Spin Control

I finished Spin Control a week or so ago. On the Amazon site, I found J. Avellanet's description matches my own feelings.

Spin Control won the 2006 Philip K. Dick award.

The plot deals with two groups.

• Syndicates
• Earth humans

The Syndicates consist of clones. Clones operate under strict communal principles. They don't breed. They consider themselves far superior to humans. They call themselves post-humans. Clones fall in love and have sex - with clones of the same model. They espouse homosexuality.

Earth humans live among the sorry ruins of a post-apocalyptic world. They dwell in the shadow of the Ring, the series of orbiting vessels where many (most?) humans live. Humans still fight over control of the Holy Land (Outremer, the Middle East, Israel/Palestine).

Between the two groups, the clones command much more interest. We empathize most with Arkady, the main character, a clone. His stories of the expedition to Novalis, strung between interaction with earthers, keep us reading. His love for the near-deviant Arkasha (a clone of the same model) explains all his motives. We like this guy.

The earthers could vanish, and we'd lose nothing. Cohen, an artificial intelligence, is the main Earth character. Li, a clone from a wiped-out race of clones, settled on Earth and married Cohen. She's number two. Characters like Cohen and Li don't interest me. I've met them before, and they bore me.

Moriarty's greatest skill shines through in characterization. Osnat, an Israeli commando and assassin, come across as lifelike. The novelist clearly loves Arkady. Reading these characters give me much happiness.

The plot gets complicated and far-fetched. The narrative runs quickly, though, and carries you through to the end. The end promises more: an alien invasion, or at least a reaction to that possibility. Stay tuned for the next spin.

I wish Moriarty had tightened this novel. As she develops, she'll learn. She references great sci-fi novels like Ender's Game, Dune, and many others. I suspect Moriarty will eventually write a novel that stands in their ranks. Spin Control doesn't reach that level, but you can see the talent.