The Clones of Mawcett

A Galaxy Unknown #3

by Thomas DePrima

While digging through the ruins of a long dead civilization on the planet Mawcett, a team of Terran and Nordakian archeologists find an underground tunnel leading to a door in such extraordinary condition that it could have been fabricated as recently as that morning. They labor throughout the day, using every modern device available to them, but are unable to gain entry.

Then, in the early hours of the new day, seemingly in response to the screams of a frustrated, over-tired scientist, the door slides noiselessly open. Upon passing through the entranceway, the archeologists are stunned to find an elaborate complex in pristine condition. Summoning the courage to venture further, they enter a large circular chamber lined with strange electronic equipment, and immediately become engrossed in examining strange symbols etched into the floor near the center of the room. Suddenly, they're bathed in a strange light that paralyzes them where they stand. They watch in frozen terror as a clear, circular wall rises up around them. When the enclosed area begins to fill with a dense ocher gas smelling of persimmons, the dig site laborers, who had witnessed the activity from the periphery, run screaming for the entrance.

133,900 Words - 417 Pages

Genres: Science Fiction, Space Opera, Military Fiction, Space, Military Science Fiction, Adventure, Ebooks

438 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2010

Reviews

[Coyora Dokusho · Rating 3 out of 5]

what's better than a mary sue???? MORE! Mary! Sues!

still readin'...

[Peter · Rating 1 out of 5]

OK - I made it to the end of this book and started the next one, but I decided to abandon it.

Although I liked the militaristic setting of these books there were elements that I increasingly grew uncomfortable with.

The protagonist seemed to do no wrong, always succeeding despite improbable odds against her, and because of this - there was no drama - no tension.

I also found the sexualization of the main character and the author's barely concealed kinks being written into the story off-putting. I don't normally subscribe to feminist agenda - but really, this book is a reminder of whats wrong with masculine SF writing. I read SF to get a sense of wonder and excitement about what could be "out there" in the cosmos - I don't need to read the author's clumsy attempts of spicing up the story with soft porn.

That coupled with poor editing - the endless recaps and overuse of the author's hackneyed phrases meant I couldn't continue reading this series to the bitter end.

I'd like to see the author subjected to the bondage scenes he described - but unfortunately I think he'd like it.

[Cloak88 · Rating 3 out of 5]

LoL, yet more enjoyable sci-fy pulp

What could an author do to get more awesome characters like his main character....? Well you could clone her?! No serious you should. Lt. Carver is now an all out Hero is tasked to lead the ground element of a mission to secure and investigate an out of control cloning machine that makes exact duplicates of everyone caught in it. Nothing could possibly go wrong nou could it... of course not....Right!?!?!?

A fun read, more wish fulfillment and some weird-ass scenes.
Not a bad book overal.

[Marv · Rating 5 out of 5]

It really is getting more interesting, and I like that this story has some sort of "everyday space business" in it, it's something I haven't seen much.

[Dirk D · Rating 4 out of 5]

This third entry in the Jennetta Carver story manages to do what some rival authors struggle with and that's keeping the story fresh. When following multiple sequels to an outstanding original it's hard to avoid being repetitive (even David Weber's Honor Harrington series falls into this trap eventually as does Mike Sheppard's Kris Longknife saga). I'm only three books into this series and am still engaged and want to see what happens next. We'll see how I feel upon arriving at book six or so. That being said a novel approach to this installment and the adventures of Jenetta Carver is an archeological expedition that uncovers mysterious machinery on a long dead planet that accidentally clones the archeologists and keeps on producing identical copies over every three weeks. When Jenetta's ship is dispatched to investigate she winds up neck deep in plots, counterplots and big reveals. To give to much more away would spoil the fun but it is a departure of sorts from the first two novels but follows the same storyline with many of the same players opening new doors to this galaxy they inhabit and the enemies who try to destroy them.

