Jack es un ex policía que estuvo en el Abismo, donde fue -y es- un Ojos Brillantes (algo parecido a un boina verde del Vietnam). A su mujer y a su hija las descuartizaron y desde entonces su vida no volvió a ser la misma. Por hacer algo aceptó un trabajo de director en una granja de clones. Allí despierta de su pasividad al ver cómo los clones de seres humanos son utilizados como mercancía humana donde sólo sus órganos son útiles. Jack decide ayudarles pero al escapar no todo sale bien y los secuestran a todos excepto a Suej. Para desgracia de Jack los han llevado al Abismo y tiene que volver allí para rescatarles. Vinaldi es un enemigo suyo sin embargo será él quien viaje al Abismo para salvar a los clones. Allí, sólo el cerebro electrónico de Ratchet puede ayudarles.

A decent sci-fi dystopia thriller action thing. It seemed halfway between the space merchants and Richard Morgan somehow. And a bit of Annihilation.
Enjoyable, some irritating pseudo-philosophy but not too much. ( )

Michael Marshall Smith certainly isn't the first science-fiction writer to tell a story about clones. There are -- go figure! -- dozens of science fiction books out there that deal with the topic. What's interesting about "Spares" is that it doesn't deal with the topic in the way that most other clone stories do: it's less about the clones' humanity than the main character's commitment to them. Like "Only Forward", his excellent first novel,"Spares" is a science-fiction novel about memory and the importance of human connection.

It has other similarities with "Only Forward," too. It's set in Virginia, but the prose and the dialogue is still snappy, funny, and very British. It's full of cartoonish ultra-violence and appliances and computers that sass back at their users. There's a lot of artificial intelligence and human cruelty on display here. And it's got some top-notch, blockbuster-worthy chase scenes. The author really knows how to build up to a climax. "Spares" also takes a bit of a left turn when it incorporates a sort of Vietnam War narrative: the book's main character is a veteran of a conflict fought in a sort of digital netherworld called the Gap. It's a place that recalls the author's interest in video games and digital environments that we also saw in "Only Forward," but the slippery nature of reality in the Gap and the genuinely eerie and beautiful imagery that Mashall Smith uses to describe it makes it much more memorable than the average parallel universe.

In a various ways, though, "Spares" is a bit less successful than "Only Forward." The main character is, from a certain perspective, likeable: he's a hard man with a heart, a way with words, and a tragic past. But that's sort of the problem, too: I felt that I'd met this character before, perhaps in a James Ellroy novel. You know the type: a committed, steely-eyed cop whose tough exterior hides a troubled, tragic past and quietly hysterical inner life. "Only Forward" got around this problem by essentially splitting up this detective novel type up into two characters, but no such luck here. How much you like "Spares" might depend on how much patience you have for this sort of character. Does his inner pain justify the body count he racks up by the end of the novel? Well, that's a good question.

In short: is "Spares" as good as Michael Marshall Smith's spectacular debut novel. No. But then, not much is. This one is still recommended to people who enjoy inventive, well-written, literary, and quick-witted science fiction, or any combination thereof. ( )

Les prémisses de cette histoire, qui donnent son titre au livre, ne sont pas totalement surprenantes : des clones qui servent de pièces détachées. Mais ce n'est pas grave, en fait l'histoire ne parle pas vraiment d'eux, plutôt de la société de New Richmond (un peu à la [b:monades urbaines|239188|Les Monades Urbaines|Robert Silverberg|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173024738s/239188.jpg|253589]) puis de la brêche (quoi que ce puisse être) et surtout de cet anti-héros ex-flic, ex-fermier, yeux-de-feu qui sert de narrateur.

Après [b:Avance Rapide|11416302|Avance rapide|Michael Marshall Smith|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1328214912s/11416302.jpg|123899], j'ai trouvé que la brêche était de trop, elle n'apporte pas grand chose à l'histoire sauf ce décalage. Le monde secondaire d'Avance rapide était mieux amené et plus convaincant. Je m'attendais aussi à plus de développement autour de certaines révélations. Néanmoins, ce bouquin est remarquablement efficace et agréable à lire. ( )

I've come to count on Michael Smith for imaginative, quite bizarre stories that are well written with an interesting main character. This story is set in the future and is about Jack Randall, an ex-soldier in the war in The Gap. You don't actually find out what this means until the last quarter of the book. After his wife and daughter were murdered, Jack was quietly sent out of New Richmond to a Spares farm, where important people keep their genetic clones handy in case of accidents. You never know when you might lose your leg, or need a new heart. Jack risks the wrath of one of the most powerful companies in the U.S. when he goes on the run with 6-1/2 spares. Desperate, he returns to New Richmond, where he and his family used to live. He makes contacts with old friends and gets into an all-new set of crises, which will eventually lead him back into The Gap. Very good story with sympathetic characters, and a great, realistic ending. Be warned, there are parts with extreme and grotesque violence. ( )