Chris Moriarty Spin Control

Spin Control

Chris Moriarty

Bantam, Jul 2006, $12.00

ISBN: 0553382144

Those that matter, the highest level of purebred humans, consider the clone Arkady as expendable; lesser humans especially in deep space consider him a soulless Golem. However, he is different than his Syndicate peers although he thinks and reacts like a clone. Arkady suffers from a malady that renders clones somewhat ineffective on questionable assignments such as terraforming planets. AIs and clones are constructs in which feelings are excluded to avoid interfering with mission accomplishment. However, Arkady ponders the ethics of his actions as he struggles to follow the directives of his handler Korchow.

Israeli Captain Moshe Feldman and his aid Osnat meet and smuggle Arkady through the UN Tech Embargo onto earth where he arrives in Israel carrying a biological antidote. However, Arkady soon realizes the Israelis do not plan to use the elixir to help people; instead they plan to sell it to the highest bidder as a biological weapon of mass destruction; Arkady is for sale too. Meanwhile the Artificial Life Emancipation Front knows trouble is brewing in Israel so they send their best agent former Peacekeeper and Syndicate executioner Major Catherine Li to steal the biological weapon and kill the traitorous Arkady.

Arkady, a minor character in the exhilarating prequel SPIN STATE, takes center stage in this adrenaline pumping futuristic espionage science fiction thriller. The story line is action-packed yet driven by Arkady as his thought processes evolve into considering right from wrong. The returns of Li as a critical support character adds to the tale that once again contains a human rights message evolved from Orwell's still relevant (even in the United States) Animal Farm meets Philip K. Dick's Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep (Blade Runner), as "all animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others" leading the lesser to fight or flight.

Harriet Klausner