Genesis

by Ken Shufeldt

When an old manuscript holding the secrets of human extinction is found, two children with strange powers must set out to save the human race.


A strange 100,000 year-old manuscript in a long-forgotten language has been the basis for all the major religions throughout history. Lost and buried in a sarcophagus during the Second Iraq War, it holds the secrets of human birth—and extinction.

Two children are born with transcendent talents and preternatural powers beyond human comprehension. Only they understand the magnitude of the disaster to come. They are the last, best hope for human survival.

Indelibly bonded, these enigmatic youths -- this brave new Adam and Eve -- are thrown against their wills into a headlong race to save the world.

“Genesis reads like Left Behind on steroids!” -- Douglas Preston, New York Times bestselling author of Blasphemy

At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction

310 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published June 2, 2009

Reviews

[Sue · Rating 1 out of 5]

The writing isn't the best. The "show, don't tell" rule should include a caveat about having characters tell other characters through dialogue what just happened to them. Sure, it's technically "showing," but it's done through the other form of "telling."

Okay, I wouldn't buy this one - get it through Paperbackswap.com or a used bookstore or something. There's very little conflict. There is no antagonist. Things that would have set off alarm bells to any normal person got blown off by the characters.

I felt like banging my head against the wall at times for just how lame some of the plot points were. I mean, if the book was set in an alternative timeline, that should have come out before a plot point that needed this backstory was revealed.

Plans to save citizens of other nations were glossed over as well. The ships Billy built were for US citizens, and they sent the plans to other countries for members of those nations to build themselves. Wow, how altruistic of him. Plants and animals weren't really mentioned, either, although DNA from all animals was supposedly collected and stored. Um, what about actually, oh, I don't know, building a zoo-like ship to save some animals?

And the idea that enough food and water were put on the spaceships they built for all of the people they had was just unbelievable. How could that much food have been stockpiled in such a short amount of time?

I used to critique manuscripts for a literary agent, and I wouldn't have passed this along for an attempt to get it published. The tagline "Like the Left Behind series on steroids" is a good one - steroids make a guy more feminine and eventually weak, and this story sure fit that consequence. I mean, if these kids were such geniuses, why did the idea of stopping the flippin' asteroid never come up? I actually think the tools they developed could have done it, but no one even mentioned that it was attempted but failed. And the few tropes the author used to make the situation for the Earth more desperate were also lame, including how the asteroid wasn't really an asteroid but something that was totally unbelievable. I might not have a degree in astronomy or astrophysics, but I did help produce the major academic journals in that area, and I can tell you that the discovery of the asteroid's "real" identity was absurd.

I would have suggested a rewrite to include more description, a better indication of how much time has passed (weeks would pass from one paragraph of dialogue to another, and it was up to the reader to figure out that time passed), and more authentic characters. And a bad guy would've been great. I can't believe no one thought about injecting blood from Billy or Linda into an adult to see if the person could become like them. A dozen or so more brilliant brains like Billy's and Linda's could surely have come up with a way to save the world and not just a few ships-worth of people.

[Jim · Rating 1 out of 5]

Here's a "sci-fi" book with a great premise, but the book is poorly written consisting of stilted dialogue. Above all, the superhuman protagonists needed a villain who could attempt to foil them. They had no obstacles at all to whatever they attempted to accomplish. I wondered if I were missing something and checked other Goodreads reviews. And saw comments such as that this book was the worst book ever written and that it was hard to believe that TOR published it....Guess I'm not alone in giving it *. The one star is for the great premise.

[Linda · Rating 1 out of 5]

I shouldn't have even said I read this one because I couldn't stand to finish it. It sounded as if it would be a good read when I bought it, but the writing itself was the worst I've tried to read in a long time.

[Shelby Gambino · Rating 1 out of 5]

That was the driest dialogue I've ever read. Worth the 75cents I paid at a thrift store, but only because the idea was good, not the writing. 1.5 stars, barely.

[John Arkady · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting plot, very readable though the writing is often ponderous and laughably bad!
This book is a an inventive re-imagining on the story of creation and various parts of the Old Testament,,,I like the re-naming of Adam and Eve to Adamartoni and Evevette,,,
Two children are injected with the ancient DNA of Adamartoni, a long-dead alien who with his wife was marooned on Earth when their spacecraft crashed, and from the pair the old tale of creation sprang. As they age and grow up, the two children, Billy and Linda Lou, have seemingly unlimited intelligence and almost superhuman physical abilities, and this is just as well, for they may be just in time to save the human race from a much greater threat,,,,

As before stated, the writing here at times is almost laughably bad, with all the major plot lines exposed through dialogue between characters, and there is never any real sense of danger as the pair easily overcome any obstacle. Still, I guess I am a sucker for half-baked conspiracy theories and re-imaginings of man's origins,,,if you are a hardcore sci-fi fan or an aspiring writer, the premise is very interesting, so you might want to take a look at this just for something different or as a lesson to avoid passive voice and long, expository dialogue!

[Read Ng · Rating 3 out of 5]

Picked this book up for no reason in particular. The permise was fine, but the execution just lacked any punch. The writing was not very drawn out nor descriptive. It came across to me to have been something I myself would have written (and I don't think myself to be a good author). There does not appear to be any attempt to develop a bad guy. (Or maybe I should say that I had a hard time seeing the conflict of Logos and their "ends justifies the means" approach.) Yes, there was a sense of urgency to avoid a mankind ending event, so I had trouble putting it down, but the story came across to me as just a bit too clean and you knew it was going to end well. It also points directly towards a sequel, but it did not generate enough interest for me to care to read any sequel.

Oh, you can't drawn a pint of blood from an infant donor without killing the infant donor. They don't have the blood volume. No one would even suggest attempting.

Have a GoodReads.

[Michael Starkweather · Rating 1 out of 5]

While the concept had merit, the whole thing together could not be described as anything but awful. I finished it only because it was akin to a train wreck; I could not stop reading because it was so terrible.

You have to laugh at the fact that one of the main characters solves the problems behind cold-fusion in a week, and the other cures cancer in a matter of a month or so. And if that doesn't get you giggling, the very idea that both of those characters are barely teenagers probably will. Oh, and they are in love, and have been since they were 7 or so. And you can't forget that they fly off at the end in unspeakable luxury, in impossible flying saucers, protected by force-fields, while the world burns.

In summary, Genesis reads like a delusional Christian's wish list that read Revelations while on LSD.

[Nikki · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don't dislike Christian Lit for being Christian Lit. I dislike it b/c it is usually so poorly written. This book is a case in point. Interesting premise, however there is no tension, no conflict and no character development. Lame, Lame, Lame.

[Will · Rating 1 out of 5]

This may be the worst book I've ever read all the way to the end. The plot and writing were a terrible letdown as the premise of the book was really intriguing. Go to Amazon and read the reviews. They sum up very well all of the problems this book has. Just, just awful.

[Shannon · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is the only book I have ever in my life time wanted to set fire to after reading.

[Lyndi · Rating 1 out of 5]

The front cover blurb proclaims that the book "Reads like 'Left Behind' on steroids." - this should in no way be taken as a compliment.

Wowwww what a bad bad bad bad book. Set aside the bland religiousness (which is the only way this got published, no doubt), but the plot is played-out and derivative. Worst of all is the writing itself, which is simply atrocious. Stunted speech, unnecessary details, repetitive use of names. Add in bad science, nonsensical numbers, inexplicable choices, and emotionless characters with no discerning personalities - I don't even think a proper editor could've saved this.

[Lisa Olson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Its okay. I was hoping the author would include Adamartoni and Evevette more. I want the book to explain more about them.

[Michaell Baumler · Rating 4 out of 5]

This could have another book to it

[Christopher Nickerson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn’t know there was a prequel to tribulations until after I was reading it but man I loved reading it after. Genesis is sooooo good

[James Lampkins · Rating 1 out of 5]

The plot sounded interesting, unfortunately, the book was executed poorly.

I was hoping to hear a story of Adam and Eve as a pair of ship wrecked space travelers. How they were seen as being thrown from the heavens and how the human life began to worship and tell their story. How a religion was started due to this accident.
There was then limitless possibilities to hear how the main characters, Linda and Billy, overcome the treatment of being superhumans. Cruel and unjust treatment due to jealousy and, on the flip side, a sense of worship from those that take it too far.

I was then hoping to hear a story about the process of choosing those that would leave Earth while others were forced to stay behind. Both sides could have been shown. The political struggle in regard to building these ships that would ultimately carry humanity and those that would be allowed to go. What ideologies and cultures would survive?

Instead we are told a two dimensional story, with two dimensional characters. The narration is painfully poor. The characters tell you through stiff dialog, what is going on. On one line they say they are going to some place and then the following line then has them stating that they are there.

The main bulk of the story is about Linda and Billy growing up as super intelligent humans and how they continue to accomplish great feats of genius. There was no struggle and there was no conflict.

I was hoping for so much more.

[Tom Wiseman · Rating 1 out of 5]

I haven't been this disappointed in a book for quite some time. The plot, while imaginative enough to somewhat carry the story along, lacked any substantial support from descriptive scenes and real character development.

Ken writes about some very advanced technology, but is extremely vague on the materials used to produce them or how they function, leaving the reader too much leeway in the guessing department. On top of this, the characters were absolutely flat and the dialogue was unrealistic for most of the book. In several scenes, while Billy and Linda Lou conversed, the two adolescent main characters, they addressed each other as sweetie, and other terms of endearment, that I just can't picture anyone under 25 or even 30 ever saying.
During the catastrophic destruction of Earth toward the end of the book, a moment that should have been gripping as hell, I felt almost bored, not caring at all for the main characters, or for their plight.

In my humble opinion, this could have been so much better. The plot was there, but sadly the writing was lacking on many different levels.

[Jared · Rating 1 out of 5]

I think that anyone wanting to write science fiction should have to read this book completely. This book is a great example of how NOT to write a book. The characters are flat as the paper they are written on, and the dialogue is atrocious. None of the characters have any emotions. I felt as though I was reading about a bunch of robots.

