What do you think?
Rate this book
Models and Citizens: Reality Gradient, Book 1
A genetically-altered clone. A college graduate. And it’s a long way to Canada….
Harper Rawls struggles to come to grips with her parents’ deaths, but it’s not going well. Accompanying her guilt and inadequacy, she’s somehow gained the attention of an anti-cloning extremist organization. Out of “respect for her father”, they now watch her every move.
Ordell Bentley, a genetically-altered clone, flees violence at the hands of the same group. Death stalks him through the nascent jungles of League City, Texas, as he makes his way to his lover’s house to warn her, only to find Harper instead.
The only escape is through the Midwestern desert, and Ordell has no food, no money, and no transportation. Hunted by the HPM and an unseen stalker and plagued by a corporate-sponsored bounty that creeps steadily upward, the future is bleak….
Models and Citizens takes place in dystopian future where the climate has moved on, taking with it the jobs and dreams of the people. Models, genetically-altered clones like Ordell, work the jobs others won’t, and are hated for it, but since escape means death, most suffer in silence.
A cross between Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go and Bladerunner (based on Philip K. Dick’s Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep), this novel entertains from the first paragraph to the last sentence as Harper and Ordell struggle to survive in a post-climate change world. If you loved Atropos by John Lapuntich, you will enjoy this gripping thrill ride.
Harper Rawls struggles to come to grips with her parents’ deaths, but it’s not going well. Accompanying her guilt and inadequacy, she’s somehow gained the attention of an anti-cloning extremist organization. Out of “respect for her father”, they now watch her every move.
Ordell Bentley, a genetically-altered clone, flees violence at the hands of the same group. Death stalks him through the nascent jungles of League City, Texas, as he makes his way to his lover’s house to warn her, only to find Harper instead.
The only escape is through the Midwestern desert, and Ordell has no food, no money, and no transportation. Hunted by the HPM and an unseen stalker and plagued by a corporate-sponsored bounty that creeps steadily upward, the future is bleak….
Models and Citizens takes place in dystopian future where the climate has moved on, taking with it the jobs and dreams of the people. Models, genetically-altered clones like Ordell, work the jobs others won’t, and are hated for it, but since escape means death, most suffer in silence.
A cross between Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go and Bladerunner (based on Philip K. Dick’s Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep), this novel entertains from the first paragraph to the last sentence as Harper and Ordell struggle to survive in a post-climate change world. If you loved Atropos by John Lapuntich, you will enjoy this gripping thrill ride.
Audible Audio
Published July 8, 2022
7 people are currently reading
914 people want to read
About the author
Andrew Sweet
16 books55 followersOne sci-fi universe. Infinite possibilities.
Andrew’s works are high-concept works that attempt to answer questions about human nature in science fiction settings. Could slavery happen tomorrow, based on historical patterns? How do normal people justify and rationalize their roles in an oppressive system? He provides psychological insights through entertaining, futuristic worlds.
Having recently published Models and Citizens and the short story collection Gemini Book, taking place in the same universe, Andrew is currently working on the second book of the Reality Gradient series - Bodhi Rising.
From a small town like many of his characters, Andrew grew up in Texas but currently resides just outside of Seattle, Washington, with his wife and two children who consume most of his non-writing time. Any additional available time he spends playing guitar or writing.
Publications include:
Bodhi Rising. (In-progress) Two friends, a sickly youth and a coma patient, avoid death to find themselves on opposite sides of the corporate battle for the future of the immortality industry.
Models and Citizens. A college graduate and an escaped clone attempt to evade capture and persecution while forging an unlikely friendship.
Gemini Book. A collection of short stories taking place in the same universe as Models and Citizens.
Authentication, privacy, and security can exploit brainwaves by smartphone. Invited scientific paper at SPIE.DSS.
A Handful of Sweets by The Sweet Family. A sentimental gift to his parents with an eclectic mix of stories.
Recent influences include:
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
Severance by Ling Ma
Ancestral Night by Elizabeth Bear
The Three-Body Problem by Cizin Liu
Andrew’s works are high-concept works that attempt to answer questions about human nature in science fiction settings. Could slavery happen tomorrow, based on historical patterns? How do normal people justify and rationalize their roles in an oppressive system? He provides psychological insights through entertaining, futuristic worlds.
Having recently published Models and Citizens and the short story collection Gemini Book, taking place in the same universe, Andrew is currently working on the second book of the Reality Gradient series - Bodhi Rising.
From a small town like many of his characters, Andrew grew up in Texas but currently resides just outside of Seattle, Washington, with his wife and two children who consume most of his non-writing time. Any additional available time he spends playing guitar or writing.
Publications include:
Bodhi Rising. (In-progress) Two friends, a sickly youth and a coma patient, avoid death to find themselves on opposite sides of the corporate battle for the future of the immortality industry.
Models and Citizens. A college graduate and an escaped clone attempt to evade capture and persecution while forging an unlikely friendship.
Gemini Book. A collection of short stories taking place in the same universe as Models and Citizens.
Authentication, privacy, and security can exploit brainwaves by smartphone. Invited scientific paper at SPIE.DSS.
A Handful of Sweets by The Sweet Family. A sentimental gift to his parents with an eclectic mix of stories.
Recent influences include:
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
Severance by Ling Ma
Ancestral Night by Elizabeth Bear
The Three-Body Problem by Cizin Liu
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
April 4, 2021
New form of prejudice
It took me a few chapters but it finally sunk in. Clones.
The story was one of heartbreak and intrigue.
