Genetic World

by Todd Easterling

Emmy award winner Todd Easterling's 4th novel.Over 440,000 words (4 times most novels).Top 1% in sales (USA). Best Seller in Movie Tie-In Fiction, Medical Thrillers, Technothrillers, Suspense, Genetics.Todd Easterling, who has worked with HBO and was discovered by the Garon-Brooke Literary Agency of John Grisham fame, takes a big swing with Genetic World--clearly aiming at the religious and high concept intrigue that are reminiscent of the brilliant Dan Brown Robert Langdon series (Angels & Demons, The Da Vinci Code, The Lost Symbol, Inferno, Origin), and the suspenseful science-driven storytelling that was the hallmark of the late great Michael Crichton's visionary work in 1990's Jurassic Park and his iconic 1973 film Westworld.When Oxford professor Francesca Ferrari is invited to a press conference and VIP presentation by the world's two richest individuals--billionaire brothers Winston McCarthy and Ethan McCarthy--she is soon swept into the bizarre world surrounding their creation of Genetic World, the most innovative theme park and science R&D center in the world. Francesca is a renowned expert in ancient religions, iconography, soteriology--the study of salvation--and eschatology, the study of the "end of times." She and her longtime friend and acclaimed New York Times reporter, Sawyer Clemens, are asked by one of the brothers to investigate a highly sensitive archeological discovery--a controversial discovery that acclaimed real-life Oscar-winning film director James Cameron executive produced a documentary on.Francesca and Sawyer sort through a series of clues that lead them to Jerusalem, Rome, Vatican City, Florence, and Paris. Eventually they uncover a discovery that will change history.They soon determine that Genetic World's billionaire founders have conflicting objectives for the theme park and R&D center, which are located on four real-world islands off the coast of San Diego and northern Mexico . . . essentially sovereign territory not under the control or laws of any country. One brother is intent on creating an educational and entertainment park that rivals Disney World and all other amusement parks--including fictional theme parks such as Jurassic Park and Westworld. The other brother has been up to activities that push the boundaries of ethics and science.As with stories by Dan Brown and Michael Crichton, Genetic World was made for the reader who likes learning about history, major events, and technological advances while being entertained--a balance of thorough research and 'made for the big screen' spectacular scenes all combined in an intricately created and sophisticated narrative arc that connects to the history of the world's greatest people, the evolution of religions and deities, art, antiquities, relics, archeological sites, magnificent historic buildings, scientific innovations, and intriguing high stakes controversies. This is a story that pushes boundaries. From robotics and AI, to biotech and de-extinction, Genetic World will expose you to advances that weave in and out of historical events surrounding the lives and legends of the world's greatest people--scientists, discoverers, artists, writers, entertainers, athletes, and other influential leaders.The history is real. The locations are real. The science is real.Welcome to Genetic World . . . where nothing can go wrong. Enjoy your visit.

Genres: Fiction

823 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 4, 2021

About the author

Todd Easterling is a San Diego-based author and businessperson, discovered by the Pinder Lane Garon-Brooke Agency of John Grisham fame. He has worked with leading entertainment and technology companies—a highlight being the reception of a group Emmy from the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. Most recently, wanting to make the best use of the quarantine/lockdown, Todd completed Genetic World—a sweeping epic novel of 444,000 words encompassing real history, real science, and a narrative arc that balances interesting facts with high concept suspense. Since publication, Genetic World has been in the top 1% of sales on Amazon in the USA, and #1 in Medical Thrillers in France (digital/Kindle edition). And on June 17th, Genetic World landed as #1 on three Best Seller lists in Canada, surpassing ten Stephen King novels, Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code, George R.R. Martin's Game of Thrones, and other books.

Todd's personal interests include environmental concerns, animal rights and de-extinction, technology, history, and the arts. He has three daughters.

Reviews

[Kimberly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well done

The author, Todd Easterling, has put alot of time, talent, research and love of the subject matter into this work. It is an adventurous, action packed thriller loaded with history and slightly over the top religious imagination. It is quite long but worth the investment of time. There are some errors which can easily be fixed so bear with it. It will be worth your time.

[Bob · Rating 3 out of 5]

Whew. An interesting story and a whole lot of research which is included which is why the book is so long, it sure pads up the work count and because of that I think I wall pass on Volume 2. Uber rich brothers buy islands of the California coast and Mexico from Mexico with the intent of setting an unusual amusement park featuring important people throughout history in science, entertainment,
politics, sports and religion. They are also setting up a genetic/DNA storage bank for human and animal DNA. There is much more involved, but I am not so wordy so you can find out for yourselves and learn a lot of history along the way.

[Vicki]

DNF. Most poorly written and edited book I’ve ever read. Michael Crichton didn’t write Coma. Easy to look up. Katherine Hepburn in Casa Blanca? Really?? And many more.
Repetitive language overblown with adjectives just distracted from what might have been a good story.
This could have been cleaned up and lost 500 pages I suspect. Too bad. Interesting concept.

[Deborah Wall · Rating 5 out of 5]

New science, old myths, and a Disneyland Clone

At over 1700 pages, reading this book is a commitment. And I like long books. This book is worth it. It is adventure but also an education. Genetics, religious art, the origin of myths. And not least an idea of am amazing future park. I took a systems design class at Berkeley from a man who had directed the systems design of Disney Tokyo and the details of the design of Genetic World ring true. I am not sure that genetic science is any more reasonable than in Jurrasic Park, but it is great to read about.

[Beth Vogelzang · Rating 2 out of 5]

Aside from the bad dialogue and the myriad of spelling and grammatical errors, this book was way too long, repetitive, and frankly, full of an unconvincing premise. I persisted, but I think needed more work (and better editing!) before publication. The author obviously did a fair bit of research, but then skimmed over other facts... I think the author wrote this book for himself rather than the wider audience. Doubt if I will read anything else by Todd Easterling - I just did not care for his style...

[Randal White · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow! What a book! Very interesting, great story, incredible research.
But…be forewarned! This is one LONG book! Not so much in length (821 pages); but in the side excursions into science, religion, and history. I felt at times like I was back in university, taking several classes in biblical history and archeology, genetics, architecture, and history. Throw in lessons on subjects as varied as the Italian train system to private jets.
I appreciate the author’s efforts, but feel like he could have toned down the lectures without sacrificing any of the story.
Not to spoil it, but that ending! Wow!
I really enjoyed the book, but it left me completely exhausted! I guess that’s the mark of a really good book!

[Kelly W. Rahn · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was a horrible book. I felt like I was reading a boring history book with a weak story woven through.

[Sheri · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. Loved the historical aspect of Christianity and Ancient Rome, some of the history on cloning, and this really was it's own (albeit slow-moving) thriller. I was surprised at the length, as I hadn't noticed ahead of time, it's a bit lengthy. Had I known, I probably would have enjoyed it even more, as what is more wonderful than settling in for a long mystery? It took a bit for this book to get moving, which I really didn't mind, as there is a lot of backstory and setting up, and the premise is fantastic. There were some proofing mistakes, but honestly, it didn't detract for me. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

[Susan Brouillard · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book, but, my goodness, the number of misspellings and punctuation errors was astounding! Did it not go through an editorial review? When the errors began to be several to a page, the editor in me began marking them! I actually ran out of ink at one point! But if you can ignore these, then the story will keep you tied up & your heart racing. I did think it was negligent that the author chose not to tie up some lose ends though. Such as—what happened to several of the main characters? But overall, a good story. Just please learn to spell or check for typos!

[Downhill · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is full of interesting things about religions you've probably never heard of and how so many of them are related. That's just the tip of the iceberg. This is a long book but I can see why given the subject mater that I won't spoil.

Some things to mention. I actually found quite a few spelling errors which for me is, well, a miracle.

Also in the vein of Dan Brown books, the end is well.. again you'll have to read it for yourselves.

I will say, there is a ton of research in this book!

[Hank Wolfla · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful story with a great learning and history experience.

This is one very long book I enjoyed from the first to last page. The history of the church and Italy was excellent. Many interesting characters that could have made the book even longer if they were followed. The ending was some what expected, but the message to mankind from the characters was excellent. Enjoy it.

[Diane Koehler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read

This is a wonderfully written book. The information and research that went into this book is really astounding. The only criticism I would have is that several of the facts seemed to have been repeated over and over. That is probably why the book is almost 1500+ pages. Overall it does not distract from this wonderful book.

[Peggy Kindt · Rating 5 out of 5]

AWESOME READ!!! Suitable or all ages. It's worth your time; awareness is everything.

