Books Like Great North Road

Even before Dolly, the sheep, became the first mammal successfully cloned, the topic generated a lot of speculation and controversy. While there are plenty of moral and ethical implications that prevent the cloning of humans, this hasn't stopped numerous authors from using the subject as a basis for their stories. For example, in Great North Road by Peter F. Hamilton, a powerful family that consists of successive generations of clones rules over everyone. For more stories where clones or cloning take center stage, check out the following books like Great North Road.

Six Wakes

By Mur Lafferty

Six Wakes is the debut novel of Mur Lafferty and is set onboard the starship Dormire. The story opens with the protagonist, Maria Arena, awakening in a cloning vat streaked with drying blood. The ship holds seven cloning vats, with the purpose of awakening a clone of a crew member each time its previous incarnation dies. These clones awaken each time with the memories of how they died. However, things are different this time, as Maria has no memory of her death. Even more concerning is that she is not the only crew member who died recently.

Spares

by Michael Marshall Smith

Spares is the second novel by Michael Marshall Smith and is set in a future where human clone farms exist. These farms are home to spares, which are human clones made as the ultimate health insurance for the wealthy. By cloning themselves at birth, they can access spare parts for their bodies when needed. Jack is an ex-cop who works as a caretaker at a Spare Farm. However, when Jack realizes that the clones are people with feelings, he decides to break them out and go on the run.

Kiln People

by David Brin

Clones are so common in the near future of Kiln People by David Brin that anyone can create a copy of themselves at home. These clones are made out of cheap clay that can be imprinted with a copy of someone's soul that has been scanned. The protagonist, Albert Morris, is a private investigator who makes use of his clones to handle several cases on the go at once. However, when he takes on a ring of bootleggers making illegal copies of a famous actress, he also stumbles across an explosive secret.

The House of Scorpion

by Nancy Farmer

The House of Scorpion is the first book in the series of the same name by Nancy Farmer. The story follows Matt Alacrán, a young clone of a drug lord known as "El Patrón." Matt is initially unaware that he is a clone of El Patrón, but thanks to a cruel joke discover the truth of his existence. Matt finds himself surrounded by a sinister cast of characters and decides that escape is his only hope of survival. However, in a world where people hate and fear clones being a clone of the drug-lord ruler of the country complicates things considerably.

Cloned Lives

by Pamela Sargent

Cloned Lives by Pamela Sargent is the story of Michael, Edward, Albert, James, and Kira Swenson. All five of them are human clones created by the renowned astrophysicist Paul Swenson and his team of bioscientists. Swenson and his team took advantage of a brief lull in legislative restrictions to make the five clones using Swenson's own genetic material. It is not an easy life for the clones, as others view them with hostility and suspicion. Then, when tragedy strikes, Kira and her brothers decide that they will all follow their own separate paths in an attempt to live a so-called normal life. But, unfortunately, they are all still left grappling with the question of why they were made.

Third Twin

By Ken Follett

Third Twin is a suspense novel by Ken Follett, starring a genetic researcher named Jeanie Ferrami. Jeanie is studying the premise of nature versus nurture but requires identical twins for the data she needs. To complicate matters even further, these twins would have to be estranged. To aid with her research, she creates new software that is able to search health insurance company databases for identical twins. However, her first match, Steve Logan, was unaware he had a twin, let alone that this twin, Dennis Pinker, was incarcerated for murder. Shortly afterward, Steve is arrested for an alleged crime, and Jeanie faces backlash for her research, which makes her suspect that she has become the target of influential people with deadly secrets they want to keep hidden.

The Secret

by Eva Hoffman

The Secret by Eva Hoffman is the story of a teen named Iris Surrey. Iris's home is a rambling wooden house in a small college town where she lives with her mother, Elizabeth. While she appears to have had a perfectly normal childhood, Iris could never shake this feeling that something about her life is not entirely natural or authentic. However, the truth turns out to be even more shocking than she expected when she discovers that she is actually a clone of her mother. With her world in turmoil, Iris tries to track down her other relatives, but much to her dismay, they are unable to see past the shocking act of science that birthed her.