[DSeera · Rating 1 out of 5]

Gee. It was a five star until Mr. DePrima, you started justifying US's actions of dropping of atomic bombs at HIROSHIMA AND NAGASAKI! I truly find this series marvelous and each book a page-turner but I find such biased statements throughout the series and it makes me doubt the mindset of an author of the 21st century. Are your books only meant to be read by a specific group of people? Your perception is truly tilted and questionable Mr. DePrima. Hope you could set aside your colored glasses before you think to write another book but then, maybe it's too much expectation from a wise author such as yourself.

[Bernard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Incredibly heroic main character? Yes. Aliens running around being alien, or at least different? Yes. Secret technology hidden away for 18,000 years? Yes. Pirates, scientists, marines, starships and a assorted villainy? Yes. There may even be a few clones...

This book has all of the ingredients of a great pulp sci-fi space opera series.

Well worth reading!

[Andrew J Hebert · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series just keeps getting better

What a fun read - love the twists and turns on the character front and I’m looking forward to reading more... my only regret is that the two cats aren’t a mates pair! Certainly each of the sisters needs their own set!

[Bill · Rating 1 out of 5]

Too many flaws to continue reading. Hero put in impossible situations and always emerges successful, “science” explained away with irrelevant at-best language salad, over sexualized main character, cringeworthy military planning, etc.

[Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Scientists rummaging around a dig site get themselves cloned by some ancient tech. Jenetta Carver, DePrima’s Honor Harrington clone, comes to the rescue.

I continue to be surprised at how readable and sometimes thoughtful this old series is.

[Jeff Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

just can't get enough of this

[Dean Hendrickson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this for fun

This was a very exciting book.enough about archeology to be of great interest to ones imagination. It is a fascinating read.

[Nigel Baker · Rating 4 out of 5]

http://nigelbaker.name/?p=8882

[Doc Johnny · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am by no means a prude, and I certainly enjoy ladies in lingerie as much as any fellow. But I read military scifi for the space battles. I read about female protagonists because strong women who kick ass are awesome. This is one of the reasons I have enjoyed this series thus far. I rolled my eyes a bit at the lingerie scenes in the first book. The whole supermodel genetic revamp for the purpose of pimping out our heroine was a bit much, but whatever.

This book features:
The bad guy sending sexy undies to our heroine, which for some reason she keeps.
Alien hotties dressing our heroine in a thong, a corset, heels, and a fetish dress.
Our action heroine mincing about in a high class alien prostitute's getup to receive an alien medal of honor.
and more...

Let me give you some examples from the text.

"Propelled back into the bedroom after being dried, powdered, and dressed in clean underwear, three pair of hands continued to dress her in corset, stockings, shoes and a full-length slip. "

"As they helped her into the new gown, Jenetta's worst fear was realized. The new gown seemed even tighter than the original. Groaning to herself as Tkusa used the controller to make the corset constrict, she stood patiently as the three handmaidens fussed and pulled at the fabric of the gown while the zipper was closed."

"As with her original shoes, the heels were thirteen centimeters high."

"She still had to take two steps to equal her normal walking stride, and instead of the soft, flat-soled ankle high boots issued by Space Command, the Nordakian uniforms included knee-high, black leather boots with thirteen-centimeter heels. "

And all of the above described over and over in excruciating detail that really detracted from the plot. Seriously, did the aliens really need to have a culture that enjoyed dressing women up like lounge singers? Would they really want to dress up a military hero in that getup?

I rolled my eyes so much that I got dizzy.

I imagine all authors fall in love with their own characters to some extent. But all the time spent describing her underwear and the corset and dressing and undressing seemed a bit excessive. Let's say that the "love" the author has for this character is starting to feel a bit unwholesome.

What is disappointing is that stripped (hah!) of the unnecessary digression into fetishism, this is not a bad book. Get. an. editor. please!

