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Sue's Fingerprint (Sue #1)

by Andrew D. Carlson (Goodreads Author)

3.73 of 5 stars 3.73 · rating details · 22 ratings · 14 reviews

A gel-like substance is suddenly discovered across the country. Ted Stevens, a Director in the Department of Homeland Security, is assigned to investigate. He enlists the help of scientists at a government laboratory to analyze the ‘goo’. They discover the substance was sent to Earth and has unique properties; it can clone animals. Ted soon learns the substance can also cl...more

Paperback, 232 pages

Published March 31st 2011 by Andrew D. Carlson

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Dec 09, 2011 Ermisenda Alvarez rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, sci-fi

Sue’s Fingerprint by Andrew D. Carlson is a young adult sci-fi novel. I am usually not too interested by that combination but Sue’s Fingerprints was an enjoyable read. The story follows the journey of numerous characters and how their lives are affected by this mysterious, alien goo. What can the goo do? It clones those who touch it.

It’s not very often that we have a YA book that doesn’t involve vampires, werewolves (something supernatural and overtly sexual) or unrealistic highschool dramas (po...more Sue’s Fingerprint by Andrew D. Carlson is a young adult sci-fi novel. I am usually not too interested by that combination but Sue’s Fingerprints was an enjoyable read. The story follows the journey of numerous characters and how their lives are affected by this mysterious, alien goo. What can the goo do? It clones those who touch it.

It’s not very often that we have a YA book that doesn’t involve vampires, werewolves (something supernatural and overtly sexual) or unrealistic highschool dramas (popular girl fiascos). This was a very different YA book and that is one of the reasons why I liked it. The book didn’t try to conform to the current YA “trend” but instead it stood on it’s own two feet, proudly.

In some ways I wished the book wasn’t YA, I would have enjoyed reading how the book developed within the cloning theme (which is something I’m fascinated in) as an adult book. The book would have shifted from good to great with that extra depth behind this mysterious goo and the whimsical character created.

I loved how concise, clear and short the chapters were. It kept the book moving at an enjoyable pace. Humor was sprinkled across the chapters appropriately which I liked. The book made sure you didn’t get lost within the goo-investigation by having the characters clarify themselves and what they knew about the goo. Although this is great, particularly for children, it sometimes felt repetitive but I preferred Carlson’s “safe” approach rather than being lost in the plot. The ending was also very clean, all the knots had been tied and there was a sense of compete resolution. For some people, that’s perfect. Personally, I prefer open endings but for children (Tweens) this is probably a wiser choice.

Overall, I enjoyed reading this book. It wouldn’t be a book I would pick off the shelves but I am glad I got the opportunity to read it. It was fresh, I loved the character Sue and viewing the world through her eyes. The concept was great and subsequently, Carlson has activated the ‘read-clone-novels’ switch within me.

- Ermisenda Alvarez(less)

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Nov 20, 2011 Gloria Antypowich rated it 4 of 5 stars

I do not usually read sci-fi but this was an "earthly one" so I participated in Andrew D. Carlson's give away and received a free ebook. I have a Kindle and have read many books on it but could not get SUE'S FINGERPRINT to download so I quickly skim read it on my computer. I liked what I read, so last night I actually bought the ebook so it would download and I thoroughly read the whole book again.

I really did enjoy SUE'S FINGERPRINT. It was a "fun" read for me, triggering the "what if" factor i...more

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Nov 06, 2011 Tom rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Young and older Sci-Fi lovers looking for an exciting-warm story

Recommended to Tom by: Kindle Book Review

Shelves: top-shelf, scifi-fantasy

When mysterious goo begins turning up all across America the Department of Homeland Security sends veteran Ted Stevens to look into the matter. Ted and a small team of scientists uncover the government's worst fear, an alien life form with the ability to clone itself into any living mammal it comes in contact with. Now, it's a race against the clock as Ted and his team must contain the situation and keep the truth from the public to prevent global panic.

