Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang by Kate Wilhelm
The novel “Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang” by Kate Wilhelm was published for the first time in 1976. It won the Hugo, Locus, and Jupiter Awards for best science fiction novel of the year.
The collapse of the ecosystems caused by massive pollution also causes epidemics, among other things. The Sumner family has the economic and professional resources to isolate themselves in a small community where its members can work to keep human civilization alive.
The Sumners’ initial plans must be replaced when they realize they have been struck by a form of sterility. The only hope comes from the development of a cloning technique, including human cloning. The project is successful, but the clones prove to be connected to each other in unexpected ways. A side effect of this deep connection is that they’re unable to go far from the group without developing mental disorders, which can become profound if they don’t quickly return to the clone collective.




