Rating: 
Summary: Science Better Than The Story
Review: The story isn't bad, it just has a second hand feel. The human clone theory has been around for a long time, at least as long ago when someone came up with the word doppleganger. Jude meets his exact double in his New York apartment's entryway. His pitifully naive twin Skyler, has escaped from a mysterious island off of the southeastern coast of the U.S. It quickly becomes apparent, powerful forces are looking for Skyler. Jude shelters him because he hopes to write a career-enhancing exposé. Skyler (who made me think of Luke Skywalker) is introduced to girl friend Twizzie who is an exact replica of Skyler's now-dead friend, Julia. The coincidences are piling up, but this is by no means the end of it. The chase heats up to boiling, and the reader is carried, more or less happily to a slam-bang finale. The explanations of DNA, chromosome, gene therapy for life-extending purposes are clear and fascinating. Mr. Darnton is to be commended for making these sections so understandable and plausible. There is an interesting subtext on Gullahs who are an encapsulated community in the southeast. If you don't mind a little déjà vu, a fun read.
Rating: 
Summary: A novel begging to be a movie.
Review: Welcome to The Experiment, a scientific thriller in which two men with very different backgrounds discover to their mutual fascination and bafflement that they are identical... and proceed to discover that their resemblance has implications bigger than their worst nightmares. The Experiment is a good romp. It's got murder, treachery, diabolical schemes, forgotten history and intrigue, all bolstered with enough scientific background to make it just credible enough. This could make a good movie, in the Pelican Brief genre.
Rating: 
Summary: Failed "Experiment"!
Review: After reading John Darnton superior novel, "Neanderthal", I was excited to find than he had another book out entitled "The Experiment". The premise sounded exciting and the dust jacket promised "thrills and haunts" according to Patricia Cornwell (that should have been a sign for me right there because I've never really enjoyed anything that she's written). So, it is with more than a little disappointment that I have to report that "The Experiment" failed to deliver in this writer's opinion. The plot, ("Cloned humans serving as replacement 'parts' for the rich and famous") which started with a great deal of promise, frizzled badly through the middle portion of the book. It's not that the jargon or medical terminology was overwhelming, it's just that it was not very interesting! There also seemed to be a lot of "filler" throughout the book, as if Darnton's publisher told him that he needed to deliver 500 pages or else. I guess I was expecting more from a Pulitzer prize winner. I don't want to give away much of the plot because I hate it when reviewers do that, but suffice it to say that the relationship between the three main characters, Skyler, Jude, and Tizzie is confusing at best. The role that the FBI and the "Orderlies" played in the book were really not very believable. I don't think any of the main characters would have been given the chances to remain living, let alone traverse the country as many times as they did in the "real world" of government agency procedure and espionage. If you haven't read anything by John Darnton, bypass "The Experiment" and pick up a copy of "Neanderthal" and then get a copy of his third novel (yet unpublished) it's got to be better than this one!
Rating: 
Summary: Memorible and Haunting...
Review: From the first page this book holds you intimately captivated. You find yourself wanting to know more and more. The characters are well described leaving you able to relate to them. And the plot line? I think that it's one of the best I've read. I honestly was expecting much less from this book, and instead, I found that the saying "Don't judge a book by its cover" is a fact when it comes to this book. Later in the book, however, (and this was my ONLY problem) I found myself able to relate much more to Skyler. This was quickly resolved when I found that Skylers personality was illustrated somewhat in Jude. The way Darnton used his information was far from lecturing. And believe me, with the info he had, if he had distributed all at one time, it would have, indeed, seemed like a lecture. But his timing was perfect. He distributed his information where neccesery and turned the story into something that flowd like a song. The relationship between Tizzie and Jude and Tizzie and Skyler does change a bit during the book, but it's not descibed as some love triangle. The relationships change due to events that the characters go through and the strange mystery of love. The Experiment made me wonder if people could really be that cruel as to due things like that behind the backs of society. In this book Darnton makes it seem possible. Have you ever heard the saying "Todays Science fiction is tommorows truth"? That's how this book makes you feel. The action is intense and the feeling is heart-stopping. Like the events in this book, the strangest thing can change our lives forever. And after reading this...I doubt you'll be the same.
Rating:
Summary: Intriguing, heart warming, mysterious
Review: This book was given to me by my personal physician while I was on an office visit. I began reading the book in his office and could not put the book down. Being also intersted in Twin Studies, I could not imagine at first how the strangeness was unfolding before my eyes. All of a sudden, you realize that these very vulnerable, unsuspecting harmless folk, were in great danger, even grave, (no pun intended), as some of them were found dead and their bodies mutilated and at the very least, harvested of their organs. When a young male showed up dead, with his fingerprints and facial features obliterated, I knew that I was in for a suspensful ride.
