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The God Gene
Winner of the 2013 National Indie Excellence Award for Literary Fiction. At an elite Chicago university, Cancer researcher Rosalind Evans discovers that the genetic code at the center of the second chromosome spells out the Ten Commandments. Sure that her top-secret pharma project has been hacked, she launches an investigation. But that night, unbeknownst to her, the discovery is leaked to a popular blog and goes viral. The next morning, the world wakes up to the news that there is a message from God in their DNA. Public reaction is intense: to some it's a miracle, and to others, a myth. But to a group of religious and political elites, the God Gene is a dangerous public delusion that threatens their very existence. With the media fanning the flames, Evans quickly becomes the scapegoat in a growing controversy. A pharma executive wants her fired, the Vatican wants her silenced, and the U.S. Attorney wants her arrested. A bizarre battle ensues as Rosalind Evans takes on the most powerful institutions on earth to preserve her scientific integrity, her freedom, and ultimately her life.
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First published July 30, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
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February 9, 2013About five years ago, Jaymie Simmon made an appointment to visit me at my NIU office. At that time she was on the board of the NIU Foundation, which was supporting my research. Jaymie wanted information about molecular genetics for a novel she planned to write. I spoke to her for some time, as she explained what she planned to write, and I supplied her with a little information about genetic research, DNA sequencing, and the genetic code. Today, I received a copy of her novel with a note of thanks. Thanks Jaymie---I look forward to reading your book!
March 25, 2013
Excellent book. It was a page turner from the first page on. Made me think about society, the media, and how easily we believe anything we're told.
June 24, 2013
This was a really good book! Makes you think about how out of control some things can/could get.
April 13, 2013
What happens when religion and science mix?
Jaymie Simmon has written a thought provoking great read, a page turner. I look forward to what she can come up with next.
I won this book though the goodreads give aways.
Jaymie Simmon has written a thought provoking great read, a page turner. I look forward to what she can come up with next.
I won this book though the goodreads give aways.
September 16, 2012
I loved it. So rare a book keeps you on your toes like this one.
December 12, 2012
I thought the book was fantastic. I went through so many emotions in this story. Its very thought provoking and I highly recommend reading it!
February 26, 2013
i liked this book better than the last author of the same title ...still need to find the one i am looking for
June 9, 2013
Written by a customer of mine. I'd love to talk to her about the whole process behind creating this story. She and I clearly think about a lot of similar issues. Great read. Very thought provoking.
June 9, 2013
Enjoyed this book -
January 19, 2020
I absolutely loved this book. Aren't there a few books about the bible code?
October 7, 2013
The author describes her debut novel as "satire." So we expect ridicule or irony to expose folly or evil. And we get it by the "Shovel" ful.
Let me preface my review by saying that it takes some doing to spin the protein sequences of a single gene (the Claire gene) of a single double helix of a chromosome, in which the genes are arranged in linear order, into a 408-page novel, but Ms. Simmon has done it with élan and considerable humor.
We live in an era where a Florida resident puts a 10-year-old grilled cheese sandwich, purportedly containing the image of the Virgin Mary, on eBay for $22,000; a country where the image of Jesus in a frying pan makes money for Texans; the "end?" times when multiple images of Jesus and Mary are found in pancakes in - you guessed it - Florida.
So, why not non-textured non-extruded protein sequences which spell out The Ten Commandments in a gene?
This reviewer says the "good" characters are beautiful, rich and brilliant (and live in wonderful apartments and have boats). The "bad" characters also have bags of money, though possessed of complexity and back stories, scheming and detestable as they are. Big Pharma, the Catholic hierarchy, the Jesus-TV stars, self-involved politicians, know-it-all IT guys, talking heads whose main qualification is reading TelePrompTers find themselves at the point of Simmon's pen, skewered appropriately.
Lest we forget the "new age" (pronounced ahhhge) non-denominational churches, the reader will find one of those, too, complete with holograms and hot tubs. No dogmas, no problems.
Simmon is an expert at creating suspense, even in such an unlikely context. This skeptical reviewer kept turning the electronic page to find out what happened next, sometimes skipping two kindle pages in her haste. Your thumb will get a thorough workout!
There are many passages which seem more than a little "preachy" but they are counter-balanced by the poke at our willingness to believe any crackpot with a mission who surfaces on the internet or on a ticker tape. Enter "Starry Messenger." (Siderius Nuncius by Galileo Galilei)
"We get four million viewers a night; Starry Messenger gets twenty times that. He's more popular than God. Have you ever had a meaningful conversation where Starry's name didn't come up?"
David, husband of the protagonist Dr. Rosalind Evans, says: ""You talk about the genome with reverence and longing, the way some people talk about God."
The [VERY] "Reverend Joseph Steele, televangelist, rabble-rouser, arbiter of all things moral" says '"Amen?"' repeatedly. 'The crowd cheered. "Amen!" Steele pulled the microphone close until it touched his lips. "I said AMEN?"'
Disgraced Governor Willard Hitchcock says : "You can't prove a negative. It's up to them to provide evidence."
The "Shovel" Ron Vaniere says: "This is why I'm a legend... as he waited for the photo to download. He glanced at his watch: he would be ready for air with time to spare."
The Archbishop of Chicago says to himself: "Does the end justify any means to silence her?"And the "Cardinal Duffy's face twisted into a snarl that sent a chill down O'Roarke's spine. "That's how the enemy works. Subtle at first, disguised as something harmless, until it rears up and bites your head off."
Mick "The Tech" Morrison (who slurps protein shakes) says: "Everybody wants me," ... a smile spreading across his chiseled face. "I can resuscitate a crashed hard drive just by breathing on it, and I can tell a Trojan from a worm by smell. I am the magical, mystical wizard of tech."
Senator Bosch [always] said: "You had to keep it subtle, he always said, so that the pork would be hard to find in case anyone decided to read the bill."
Are you getting the picture, Dear Reader? These are characters we can love to hate.
We can feel smugly that we would never fall for such malarkey. Simmon creates suspense, humor, irony and does a good job of spelling out the ABCs of DNA and the potential for its abuse posed by patenting genes and pharmaceutical chicanery.
The writing is excellent and the editing is good. Simmon makes cogent observations about the state of human understanding in the 21st Century, too: "No guile whatsoever. The fact that she was scared made it golden. Emotional appeal was the nut of any good story, and the king of all emotions was fear. The trick would be to dig through the layers, all the way down to the fear. What if this woman actually did find the Ten Commandments written in the genetic code? What if it isn't sabotage?"
What's not to like? I enjoyed reading The God Gene.
Leila Smith, for The Kindle Book Review. The Kindle Book Review received a free copy of this book for an independent, fair and honest review. We are not associated with the author nor with Amazon.
Let me preface my review by saying that it takes some doing to spin the protein sequences of a single gene (the Claire gene) of a single double helix of a chromosome, in which the genes are arranged in linear order, into a 408-page novel, but Ms. Simmon has done it with élan and considerable humor.
We live in an era where a Florida resident puts a 10-year-old grilled cheese sandwich, purportedly containing the image of the Virgin Mary, on eBay for $22,000; a country where the image of Jesus in a frying pan makes money for Texans; the "end?" times when multiple images of Jesus and Mary are found in pancakes in - you guessed it - Florida.
So, why not non-textured non-extruded protein sequences which spell out The Ten Commandments in a gene?
This reviewer says the "good" characters are beautiful, rich and brilliant (and live in wonderful apartments and have boats). The "bad" characters also have bags of money, though possessed of complexity and back stories, scheming and detestable as they are. Big Pharma, the Catholic hierarchy, the Jesus-TV stars, self-involved politicians, know-it-all IT guys, talking heads whose main qualification is reading TelePrompTers find themselves at the point of Simmon's pen, skewered appropriately.
Lest we forget the "new age" (pronounced ahhhge) non-denominational churches, the reader will find one of those, too, complete with holograms and hot tubs. No dogmas, no problems.
Simmon is an expert at creating suspense, even in such an unlikely context. This skeptical reviewer kept turning the electronic page to find out what happened next, sometimes skipping two kindle pages in her haste. Your thumb will get a thorough workout!
There are many passages which seem more than a little "preachy" but they are counter-balanced by the poke at our willingness to believe any crackpot with a mission who surfaces on the internet or on a ticker tape. Enter "Starry Messenger." (Siderius Nuncius by Galileo Galilei)
"We get four million viewers a night; Starry Messenger gets twenty times that. He's more popular than God. Have you ever had a meaningful conversation where Starry's name didn't come up?"
David, husband of the protagonist Dr. Rosalind Evans, says: ""You talk about the genome with reverence and longing, the way some people talk about God."
