Six wakes

jkb@books.theunseen.city reviewed Six wakes by Mur Lafferty

Fun story

3 stars

People wake up and see their dead clones floating all around them, what is not to like? I did enjoy this book. It's a murder mystery that is heavy on the characters and their back stories. It was enjoyable as the book turned into another kind of story but right at the end of it!

I feel like there was more book to be had. Maybe there is a sequel? I haven't checked it out but I will say if you like Sci-Fi, and murder mysteries this should be satisfying. There are some aspects that are telegraphed way early but in the end everything is explained to my satisfaction. But I want an ending to it.

dare reviewed Six wakes by Mur Lafferty

Review of 'Six wakes' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

I liked this one in theory more than in the execution. Even though the plot was clever and the characters were interesting, most of them also suffered from a serious case of assholery and weren't really called out on that. Also, I didn't quite buy the technology in combination with the society that was depicted, even though the tech itself was interesting enough.

Thom reviewed Six wakes by Mur Lafferty

Review of 'Six wakes' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

A closed room mystery, in space, with clones and memory loss and hacking and most of all, characters with secrets. A lot to tackle, perhaps too much.

I've read several of Mur Lafferty's essays on role playing games, leading me to this novel. She does a good job with the science here, and has clearly thought through the ethical parts of cloning and personality. Within the universe she has created, this book has a strong plot, with twists up to the end.

While reading, I was reminded of 2001, Project Hail Mary, And Then There Were None, and others. Each of these takes a subset of the topics above and really nails it. There are times where this novel feels a little too busy. Mechanically, the author uses Maria's perspective and all the historical flashbacks to good effect. There are a few additional chapters from the perspective of other characters …

A closed room mystery, in space, with clones and memory loss and hacking and most of all, characters with secrets. A lot to tackle, perhaps too much.

I've read several of Mur Lafferty's essays on role playing games, leading me to this novel. She does a good job with the science here, and has clearly thought through the ethical parts of cloning and personality. Within the universe she has created, this book has a strong plot, with twists up to the end.

While reading, I was reminded of 2001, Project Hail Mary, And Then There Were None, and others. Each of these takes a subset of the topics above and really nails it. There are times where this novel feels a little too busy. Mechanically, the author uses Maria's perspective and all the historical flashbacks to good effect. There are a few additional chapters from the perspective of other characters which don't work as well.

Overall, I liked this mystery and the eventual outcome. Recently, Lafferty wrote the expanded novelization of Solo, and that might be where I turn next. If you like a mystery AND science fiction, with a dose of cloning and ethics, I would recommend reading this book.

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