Clade: A Novel

by Mark Budz

IT’S A POST-ECOCAUST WORLD.
WELCOME TO IT.

In the San Jose of tomorrow, all of nature is gengineered—from the warm-blooded plants to the designer people. But even in a rigidly controlled biosystem, with its pheromone-induced social order, the American dream is still the American dream. Caught between these new-old worlds, Rigo is on his way up—he’s going to be part of tomorrow, even if it means he has to leave today behind.

Written off as a sellout on the streets of his old ’hood, Rigo’s got his own ap in an aplex, a 9-to-5er, and a girl. He’s got opportunity. If he works hard, his job with a heavyweight
politicorp could give him a chance to move up in the clades. But when he’s chosen as part of a team to construct a new colony on a nearby comet, Rigo smells a setup. And when disaster strikes, he learns that if there’s a way to bend the rules, there’s also a way to break them…

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

384 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published December 2, 2003

Reviews

[Иван Величков · Rating 5 out of 5]

Приключих с книжката, най-сетне, и мога да заявя, че съм много доволен. Особено като за първи роман показва гигантски потенциал. Със сигурност ще прегледам и другите неща на Бъдс.
Основното в повествованието е светостроенето, даже развитието на сюжетните линии е написано така, че да ни се разкрива все повече от тази постекоапокалиптична Америка. Сегашното историческо време, което ми накъртва още от училище, придава динамичност на иначе леко статичния стил на писане на автора. Цялото нещо звучи плашещо реалистично, защото си е чиста екстраполация на водещи в момента световни тенденции. Героите са прецакани още от самото си представяне, прецаани от времето в което живечт, прецакани от корпорациите в които работят, прецакани от класовото и генното си наследство. И все пак авторът успява да ги изведе до оптимистичен и положителен развой на края на книгата.

Запознайте се с Ринго – обикновен работник в екокорпорация, занимаващ се с отглеждане на топлокръвни растения за външнопланетни колонии. Работещ от 8 до пет, верен и отдаден на работата си, която го е измъкнала от гетото на екомигрантите.
Запознайте се с Антея – бившо момиче от улицата, работещо с проблемни деца, измъкнати от бедствени зони, тъпкани с робски фериони и живели на ръба на животинското.
Когато в живота на двамата се появява Ибрахим – едно от въпросните деца, се оказва, че той има в системата си неизвестен ферион от черния пазар и всички го искат – правителство, корпорации, частни лица. Точно по същото време на Ринго му предлагат работа директно на астероидна колония, чиито обитатели са решили да се откъснат от корпоративната си зависимост. Всичко се обърква по възможно най-подлия начин, но носи на Ринго една положителна придобивка, само ГенКорп да не разберат за нея.

Но както казах, по-интересен е светът. След екокатострофата силните на деня са решили да ограничат човешката популация в определени зони, уж способни да ги изхранят. Създават се изкуствени физиологично активни протеини – фериони, които ги държат на въпросното място и напускането му активира грозни реакции, дори летални. Тези зони се наричат Клонове и прескачането между тях се извършва с легално или контрабандно преклонване. Цялото това барникане из белтъците, плюс катострофално обърканата планета, докарват на хората стотици нови ретрогенни заболявания и нула средства за лекуването им. Жалките останки от човечеството са брутално разслоени класово на чисто физиологичен принцип. Иначе има технологии като изкуствени интелекти, планетарни станции, генно препрограмиране и така нататък, но това не спира мизерията, страха и експлоатацията. Да добавя и контрабандните фериони за частни цали, които могат да влияят на хората от разстояние – от това да се напикаеш, ако доближиш някой квартален гангстер, до това да се пръснеш ако влезеш в частната собственост на някой мангизлия.
В книгата има много уличен, техно и корпоративен жаргон, които прибавят допълнителна достоверност на света. Както и десетки малки вметки, които му придават плътност.
Ох, спирам, то не става да се разкаже така.
Един превод на български от Комата страшно ще отива на романа, смятам.

[Christopher McKitterick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mark Budz's Clade lives in the same, refreshing new sub-genre as Syne Mitchell's THE CHANGELING PLAGUE, which is the natural evolution of cyberpunk. Both of these novels envision a future where biologicals determine who we are and what we become in the way that cyberpunk postulated integrated circuits and weblife, or that the Heinlein-Asimov future postulated rocketships and other hard-engineering feats. Those biologicals might be benign or downright terrifying, designed to heal or murder, but they will change how we live and even who we are.