The [VERY] "Reverend Joseph Steele, televangelist, rabble-rouser, arbiter of all things moral" says '"Amen?"' repeatedly. 'The crowd cheered. "Amen!" Steele pulled the microphone close until it touched his lips. "I said AMEN?"'
Disgraced Governor Willard Hitchcock says : "You can't prove a negative. It's up to them to provide evidence."
The "Shovel" Ron Vaniere says: "This is why I'm a legend... as he waited for the photo to download. He glanced at his watch: he would be ready for air with time to spare."
The Archbishop of Chicago says to himself: "Does the end justify any means to silence her?"And the "Cardinal Duffy's face twisted into a snarl that sent a chill down O'Roarke's spine. "That's how the enemy works. Subtle at first, disguised as something harmless, until it rears up and bites your head off."
Mick "The Tech" Morrison (who slurps protein shakes) says: "Everybody wants me," ... a smile spreading across his chiseled face. "I can resuscitate a crashed hard drive just by breathing on it, and I can tell a Trojan from a worm by smell. I am the magical, mystical wizard of tech."
Senator Bosch [always] said: "You had to keep it subtle, he always said, so that the pork would be hard to find in case anyone decided to read the bill."
Are you getting the picture, Dear Reader? These are characters we can love to hate.
We can feel smugly that we would never fall for such malarkey. Simmon creates suspense, humor, irony and does a good job of spelling out the ABCs of DNA and the potential for its abuse posed by patenting genes and pharmaceutical chicanery.
The writing is excellent and the editing is good. Simmon makes cogent observations about the state of human understanding in the 21st Century, too: "No guile whatsoever. The fact that she was scared made it golden. Emotional appeal was the nut of any good story, and the king of all emotions was fear. The trick would be to dig through the layers, all the way down to the fear. What if this woman actually did find the Ten Commandments written in the genetic code? What if it isn't sabotage?"
What's not to like? I enjoyed reading The God Gene.
Leila Smith, for The Kindle Book Review. The Kindle Book Review received a free copy of this book for an independent, fair and honest review. We are not associated with the author nor with Amazon.
July 7, 2015
Cancer researcher Rosalind Evans discovers a message in our DNA. The genetic code at the centre of the second chromosome spells out the ten commandments.
The characters in this book are beautifully drawn, and three dimensional. The transformation of the protagonist is entirely believable. There’s a great deal of scientific information in this book, but it’s delivered in a natural way. I never felt like scenes were contrived in order to convey information. The pace is fast, intense at times, making for an exciting read.
Given the title of this book, and the description, I knew going in there was going to be a fair bit of religious content. However, given its billing as literary fiction (the category in which it won at the Indie Excellence Awards), and the reviews that list it as science fiction, I expected the science to dominate over religion. I was disappointed to discover the reverse is true. It comes across as preachy almost from the beginning. It’s based on the premise that everyone in the world either follows an Abrahamic religion and reads the old testament, or is wrong. As one who is wrong, according to the narrative, I couldn’t buy into the conclusion, so for me it ended with a fizzle instead of a bang.
The characters in this book are beautifully drawn, and three dimensional. The transformation of the protagonist is entirely believable. There’s a great deal of scientific information in this book, but it’s delivered in a natural way. I never felt like scenes were contrived in order to convey information. The pace is fast, intense at times, making for an exciting read.
Given the title of this book, and the description, I knew going in there was going to be a fair bit of religious content. However, given its billing as literary fiction (the category in which it won at the Indie Excellence Awards), and the reviews that list it as science fiction, I expected the science to dominate over religion. I was disappointed to discover the reverse is true. It comes across as preachy almost from the beginning. It’s based on the premise that everyone in the world either follows an Abrahamic religion and reads the old testament, or is wrong. As one who is wrong, according to the narrative, I couldn’t buy into the conclusion, so for me it ended with a fizzle instead of a bang.
March 7, 2015
Excellent story-telling, powerful message!
I loved reading this story that offers the possibility of knowledge that can speed humankind's spiritual growth. Kudos to Ms. Simmon for writing a first novel rich in detail of both science and religion, as well as the exponential growth potential when merging the two disciplines. Are we on the way to the next great spiritual evolution of mankind?
I loved reading this story that offers the possibility of knowledge that can speed humankind's spiritual growth. Kudos to Ms. Simmon for writing a first novel rich in detail of both science and religion, as well as the exponential growth potential when merging the two disciplines. Are we on the way to the next great spiritual evolution of mankind?
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews