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A Twisted Garden
What would it be like to be genetically engineered? To have your genes selected from thousands of the most successful athletes, scientists, businessmen, and scholars from all over the world? Jack Wright knows because that's just what was done to him. Growing up with the expectations of greatness, all his successes taken for granted, all his accomplishments attributed to his genes, he can run faster than any Olympian, but will never get a medal, since genetic enhancements are considered unfair competition, like performance-enhancing drugs.
In a world where broad-spectrum antiviral drugs have made most illnesses things of the past, including all sexually transmitted diseases, relationships form quickly and easily, without fear, except for Jack. Living alone, the scars of growing up as a lonely superman leave him, particularly at a loss when his path intersects with two women, whose secrets get them all involved with murder, gang warfare, illegal drug trading, and a mystery that Jack is uniquely suited to solve.
In a world where broad-spectrum antiviral drugs have made most illnesses things of the past, including all sexually transmitted diseases, relationships form quickly and easily, without fear, except for Jack. Living alone, the scars of growing up as a lonely superman leave him, particularly at a loss when his path intersects with two women, whose secrets get them all involved with murder, gang warfare, illegal drug trading, and a mystery that Jack is uniquely suited to solve.
225 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 30, 2008
3 people want to read
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October 3, 2014This book was written by a former colleague of mine. For once, I know the author.
I'm kinda annoyed that there are no chapters. Once in a while, the narrative stops in the middle of a page and the action resumes at some later point at the top of the next page.
The novel reminds me of Arthur C. Clarke, showcasing technological advances for the near future and social trends more than the characters. But is is more cyberpunk in nature, set in a completely dystopian future. And sometimes, the author gets stuck on UI details, such as "I touched the close control on the screen and it went black" instead of the simple "I turned it off." He acknowledges influence from Neal Stephenson.
Technology is definitely the main character here. The protagonists and the intrigue are only there to provide a framework to showcase various futuristic concepts and devices. When the author's imagination runs dry of new ideas, the main plot is quickly brought to a conclusion and the novel ends. Rather abruptly.
The beginning, where the author lays out a vast array of new concepts and ideas, was quite catchy and drew on my curiosity. The middle part started to develop the main intrigue and attempt to provide the characters with a semblance of depth. I was expecting some twists and turns, but everything was progressing quite linearly. The end unforeseeable only in its brevity. All plot lines are brought to an end and the story concludes in a way that felt rushed.
I think back to Umberto Eco's "The Role of the Reader" where Eco explains that the reader picks the parts of the novel that interests him or her and that the master novelist will weave multiple paths together in one work and let the reader pick the one that interests them the most. Here, there are three obvious paths: technology in the various contraptions, sociology in the interactions between the character, and intrigue in the main plot. The first one was a good hook but lacked cohesiveness. The second led nowhere. I got more and more interested in the third one when the first two petered out, but it received the least treatment of the three and ended too quickly, without any noticeable twists or turns.
Still an enjoyable read, but was disappointing in the end.
I'm kinda annoyed that there are no chapters. Once in a while, the narrative stops in the middle of a page and the action resumes at some later point at the top of the next page.
The novel reminds me of Arthur C. Clarke, showcasing technological advances for the near future and social trends more than the characters. But is is more cyberpunk in nature, set in a completely dystopian future. And sometimes, the author gets stuck on UI details, such as "I touched the close control on the screen and it went black" instead of the simple "I turned it off." He acknowledges influence from Neal Stephenson.
Technology is definitely the main character here. The protagonists and the intrigue are only there to provide a framework to showcase various futuristic concepts and devices. When the author's imagination runs dry of new ideas, the main plot is quickly brought to a conclusion and the novel ends. Rather abruptly.
The beginning, where the author lays out a vast array of new concepts and ideas, was quite catchy and drew on my curiosity. The middle part started to develop the main intrigue and attempt to provide the characters with a semblance of depth. I was expecting some twists and turns, but everything was progressing quite linearly. The end unforeseeable only in its brevity. All plot lines are brought to an end and the story concludes in a way that felt rushed.
I think back to Umberto Eco's "The Role of the Reader" where Eco explains that the reader picks the parts of the novel that interests him or her and that the master novelist will weave multiple paths together in one work and let the reader pick the one that interests them the most. Here, there are three obvious paths: technology in the various contraptions, sociology in the interactions between the character, and intrigue in the main plot. The first one was a good hook but lacked cohesiveness. The second led nowhere. I got more and more interested in the third one when the first two petered out, but it received the least treatment of the three and ended too quickly, without any noticeable twists or turns.
Still an enjoyable read, but was disappointing in the end.
Displaying 1 of 1 review