[John · Rating 2 out of 5]

There was no book, I suspect we endured a book sized intro for a couple of new characters. Saying that, it wasn't horrible ... just didn't do anything, there was nothing you could point to and say, this is the reason for the books existence. As usual it was a pleasant light read, just what you need after a Steven Erikson novel. There are numerous things the author gets up to that will annoy any sentient being, so I remind myself the book is for girl guides, or what you being a parent would be comfortable with your girl guide child reading. In a hard sci-fi book the clones would have been quarantined, who knows what the aliens could have added. The military things are below par, not an issue, it fits with the style of writing, many more … But there is one big bugbear, without giving away spoilers … the main character blabs military secrets like a crazy cat lady. One of which in any military would have led to a court martial or been a career ending move. Janette has clearly never heard that loose lips sink ships.

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Warning this Series is Addicting!,

I strongly suggest you read the previous book in the series (A Galaxy Unknown and Valor At Vauzlee) prior to reading this installment.

The known-space-frontier's favorite protector is back and three times the fun! This particular installment is not as action-paced as the two previous books. However, this installment is no less intense or intriguing. This story is pure adventure and entertainment. My attention was so fiercely glued to each page, I felt like I never wanted the story to end.

To fellow dark urban fantasy readers who are looking for an SF but are unsure of what to take a chance on; I highly recommend this book and series. The writing style am also impatiently looking forward to the next book Trader Vyx due out 11/2/10.

I also recommend:
Space Trippers Book 3: A Frosty Farewell
Song of Scarabaeus
Cheat the Grave (Sign of the Zodiac, Book 5)

[Ben · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a surprising book in that I didn't see this coming as a possible storyline for the main character, Jenette Carver. Dealing with hostile aliens in the employee of a malevolent pirate organization and the potential consequences of her genetic enhancements at the hands of those pirates is enough for any person to have to contemplate but now she has to contend with the the fact that long lost alien tech has created 2 clone copies of her, complete in every detail and with all her memories, genetically enhanced capabilities and personal desires. How do you deal with mirror images of yourself and more importantly, how does society deal with it? Those are some of the social and cultural questions that are addressed in this book which makes it a very interesting read. I was very surprised by the premise as I can see where many future story lines could begin for future books, bringing more and more possibilities to light for great stories and situations

[Steven · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Clones of Mawcett is the third book in a fun space opera by Thomas DePrima. This was far better than the second book. Isn't that always the case?

First these books are fun beach reads, or in my case, YMCA reads. This one was fun enough that it called to me when I wasn't at the Y. So I read it a little more quickly. As with all of this series the draw is plot, plot, plot and a slowly evolving heroine; feisty, altruistic, and sexy in an innocent way.

The themes that were explored here were the roles of women in society and the status of cloned people, though there have been none on earth that we know of. And of course there is always good vs evil. There is even an archenemy who reappears. I am sure we will see him in subsequent books, unavoidable.

So if you need something to read that is mindless fun, then this series is it!

[Gallandro_83 · Rating 2 out of 5]

I couldn't tell if this book was supposed to be a satire or just a poor attempt at writing.

First of all the whole Jenna in tight slave like clothes and suddenly liking and being OK with all the trappings of her imprisonment and threat of future slavery as if they are no big deal is ridiculous. Also the way that she has essentially skipped from being a teenager straight to the perfect organizer and commander is quite stretching the bounds of credibility.

Despite the fact that we are part of a galactic alliance with multiple species it still feels as if we are only in a human universe we don't really learn a thing about different cultures other than the Nordikans which are a teenager masochists dream. I don't know how much I can stand this series if it can't seem to grow up and actually be more than just a slightly entertaining psychological release for the author.

gallandro

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

As Admiral Holt says at one point in the book, Jenetta "needed a little rounding out". Whatever the Admiral meant by that, you'll have to read the book to find out, but DePrima takes pause in this book from the headlong rush from one battle to the next to give us more depth and character development. Nevertheless, after a slow start the action hots up, and we have our fill of raiders, battles, decoys, attacks, assassination attempts, and even more Carvers (literally!) than you can shake a stick at. The pacing is excellent, and the characters are starting to feel like members of the family.

As with the first two books, my first reaction on finishing was to head straight back to Amazon to download book 4.