What can I write that hasn't already been read? Simply AWESOME book. The educational material has opened my eyes. The adventure was wild, but truly amazing. Thank you Todd Easterling for the best read ever. My eyes no longer have blinders. My heart is in awe. PottsvillePA_THU;12232021.

[Jerome Barry Bigge · Rating 5 out of 5]

A long book, but very informative

The story is highly detailed and well the technology in some parts is probably be beyond what we have today, it likely will become possible in this century...

[Bill Runyan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Held my interest

This book is pretty damn good. It’s big on facts, perhaps too big. Exclamations slow down the plot, but if you can get past that you can learn some stuff. It is an enjoyable read.

[Gayle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mind blowing

A great deep read with Much Historical information jammed in.
It has an interesting and benign point of view.
I think I really liked it. It'll take a while to mull over.

[Lawrence (Cindy) · Rating 5 out of 5]

an amazing read…

Tremendous research went into Todd Easterling’s writing of this book. It was long but exciting to read and I gained a lot of knowledge as I traveled around the world through his eyes. Loved it and can’t wait for his next book.

[Ray Frazer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read rather long

Well I'll have to admit skimming over a lot of historical parts of this book that I wasn't that interested in but some of it was quite interesting and fascinating overall I would have to say it's a very interesting read

[Xiaoman Zhang · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an ambitious, tedious, ridiculous story! However I am educated with some of his historical cultural events, science and religion. I do appreciate his message behind the story.

[margaret banta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exciting story

Great read!!!! Can't wait for next book from you. Best of luck on next one. I'll be looking for it.

[Jerry Long · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating stuff

This was a captivating story that was hard to put down. Makes me want to visit Paris and see the areas mentioned in the book.

[Katherine Coble · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ugh. It’s like reading a book written by an enthusiastic but under-read seventeen year old who found a bunch of cool facts on popsicle sticks and decided “hey! I could make this a book!” Meanwhile as a 53-yo woman who is slightly better read and for much longer I can’t help but think that my time would have been better spent eating popsicles.

I got about 30% in and decided I’d be better off skim-reading to the end because I swear on a stack of mediocre thrillers if I’ve read one thing about the emergency seed bank in Finland I’ve read 300. I do not want to stop the story every few pages for a long chapter about the history of the Eiffel Tower or the history of an old hotel in the author’s backyard. The book is just LITTERED with this stuff, to the point that any momentum you’d find as a reader is quickly lost in the shuffle.

Furthermore it was clear that he was basing a lot of his premise upon poorly-researched ideas. The facts are there if he’d read even one complete wiki article about “debunking [insert madcap theory]”. For instance he talks in the Afterward about how he bought and rewatched the James Cameron-produced film about _The Lost Tomb of Jesus_ many times because he was so enthralled by it. But it seems he didn’t use the time from one of his many viewings to read the countless articles from scientists [actual archeologists] debunking the film. I could give him ten sources that ARENT Christian but are also objective scientists who think the whole Cameron fiasco is hot garbage.

It had potential. If he had allowed an editor to take a scalpel to it there could’ve been a fun afternoon read. As it stands now it’s a dreadful slog.

[Jean Durbahn · Rating 2 out of 5]

First, I echo what many other reviewers said regarding the unnecessary length of this book, the more than numerous editing mishaps, and the overuse of “Wow” as a major piece of dialogue.

Okay, now that’s out of the way. Let’s get to the rest.

The plot is thin and the author takes over 65% of the book to set the stage and establish context. During this portion, however, the book is rich with religious historical context. I’m not angry about that and quite frankly, that was the highlight of the book for me.

After the 65% mark, I was excited as I found myself actually page-turning with delight. The author found his pace sorely lacking up to that point. Action was quick.

Until it wasn’t. Sadly, he slipped back into his slow rhythm again. Want to know what happened next? The book ended. Just like that.

Many threads were left unraveled. I have so many questions and there is no way I will tolerate a sequel to this mess. I don’t know if the author did this on purpose or if it’s another attribute of poor editing. Either way, it was abrupt and unfinished.

I don’t regret reading this book. I do regret the time lost reading it as it easily could have been trimmed significantly.

My caveat: tread with caution. You will learn a lot and it is interesting; and you’ll also question why you’re reading it many, many times.

[Declan · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am stunned by the number of positive reviews of this novel. This is, without a doubt, the worst novel I've ever read, to the point where even years later, my family still talks about it as our benchmark for bad writing.

Just to get this surface-level criticism in, this book needed an editor. Typos are everywhere, and the author can't resist doing other amateurish things like putting his real-life children, businesses, and investments into the story, as well as other really poorly-advised ideas. Just as one shining example, the plot includes a clone of Michael Crichton, the deceased author he's trying to riff on. Bad taste!

The plot itself has an interesting premise, but only because the premise is essentially ripped wholesale from Westworld. The length doesn't help it, either, as the author uses much of the page count to deliver informational asides on the history of things like The Eiffel Tower, Jerusalem, and the Vatican. However, as rightly pointed out by other reviewers, there are enough factual errors here that I'm not sure if the "facts" I learned from these sections were actually true.

Overall, a pretty bad book, but bad in such a goofy, amateur way that it might be so-bad-its-good.

[Felicia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this book and I do not regret it. It's a very long story but I love long stories and for me this one did not let me down.
Two rich brothers buy 4 private islands and build an amusement park. One of the brothers is up to no good and has used his wealth to buy DNA from deceased famous people, Elvis... Jesus.. etc. And then clones them.
There is a lot of history in this book. I have no idea how much of any of that is true and really didn't care. It made the story very interesting for me to suddenly get a short chapter on the history of something.
I thought the ending was very fitting. I actually wasn't sure where he was going with the story until the very end so kudos to Mr Easterling for not making it obvious until the end. It kept me guessing what was going to happen.
I gave this book 5 stars because I enjoyed the read that much. It took a bit to get into the story-line, about 50 pages or so. But once it gets going it is full of action and all kinds of religious facts.
I appreciate the effort Mr Easterling made in his story telling. I will definitely read more of his books.

[Jeanette · Rating 3 out of 5]

I struggled

To get thru this book. I thought the premise was interesting enough. The action scenes were good. The characters were fairly thought out and built up. But...I felt the story got bogged down by lengthy treatises on side topics that should or could have been less wordy. In fact I thought the whole book was a little too wordy. Some of the situations were unrealistic. For one thing, Sawyer and Francesca had known each other for over twenty years and he's just now noticing she's beautiful? Their relationship was a little unbelievable. And Yeshua and Marianne basically grew up together on the island, living in a stone hut together, and obviously in a relationship, so now with his new position, something will have to change there. So that relationship is unresolved.
I stuck with it and finished reading it but like a root canal I was very glad it's over.

[Melissa Applegate · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is nothing better than a good book, especially when that book is imaginative, thought-provoking, daring, and long enough to allow you to become truly immersed in the fantasy. Todd Easterling’s book is all of that and more! Although it’s fiction, it’s filled with a massive number of facts about historical sites, ancient artifacts and relics, the evolution of Christianity and other religions, artificial intelligence, and genetics. These facts are brilliantly interwoven throughout an adventurous, but believable, action-packed thriller. Just be aware that it is a very long read (440K words or 4 times most novels); however, most chapters are short enough that you can put the book down or pick it up with ease. I would love to see this on the big screen.

[Gretchen]

Great novel

I love long books and aside from a series of individual stories this was the longest book I believe I have read. It was wonderful. I think it took me4a good 3 months to finish it because I only read before turning in at night. I really liked the way the author brought in current events. That was pure genius. The characters seem real, too. The storyline is fantastic and so easy to read. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and look forward to #2. Thank you Mr. Easterling.

[Linda Clemons · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolute WOW!

Nothing I write here can convey the impressiveness of this book. Masterfully weaving history and fiction (or is it, really) into an impressive story. The book is long and at some points it becomes repetitive but I thoroughly enjoyed every bit of it. I was in Rome in late 2023 and I wish I had the knowledge of the sites I visited that was written in the book. I believe it was carefully and thoroughly researched. The introductory speech by the new Pope was wonderful. Can’t wait for Genetic World 2.

[Robin Berry · Rating 3 out of 5]

I hardly know how to rate this book. It is very interesting. At the same time it is half fiction and half non-fiction, and you can’t always tell which. And it is 3 times as long as most novels. It’s challenging to read consistently through to the end without rushing ahead as life seems to pass by with poor editing and way too many twists and turns. Maybe in time I can add more intelligently to this review, but be warned, its subject is fascinating and hooks you, the plot is pretty good, and you won’t want to stop. The question is was it worth it?