(I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review).
(This review may contain spoilers).
This might be the only cloning story I’ve read (or seen) that has only one gender involved. I felt that was one of the more interesting things about the world within this book.
I liked the fact that I followed 62’s progress and got to know the world around him as he grew and learned. It was really cool to see how his dreams worked, but I did feel there was less imagination involved than there could have been. In some ways, it seemed that a lot of 62’s development was triggered by 71 continually through the course of the book, apart from right at the end.
It was really interesting to see 62’s interactions with the other Boys around him. I would have liked to see more of the Men and how different in personality they were. I really only got to see three of them properly.
The Machines controlling/looking after the Boys and Men were interesting, but I would have liked to know a bit more about Adaline and its history. The details I did learn seemed to be more of a mythos, rather than a true history.
I felt the society and culture of the clones were shown really well and it was good to see that 62 was eventually able to learn and develop, even if it did seem to happen a huge amount at the end. I was, however, quite confused by the doctor. In his first appearance, he seemed to know more than his later appearances suggested.
I would have liked to see more of 99. I liked his and 62’s friendship outside of them being technically brothers.
The book was mostly well-written, though I did spot a few errors while reading. There were some humorous moments that did make me smile.
It would be good to read a sequel to this book in the future, because although it did have a proper ending, I felt there was a lot more of the story that could have been told.
Ink of Blood 