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7th out of 26 books
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13 voters
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add to my books
Cast of Shadows: A Novel
This icily innovative thriller begins with every parent’s worst nightmare, when Davis Moore’s teenage daughter is brutally raped and murdered by an unknown assailant. It gets worse. For Davis Moore is a fertility doctor, dealing with cutting-edge genetic reproductive techniques. It’s a controversial and dangerous occupation: Moore has already been the object of a fanatic’...more
Paperback, 336 pages
Published
May 23rd 2006
by Vintage
(first published 2005)
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The setting is a Chicago very much like the current city but in a universe where human cloning is as common as in vitro is in our world. Cloning, however, is highly controversial and regulated. Dr. Davis Moore, the happily married father of a teenage daughter, is a fertility specialist expert in cloning who becomes the target of a religious fanatic. Although he survives the attack, his happy life is destroyed when his beloved daughter is killed at her after-school job. It seems as if Anna Ka...more
I read this with friends for our book group. It's a thriller set in the near future, when human cloning has become legal. A geneticist's daughter is killed, and rather than clone his own daughter, he clones the killer using DNA from the crime scene. He becomes obsessed with his daughter's murder and with the idea of being able to look into the killer's eyes. I don't usually read stories in this genre, but I found Cast of Shadows to be pretty engaging, although somewhat weak in the storytelling, ...more
Dr. Davis Moore is a prominent figure in a controversial field. He is a fertility doctor who uses cutting-edge genetic cloning to give children to those who cannot have their own. Despite what others may think and the threats levied against his life by anti-cloning activists, he knows in his heart of hearts that what he does is a good thing. However, his priorities change when his teenage daughter is raped and murdered. Now, instead of introducing new life to the world, he becomes fixated on the...more
I read this awhile back and forgot and picked it up to read again. Obviously, the topic interests me. It's the delivery that wasn't so great. The idea of cloning a daughter's killer in order to see what he looks like when the clone grows up is a good idea, and the twist later is interesting, but it felt too overdone with the avatars and gaming world, etc., like the author was trying to fit in every sci-fi tech topic he could. I just didn't like his style. If I could, I'd give it 2 1/2 stars.
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A bit too disturbing for me at first, but once the story settled, it never left. A very good sci-fi mystery thriller that presents the age-old nature-vs-nurture question. More than anything, though, it's about consequences, and in particular, the dominos effect that one ill-conceived decision can have on not only yourself but also those around you. Be warned, though, it's not a pleasant read.
Had the pleasure of finishing this Chicago-set book while actually in Chicago. I basically never read thrillers, so I can't comment on how this works in that genre, but I liked how this cut across the thriller, near-future science fiction, and even ripped-from-the-headlines genres to create something that pokes at the questions of free will and whether we have a purpose in life. I especially liked the way the video game world worked in the narrative, and the way that the cast of characters expan...more
I thought this a really great book. Lots of twists and turns, but nothing that seems cheaply plotted. About choices and their consequences--consequences for the choice maker and all of those around him/her. This is one of those stories that pops into my head years after having read it.
This book has crime, science fiction (that really isn't science fiction since human cloning is right around the corner), love, betrayal and mystery. Its one of those books that you want to see the movie, just as long as its exactly like the book.
Pam
added it
Unbelievable.
I couldn't put it down.
incredible narration, and i found it amazing how swiftly it shifts from part of the story to another! it was an INCREDIBLE book.
Very Very highly recommended
I couldn't put it down.
incredible narration, and i found it amazing how swiftly it shifts from part of the story to another! it was an INCREDIBLE book.
Very Very highly recommended
This was a book sale purchase by an unknown author. And the outcome was totally unexpected. I really enjoyed the twists and turns and the moral challenges the book presented. It is a genre that I don’t usually venture into but I was blown away, and left thinking about the book long after I had finished reading it.
Shannon Wells
rated it
Interesting book -- shows both sides of the debate on cloning.... Way too many coincidences, though... I know that is part of the plot, but got to be distracting. Enjoyable, but not fantastic.
One of the better thrillers I've read with loads of surprises sprinkled all through the book. Plus the author tosses in some good issues to make you think.
Loved, loved, loved this book. Read it quite a few years ago, but I continue to reccommend it. Has such an interesting story line.
So many twists and turns that you're left dizzy. It was a very good read that both disturbed and surprised with layer after layer.
Who knew when I used to see Kevin as Leslie's Notre Dame friend that he was going to turn out to be such an inventive, smart, verbal writer? A superb & enjoyable science thriller you can't put down.
Weird and confusing, but realllllyyyy interesting. :) It was like, my first legit "adult" book I ever read. Haha...
Written by a friend's brother. Wouldn't have read it based on book jacket but ended up enjoying the book a lot!
Danger and deception abound in this “world-gone-crazy” tale of a Chicago-area fertility doctor who contemplates doing the unthinkable. His beloved daughter is brutally raped and murdered. Will his macabre plan satisfy his need for revenge concerning his daughter’s murder? Just how far does one bereaved father go to satisfy his need for closure, revenge and justice? This suspenseful, thought-provoking science fiction thriller is chalk-full of page-turning events. Full of plot twists, interwoven ...more
This was OK, no more. Could have been a lot better, but little things niggle at you the whole way through it.
really good in the way of questioning "what would religion-science conflict be like in the future?"
This is a wickedly good and disturbing book. Fast, dark, and with some really good twists at the end.
Probably the greatest book on genetic engineering since Brave New World.
This book was surprizingly good. I read it after seeing the author talk at one of the Humanities Council seminars on Ethics and Genetics.
I would definately not have picked this up on my own. It is a murder mistery that touches on philosophy and psychology all hidden in a futuristic setting. I'm not a sci-fi reader, but this was done tastefully enough that it was quite enjoyable and educational. It definately made me wonder about culture in general and how it will continue to be affected b...more
I would definately not have picked this up on my own. It is a murder mistery that touches on philosophy and psychology all hidden in a futuristic setting. I'm not a sci-fi reader, but this was done tastefully enough that it was quite enjoyable and educational. It definately made me wonder about culture in general and how it will continue to be affected b...more
One of the best thrillers of any kind I've ever read.
WOW! This was very suspenseful, 1 day read!
I was reminded of this because I found Guilfoile's new book THE THOUSAND at Borders the other day. CAST OF SHADOWS is one of the best mysteries I've ever read.
http://www.reviewers-choice.com/cast_of_...
http://www.reviewers-choice.com/cast_of_...
Meadow
marked it as to-read
Recommended by Carol
This book was amazing! There was so much going on that the book was by no means predictable. Guilfoile has the reader guessing until the last minute. So many controversial issues. Con? SO many chars, it really needs to be read in a few sittings. Due to other things, I took awhile to read it, which made it difficult to keep all the characters straight. I highly suggest it!
Full disclosure. I worked on this book. When I read the first 50 pages in manuscript form, I told my boss to reject it. (The opening has since changed...) He told me I was nuts, to keep pressing on. So I did -- on Yom Kippur night, too, and the next day I was just too tired to be hungry. From page 51 to the end I read without moving! It's the definition of unputdownable. One of the best and most brilliantly original thrillers I've ever read.
I really enjoyed this book, definitely took me for a ride.
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