MutaGenesis

by Helen Collins

Anu, a harsh, mineral-poor planet, was last to be colonized and first to be abandoned after wars on earth had destroyed most science and technology. Centuries later, geneticist Dr. Mattie Mahan has come to Anu with an earth mission to recover plant strains long extinct on earth. To the crew's amazement, descendants of the settlers survive. They have become a strange patriarchal culture which refuses to negotiate with the Earth envoys unless they confine Mattie to the ship. Mattie escapes and hides among the women of Anu and "losos" - large, speechless primate "servants." She meets several young women, including Elizabeth, a talented artist. The small group and a loso travel by foot, by wooden train and helicopter to reach the mysterious East country, unaware that genetic engineers there are focused on a secret project that will dramatically reshape the very nature of the human race. Helen Collins integrates provocative biological extrapolation and an unsettling exploration of culture-driven imperatives with dramatic adventure in a compelling novel that engages and surprises the reader.

Genres: Science Fiction

351 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 1993

Reviews

[Michael · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mutagenesis is a book with lots of potential, none of which is realised. Themes of misogyny and the perils of genetic manipulation go nowhere. The plot's vague and the characters are uninteresting. However, it was still better than certain other books I've read, so two stars it is.

[Christy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an enjoyable enough adventure story, but the ideas about the boundaries between human and nonhuman as well as those about gender roles are only introduced to be subsumed by the adventure; they aren't really explored in a satisfactory way.

[Karina · Rating 1 out of 5]

I remember thinking as I was reading the book "It's amazing how the biological sciences have advanced since the sixties." The book is written in 1992! It was dated before it was published.

[Leah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Strange, but good.

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't connect with this story. It had potential to be interesting, as did some of the characters, but ultimately it just wasn't the type of sci-fi that clicks with me.