[Joe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eh, this is the start of the clones aka sisters. Although the series is wonderful, I lost interest when we get 3 Jenettas and they don't die but continue on for the rest of the series. I feel guilty and even upset that I stopped reading but sometimes I get to a point in a book where I feel the plot line is destroying the story and just can't read it anymore. I'm sure most people are absolutely fine with it, but just like I have no interest reading the historical fiction genre, I have no interest in continuing with the clones. I think it's because I want Jenetta to be unique at who she is and what she does and the clones are literally the exact opposite of being unique.

[Kageashi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series of books is a bit addictive, to say the least. After finishing the first book in the series, I immediately launched into the second, and then the third

My overall concerns regarding this book are the same for the first and second book - namely, awkward tense changes and overindulgence in explaining the technologies that aren't necessarily directly relevant to the narrative. However, the book remains a page turner in spite of these concerns, and provides the reader with further insight into the mind-working of Jen Carver.

[Neal · Rating 2 out of 5]

Honor Harrington is a better read overall and it's basically the same story. Honor is smarter than everyone (like Jeanetta). She's a better strategist than everyone (Like Jeanetta). She has a cat that is telepathic (like Jeanetta's cats) and she herself is becoming more and more telepathic (like Jeanetta). She is an honored citizen (steadholder) of another planet and has a higher standing in it's military than in her own (Like Jeanetta).

I gave this two stars because it's a carbon copy of the Honor Harrington series. I may continue reading but I won't enjoy it.

[Bill · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1/2 stars I rate this.. he seems to be getting better. But reading another "Honor Harrington" series is not helped by adding his own version of Tree Cats!!
Oh, and she gets lands and semi royalty status as well. I don't know who copied who, but it greatly detracts from the enjoyability. Don't know if I will continue, though there are enough new adventures to make it interesting, if too predictable. The science is a little lacking in some cases, and experienced readers could perhaps find other solutions to the problems encountered.

[Greg · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very sorry to say that I did not finish the book in the series. The story simply ran out of steam midway through and I simply lost interest. I tried to power my way through, thinking that I'd just hit a rough spot but the story became boring.

This book is salvageable but the story needs to be rewritten with more engaging plot twists. This should have been picked up during peer review prior to publishing. Try increasing the number of sci-fi panel readers prior to rough edit. This will uncover these kinds of issues and make for a better story.

[The Pirate Ghost (Formerly known as the Curmudgeon) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Generally the same discussion as for the first book. An interesting read but I think they missed the boat on some things. I'd have liked to read more through the eyes of Janetta's clones, and I sense an ever so growing trend of the infalable (sometimes boring) hero. Too little romance, when it comes in, not enough action where there is action.

Interesting enough to be read and enjoyed, but the book falls short of a "top shelf" science fiction romp.

[Marnee · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is my least favorite of the series and nearly through me off it completely. Fortunately, I don't think you need to read it to understand the Jenetta clones in future books. The entire clone development in later books seems like a mess to me. I much prefer the original character and any reference to the clones or them getting together (and acting like "sisters") just drives me crazy. This entire book and plot line is probably the worst part of the series. Don't bother, skip to Trader Vyx!

[Christopher Hatch · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was an enjoyable read, but it didn't quite hold together as a plot across the book but rather than a story is was a series of disjoint adventures.

The clones themselves seemed to be horribly underused given their prominence in the title.

It wasn't a bad book, but just not as well paced as the first two and no overall plot.

[Gab · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Sci-Fi epic. There are a few bits where he goes into too much detail for my plebian tastes [I didn't really want to read 3 page explanation about some point but wanted to get on with the story - it was exciting], but I just browsed/skipped these parts - but the story/adventure is worth it. Really enjoying this series.

[Shane · Rating 4 out of 5]

The whole space opera theme is quite cool. I'm actually enjoying the easy read even though you know the heroine is going to land on her feet again. If this doesn't appeal, the author does give fair warning at the start of the first book. Already looking forward to the next instalment!