Foundling Fathers by Meg Elison – Review

Published: June 23, 2026

Publisher: Tachyon Publications

Series: N/A

Genre: Science Fiction, Satire

Pages: 192 (Paperback)

My Rating: 4 Stars

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis:
When a radical think tank clones America’s founding fathers, The Boys from Brazil meets the bicentennial in this ingeniously satirical mashup of U.S. history, cloning, and technocracy gone terribly wrong.

The trouble starts when a curious teenager, Benjamin, finds an iPhone in his privy. The problem is, it’s supposed to be 1750.

Ben takes his discovery to his brothers—Thomas, John, and George. The boys have been raised in isolation on an island plantation by a firm but kind woman, Mary Libertas. All four of them chafe at Mary’s restrictions upon them—especially Thomas, who has impregnated yet another servant.

Meanwhile, their de facto father figure, Jeff Hancock, complains to the shadowy Antediluvian Society that it is past the time to explain to the boys where they come from and what they must do: Run America the way it used to be run.

In this more-than-slightly-absurdist novella, Philip K. Dick Award–winning author Meg Elison (Find Layla) skewers those looking to an idyllic past to solve the problems they continue to create.

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This is exactly the kind of preposterous shit I would expect if cloning became more widely available which is both sad and hilarious. This book absolutely hooked me in about two pages, which is why I ended up reading it six months before the actual release date. A little curiosity and wham, suddenly I was halfway through the novella. 

Foundling Fathers is a brief look at what might happen if a group of teenage boys from the 1750s discovered an iPhone. On the flip side, it’s also a look at what might happen if a far-right group decided to clone the founding fathers and raise them like it was 1750 so they might make America…, uh, you know what, we’re not going there. It’s completely ridiculous but also, I think some people might think that this book is actually a great idea despite the obvious flaws and warnings built in. I personally got a kick out of this, especially because many of the founding fathers’ flaws were on full display.

This was a short book, so I’m also keeping the review short. If you like a good bit of satire and would like to know how Benjamin Franklin discovering an iPhone might play out, then check out Foundling Fathers. It’s funny, flawed, and I think the time of the release, shortly before the USA’s 250th anniversary, was a great choice.