For almost ten years, human cloning has been one of the hot topics of political debate. Ever since Ian Wilmut created Dolly, the first genetically identical clone of a mammal, the idea of humans cloned from other humans has evolved from science fiction to a scientific plausibility.
Cast of Shadows, the surprisingly decent first novel from journalist Kevin Guilfoile, deals somewhat soberly with this controversial topic. Set in an alternate universe where cloning is legal and fads remain fads for decades, Shadows looks at the problems and the potential benefits of human cloning. In Guilfoile's world, cloning is the highly controversial subsidiary of fertility clinics, acceptable only for infertile parents, and DNA, by law, cannot be used unless the donor is deceased.
Cast of Shadows is separated into two parts, each with an independent storyline. The first part deals with the life of Chicago cloning specialist Davis Moore after the rape and murder of his daughter, Anna Katherine. When Moore gets his hands on the killer's DNA, he breaks the law and Justin Finn, the killer's clone, is born. Using any means necessary, including stalking via a private investigator, Moore obsessively hunts the killer, but things go awry when Moore's wife suspects an extramarital affair.
The second half of the novel features Finn and his search for a deranged real-life serial killer on a massive multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG). As time passes and Finn gets closer to the serial killer, the novel asks whether he has inherited murderous genes from his donor father, a killer in his own right.
Despite Cast of Shadows' bizarre premise, Guilfoile has managed to pen an incredibly tense page-turner. And though the first thirty pages are rather slow -- and frankly, painful -- the remainder of the novel is compelling and slowly draws in the reader.
Several concurrent storylines come together to tell the tale of Cast of Shadows and Guilfoile has a good sense of timing, knowing when to end storylines before they become too stale. The concurrent storylines eliminate predictability -- as soon as a storyline seems predictable, Guilfoile sprouts another storyline.
The multitude of storylines, however, creates a problem. Cast of Shadows throws several different characters and storylines at readers, and keeping track eventually becomes a chore. Plus, many important characters appear out of nowhere and disappear just as quickly. Guilfoile does a good job with character development on the whole, though inconsistencies are present. Some characters receive sufficient development and then quickly fade away, while some important characters are developed poorly. Guilfoile's prose is clunky at times -- he enjoys describing even insignificant things in great detail.
Shadow World, Finn's MMORPG, is a major setting for the novel's second half. An ultra-realistic simulation of life, Shadow World is The Sims Online, but far more realistic. Guilfoile skillfully blurs the line between game and reality, but careful writing keeps the reader from becoming confused.
But Cast of Shadows' most significant aspect is its considerations of human cloning. Guilfoile manages to take a realistic look at both sides of the debate. Characters provide convincing arguments in favor of cloning, only to be rebutted by equally convincing arguments to the contrary. The novel also explores what it means to be a clone, and the extent to which a clone's life is similar to its genetic origins.
Cast of Shadows may not be the best novel of the year, but it is an interesting, tense thriller and an impressive first novel that has the courage to discuss a controversial subject.
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