Adam’s Stepsons is a fun addition to the long canon of science fiction that dares to ask the “what if” of the future. It also seeks to ask the “should we, if we can” question that not enough science fiction is retrospective enough to ask. A good read for any science fiction lover, especially of the Heinlein or Asimov variety.
M. Thomas Apple's high-tech science fiction novella, Adam's Stepsons, confronts the ethical issues surrounding cloning head-on as Dr. Heimann's "sons" are systematically dehumanized and considered as little more than high-functioning military equipment. Apple's thoughtful and ethically minded Dr. Heimann is the perfect narrator for this thought-provoking and chilling science fiction story, and anyone who remembers Patrick McGoohan's mesmerizing futuristic television series, The Prisoner, will appreciate Heimann and Seth's conversation about the significance of Number Six. As I read, I could hear McGoohan's character proclaiming loudly and angrily, "I am not a number; I am a free man!" and found it a startling contrast with the way the clones are treated in this gripping futuristic tale. The characters of Heimann and Six are well-defined, and the developing tensions between the erstwhile father and son make this tale hard to put down.