With so many questions still unanswered, t...more When mysterious goo begins turning up all across America the Department of Homeland Security sends veteran Ted Stevens to look into the matter. Ted and a small team of scientists uncover the government's worst fear, an alien life form with the ability to clone itself into any living mammal it comes in contact with. Now, it's a race against the clock as Ted and his team must contain the situation and keep the truth from the public to prevent global panic.

With so many questions still unanswered, the team is suddenly faced with a human clone - Sue. As other clones are rounded up it’s up to Ted to keep them safe until he can figure out where they came from and why they are here. With no memory or knowledge of anything before their transformation, the clones are isolated on an abandoned air base and forbidden any contact with the outside world. They look to Sue to bring them together.

Over the course of time Ted witnesses the love and concern their charges share for one another and his team, demonstrating the humanity within this clone community. Meanwhile government officials fear a sinister alien plot and contemplate how far to take their 'damage control' protocols, leaving Ted and his small band desperate to find the truth.

Faced with a decision to trust in the human spirit or tow the government line, what Ted must do will irrevocably change all their lives. But, ultimately, it will be Sue's fingerprint that decides the fate of the clones, and quite possibly mankind.

This science fiction work is a fantastic story of relationships, trust, and our most universal desire for freedom. It's a story to share with your whole family.

20-year veteran scientist, Andrew Carlson makes his author debut with Sue's Fingerprint, a young adult science fiction containing more warmth and charm than you'll find in most novels in the genre. It’s difficult to believe that this is his first offering because the story flows with a grace that puts many mass-market veterans to shame. Clearly science plays a role in explaining the fiction but the creativity makes it a certain page-turner.

Carlson's ability to build his characters in a way that connects them with the reader is something many accomplished authors find difficult. He clearly establishes Ted and Sue as main characters but deftly introduces a supporting cast of people you probably know from your day to day personal experiences. Carlson avoids common rookie mistakes with plot and character development, keeping the story lines smooth, logical, and easy to follow. The fast pace and concise approach naturally introduces enough suspense to make it nearly impossible to put down.

While it may be billed as a book for young adults, this older adult thoroughly enjoyed Andrew Carlson's maiden voyage with a hope that he'll continue this path, and that someone takes a chance to see what this story would look like on the big or small screen.

Sad to say that I can only give Carlson’s story five stars because it’s one you definitely have to try. It's just in time for the holidays and will make a wonderful family experience.

Tom Clementson (Kindle book Review)
(less)

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Oct 17, 2011 Tammy ~NovelOpinion rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: sci-fi, indie-self-pubbed

3.5 Stars

Book Summary:A gel-like substance is suddenly discovered across the country. Ted Stevens, a Director in the Department of Homeland Security, is assigned to investigate. He enlists the help of scientists at a government laboratory to analyze the ‘goo’. They discover the substance was sent to Earth and has unique properties; it can clone animals. Ted soon learns the substance can also clone humans.

Sue is the first of eleven new people cloned from the alien substance. She and the others ar...more 3.5 Stars

Book Summary:A gel-like substance is suddenly discovered across the country. Ted Stevens, a Director in the Department of Homeland Security, is assigned to investigate. He enlists the help of scientists at a government laboratory to analyze the ‘goo’. They discover the substance was sent to Earth and has unique properties; it can clone animals. Ted soon learns the substance can also clone humans.

Sue is the first of eleven new people cloned from the alien substance. She and the others are contained by Ted on an abandoned military base. While there, the clones receive a message. Sue decides she must deliver it, and one morning they find she’s gone.

During the recovery of Sue, Ted learns of the clones’ message and begins to understand their true intentions. He needs to know more about the clones, so he collects samples for DNA fingerprint testing. The fate of the new people will be decided by the results from Ted’s friends at the laboratory.

This type of story is my favorite type of Science Fiction. An event that produces extraordinary results which could prove disasterous. A team of scientists experimenting, speculating and debating the purpose of the event and the government trying to conceal and control it. In the case of Sue's Fingerprint, the presence of the clones poses the obvious risk of panic. The unknown is an automatic enemy and the people closest to these clones are rightfully wary however, with time, they cannot see anything other than human behavior and emotion from them.