The characters were strong and well defined.
Enjoyed the story all the way till the end.
Kind of a cliff hanger but the main story did end.
Looking forward to the next part.
It took me a few chapters but it finally sunk in. Clones.
The story was one of heartbreak and intrigue.
The characters were strong and well defined.
Enjoyed the story all the way till the end.
Kind of a cliff hanger but the main story did end.
Looking forward to the next part.
July 9, 2023
As current conversations about the benefits and dangers of artificial intelligence swirl online, the idea of cloning is fascinating. Sweet so clearly painted a picture of what the not-so-distant future could look like that I found it completely believable. He captured the greediness of large corporations who could essentially modify and clone their ideal workers, paying them a fraction of the cost of their human counterparts. He imagined groups such as the Human Pride Movement that could form and claim “birthright superiority,” quickly morphing into nothing more than another hate group. He even explored the political and legal aspects of clone ownership and protection.
Sweet is skilled in creating beautifully flawed characters who must overcome their weaknesses and examine their own motivations as they determine the value of another human being’s life, whether clone or natural born. Perhaps the best example of this is Harper, who struggles with high anxiety making even day-to-day functioning overwhelming. Yet, she digs her heels in and boldly faces down a powerful corporation in an attempt to free Ordell from slavery.
Sweet shares the story of what happens when two lives collide through shared tragedy and trauma. The bond that forms between Harper and Ordell over her mother’s death feels both deep and unbreakable yet fragile as if even the slightest misstep could bring an end to it. As I read Models and Citizens, I repeatedly thought this could easily be adapted into a series or movie. Sweet chose a relevant subject matter that causes his reader to think more carefully about the future of the human race and our ability to survive and thrive.
Sweet is skilled in creating beautifully flawed characters who must overcome their weaknesses and examine their own motivations as they determine the value of another human being’s life, whether clone or natural born. Perhaps the best example of this is Harper, who struggles with high anxiety making even day-to-day functioning overwhelming. Yet, she digs her heels in and boldly faces down a powerful corporation in an attempt to free Ordell from slavery.
Sweet shares the story of what happens when two lives collide through shared tragedy and trauma. The bond that forms between Harper and Ordell over her mother’s death feels both deep and unbreakable yet fragile as if even the slightest misstep could bring an end to it. As I read Models and Citizens, I repeatedly thought this could easily be adapted into a series or movie. Sweet chose a relevant subject matter that causes his reader to think more carefully about the future of the human race and our ability to survive and thrive.
October 3, 2022
Andrew Sweet examines the value of humanity in the emotional and action-packed dystopian thriller Models and Citizens! As Earth’s climate turns sour, people resort to cloning to create Models, genetically modified people designed to be a disposable work force. When one of these clones is targeted by a hate group, it’s up to Ordell to get her safely to Canada. Sweet builds a believable world with palpable danger and characters you fear and root for! I was very pleasantly reminded of Detroit Become Human, especially with the novel’s heart wrapped around that debate of what makes us human. If you love dystopian fiction with great moral depth and tense sequences, definitely come journey across the United States with Models and Citizens!
August 27, 2024
Models and Citizens explores the possibility of a future where climate change has drastically altered our landscape and clones have replaced much of the labor force. Technology has solved one problem, only to create a whole set of new ones. These are, of course, my favorite kinds of stories. Sweet tells an engaging tale with solid world-building, three-dimensional characters, and surprisingly heartfelt moments, and I found myself thinking about the concepts he raised for days after turning the last page. I'm looking forward to reading book 2!
January 17, 2021
"Models and Citizens is a dystopian novel by Andrew Sweet. It's the 22nd century, and a sharp decline in global population growth has led to large scale cloning of humans to meet the labor force demands of the industrial sector. A young woman named Harper Rawls is traumatized when she witnesses her father killing her mother and then himself in a fit of rage. Meanwhile, Ordell Bently, a clone, a.k.a. model, flees for his life as thugs belonging to the human supremacist organization known as the Human Pride Movement turn up to assassinate him. Circumstances force Ordell to take shelter with Harper, which results in a burgeoning friendship. But the mass production human cloning company Emergent Biotechnology is on Ordell's tail. Harper must now do everything she can to save Ordell and move him to Canada.
Models and Citizens is an action-packed rollercoaster of a novel that moves at a breakneck speed and leaves you asking for more. Author Andrew Sweet has created a fully-realized world in which sci-fi and reality blend together to form a dystopian masterpiece. The characters feel relatable, and you can't help but care for Harper's and Ordell's fates with each page turned. There are some striking similarities between the Human Pride Movement and supremacist organizations existing globally in our own world. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the novel and couldn't put it down until I finished reading. I would highly recommend it to fans of dystopian novels as I found Models and Citizens to be unlike anything I've ever read before." - Reader's Favorite (https://readersfavorite.com/author-ar...)
Models and Citizens is an action-packed rollercoaster of a novel that moves at a breakneck speed and leaves you asking for more. Author Andrew Sweet has created a fully-realized world in which sci-fi and reality blend together to form a dystopian masterpiece. The characters feel relatable, and you can't help but care for Harper's and Ordell's fates with each page turned. There are some striking similarities between the Human Pride Movement and supremacist organizations existing globally in our own world. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the novel and couldn't put it down until I finished reading. I would highly recommend it to fans of dystopian novels as I found Models and Citizens to be unlike anything I've ever read before." - Reader's Favorite (https://readersfavorite.com/author-ar...)
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews