Clone

by Richard Cowper (pseud.), John Middleton Murry Jr., Ian Pollock (Illustrator)

Alvin is a clone. One of four, all raised separately, all with unnatural powers. Terrified by their potential, their creator attempts to wipe their recent memories, their knowledge of the talents. But the process goes wrong, and all four are left with no memory at all. They see the world with brand new eyes. Sent to a remote research station, kept under the guidance of an intelligent ape, Alvin begins to recover his memories. Desperate to rediscover his brothers, he sets off to London in a desperate search for their creator. But when he is kidnapped by criminal apes, the trouble really begins.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy, Ebooks

168 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1972

About the author

Pen name for John Middleton Murry Jr.

Reviews

[Chris · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF. You ever come across a writer who uses ten-dollar words to be clever or for comedic effect? That’s in here. Remember how the Austin Powers movies would satirize the odd sexuality of some 1960s movies, even though those movies were already satirizing themselves? There’s some weird “sexual hijinks” asides in here too. There isn’t anything here to hold my interest, it tries to be clever or funny in a 1960s semi-campy way. It just falls flat and makes me not want to waste time reading it.

[iambehindu · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've grown fond of Cowper after reading Phoenix and The Twilight of Briareus. He shows a real command of style that owes more to English pastoral writers like H. E. Bates and D. H. Lawrence than any direct science fiction influence. Both Phoenix and Briareus showcase the atavistic qualities of his novels concerned with morals, romance, and betrayal, like you've stumbled upon a forgotten incunabulum to dust off.

As a science fiction novel, Clone is not effective. Naturally when any author I love is subject to such widespread dismissal, I hope to swing in on the critic's chandelier, dashing and dodging around the dozen or so other people who have read this book. But alas, they are correct.

Clone is a satire, which appears to have gone over most readers' heads. At times it was teetering on feeling like a distant cousin to Gilliam's Brazil before Cowper made it quite clear that he had no singular objective for the novel.

We'll call this one a mulligan and while I can sense the fun Cowper had writing the story, I sadly was not convinced to come along for the ride.

[Jack (Sci-Fi Finds) · Rating 1 out of 5]

Oh boy.

Almost instantly you're slapped with some embarrassing writing that feels like Cowper sat with a thesaurus next to him, where he constantly plucked out unnecessary words and phrases in a desperate attempt to seem intelligent. This continues through the entire book, which follows a clone named Alvin who is beginning to remember his origins and seek out his kin, in a world where a population of intelligent apes are rebelling against humanity.

At one point, a woman is sexually abused by multiple apes. Afterwards, she shrugs off the experience, seemingly laughing at it and offers to show Alvin 'what all the fuss is about'. I'm offended not by the horrific events that take place, but by the totally unrealistic reaction that the characters exhibit. This is a strange novel that did nothing for me except leave me annoyed.

[Paul Carr · Rating 1 out of 5]

People who liked this and call it "fun" or a "light romp" seem to be fans of misogyny, objectification, and rape normalization. The female characters, even the doctors/scientists, but especially our "heroine" Cheryl are there for nothing more than an object of sexualization for Alvin and the other clones. At the end that is clear when Norbert goes up to her and asks her to have sex with him/them because" well, he needs you to and it would make him feel better". When she is gang raped, her response was "no big deal. It happens. You kind of get used to it and even start liking it". And the doctor's partner, who was apparently raped by a and traumatized by it so much she hated all chimps.....until the undercover agent chimp comes in when she's drugged up and she forces herself on him, moaning and saying...and here I quote "Rape me, you big black bastard" (Hmm, very subtle Cowper). Then a quick aside tells us she ran off with him and sexed him to death. Come on now. People knock books like Growing Up in Tier 3000 for it's outdated and forced, yet intentional boundary pushing for shock value as a social commentary but we call this slop a fun romp when there was no boundary pushing to been seen, it was just to been seen as something normal. Pretty sad how people can see things when they want to, but let it slide when they feel like it.

[Carlos O'Donell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really fun read, light, not very technical, and only scratches the surface of a dystopian Europe. However, that's not the story the author wants to tell, instead we are lead on a chase, and as usual chases end abruptly. I don't mind that the book ends abruptly, in fact I really enjoyed the ending. I recommend it as light science fiction, it's definitely better than the fare we see on the shelves today.

[SciFiOne · Rating 5 out of 5]

1979 Grade A+
2023 Grade A

The basic story is about Alvin (a Clone) reconnecting with his 3 brothers and their "awakening." But what the content is really about is the absurd society Cowper has built. The society is an overpopulated world (mainly England is shown) derived from 1972 society, and it makes fun of just about everything from sex to politicians. And it's all done in formal British prose. I was often chuckling after reading a section. Very Enjoyable.

Recommended

[Readers Avenue · Rating 4 out of 5]

With no dust jacket, so no blurb, I had nothing to go on regarding this book, other than it was in the “Science Fiction” section…and is about clones. That being enough I picked it up a year or so ago and have only just gotten round to reading it.

Clone is about – you guessed it – clones. Who have incredible mind powers that grow as they start to join together. For the majority of the story we follow one of the clones Alvin, as he travels with his Antaen-hybrid Chimpanzee friend Norbert, meeting the woman of his visions, his creator, and eventually his brothers.

Written in 1972 and set in 2072, a future where society is fractured between humans and human/ape hybrids – who are struggling for independence in a world that doesn’t seem to care for them. Parts of this future show an interesting and at times cynical spin Cowper has put on aspects of society, such as public transport, fast food and even The Samaritans. I found this interesting, the story is obviously set in a dystopian future but we are given such limited information about it, that we as the reader are allowed to infer for ourselves the cause – or lack of action? – that put this all into motion.

Clone is one of those books that bridges the gap between Science Fiction and Fantasy. A reader can only suspend belief so far when reading Science Fiction before the incredible things these Clones can do stop having any plausible basis in science and just become magic. It is a thin line I think, and one that is very easily crossed in Science Fiction, especially when mind powers are involved.

At only 190 pages there was not much character development to speak of but the characters are well fleshed out. I felt the ending seemed a little rushed and at the time of reading it I felt it very unusual, bit the more I had time to reflect on the book that more it made sense.

I am going to include a trigger warning with this book though, rape is mentioned a few times and dealt with in a very blasé manner which could upset some readers.

While a bit unusual in places, Clone was an interesting read. I would definitely pick up another book by Richard Cowper if I came across one.

[Dark-Draco · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alvin has no memory of his early life - he's a bit dim, his ears stick out and his best friend is an intelligent ape named Norbert. But when he starts seeing a green eyed angel, things start to go wrong. He's kidnapped by the Universal Anthropod Brotherhood, nearly gets killed during an experiment in controlled murderous behaviour and starts to remember his past life. And he meets his angel... And he realises there are three more people, just like him.

This was really funny and the story was great. I loved how the Samaritans help an overcrowded world! The ending was a bit confusing, but good nonethless. A great way to cheer up a dreary winter week.

[Russell · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don't know wether to call this Carry On Cloning or suggest trigger warnings, either way not recommended. The overal themes and ideas hold up well from it's publication in 1972 but it's plot, characterisation and through-away misogyny less so.

[Nik Maack · Rating 4 out of 5]

A light science fiction romp. Ever time I even started to feel bored, the author switched course. While it does feel like it's all being made up as it goes along, the book still manages to entertain and amuse. It's all a bit shallow, while pretending to be deep. And the ending is both unstatisfying but also quite funny, in its own weird way.

A bit dated and hippy-like. A sort of poor man's Stranger In A Strange Land. The book was originally published in 1972, which explains that. Still, surprisingly, a lot of it holds up.

I found this book in a free book bin. My copy is a library discard from The Kanata Public Library.

Edit: I see that another Goodreads member gave the book one star and said the book was fully of misogyny and rape and other terrible things. I guess if you're looking to be offended by this book, you can be. I honestly didn't even notice the stuff he's complaining about. (Okay the character saying, "Come on you big black bastard!" did jump out at me.)

Overall, I found the female characters strong and sympathetic. (Or at least as strong as the other characters in the book, which isn't very strong at all.) My impression was that in this science fiction future, people have sex and it's no big deal. One female character does say to a male character, (paraphrased), "Oh, you've never had sex? I should show you how to do it, sometime. Not right now though, because I'm not in the mood."

There are also positive depictions of lesbianism and maybe even a positive trans character. So, you know, be offended or praise it. Or just acknowledge it's a book from 1972 and get over yourself.

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

Deciding to read my own shelves (ie: fewer new books and library checkouts) has proven to be a little more disturbing than I'd like. This one is a REALLY good example. Maybe it's because sci-fi was traditionally written for men or maybe it's because it was the 1970s but literally every woman in this novel is involved in a rape - sometimes with humans and sometimes with apes, sometimes as the aggressor and sometimes as the victim - and it's somehow supposed to be erotic. Naw, son.

But even if you can get past that the story is all over the place. There are telepathic clones but also there are talking apes but also there is this suicide assistant who flies but also there's an experiment using the general public to see if adding a substance to the body makes a person die if they get to angry as a way to weed out the riff-raff. It's like the Novel of Misfit Storylines.

I've been misled by great covers before, but perhaps never as badly as this one did.

[J McEvoy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Considering what this author is capable of, Clone is a very disappointing and very dated science fiction farce, perhaps dated even when it was published. It splices the frenetic energy of the swinging sixties with some very bawdy seventies humour. It doesn't work as satire or parody; really it displays all the worst characteristics of this particular author, who often hated the genre he was working in. A self-hating book, deliberately so.