Rating:
Summary: Starts out good then fails
Review: I bought this second hand, looking for a novel to read on a rainy afternoon...well, the beginning was good, about the island, but then it just slips away into mediocrity. For one thing, we've seen this plot before. Second, by the first quarter of the book, we already know about the clones and figure out that's what the experiment is all about. So no more suspense. I would expect more from a writer who's won a Pulitzer. With all of his research into this area (and he puts in all of the names in his acknowledgements) one would think he could get some of the science right. Well, for example, Tizzie says that the numbers of identical twins are increasing because of fertility drugs. That is incorrect. The number of fraternal twins is increasing. Fertility drugs increase ovulation, causing more eggs to be fertilized. They do not increase the chances of an egg splitting, which is what happens when identical twins are born. Jude also says that "identical triplets are impossible." Duh, has he ever heard of the Dionne quintuplets? Five identical girls? This is so sloppy and so basic, that it immediately turned me off. There's no excuse for that. Also, many things didn't make sense. I got the impression that Skylar was still a young teen when he escaped, not a man of 25. It doesn't say how many clones there were on the island, but you get the impression that there were quite a few. With only 3 Orderlies keeping tabs on them, wouldn't it be easy for them to rebel? Several hundred grown men and women against 3 guys, no matter how muscular they were? And if the 3 Orderlies appeared in New York, searching for Skylar, then who was keeping law and order back on the island? This book could have been a lot better, but it wasn't. There were so many silly little discrepancies--I'd read a page and ask why? Or how come? And especially, why didn't the FBI just get rid of Jude when he became a pest? Why give him info and tap his phone? All in all, a very contrived and silly book.
Rating:
Summary: Gemini Dreams or Nightmares?
Review: Cloning is a fascinating subject, and has been the setting for many recent thrillers. John Darnton's "The Experiment" is a frightening look at what could happen if the experiment goes awry. I was very impressed with Mr. Darnton's early scenes that focused on the relationship between Skyler and his friends on the island---Raisin, Julia and the Gullah man, Kutua. However, once the novel adds the characters of Jude Harley and Tizzie Tierney, the craftmanship weakens, although not enough to keep this from being a riveting and entertaining thriller. One problem I found is that even though Jude and Skyler are both presented as heroic figures, Darnton fails to reward Jude in the novel's bittersweet ending. I also found the identity of the mysterious Dr. Rincon to be a little irrational to say the least. Why wasn't the key factor of Dr. Rincon's identity ever announced earlier? The ending seems a little forced and loses a lot of the emotional impact Darnton had established early on. However, overall, this is a worthwhile read, and certainly shows why Mr. Darnton has won a Pulitzer.
Rating:
Summary: Engaging and instructive
Review: This is the perfect book for your holidays or a rainy weekend. The narrative is very fast-paced and engaging, something like Crichton's style. Considering current advances in genetics and biotechnology, I think that the story told in this book may take place somewhere in a not-so-far future. I enjoyed the descriptions of genetic technologies, you will learn (and remember) a lot without even realizing it!
Rating:
Summary: Nice read
Review: When Jude stumbles into his identical self, Skyler, Judes life will never be the same. Ironically before Jude runs into his twin, he is involved in research about twins for the newspaper the Tibbet, where he meets Tizzie. Tizzie is a specialist on twin behavior. This trio finds themselves in the middle of a scientific conspiracy of cloning and the longevity of human life. While on the search for the truth, they find unthinkable tasks going on around them. The conspirators are of all sorts, rich wanting longer life, scientists just interested in the science and longer life, almost every one around the trio. Now that they have figured out most of the facts in this conspiracy, they have to figure out how to solve the problem and get out alive. I enjoyed this nove, but was disapointed in the ending. I felt that with all the information shared and the complex story line, that the author cut the end of the novle short, and in the process made the ending predictable which didn't hold up to the great story weaved out for us. This was a great read, very informational. The characters were great the author did a wonderful job brining them to life. The concept of cloning I am sure is not that far off, lets just hope it never gets to the point it did in this novel. I can't say this is a must read, but I can say it wont be a waste of time.
Rating:
Summary: A good start that peters out.
Review: I fully agree with those reviewers who were excited by the start of this book and then became discouraged about half way through. The author does not keep up either the suspense or the pace of the story. I also found the relationship between the three main characters to evolve rather strangely throughout the book, especially towards the end. In sum, a good idea for a thriller that doesn't quite thrill. Definitely not a page turner.
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