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The story opens with William about to step into a slurry machine when the machinery gets jammed and he is sent away with instructions to return in the morning. We then learn that William is a clone and that clones are only allowed to live for one year after they are decanted at which point they are slurried and turned into food for the next generation of clones. We also learn that all clones are named William and greet each other as Will. The story continues as this Will is forced to spend the night with his replacement Will. In the morning our William decides to take a detour on the way to the slurry machine and his replacement Will is accidently slurried in his place. William then starts to notice that when he sees a news story or a rugby game on TV he remembers having seen the same story a year ago when he was newly decanted and he starts to wonder about the bigger picture of the world he lives in and if there is more than just going to work and the pub every day.
During a conversation with another William he learns that there is a windmill outside of town and he decides to sneak away and investigate. There he meets an old professor and the professor’s daughter and a relationship begins. Relationships with the opposite sex are unheard of in William’s world because there is no opposite sex. This relationship sets him on a new course of trying to buck society. First, he changes his name to Billy and then sets off to make his own life.
There is a strong message in this book about the dangers of consumerism and the power of giant corporations but the story is written in a way that the message is not really pushed on you until the end. I found the ending surprising and not what I expected but I think that was intentional and I did not think the ending was inappropriate, just unexpected.
I really liked the way the author introduced his character though I did find all the Williams confusing in the beginning. I think the story was well thought out and I found it charming. The characters kept drawing me in, wondering what would happen next. This story was very well paced and didn’t allow you to get bored with what was happening.
If you are looking for something a little different I would recommend this book. It’s hard to say exactly what genre it is but I think it will be interesting to a wide variety of readers. I give this book a rating of 3 out of 4 stars.
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