The House of the Scorpion

by Nancy Farmer

In the opening scene of this riveting science-fiction thriller set 100 years in the future, a scientist rescues one of 36 microscopic cells. He is just about to reach for “the needle that would blunt its intelligence,” when a fellow scientist stops him: “Don’t fix that one,” she says. “It’s a Matteo Alacrán. They’re always left intact.” Matteo Alacrán, it turns out, is a 142-year-old drug lord who relies on the organs he harvests from his clones to prolong his life. El Patrón, as they call him, rules the country of Opium, situated between the United States and Azatlán, what was once Mexico. “Eejits,” humans who attempted to escape Azatlán, care for the poppy fields as commanded by a computer chip implanted in their brains. As Matt, that 36th cell, matures, he begins to realize what it means to be a clone of the all-powerful El Patrón. Most people treat the boy like a beast, but Matt’s guardian, Celia, the cook, and Tam Lin, El Patrón’s bodyguard, show him kindness. Yet how much are they willing to risk in order to protect Matt? Nancy Farmer raises searching questions about the value of existence, and what sets us apart as human beings – the power to choose.