Replication by Jill Williamson

Replication by Jill Williamson
Release Date: December 27, 2011
Publisher: Zondervan
Source: NetGalley
Rating: Enjoyable

Martyr---otherwise known as Jason 3:3---is one of hundreds of clones kept in a remote facility called Jason Farms. Told that he has been created to save humanity, Martyr has just one wish before he is scheduled to 'expire' in less than a month. To see the sky.

Abby Goyer may have just moved to Alaska, but she has a feeling something strange is going on at the farm where her father works. But even this smart, confident girl could never have imagined what lies beneath a simple barn. Or what would happen when a mysterious boy shows up at her door, asking about the stars.

As the reality of the Jason Experiment comes to light, Martyr is caught between two futures---the one for which he was produced and the one Abby believes God created him to have. Time is running out, and Martyr must decide if a life with Abby is worth leaving everything he's ever known. - Goodreads

The thing that initially attracted me to Replication was the science fiction-esque premise. While this book isn’t set thousands of years in the future, the cloning of humans was advanced to a stage that hundreds of clones had been made of this one man. I was fascinated, and couldn’t wait to read it.

The book had a solid start, introducing the cloning aspect of the book along with the various characters gradually. The pacing was excellent, with enough action and mystery to keep me interested.

Martyr, one of the clones, was a great character. He provided lots of humour throughout the book, with his clueless comments about various things that we would find completely usual.

Abby was also pretty cool, although not very well developed and I didn’t feel much of a connection to her. I didn’t know much about her, other than she’s rich, religious and she likes science.

Before I go on, I will say that this next part is totally on me. I didn’t realise that this book was Christian fiction and I should have done more research. I felt that during the second half of the book, it started to become very preachy, and Abby convinced Martyr that Christianity is the only way. Like I said, me being annoyed at this is my fault for not researching this book properly.

Overall, the story was enjoyable and the beginning was intriguing enough to keep me reading. The ending was fast paced and I just HAD to find out what was going to happen. I do have a question, though: What happened to JD?