The story becomes a type of analogy to human rights. Rights of the innocent. In the case of the clones, are they genetically different from their original counterpart? If not, then do we have the right to lock them up and treat them as the enemy?

I have to give the concept of this story a 4+ star rating. The 3.5 star final rating is due to the lack of complexity in some of the characters. I also found the telling of the story to be a bit simplistic as well.

Having said that, I have worked with several people in the scientific community. Oftentimes these men and women tend to dumb things down a bit for us regular folk. Andrew D. Carlson has an extensive background in science and there is a possibility that that is the case.

In conclusion I like where Mr. Carlson is going. This is his debut novel, there was meat in the story. I am going to be watching him because I have a feeling he is going to be one of my favorites.
I recommend this to all fictions lovers, science and other!(less)

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Sep 25, 2011 Christopher rated it 3 of 5 stars

I really liked the story Andrew Carlson told in Sue's Fingerprint, but at times it left me wanting more. The short, quick chapters kept the story moving and kept your interest in what was going on and coming next. The story Carlson told was engaging and the people he introduces are interesting.

The one thing that I would have liked to seen, that could have changed this from a good book to a great book, is a little more depth. I realize that the clones don't have much background, as they are only...more

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Aug 01, 2011 Nina rated it 5 of 5 stars

Ever wondered what would happen if there were human clones? Would they have the same knowledge as the cloned person? Would they have the same natural life span? Can they live a normal human life among other 'uncloned' humans? In scientist - now also a writer - Andrew D. Carlson's Sue's Fingerprint, he not just talks about the scientific dilemma of cloning humans and the possibility of alien life forms, he gives an insight into identity, personality, and the individuality of a person - cloned or...more Ever wondered what would happen if there were human clones? Would they have the same knowledge as the cloned person? Would they have the same natural life span? Can they live a normal human life among other 'uncloned' humans? In scientist - now also a writer - Andrew D. Carlson's Sue's Fingerprint, he not just talks about the scientific dilemma of cloning humans and the possibility of alien life forms, he gives an insight into identity, personality, and the individuality of a person - cloned or otherwise.

Sue and her friends were cloned from humans from a gel-like substance that was dropped off the Earth's atmosphere from space. Their adventures (and misadventures) as they attempted to live like any normal person were very human-like it was funny and endearing. The concept of the story was unique, yet the delivery was simple and concise. Any reader (be it a sci-fi fan or not) would definitely get hooked after reading a few pages of this book, wanting more. I found myself lost in the story as it unfolded with vivid descriptions and relatable characters. I liked how it talked about science without putting me to sleep, which I really think is a serious challenge because really, complicated stuff like DNA and atoms and molecules either give you serious information overload or get you bored out of your mind. In some books, when it comes to the parts where detailed lectures about some scientific phenomena happen I tend to just scan through them because I found them to be too exhausting and a wee bit boring. That never happened while reading Sue's Fingerprint. The development of the story was just too exciting for me to notice that I have already waded through some very complicated scientific matters, and the way it was presented, it was like it was your own idea to learn about those topics anyway. I like that it gave me a good story and taught me something interesting at the same time.

Reading about Sue and the other clones gave me such a kick that I found myself occasionally laughing at their antics because most times I felt like I was reading about someone I know - myself, even. They were, I guess, based on real human characters but Mr. Carlson found the twist to make them as unique as possible. The imagery that his descriptions provided really helped in accepting each and every person in this book and although the scientific side got me a bit puzzled, I nonetheless felt comfortable reading such a story, and actually as I turned to the last pages, I was left hankering for more. I really wanted a sequel for this book and find some new interesting twists and new geeky stuff to learn about.(less)

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Jun 02, 2011 Shelley marked it as to-read

Shelves: guest

Author's guest post at my blog:
http://bookfare.blogspot.com/2011/11/...