Then there was the lack of suspense. Nothing bad or dangerous truly happens to the main characters. The closest thing that happens to a gasp is when one of the main characters suffers a bullet wound. Oh, but she's super human, so it doesn't really affect her. That's the problem with the main characters, they seem too god-like, which makes them extremely boring.

I want to give credit to the idea of the plot, but I can't even do that. At first it was okay, but then it just became unbelievable. I find it sad that this was somehow published while other, much better, writers can't even get a foot in the door.

If you're looking to learn writing, pick this up. It will help show you what not to do. If you're looking to enjoy a book, avoid this at all costs.

[KelticKat · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story started a bit slow and I definitely felt the undercurrent of a conspiracy going on between the "Logos" & the government. It starts with the finding of a strange metal coffin covered in an unknown writing. Once the writing is translated it reveals the history of a unique race and the end of the Earth in - 2012.

But as the story shifted focus to include Billy & Linda and the town of Clayton, New Mexico, I began to enjoy the journey. Still Logos was present and seemed to manipulate all the featured players.

However, the story really came alive to me as the pressure for the "end of the earth" increased. I think I flashed back to almost every scifi & disaster movie I've seen (and there's a lot!). Bits from Armagedon to The day After Tomorrow to 2012.

There was also a definitely "GOD" or Judaeo/Christian theme that ran through the book. It didn't "preach" - so that was good - just enough to remind the reader that someone even bigger than them is orchestrating the events.

So if you are a fan of any of those movies or apocalyptic stories then I think you would enjoy this read.

[Sooz · Rating 1 out of 5]

this book was a mistake. literally. i was looking to read .

this book was a mistake. i can't believe it actually got published as it is. the writing is so bad. but then there is the dialogue which is actually so much worse. i almost didn't get through the second chapter. in fact if i hadn't been on the beach without another book to lay my hands on, i likely would not have continued.

an sci fi that tells the tale of the days leading to our pending doom. it is a pre-apocalyptic tale rather than a post-apocalyptic and Shufelodt has a decent enough idea, and once the plot got going i decided to see it through but damn i have to say giving it a two star rating is being kind to the man.

[Faith · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think that two stars is a very gracious rating for this book. I am glad that it only took me two days to read. I thought that the author had a good concept, but it needed to be fleshed out a lot more before publishing. It has the feel of a young child telling a story, because more than once you can only most hear the rushing child's voice saying "this happen and then this happened and he just happened to be doing something and so this happened and then he died." There are also some point where the time line does not mesh.

Also, I have seen other reviews (on the book and on goodreads) calling it a Christian novel or like "Left Behind." Don't let these people fool you. While it does mention God it also discounts the Bible as being true.

[Chivon · Rating 3 out of 5]

The majority of reviews I read on this book were not very good, so my expectations were not high to begin with. I actually liked this science fiction book. It put me in the mind of the movie 2012 with the whole buildling ship business. The book did seem very elementary in addition to just being totally unrealistic even in fantastical terms. It just didn't make sense how everything would always fall into place. I am a sucker for happy endings though and this did have a happy ending. Although it was quite cheesy, I still thought it was worth reading. It provided an interesting take on the end of the world and somewhat, the beginning.

[Scorpiuscat · Rating 3 out of 5]

I forgot where I got a copy of this book, but I finally read it and while the authors writing style lacks a lot of depth and he skips a lot of detail to get to the dialog between characters, I found the idea interesting enough to want to read it thru to see where it goes.

Its an easy fast read, if you are the type of reader that does not want to get bogged down in a ton of details and like reading character dialog vs. paragraphs of detail setting up scenes and details, this book would be perfect for you.

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

One review (by Junius Podrug, author of Dark Passage) claims that "Genesis may be the best apocalyptic thriller ever written." It's the only apocalyptic thriller I've read to date, but I don't believe it's the best. Another review said it has "strong characters", but they seem flat to me; they all seem to act and speak pretty much the same. However, the plot is interesting, and it is fast reading.

[Joshua Bourne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dont listen to these un-imagnative folk, Genisis is a great sci-fi read. Some folks have a pre-conceaved notion of what a good sci-fi book should be, and don't open their imagination enough to see what it can be. Just like people who only play video games with a score of 10, and never giving games with 7 or 8 a chance. I personally got lost in this book, and wish they have a sequel.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing book! Suspenseful, and very creative. Read it twice already!! I would suggest it to anyone who likes Sci-Fi.

[Henry Bakker · Rating 3 out of 5]

The writing was a bit repetitive but I found the story to be interesting enough to enjoy the book.

[Dick Edwards · Rating 1 out of 5]

Silly, preposterous sci-fi.

[Joshua Silverman · Rating 1 out of 5]

I only got one chapter in and well...I didn't need to go further. NEXT!

[Daniel DerGato · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book could've been more in depth, but for the price and the place I found it (Walmart) it could've been wrose.

[David Kerns · Rating 1 out of 5]

Have to agree with reviews. Very poorly written with a thin plot and lack of depth.