Six Wakes by Mur Lafferty

Book Description

Maria Arena awakens in a cloning vat streaked with drying blood. She has no memory of how she died. This is new; before, when she had awakened as a new clone, her first memory was of how she died.

Maria’s vat is one of seven, each one holding the clone of a crew member of the starship Dormire, each clone waiting for its previous incarnation to die so it can awaken. And Maria isn’t the only one to die recently. . .

Review

Every once in a while, I pick up a science fiction novel that reminds me why I enjoy the genre so much. Not because of the technology or the world-building, but because speculative fiction has a way of asking unusual questions about what it means to be human.

Six Wakes by Mur Lafferty is one of those books.

The story begins with a premise that immediately grabbed my attention: six crew members aboard a long-haul spaceship wake up in freshly cloned bodies with no memory of how they died. They quickly realize they’ve all been murdered. By one of themselves.

It’s a clever setup, but what makes Six Wakes memorable isn’t the mystery. Instead, the novel uses that premise to explore identity, memory, and the complicated ways our past choices shape who we become.

Forging Identity

Lafferty’s writing balances suspense with reflection. As the narrative alternates between the present-day mystery on the ship and glimpses into the crew members’ past lives, the story reveals the choices that shaped the characters long before they boarded the mission.

Each revelation reshapes how you view the characters. Just when you think you understand someone, another piece of their past surfaces, adding new layers of complexity. It’s a clever structure that keeps the story moving while deepening the characters.

Lafferty handles the science fiction elements with a light touch. The cloning technology and futuristic setting provide a framework, but never overwhelm the story or the people at its center. Instead, the speculative elements act as a lens through which the novel explores accountability, redemption, and whether people can truly change.

In many ways, Six Wakes reminded me of The Phoenix Pencil Company. Both novels explore identity and the persistence of the self, and both use speculative devices to explore memory and personal history. Both ask us to consider how much of who we are is shaped by memory, and how much by the choices we make.

If you enjoy character-driven science fiction, you’ll find Six Wakes an intriguing and satisfying read.

Content Warning

Blood, Death, Gore, Graphic violence, Injury, Kidnapping, Murder, Suicide, Violence

The header photo is a composite image. Base image by Raychan on Unsplash