Precious Children by Mary G. Thompson
is a spooky, page-turning sci-fi/horror novel about rich parents trying to ensure their children live forever through cloning. Dina and Preston have enough money that they don’t have to worry about mortality in the same way everyone else does. In a society where children are rarely, and healthy children even rarer, this couple hacks the system by investing in a cloning program and getting by in from the federal government. Since they have been cloned to make their own children, they have given their extra clones to families in need of babies. So if the worst ever happens to their children, they can grab a clone and swap in with their kids memories— easy, peasy! Right?

This reminds me a lot of the book the Merge in terms on a dual consciousness book. This book is a quick read with a super interesting premise. It isn’t too scary and I’d recommend to sci-fi fans. Thanks to Tacyon for the ARC!

Precious Children by Mary G. Thompson is a sci-fi novella about a future where most Americans are unable to give birth to healthy children, and so wealthy families pay to have themselves cloned. They keep one clone from each batch to raise as their child, and the thousands of other clones are adopted out to poorer families willing to pay for healthy babies. But should the wealthy family’s child die, they may take their pick of the others, abducting the child from their home and uploading their dead child’s consciousness into the new body.

I loved this story. It reminded me of old episodes of Outer Limits, and even though the story beats felt predictable, I had a blast going along for the ride. It was a quick read that absolutely flew by, and the tension never flagged for a second. Plus, two people forced to share a body is one of my favorite horror tropes, and this book delivers in spades.

Precious Children is mandatory reading for any fans of horror or sci-fi, especially if you’re into shows like Black Mirror or The Twilight Zone. Even if you’re unsure, it’s such a quick read I’d recommend everyone give it a shot.

Thank you Tachyon Publications for providing this advance copy for review via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

This book might have singlehandedly convinced me to admit that I'm officially a mystery/thriller reader (which I've staunchly denied for several years)

WOW. I'm absolutely in love with this story! I would say Precious Children falls a lot more into sci-fi than I'm used to reading, but man, I couldn't put it down. It's a relatively short read at 244 pages, but it packs so much emotion and story into that. Following a central group of characters, I found myself so emotionally invested in most of them. Particularly Di- the way my motherly instincts were kicking into overdrive reading this through her perspective was an adventure. I just wanted to keep her safe and protect her, to the point where I stopped at one point and said "oh my god, am I like DINA? I don't wanna be like Dina!" But also, being able to empathize with Dina to the extent of how far someone is willing to go for their children. I'm not a mother myself, so to be able to illicit these kinds of emotions and the ability to empathize with a character that I don't even necessarily like (I might actually really dislike her, haha) is a testament to how well these characters are written.
There were some concepts that were repeated a couple times; however, I think that they managed to work with this story, where I saw it almost as an indication of their desperation- whether it be Di and her need to not only understand the full extent of this world that was forced onto her existence but also understand how she can fix it or if there is an escape, or Dina and her overwhelming love for her children and the desperation to have a perfect, healthy family, while also battling the reality of what having all that means for the clones and the families that have housed and raised them until they're needed, but also Geoff and all of the things that come with the process of dying twice and being essentially reborn in a similar albeit different body all while harboring a massive secret and feeling resentment for having to live these lives.
I'll admit that it took me a minute to understand exactly what this cloning process was and how it worked (which was totally a me problem, not a writing problem), but once it clicked, my jaw was on the floor. And the way it continues to unravel as the story goes on with more and more information being revealed about the dark side of this cloning process and the psychological elements that come with that, I was absolutely hooked.
At its surface, the concept of this story is wildly interesting, but the execution really makes this entire story the perfect 5-star book. I've literally told everyone I know to read this book when it's released because it's just that good.
Thank you a million times to the publisher for the ARC of Precious Children because I will be climbing to the rooftops and singing its praises for a long time.

Wow! Such a shocking amazing novel. The plot was great and I loved the characters. A great concept that I could see in the future someday. I was hooked once I started. I also enjoyed that it was a shorter novel!

🧬 Precious Children 🧬

What in the Black Mirror episode did I just read?!? 🤯🤯🤯

I went into this novella completely blind and I’m so glad I did. To say this was dystopian is an understatement. The concept alone was horrifying and honestly just kept getting more unsettling the deeper it went. I seriously hope they release an audiobook for this because I would absolutely listen immediately. Easy 5 star read for me!

🤯What to Expect
• Clone horror
• Body snatching
• Unethical family
• Memory transfers
• Psychological
• Sci fi horror
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📅 Pub Date: September 1, 2026
📝 Thank you to Tachyon Publications and NetGalley for the advanced copy. All thoughts are my own.