Author: Heather Hildenbrand
Genre: Science Fiction, Young Adult
Published on: October 13, 2015 by Alloy Entertainment (Kindle edition)
After months of pretending to be Raven Rogen, Ven feels less like a clone and more like a human than ever. But when Raven’s father, Titus—the same man who engineered Ven—discovers her plan to escape, everything she’s worked so hard for is taken away in one explosive moment.
Now she’s imprisoned in Twig City, the secret warehouse where she grew up. She spends her days plotting ways to get back to the outside world, determined to topple Titus’s empire and free every last Imitation. But Titus’s reach is extensive and his plans are more deadly than she realized.
In the shocking conclusion to the Imitation series, one wrong move could mean the end for Ven and everyone she’s come to love.
Heather Hildenbrand’s clone series comes to an end in this third and last installment. Deviation ended with a big cliffhanger. The heroine, Ven, is an Imitation who has been working to free her kind from Titus Rogen, their tyrant of a creator. Imitations turned out not to be as loyal or subservient as Titus wanted them to be. No matter how much they trained, the clones could not fully become their Authentics. They had their own personalities, desires, and view of the world.
Despite Ven’s efforts, Titus found out about her plot to take him down. After making her watch her allies die in an explosion, Titus sent Ven back to Twig City. That’s the secret building where he keeps the Imitations he creates. Deviation ends with Titus putting Ven into stasis. Now, Ven is woken up for science tests. Titus wants to know what it is about Ven that causes her to disobey him. His goal is for the next generation of Imitations to be unquestioningly loyal. If Ven's disobedience is genetic, Titus will suppress it.
A certain character finally makes their debut in this book. Yes, it’s Raven Rogen, Ven’s Authentic. Until now, all we saw of Raven was video footage. Now, at last, Ven meets the real Raven. Titus has kept her hidden in the same section of Twig City where Ven is now. Raven shares a room with yet another clone of herself, named Neve. Ven’s and Raven’s first meeting is worth the long wait. They are both intrigued by each other. Although she’s her own person, Ven is so much more like Raven than the other Imitations of her. Both Raven and Ven are bright, headstrong, and self-assured women. Raven is self-centered and a bit mean, though, while Ven is accepting and friendly. And despite being Titus’s daughter, Raven isn’t like him. Raven doesn’t care much for the Imitations, but she knows Titus is evil and needs to be stopped.
Ven is dismayed to learn that she’s been asleep for six months. She knew of Titus's plans to use Imitations to gain vast political power. He’s long since achieved this, making him all but untouchable. Ven thinks Titus has won. Fortunately, not all hope is lost. There is still a resistance out there that manages to find Ven. Of course, she doesn’t hesitate at the chance to free the Imitations. With the help of a certain ally, Ven manages to flee from Twig City. Raven, in an uncharacteristic display of selflessness, makes the final part of the escape possible.
With Ven free again, she can resume leading the Imitations working to bring Titus down. He’s more powerful than ever, though. And Ven struggles with guilt and frustration. She feels she let her friends down after being out for six months. Ven is also not happy that her allies haven’t defeated Titus on their own by now. This makes it feel as if she blames them for accomplishing nothing. It’s a sensitive part of the story, and certain readers may not think highly of Ven after it. She’s still a good character, and a worthy leader. Ven’s perspective of time is just different, which of course disorients her.
As with most uprisings, there are casualties. A few key characters from the previous book didn’t make it to Generation. To Ven’s relief, her bodyguard turned boyfriend Linc Crawford is still alive. He’s managed to keep his cover intact all this time. Linc still works with Titus as the head of security for still another Imitation of Raven Rogen. Seriously, the way this guy deals with human lives is sick. Anyway, Linc never doubted that Ven was still alive. He’s completely devoted to her now. Their romance is a ray of light in this pretty dark ending to a trilogy. Things are serious now and anyone could die—even Ven.
Generation is a satisfying conclusion to the Clone Chronicles trilogy. There’s more action and plenty of romance. Although this is a sci-fi series and clones are central to the story, the books have a strong romantic suspense feel. For me, that wasn’t a detriment. Falling in love makes the Imitations feel even more normal. They are human after all, even if they weren’t “womb-born”. I would have liked to see more of Raven Rogen, though. Her Imitation, Ven, got pretty much all the spotlight. Raven was a memorable character, a haughty rich girl with a good heart. I wish she’d had a more central role. Seeing a girl like Raven fighting for “inferior” people would have been cool. Not hating on Ven, though. The series was great with her. I would read the Clone Chronicles again. Original or not, it’s one of my favorite sci-fi series now.
My rating: ★★★★
4 stars - Definitely enjoyed it!
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