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Jul 21, 2011 Katelyn (Tales of Books and Bands) rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: own, read-in-2011, 3-stars

2.5-3 stars.

I started this book with a completely open mind. When reading a science fiction novel, one never knows what to expect; authors are in charge of creating these off the wall, crazy, scientific instances so you never know what is coming next. While I was not completely satisfied with the outcome of this book, there were still quite a few things that I enjoyed about it.

I will start this review off with the part that bugged me the very most but don’t worry, it only gets better from there...more 2.5-3 stars.

I started this book with a completely open mind. When reading a science fiction novel, one never knows what to expect; authors are in charge of creating these off the wall, crazy, scientific instances so you never know what is coming next. While I was not completely satisfied with the outcome of this book, there were still quite a few things that I enjoyed about it.

I will start this review off with the part that bugged me the very most but don’t worry, it only gets better from there! This book is labeled as young adult. Andrew is a young adult author. BUT, and correct me if I am wrong, I thought in order to be a young adult book it was required for at least one of the main characters to be between the ages of 14 and 21, you know the ages of real young adults? While this book did feature some characters that were in this age group, the main characters that were followed were strictly adults. That is not to say that young readers couldn’t read and like this book but it is a lot easier to connect with characters that are close to your age group. I like surprises but this was one surprise I really could have done without! For the first 20 pages, I kept thinking “Okay, the teenager that we will be reading about will be introduced here. Alright, they weren’t introduced on that page, maybe the next one….” and on and on until I finally realized that we would not be following a teenager.

The characters that we were introduced to were interesting. They were not as developed as the characters in a lot of books I have read and for this book is was both a good and bad thing. Since the book was written in third person and it was a fairly short book, we learned a little about each character. While this did make it okay for the short amount of pages, I wouldn’t mind at all if it was a bit longer just so readers could learn a lot more about particular characters. We were introduced to little personality quirks among some of the more important characters, like how Martha LOVES coffee and Sue’s passion is to cook, but that is about the extent of it. I would have loved to see more character growth especially with some of the main characters like Sue, the first clone, or Ted, the man in charge of containing the clones. We were able to see the very surface of what these characters were about but delving a little deeper would have made me a happy camper! The other clones learned a lot intellectually but I think it would have caused a lasting impression if I could really get inside at least one of the character’s heads.

I read the author’s bio at the end of the book and it mentioned that Andrew received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Chemistry. Andrew definitely put his knowledge of science to use in this book which I totally loved! One semester of college science was enough for me but I really enjoyed the way that Andrew introduced the science aspect in this book. He took simple terms that many people, science degrees or not, could grasp. I don’t want to say he dumbed it down by any means but he definitely took complex terms and ideas and then explained them in a way that a lot of readers could picture and understand.

The main conflicts that this story dealt with were iffy for me. First there is the fact that aliens are on our planet. The way that these aliens were dealt with was entertaining to say the least. Sending the clones off to a deserted military camp caused some interesting situations. However when the book reached its climax I was a bit disappointed. The whole time reading you are reminded that the aliens must be here for some specific reason and when I read what the reason was, I couldn’t believe that it was all. I am not asking for world domination or for space flying monkeys, but just something a bit more epic than the real reason. It is very hard to explain without giving away spoilers but just note I was not overly impressed with the alien’s purpose on earth.

Regardless, of the few qualms I had with this book I still found it a pretty enjoyable read. Any young people interested in science/alien stories will most likely find that they like this book too. Working with Andrew has been a pleasure and I appreciate that he allowed me to review Sue’s Fingerprint!

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Oct 06, 2011 Lyssa rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: x2011

Note: I received a review copy of this book through a First Reads giveaway.

Overall, I enjoyed reading this book. It was a quick, easy read with short chapters. The concept was pretty interesting - how would society react to an alien invasion that cloned people?

