The Genesis Code

Rating:
Summary: Scariest book I've read in a decade!
Review: When a friend recently asked me if I'd read anything really frightening, I surprised myself by saying, "The Genesis Code." People are out there killing other people with the conviction that they are doing so in the name of God, but you're not quite sure what you would need to do -- or have already done -- to become their next target.

So why is this book whose basic plot you figure out by the time you're halfway through so riveting? Because of the way that plot develops, and the combination of religion and astonishing scientific possibility. We're all hesitant to discuss religion with the same rational detachment as science, yet to understand this plot one is forced to do just that.

And although you know the basic plot, the author is a genius at adding in ambiguity. Yes, the right-wing religious people are killing people, but exactly why this is so is not clear, even after bad guys explain it to Lassiter. The basic motive for murder seems simply to be that the traditional faith has been given a new option via genetics, because one could easily view that option itself as wonderful.

Well before the end one expects that a nice postcript ending would be for Jessie to have been a successful experiment, so that fact that he is is not what makes this part great, it is the way it is revealed.


Rating:
Summary: What Fiction Ought To Do!
Review: Yes, the plot and characters in this work get convoluted even considering the world-wide network involved.

Yes, Case's writing, i.e. the Hougan's writing is somewhat choppy and lengthy.

Yes, many may find fault with the accuracy and verity of the scientific and religious data.

Yet, this work of fiction plants a seed as an impetus to serious readers to discover added knowledge about shadowy religious groups, cutting edge bio-medical engineering, and identity safety in today's world.

Can we ask much more of modern fiction?