[Ray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh yeah, this is a keeper

[Mackenzie Carter · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF. what the hell lmao

[Gingaeru · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a semi-dark satirical comedy; if you haven't got a sense of humor, don't read it. It contains themes such as suicide, bestiality, and "rape," but somehow manages to present them in a quietly hilarious, almost-Dickensian light. The humor creeps up on you unannounced. My face was fixed with a grin as I read, and I released the occasional burst of laughter, but when I got to a particular scene, things took a turn for the hysterical. The uniquely bizarre setting held my interest from the first page (it becomes slightly less interesting for the last 50 or so). It is pretty sexual, but with a pen name like "Richard Cowper" (Penis Pre-ejaculate), I shouldn't be too surprised. While I personally despise sex, my enjoyment wasn't hindered. John Middleton Murry Jr. was certainly a capable writer.

It's set in the dystopian UK of 2072, where the population has grown out of control (life expectancy has gone up to 150 years). Despite this, someone thought it was a good idea to create a race of intelligent chimpanzees with robotic opposable thumbs (simply called anthropoids), making the world even more crowded. Various organizations attempt to devise creative schemes to lower the population without resorting to outright murder.

On a whim, an elderly scientist illegally creates four identical clones. The basis for the experiment was that both the male and female from which the genetic material was extracted possessed eidetic memory. The boys inherit their "parents'" eidetic capabilities but are otherwise simpletons. Then one day, the four share a vision of the future. Sometime after their prophecy comes true, they are brought together for the first time (the professor had kept them separated). During this episode, they exhibit god-like powers, and the professor, out of panic, wipes their memories.

The story picks up a few years after the incident, and we follow the misadventures of Alvin (one of the clones) after he sees a vision of a woman he's never met. Other characters include Norbert (a religious chimp and Alvin's best friend), Cheryl (a "Samaritan"; a sort of "angel of death" who "helps" people who've lost the nerve to end it all), and Professor Poynter (an elderly lesbian scientist, and the creator of the clones, currently under investigation for "seditious behavior").

Don't trust the negative reviews. Their writers might be incapable of appreciating genuine comedy. Or they may just have limited reading comprehension. Who knows? Whatever the case, they don't know what they're talking about; this book was a blast.
...

While Cheryl is treated as the object of the clones' desires, they're simple-minded adolescent males who've lived in general ignorance of society. What do you expect? Aside from their obsession with Cheryl, the clones are regarded as "saintly" imbeciles. Anyway, she brushes off their advances throughout the story, so I don't see how anyone can fault the book for that.
...

The Avon cover is a poor representation of the characters; Cheryl has short hair and green eyes, the clones are "moon-faced," "with prominent ears," and "hair like straw."
...

Typos:
"an dsee" (and see)
-
"He himself was not particular upset..."
-
Late in the book, there were just a few sentences with missing words.
...

Uses of "loom" (verb): 3
Uses of "here and there": 3 (The 1st and 2nd are only 3 paragraphs apart!)
Uses of "like so many/much": 2
-
Alvin "swallows manfully": twice
Non-manful swallowing and/or gulping occurs: 4+ times
...

192 pages, not 168.

8/10

[Alien · Rating 3 out of 5]

The earth suffers from gross overpopulation. Through an illegal gene manipulation experiment biologists produce quadruplets. They are distributed among different foster parents. When they meet for the first time, strange things start happening.

This was a satire. Most of the time it was pretty harmless, but it had some unexpected nasty moments.
I did not like the paranormal stuff. In the 70s the paranormal seemed fascinating and plausible, but 40 years later nothing has come of it. So it does not interest me any more. I was not sorry when I got to the end of the book.

(I read the German translation in a double feature called "Frankensteins neue Kinder")

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story ended more strangely, and more abruptly than it managed to begin with. Still, overall I was very pleased and entertained, especially taking into consideration that I had no idea what to expect from an early 70's British Science Fiction novel I found for a dime in a junk shop.

The clones thing was fun. The eidetic stuff, kind of interesting. The smart apes... pretty cool. The story itself? Well, it was good enough that I plan to read more of his things.

[Erik Graff · Rating 3 out of 5]

"John Middleton Murry, Jr. (May 9, 1926–March 31, 2002) was an English writer who used the names Colin Murry and Richard Cowper" and who wrote this science fiction novel under the latter name in 1972. So far as I recall, it was mildly amusing.

[bluetyson]

Clone by Richard Cowper (1973), [1st ed. in U.S.A.]

[Andy]

1ST PBACK EDITION.

[Danny Fahey · Rating 3 out of 5]

enjoyable read.

[Bruce Hammond · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fun science fiction romp.

[Dami (Damiellar) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is heaps of fun!

[Roger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great science fiction. Fast read, likable characters, dark humor, sometimes cynical, but fun.