I thought the response was fairly plausible, although one character's abrupt change of heart came across as rather jarring. There wasn't much character development overall but the story was entertaining regardless. I'd definitely be up fo...more

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Jan 31, 2012 Sarah (Inklings Read) rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: own, ebook

Sue’s Fingerprint was certainly not what I had expected it to be. I loved the fact that it was Earth-based Sci-Fi – A genre we don’t see enough of! It was intelligent, thrilling, creative, and interesting all at once. These things helped the plot to move along quickly and maintain my attention throughout. I liked Carlson’s writing and found it to be clean and efficient. His use of short chapters made reading a breeze and provided plenty of good break points. If I had to pick out one problem, it...more

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Oct 01, 2011 Nina at Death Books and Tea rated it 5 of 5 stars

One day, a gel-ly thing is found everywhere. After observing it, they realise that it clones any living thing it comes into contact with. This includes humans. Eleven humans are made from this, along with mice and squirrels. Believe it or not, we care mainly about the “humans”. Titular Sue is one of these, and they are all taken to a military base to live, overseen by Ted Stevens and some more staff. Then Sue realises she has a message to deliver and therefore she leaves. Ted and the others nee...more One day, a gel-ly thing is found everywhere. After observing it, they realise that it clones any living thing it comes into contact with. This includes humans. Eleven humans are made from this, along with mice and squirrels. Believe it or not, we care mainly about the “humans”. Titular Sue is one of these, and they are all taken to a military base to live, overseen by Ted Stevens and some more staff. Then Sue realises she has a message to deliver and therefore she leaves. Ted and the others need to get her back, and also know what she wants to say. On the way, Ted realises he needs a bit more information about these things, and so tries his luck with DNA. The whole mission really depends on the test results. All these things add up to a kind of sci-fi adventurey book.
The whole going missing thing only happens about halfway through the book. That’s not to say that the first half is a waste of time reading. It was great to read. It starts with a little kid seeing a clone, and then somewhere else they find the gel, and so on. We meet the scientists ,and the human clones. We get a lot of detail of the military base. We get a lot of detail as to their lives, and a lot more detail in general.
These people became very real. Its interesting how they had to be taught everything, such as how to make coffee and little things like that we do everyday. (well not me. I make tea. But you get my drift). I found watching them learning cooking skills and surfing the internet very sweet, and it gave me an interesting look on how our lives work. Seeing everyday processes broken down like that actually gives a completely different perspective to life. Thanks for that, Andrew.
The characters were all well developed. All the clones were obviously very similar as they all had zero knowledge of earth before, but they all seemed too get a bit more depth to them, and individuality, such as Sue being an excellent cook, and someone else being a great coffee maker. The normal people, aside from Ted, all seemed to merge into one. Probably because they all seemed to do the same things.
The writing was easy to get through, written in a style that flows and easy to understand what’s going on. This is an easy read for bedtimes and times when you just want to settle down with a good book.
The ending seemed a little too happy ending and neat to wield a sequel, even though I would like to see more of Sue, and how they get on in their new lives.

Strength 5 tea to a little known book that is better than the summary(at least the summary that came on the back of my copy) lets on.(less)

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Nov 28, 2011 Lora Covrett rated it 4 of 5 stars

Sue's Fingerprint is definitely a page-turner. The author does an excellent job of leaving a dangling hook at the end of each chapter that reels you right in to the next one. The only wee bit of criticism is that there are a few typos.

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Feb 17, 2012 SciYourFi Team rated it 4 of 5 stars

Read the full review at http://sciyourfi.blogspot.com.au/2012...

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Feb 16, 2012 Kelly rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: give-away-first-read-books

Received book in a first reads giveaway.

I liked this book. Nice, easy reading. Some parts made me want a little more depth, but overall a good read. Good story and recommend it as an easy intro to science fiction for those who think science fiction is all aliens and violence.

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About Andrew D. Carlson

I've been a scientist for over 20 years. Now I'm an author of fiction for young and old adults.

My debut novel is an Earth-based science fiction story; Sue's Fingerprint. And that's been followed by the sequel, Sue's Vision! Follow Sue and the clones as they receive messages from the alien GOO and try to deliver them! How will the government react to these 'alien new people'?

I also love to read. I...more

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