own murder, but the end went so far off the rails! :)

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  4. What a weird can-of-worms this one seems to be exploring...too bad it was so uneven.

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    1. Definitely a weird can-of-worms and certainly uneven! :)

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  5. The cloning element is interesting, but not sure if it's a good fit to my reading preference since it's sci-fi; a genre I rarely read. We shall see. And those illustrations are funny!

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    1. It is only set 15 years in the future, so I guess the sci-fi designation is because cloning had become available for anyone who could afford it. Who knows, maybe the Bezos and Gates of the world already have their clones waiting for memory upgrades!

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  6. I think a book like this one would be great for a discussion group because you can talk about so many things whether it's ethical or crazy or whatever. Although not my typical type of book I think I would enjoy it.

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    1. You're right, Constance would be a good book for discussion because cloning is a seriously strange topic!

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  7. Sounds a little like the setup for the sci-fi thriller Six Wakes (not read it yet). Great premise!

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    1. Cloning is both a real and a futuristic possibility, but at present, cloning is limited to the cloning of genes, not of an individual. Both concepts are a little frightening! I'm interested in Six Wakes, too! As scary as I find the idea of cloning people, the premise makes for a fascinating story. :)

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  8. I love the cartoons and alway Colbert although all those comedians had much funnier material under the previous administration IMO:)

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    1. :) Yes, comedians are sometimes presented with opportunities for material!

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