This was the winner of the 1976 Hugo Award.
One of the themes of 70's entertainment was that the apocalypse was nigh and we were all doomed. This was especially true in science fiction, where doomsday movies were all the rage until 'Star Wars' arrived in '77. The book side didn't escape it either.
The book starts out in a secluded West Virginia valley where a well off extended family is trying to make some kind of preparation for the coming end of the world. They're scientifically inclined and their efforts go into an extensive cloning operation. Sure enough, some kind of disease arrives and sterilizes all vertebrates. In a last ditch effort, the family begins to clone humans in hopes that they can survive long enough to regain mating.
The second part of the book takes place a few generations of clones later. Each clone group has a near telepathic affinity with each other, to the point where physical separation is difficult for them. Breeding is done through careful selection, not through the choice of the individuals. One woman breaks the rules and hides away to birth a child by herself. He is raised alone with her for a few years and then she is taken away and they try to assimilate him.
The valley is beginning to run out of key materials and they have to send out a foraging party to the ruined cities of the east coast. They're severely limited by separation and the sheer amount of nature scares the dickens out of them. Except for the one lonely boy. Only he is ok out in the trees. They have to trust him somehow, but he stands against so many of their important principles.
This book started slowly. The buildup seemed fairly generic and the characters were far from interesting. But once Wilhelm got to the valley of clones, it all clicked and really worked well. There is some hand waving, especially about the near psychic bond that the clones share, but it wasn't really that bothersome. This is a good book.
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