Genesis

Wow. What an interesting and unusual short novel! To me, this has something of the feel of a classic early Isaac Asimov story (but with far more modern assumptions, challenges, and true emotional resonance). It is real, hard-core science fiction, a new and very original imagining of the future. At less than 150 pages, this novel is short enough to encourage the reader to persist; the structure of the novel helps, too (it is divided into the 4 hours of Anax's "examination", with intermissions in the form of "breaks" she is given between hours). Still, this is an intellectually demanding book-- the reader has to pay attention and think about each paragraph. I particularly valued one aspect of this book: it is almost unique in combining both deep emotional awareness and very complex ideas about ethics, philosophy, and technology. ******* A caution: this book will be absolutely wrecked by any spoilers. If you sense once coming in another review, stop reading! The twist in the final portion of this book is the essence of the book, and it would be soooooooooo sad if the reader knew it was coming in advance. Overall, an absorbing, not-light, orginal, complex, fascinating, and emotionally engaging novel, written by a scientist who is clearly a passionate person who cares deeply about the dilemmas humanity faces. If you can appreciate a very unique story-telling style and unique imagining of the future you will enjoy "Genesis". (And as an aside, the cover of the book is brilliant-- provides clues to the puzzle of the book.)

Five stars! Wow what an engaging story. I could not put it down. The kids had to take care of themselves, the dishes piled up and the laundry stayed where it was. I could not put this book down. It was such a fascinating look into a futuristic society built on the fear and destruction of the one we currently inhabit. I do not want to give away the ending but I didn't see it coming, which means I have to read the book a second time to see if I missed the clues along the way. It was truly an exceptional book, with an intriguing plot device of young Anaximander wishing to join the Academy and the grueling entrance exam she must take. Being a teacher, and watching young students struggle through their MCA's I was immediately sympathetic. Anaximander recounts the Island Republic's history from when the Great Sea Wall was constructed to keep out the plague-ridden outsiders to the hero Adam Forde. It has tastes of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, 25th Anniversary Edition, with bits of the biblical creation story, and the futuristic Ender's Game, and yet it is unlike any other book I have read. Thank you Bernard Beckett. What a great book.

This is the best post-apocalyptic novel I've read since The Road. I started reading it the moment it arrived in my mailbox and was not able to put it down until I'd finished it. It's an intensely cerebral and philosophical read for a young adult novel. And just when I thought I'd discovered the secret of the book, I was completely caught off-guard by the true secret. A girl named Anax has been given the chance to take a 4-hour oral exam to interview for entrance into The Academy. The book is the transcript of this oral exam. This unique writing format works well because it's through the interview process that we learn about the history of the earth from the year 2032 onward. She tells of wars, plague, refuge on a walled island, robots, a man named Adam who changed history, and a foundling girl named Eve. As Anax tells of the history of earth and her island, the reader is drawn deeply into the story and becomes as obsessed with Adam's tale as Anax has been. However, Anax has long-suspected that there's something missing from the story of the island and Adam. It is through this interview process that Anax learns of her island's true history. This novel has so many components that I like: philosophy, suppositions about where current history is leading us, plague, apocalypse, robots, secrets, and secret societies. In the course of a few hours, it became a new favorite. I lay awake in bed pondering its mysteries and dreamed of it when I fell asleep. It's truly a great book.

This small book is inherently provocative as it plunges into the distant future, 2075, when the world as we know it has finally spiraled into paranoia and endless wars in an orgy of self-destruction. Even for the common good, countries have been unable to overcome their mutual distrust. The result is The Republic, an area separated from a disintegrating world by a great sea wall, intruders scarce after years of war and plague outside the barrier. The structured society of the Republic is based on a careful alignment of working principles, a combination of science and technology, four distinct classes meeting the needs of a secure environment: Laborers, Soldiers, Technicians and Philosophers. In Genesis, Anaximander stands before a panel of examiners, applying for a place in the Academy that requires a four-hour oral question and answer session. Three years of intensive study with a mentor have brought Anax to this moment. Grilled by her impassive inquisitors, Anax recites her extensive knowledge of the history of the Republic, the evolution of her chosen subject and her careful dissection of the relevance of this subject to the formation of society. Anax's chosen topic is the subject of myth, a critical part of society's evolution.. Intimidated by the three examiners, Anax is nevertheless confident, replying to the questions with quiet authority. Anax posits her theories through recorded dialog, focusing the distinctions between humanity and technology and the philosophy of man vs. machine, man's inherent superiority despite the advances of science and technology. In a brilliant exchange of ideas, logic dominates the discussion, with flashes of passion, even hubris. This is unfamiliar territory, the future in thrall to a carefully-orchestrated balance of science, technology and ideas. Seduced by Beckett's persuasive prose, the reader gains access to an otherworldly future via Anax's responses to her inquisitor's questions and the significance of a shifting paradigm for survival. Like Anax, the reader is caught in the intricate web of plausible argument, a rejection of conspiracy and the vital energy of an engaged consciousness. All the more shocking then, the culmination of Anax's quest and the inherent flaws in the integration of individual and technology. Beckett's hook baited, the careful playing out of line draws the unsuspecting closer to an unexpected fate. Luan Gaines/2009.