Review: Bios

As I traverse through Robert Charles Wilson's body of work, I'm somewhat impressed by how hit or miss it can be. This book is almost a love letter to scientific/science fictional exploration and study, but it doesn't work more than it works, even if the ending is enjoyable and the parts are greater than the whole. It's a simple tale, almost a novella, about clones and alien races and the dangers in study, and it is a markedly different take than a lot of the books like it I've read.

What is it lacking? I'd say a sense of wonder, but also a sense of horror. It's surprisingly mundane in its presentation, which, in one sense, may have been the point, but this is where relying on existing tropes does matter. We're very conditioned to find the extremes when we read about new races, civilizations, and so on. This doesn't give that sense of revelry throughout, and, if that was in fact the point, it's simply not direct enough to be clear or engaging.

I just felt disappointed. So much promise unfulfilled on this one. I can't imagine recommending this to anyone other than really solid fans of his.