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Contingency
Meet Doctor Tom Davis, a world renowned geneticist and physician practicing in Phoenix Arizona and the country's foremost authority on the subject of human reproductive cloning. Tom's practice, eXgen Incorporated, is focused on reproductive medicine—primarily infertility treatment— because that's what pays the bills and is what makes possible the research that is his real passion.
All is well at eXgen until Tom receives a mysterious email from a former grad school roommate who is now employed by the National Institutes of Health. The government has something up its sleeve and Tom is fearful of what that might be and what he may be asked to do.
All is well at eXgen until Tom receives a mysterious email from a former grad school roommate who is now employed by the National Institutes of Health. The government has something up its sleeve and Tom is fearful of what that might be and what he may be asked to do.
275 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 5, 2014
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
February 20, 2015
I’m really conflicted on Contingency by Brian J. Wagner. For some reason I am always drawn to a medical-type mystery/thriller. So, needless to say, I was super excited to open this book and see what Mr. Wagner had to offer. Unfortunately, it was a roller coaster of “I like,” “I dislike.” I was truly confused as to whether I could give it the full 3-buttefly review but ultimately decided to do so based solely on the originality of the story line.
Contingency begins with a shuffling of political characters ranging from the President of the United States to a project manager at the National Institute of Health, many of which will play little to no part in the remaining book with the exception of being mentioned. These characters, if I understand all the political stuff, set in motion the plan that becomes the story line for the remainder of the book.
As with most under-wraps, behind closed doors government type stuff, the U.S government has a program that can basically predict what will happen with our country 40 years or more in the future. It is this program, Legacy, that has given them the indication that in 40 years our country will be in turmoil, needing strong leadership that those currently in power aren’t sure will be around. So they conceive a plan aptly named Contingency.
Our protagonist, Dr. Tom Davis, a genetic engineer, the owner of eXgen Incorporated, and a world renowned doctor is worlds away from the political hubbub of Washington D.C in the desert breezes of Phoenix. He runs a lab that does a multitude of genetics and stem cell research, along with a medical facility that specializes in in vitro fertilization and surrogacy for couples who can’t have children on their own.
I know that I started to give up on this book about a quarter of the way into it until Dr. Davis was approached about the possibility of doing something that in his wildest dreams he could have never imagined being done. The government, or the NIH to be more specific, wants to know if it is possible if he can take bone marrow from a U.S president long deceased and extract stem cells in an effort to clone a child that could one day be molded into the president of the United States in a time where our country is predicted to be in great need of a strong leader. This was when Mr. Wagner had my attention – not to say he kept it the remainder of the book, but at least he had me curious.
It’s no secret the ethical and moral dilemmas that ruffle the feathers of every person on this planet in a different way when it comes to cloning. So of course one might imagine why Dr. Davis refused the proposition. However, he learned quite quickly, no one says no to the U.S government without consequences. It’s safe for you to assume the procedure did take place. And to add fuel to the fire, not all of our country’s enemies are certain they want this to take place. The rest you’ll have to read about.
For the most part Contingency was well written but poorly edited and/proofread. I actually think it’s a shame that it wasn’t edited better because it did deter from the actual story line, struggling to figure out who is saying what or why a comma is there. I suppose it’s safe to say that it was overwritten. I have a huge problem when I’m reading what I assume is a nonfiction book and I get hit with a boat-load of facts or details about subjects that are just a small piece of the book. Sure, some detail is necessary to give validity to the story line, but I don’t want a government or science lecture in the process.
As a whole I’d say Contingency had the potential of being a great book. The story line was there. I kept getting visions of the 2004 movie, The Manchurian Candidate. But I was really let down with the lack of true action and follow-through. It drug at times and made me beg for the end to come. I hate to say that because there were some great parts, but I wanted more and was completely thankful when I finally reached the last page
A.Fae
Contingency begins with a shuffling of political characters ranging from the President of the United States to a project manager at the National Institute of Health, many of which will play little to no part in the remaining book with the exception of being mentioned. These characters, if I understand all the political stuff, set in motion the plan that becomes the story line for the remainder of the book.
As with most under-wraps, behind closed doors government type stuff, the U.S government has a program that can basically predict what will happen with our country 40 years or more in the future. It is this program, Legacy, that has given them the indication that in 40 years our country will be in turmoil, needing strong leadership that those currently in power aren’t sure will be around. So they conceive a plan aptly named Contingency.
Our protagonist, Dr. Tom Davis, a genetic engineer, the owner of eXgen Incorporated, and a world renowned doctor is worlds away from the political hubbub of Washington D.C in the desert breezes of Phoenix. He runs a lab that does a multitude of genetics and stem cell research, along with a medical facility that specializes in in vitro fertilization and surrogacy for couples who can’t have children on their own.
I know that I started to give up on this book about a quarter of the way into it until Dr. Davis was approached about the possibility of doing something that in his wildest dreams he could have never imagined being done. The government, or the NIH to be more specific, wants to know if it is possible if he can take bone marrow from a U.S president long deceased and extract stem cells in an effort to clone a child that could one day be molded into the president of the United States in a time where our country is predicted to be in great need of a strong leader. This was when Mr. Wagner had my attention – not to say he kept it the remainder of the book, but at least he had me curious.
It’s no secret the ethical and moral dilemmas that ruffle the feathers of every person on this planet in a different way when it comes to cloning. So of course one might imagine why Dr. Davis refused the proposition. However, he learned quite quickly, no one says no to the U.S government without consequences. It’s safe for you to assume the procedure did take place. And to add fuel to the fire, not all of our country’s enemies are certain they want this to take place. The rest you’ll have to read about.
For the most part Contingency was well written but poorly edited and/proofread. I actually think it’s a shame that it wasn’t edited better because it did deter from the actual story line, struggling to figure out who is saying what or why a comma is there. I suppose it’s safe to say that it was overwritten. I have a huge problem when I’m reading what I assume is a nonfiction book and I get hit with a boat-load of facts or details about subjects that are just a small piece of the book. Sure, some detail is necessary to give validity to the story line, but I don’t want a government or science lecture in the process.
As a whole I’d say Contingency had the potential of being a great book. The story line was there. I kept getting visions of the 2004 movie, The Manchurian Candidate. But I was really let down with the lack of true action and follow-through. It drug at times and made me beg for the end to come. I hate to say that because there were some great parts, but I wanted more and was completely thankful when I finally reached the last page
A.Fae
Displaying 1 of 1 review