What do you think?
Rate this book
Jupiter's Daughter
Subjecting his unwitting wife to a revolutionary gene experiment, billionaire Dalton Stewart induces the turn-of-the-millennia birth of the first Superbeing, a girl whose "extra" genes give her extraordinary powers and make her an international target. 35,000 first printing. $25,000 ad/promo.
448 pages, Hardcover
First published July 1, 1994
1 person is currently reading
58 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
October 21, 2024
Well written and intriguing techno-thriller by Hyman. While Hyman takes a little time at the beginning introducing the wide cast, the story settles down quickly and proceeds at a good clip until the denouement. Our main protagonist, Anne Stewart, recently married a rich businessman a bit on a whim. Stewart, her husband, runs a large biotech firm and met Anne while she worked in a smaller firm he planned on acquiring. Anne comes from a poor background, orphaned, and raised in Vermont by some struggling Canadian ex-pats. She managed to put herself through college (biology) and began working in the medical firm close to where she went to school.
Stewart, always looking to increase his fortune, received (along with 4 other rich folks) an invitation to a small, Caribbean island nation from a famous (more infamous) biologist who won the Nobel several years ago. Dr Goth has been researching the human biome and after a decade or so, has come close to his big breakthrough-- a way to genetically modify a fertilized human egg to produce 'designer' children. With some DNA tweaks, he things the new kids (new humans really) will be much more intelligent, stronger, more healthy, and even their senses (taste, touch, smell etc.) vastly improved. Yet, he has run out of money and needs backers.
Most nations have banned such research, which is why Dr. Goth finds himself on the island in the first place. He also has become a pariah professionally. First published in 1994, the events narrated occur in the near future, circa 1999-2004. Of all the potential backers, two get drawn in. Stewart sees the potential of the new 'Jupiter treatment' as worth a fortune! Who would not pay whatever to ensure their kids were gifted and so forth? He plans on first marketing this to the very rich (half a million a pop) and then moving to the 'middle class'. Dreaming of the big money, he basically bets his fortune on backing Dr. Goth. The other interested party, one Baroness from Germany, controls a large conglomerate in Europe, with Biotech a key component. She is ruthless and not a little of a stereotype-- she likes S&M games, funds neo-Nazi organizations in Europe, and has connections to some nasty people. She also sees images of big money to be made.
The problem? Will the gene treatments work? Dr. Goth is certain, but the proof is in the pudding. Stewart, who himself has some bad genes (potential for retardation) takes his new wife Anne to the island to try it out. He tells her that Dr. Goth simply has a new way to ensure his bad genes will not be transmitted, keeping the entire guinea pig of super kids secret from her. Their daughter Genny seems to prove Dr. Goth was correct...
The allure of tweaking DNA to produce super children creates a neat and plausible premise to hook the story. While the science may seem a bit dated here, the premise surely is not; you can bet rich folks would pay quite a bit for super kids! Well, besides Stewart and the German Baroness, who vie for the project, the US and Japanese government have covert means of tracking it. Obviously all of this will come to a head and Hyman nails the landing for sure. Neat story and well told, if you can abide some stereotypical characters and a bit of dated science. 4 super stars!!
Stewart, always looking to increase his fortune, received (along with 4 other rich folks) an invitation to a small, Caribbean island nation from a famous (more infamous) biologist who won the Nobel several years ago. Dr Goth has been researching the human biome and after a decade or so, has come close to his big breakthrough-- a way to genetically modify a fertilized human egg to produce 'designer' children. With some DNA tweaks, he things the new kids (new humans really) will be much more intelligent, stronger, more healthy, and even their senses (taste, touch, smell etc.) vastly improved. Yet, he has run out of money and needs backers.
Most nations have banned such research, which is why Dr. Goth finds himself on the island in the first place. He also has become a pariah professionally. First published in 1994, the events narrated occur in the near future, circa 1999-2004. Of all the potential backers, two get drawn in. Stewart sees the potential of the new 'Jupiter treatment' as worth a fortune! Who would not pay whatever to ensure their kids were gifted and so forth? He plans on first marketing this to the very rich (half a million a pop) and then moving to the 'middle class'. Dreaming of the big money, he basically bets his fortune on backing Dr. Goth. The other interested party, one Baroness from Germany, controls a large conglomerate in Europe, with Biotech a key component. She is ruthless and not a little of a stereotype-- she likes S&M games, funds neo-Nazi organizations in Europe, and has connections to some nasty people. She also sees images of big money to be made.
The problem? Will the gene treatments work? Dr. Goth is certain, but the proof is in the pudding. Stewart, who himself has some bad genes (potential for retardation) takes his new wife Anne to the island to try it out. He tells her that Dr. Goth simply has a new way to ensure his bad genes will not be transmitted, keeping the entire guinea pig of super kids secret from her. Their daughter Genny seems to prove Dr. Goth was correct...
The allure of tweaking DNA to produce super children creates a neat and plausible premise to hook the story. While the science may seem a bit dated here, the premise surely is not; you can bet rich folks would pay quite a bit for super kids! Well, besides Stewart and the German Baroness, who vie for the project, the US and Japanese government have covert means of tracking it. Obviously all of this will come to a head and Hyman nails the landing for sure. Neat story and well told, if you can abide some stereotypical characters and a bit of dated science. 4 super stars!!
June 16, 2020
First I want to say that the research that was put into this book is impeccable. The style of writing is above fantastic, this man puts you into a world so real and so vivid that you feel like you are going through it yourself. Truly a classic!
August 15, 2009
The story was written in '94 and set in 2000-2004. I love to read science fiction after the dates it portrays have passed. It's fun to see what they get right, and what they get wrong. In this case, the author posits many advances in genetics research without ever mentioning the human genome project, in a world where neither cell phones nor the world wide web exist.
The author spent quite a bit of time describing small nuances in the book, for example he described exactly how a secondary character picked the three locks on a door, taking several paragraphs, without there being any suspense at all about whether the character would succeed or get caught. He spent several pages on exposition about DNA, stuff that anybody who is even mildly interested in the subject would know, as part of a conversation between a doctor and a biologist (both of whom would obviously know all of it.)
He also had trouble setting up situations, for example a pregnant woman being laid on a sheet on the grass without any explanation as to how the sheet came to be on the grass.
Lastly, there were a lot of loose ends that were never cleaned up at the end of the book, maybe the author was planing a sequel?
That said, the story was compelling, it answered the question of what the world would be like, as it started down the path of Gattaca.
The author spent quite a bit of time describing small nuances in the book, for example he described exactly how a secondary character picked the three locks on a door, taking several paragraphs, without there being any suspense at all about whether the character would succeed or get caught. He spent several pages on exposition about DNA, stuff that anybody who is even mildly interested in the subject would know, as part of a conversation between a doctor and a biologist (both of whom would obviously know all of it.)
He also had trouble setting up situations, for example a pregnant woman being laid on a sheet on the grass without any explanation as to how the sheet came to be on the grass.
Lastly, there were a lot of loose ends that were never cleaned up at the end of the book, maybe the author was planing a sequel?
That said, the story was compelling, it answered the question of what the world would be like, as it started down the path of Gattaca.
May 5, 2013
Tom Hyman has had long and distinguished careers as an editor, journalist, and novelist. He was an articles editor at LIFE Magazine and wrote aritcles for LIFE and other magazines including The Saturday Evening Post, Argosy, Washington Post Book World, and New York Magazine. He also served as a senior editor at Antheneum, Doubleday, and G.P.Putnam's.
In 1980, Mr. Hyman began to write fiction full-time. He has since published six novels: Jupiter's Daughter, Prussian Blue, Seven Days to Petrograd, Riches and Honor, The Russian Woman, and Giant Killer. Several have been selections of major book clubs, including the Book-of-the-Month Club and the Literary Guild, and all have been published in a dozen languages.
Mr. Hyman also writes for film, and has completed a screen adaptation of, Jupiter Daughter, for paramount pictures.
Although I have only read, this one book, I do intend to read the rest. I am getting to know Tom Hyman on a, well teacher student level, and so far has been one of the best instructors, I have ever had the honor of studying under. I'm sure that, he will be someone whom I never forget, and would recommend his book to anyone, who likes a good story.
In 1980, Mr. Hyman began to write fiction full-time. He has since published six novels: Jupiter's Daughter, Prussian Blue, Seven Days to Petrograd, Riches and Honor, The Russian Woman, and Giant Killer. Several have been selections of major book clubs, including the Book-of-the-Month Club and the Literary Guild, and all have been published in a dozen languages.
Mr. Hyman also writes for film, and has completed a screen adaptation of, Jupiter Daughter, for paramount pictures.
Although I have only read, this one book, I do intend to read the rest. I am getting to know Tom Hyman on a, well teacher student level, and so far has been one of the best instructors, I have ever had the honor of studying under. I'm sure that, he will be someone whom I never forget, and would recommend his book to anyone, who likes a good story.
Read
June 9, 2023Tom was my mentor through Long Ridge Writers Group. He is a very nice man who has been an encouraging supporter of my writing. I enjoyed this book for its genre. There were a few twists that reminded me of the Harry Potter series. Although some of the sex scenes in Jupiter's Daughter were not my cup of tea, I found myself cheering for the good ladies, the bad ladies, the good guys, and the bad guys and realized, I couldn't make up my mind who I wanted to emerge victorious in the end. The Jupiter program can really suck a person in. I loved that one of the character's names was Anne, that she played the piano, and that she had a daughter with a bunny. Couldn't believe that, because in my book, a character also has a bunny that was given to her by her mom. This was totally coincidental, as Tom wrote this book way before I became his student, and I wrote the part about the bunny many years ago, also, before I applied to the Long Ridge course. I will read another of his books making have read this one worth at least six stars, eh?
May 1, 2016
Amazing! I was kind of meh, when it was recommended to me but it grew on me once I started. I really liked all the genetic things that where talked about. I would recommend it to anyone who likes a nice genetic fiction with a little thriller in it.
November 29, 2012
Brilliant book....ahead of it's time.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews