His combat performance earns Harris a promotion and transfer to the Kamehameha, flagship of the Central Scutum-Crux Fleet, under the command of Adm. Bryce Klyber, a politically powerful military commander. On the Kamehameha, Harris immediately meets PFC Vince Lee. Marine clones have been designed not to suspect they are clones, and while Lee is a clone, he disdains other clones. Harris and Lee become close friends. Harris begins to suspect their new platoon sergeant, Tabor Shannon, is a type of clone called a Liberator, outlawed because of the atrocities they committed in the last war. Klyber also takes special interest in Harris, for reasons Harris does not understand at first.

The Kamehameha flies to Ezer Kri, a planet with a large number of Japanese descendents. The UA suspects a separatist movement on Ezer Kri because its governor recently requested changes to reflect its Japanese heritage. While on Ezer Kri, Harris' unit is attacked by Mogats, a religious separatist group founded by Morgan Atkins. Harris receives another promotion, but the Mogats are able to successfully attack one of the fleet's ships before the UA defeats them. The aftermath leads to a reorganization of the fleet command, pitting navy secretary Adm. Huang and Klyber in a power struggle centered around the politics of military clones, and Harris' future is dependent on the outcome.

A solid, entertaining debut

Although Steven L. Kent has written several nonfiction books about computer gaming, The Clone Republic is his first novel, and it's a solid debut. Harris is an honest, engaging protagonist and thoughtful narrator, and Kent's clean, transparent prose fits well with both the main character and the story's themes. Kent creates a sophisticated political universe, and he uses Harris's limited information effectively to create suspense. If there's something missing, however, it's that Harris, while caught up in important political machinations, is himself nearly completely apolitical. It's an interesting choice, as Kent is attempting to present Harris' apolitical tendencies as commentary itself. Despite the good intentions, the choice limits the novel's potential to explore in more detail the social and political ramifications of a clone military force. On the other hand, the choice does work well to explore corruption and infighting within the Unified Authority military structure.

In the early parts of the book, some of the logic behind the workings of this society seem a bit dubious. Kent paces his events and revelations smoothly and fills the apparent logical holes satisfactorily. For example, at first, the reasons for creating and maintaining such a large, expensive military force (and especially one that makes extensive use of clones) seem unconvincing when the Unified Authority has no external enemy. However, the reasons become clearer as Kent reveals the history behind the Unified Authority's conflict with the Mogats.

The Clone Republic doesn't break any new ground, and sometimes it seems a bit derivative of earlier science fiction, but it has no serious flaws. Kent is a skillful storyteller, and the book entertains throughout. The conclusion wraps up Harris' immediate issues but opens up new opportunities, so a sequel may well be in the works.