This is both interesting and important, I think, to where SF is going, because this is where science is headed, as well. Both novels view the world from the perspective of regular people, or even antisocials, which is where "cyberpunk" got its "punk." In fact, the back cover of CLADE has a quote from Kevin J. Anderson, who suggests this new genre be called "biopunk."

On the other hand - perhaps I'm just not longer a young 'un - I was less interested in the punks of CLADE than the DNA hackers of THE CHANGELING PLAGUE. In particular, I got a bit irritated with Budz (as narrator) using curse words; I expect his characters to do so, but it distracted me when the non-character narrator did. I also felt he used a bit too much exposition as dialogue, but it was interesting. I love the (scary) idea of social engineering via pheremone-emitting plants which create the title's "clades," locales which make their inhabitants happy with life and unable to move up or even move laterally in class.

Fascinating stuff, and highly recommended.

[Peter Tillman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating: "A-". A gritty Stablefordian Cal-biotech hard-SF future, and an exceptionally fine first novel.

Clade is set 50 years after a catastrophic ecological collapse, the 'ecocaust', a human-caused mass-extinction right up there with the "Big 5" worst in Earth's history. Civilization was saved by heavy-handed reengineering of the biosphere, but at a cost of billions of lives lost, and a tightly-regimented social setup. Budz does a nice job of worldbuilding in Clade, and handles the ambiguous costs and benefits of new technology very well indeed.

Decent hard-SF that makes a serious attempt to extrapolate the medium-term future is never in oversupply. This is my favorite kind of SF, so I was very pleased to discover Clade. There are, unsurprisingly, some first-novel rough spots here, particularly with the thriller-style plot, which suffers from some heavy-handed auctorial hammering-to-fit -- but, hey, you'll happily put up with a few warts for the technically-sweet payoffs in Clade. Budz is clearly an author to watch. A sequel, Crache, is promised for Fall 2004. I'm looking forward to it.

Budz, a Silicon Valley technical writer with training in physics and engineering, is married to respected fantasy writer Marina Fitch. Fitch helped Budz polish his ms.: "Marina's good at characters and finding loopholes in story consistency," he said.

My longer 2005 review: http://www.infinityplus.co.uk/nonfict...
Author website: www.markbudz.com

[Brandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's the future. The caste system is back in place. People belong to a 'clade' as befits their caste. The corporation rule. They have the power to shut lower clades out of their areas, their buildings, their stores, their jobs. Bioengineering has made it possible to effect your mind. To sooth you by releasing synthetic chemical via the plants & structures at home. They are engineering plants that will be able to become single dwelling homes on other planets. The over population has caused people to be removed from their homes & be placed where the corporations want them to live. It's all based on which clade you belong to. Abandoned children are guinea pigs for the corporations' tests of newer chemicals. It's a hidden issue, but some are aware of it & are trying to help. It's hard though, when you can't move freely among the clades. It takes illegal chemicals to mask your clade.

I don't think I've given things away here. I really enjoy reading about different societies, as long as it's not too political. I could see this type of society actually happening in our future. It's a scarey thought. I like books that make me think about things like this. It was also a very entertaining read.

[Allan Dyen-Shapiro · Rating 4 out of 5]

The best thing about this book was the premise: people restricted to a geographic area or a social grouping via being engineered to be compatible with a specific ecosystem. Plus temporary patches to allow people to tolerate each other for short periods of time, and "reclading" when necessary.

Second best thing about this book were the protagonists' AI's. The male lead had one who spoke solely in malapropisms. A few were especially cute, but the overall effect was funny.

The female lead had one that continuously quoted Shakespeare.

Another really nice thing is the world building--the dystopic Hispanic area of San Jose seemed quite real to me. And the characters were also quite well drawn.

The plot--meh--what was the plot?

I was too busy enjoying these side issues to care much about what was going on in the story.

Lots of random biology terminology often used wrong--biopunk, as this was called, doesn't seem to have a lot of real bio in it. But that was okay. I'm being pedantic.

I liked it. Worth the read.

[Brian Burt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating vision of a world rising from the ashes of environmental catastrophe, where humans are forced to bioengineer self-contained ecosystems to conserve resources and squeeze every last drop of efficiency out of the ravaged biosphere their predecessors bequeathed them. Budz creates an intricate world where everything a person is or does or can aspire to do is ruled by the draconian restrictions of one's "clade"; where the "ecotecture" to which you're bound at an almost cellular level becomes both a lifeboat and a prison. There were some quirky, memorable characters and clever humorous touches that helped propel the novel. I'm not sure I understood every nuance of the story at one reading. This imagined world is rich enough to bring a reader back more than once.

[Liz Mandeville · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mark Budz first novel, Clade, is a futuristic, sci-fi glimpse into a future where the Earth has had an ecological breakdown and international business conglomerates have taken over to "save the day" by using technology to reinvent the entire eco-structure of the planet and everyone who survived.
Amusing, inventive, scary and sad are some of the words I'd use to describe this book that is not for the uneducated. If you don't have some understanding of science and technology you will be hopelessly lost in the world Budz has built.
His characters are likable for their flaws. Good intentions, family drama and corporate back stabbing all come into play. I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series, hope I can keep up!

[Amanda Fernee · Rating 1 out of 5]

While this book had an interesting premise, the execution was pretty terrible.I love sci-fi and yet for much of this novel I was scratching my head. Not only does he forget to explain things, but the plot is not cohesive. The climax of the book comes out of nowhere and then disappears without a trace. Great idea, but not well done.

[Kristin Schmidt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great world-building and ideas. There was also a great lived-in multi-culti feel to it. The plot sort of collapsed in at the end.

[Miles De La Fuente · Rating 3 out of 5]

CLADE is a modest addition to the bio-punk genre and an excellent setting for those interested in the dystopian, cyberpunk themes so widely hailed in science fiction. Upon reading the first few chapters, you'll notice some similarities to William Gibson's Sprawl universe. What makes this book stand out is its critique of corporatism, classism, and the bio-punk setting that sets it apart from other books in the sub-genre. Budz constructs a setting that is not only believeable, but also a frightening prediction about how technology and progress can be used to further entrench the worst habits of humnaity. I was not at all invested much in our characters, but the story does have a heartwarming ending for a future that is definitely bleak all things considered. Solid world-building, and an excellent showcase of the potential direction our biotechnology may go makes up for the less glamourous portions.

[Eric · Rating 3 out of 5]

My review here is showing three stars, but it was a struggle to go for three stars.

A number of people I know noted that this seemed like a "me" book. I really don't think so. I slogged through and finished it, but I skimmed a number of parts. I really struggled with the flow of the story. I also struggled with the author's writing style. I just don't think his style is something that's going to work for me - ever.

The story itself was decent, but it almost felt like nothing happened until about three quarters of the way through the book then everything came crashing down at once. There were some parts where we were shifted from one point of view to another and it got muddled.

I definitely think there are discussion worth ideas in here, I just don't know that I'm on board for anything more. It was a struggle.

[Megan · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book has good ideas for a sci-fi world but the execution was rather poor. There were very little explanations for things and the plot isn't that smooth and put together. There are several things that happen that are confusing to try to read about as they are written. I didn't like any of the characters and had a hard time caring about any of them or their troubles. The climax of the book was really not climatic at all and the wrap up was pretty lame. Nothing was really explained about the end, it was just a somewhat happily ever after but it really fell flat. Overall I would not recommend this one for sci-fi fans as it's a bit of a slog to get through and was fairly boring. 2 out of 5 stars.

[Alyssa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cringey use of italicized Spanish, once in a sentence directly before an un-italicized French phrase. Non-white main characters are great, but relying on a random sprinkling of Spanish and reference to the "barrio" is not the best way to point out how non-white your protagonist is. Also bits of sexism, but pretty much what you'd expect:

"he was patient. Didn't pressure her. Waited till her period was over."

Other than that, the plot is fine, and I like the little bio sci-fi touches (which is the whole reason I picked this one up).

[Alexa Jakob · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was my first time reading anything sci-fi so I don't know if the idea of pheromone-regulated society has ever been done before but it was certainly a first for me. The novelty of the idea was captivating, as was the well-developed main character.

The plot was a little hard to follow on the first readthrough but the world was very well built and complex. A lot of thought went into building the world for this book.

There was some weakness, in my opinion, in the development of the female main character. I found her just a little bit cookie-cutter heroine to appreciate her as much as I would have liked.

Overall I would give it a 3.8/5.

[Misha · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting views of a biotech influenced society but the characters suck and things don't really make sense. Why do people have personal AI butlers who are unhelpful dicks? Why do only the two main characters seem to have them? There are obvious soap opera style backstory twists that are acknowledged as ridiculous and add no value to the plot.

[Angie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didn't like it. The author was so invested in creating an alternate world/language/terminology that he forgot that stories need cohesive plots.

[Deryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great ideas, shoddy execution. Bonus points from this local for creating a sense of place in a place not too many authors bother with.

[Michael Schulz · Rating 3 out of 5]

OK, but not great.