Gene (novel)
Encyclopedia
Gene is a thriller novel by Stel Pavlou
(born 1970), published in 2005 in England
by Simon and Schuster. It is published in several languages with some title changes. The Italian
edition has the title La Conspirazione del Minotauro (The Minotaur Conspiracy). The novel is about a fictional New York
detective, James North, who in the process of hunting down a criminal, uncovers a genetics experiment to unlock past lives through genetic memory
, therefore achieving a kind of immortality. In so doing North discovers his own origins, that of a soldier from the Trojan War
who is reincarnated seven times through history, forced to confront his nemesis each time, all for the loss of his one true love.
Incarnations of Cyclades
Athanatos (born circa 1500 BC)
Incarnations of Athanatos
Detective Martinez
Cassandra Dybbuk
Doctor Shepherd
The novel is further complicated in that it is told backwards, using a Police procedural as the structure of the novel, memories are unlocked in the form of flashbacks, each flashback delving further and further back in time over the course of 3000 years.
Told in alternating first person and third person, the novel is divided into a prologue and seven "books", the seven trials of Cyclades.
The opening page begins with the first 27 lines of the Human Genome. Thereafter the prologue lays out the death of Cyclades during the Trojan War, and makes it clear that his death is merely the beginning of the journey. Told in first person, Cyclades, a Greek warrior, is mortally wounded. A Sybil forces him to have sex to continue his line, whereupon he dies for the first time in the book.
Book One, shifts to third person and jumps to the year 2004. In New York City Detective James North has been called to the Metropolitan Museum of Art to deal with a mentally unstable man who has run amok amid the exhibits.
Gene has also been featured as one of the top picks of 2005 at Ilovereading.co.uk.
Stel Pavlou
Stelios Grant Pavlou is a British author and screenwriter.-Biography:Stel Pavlou was born in Gillingham, Kent in England, of Greek Cypriot descent. He grew up in Rochester and Chatham, Medway and attended Chatham Grammar School for Boys. The middle child of three, his younger brother is the...
(born 1970), published in 2005 in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
by Simon and Schuster. It is published in several languages with some title changes. The Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
edition has the title La Conspirazione del Minotauro (The Minotaur Conspiracy). The novel is about a fictional New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
detective, James North, who in the process of hunting down a criminal, uncovers a genetics experiment to unlock past lives through genetic memory
Genetic memory
Genetic memory may refer to:*Genetic memory , present if the state of a biological system depends on its history in addition to present conditions*Genetic memory , a memory present at birth that exists in the absence of sensory experience...
, therefore achieving a kind of immortality. In so doing North discovers his own origins, that of a soldier from the Trojan War
Trojan War
In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus, the king of Sparta. The war is among the most important events in Greek mythology and was narrated in many works of Greek literature, including the Iliad...
who is reincarnated seven times through history, forced to confront his nemesis each time, all for the loss of his one true love.
Characters
Cyclades (born circa 1300 BC)Incarnations of Cyclades
- Detective James North (2004 AD)
- Eugene Dybbuk (2004 AD)
- Aquilo (75 AD)
- Aisha (2004)
- William Porter (2004)
Athanatos (born circa 1500 BC)
Incarnations of Athanatos
- Detective James North (2004 AD)
- Eugene Dybbuk (2004 AD)
- Savage (2004 AD)
Detective Martinez
Cassandra Dybbuk
Doctor Shepherd
Plot summary
In dealing with genetic memory, Pavlou has drawn on both the nature of lineage, and the nature of self. Several characters all stem from the same source, and so as their memories become unlocked during the course of the novel, they each identify with being the same person at a distant point in history. The question of identity then becomes fundamental to the plot. If each character shares the same memories are they a reincarnation of that original person, or merely an echo?The novel is further complicated in that it is told backwards, using a Police procedural as the structure of the novel, memories are unlocked in the form of flashbacks, each flashback delving further and further back in time over the course of 3000 years.
Told in alternating first person and third person, the novel is divided into a prologue and seven "books", the seven trials of Cyclades.
The opening page begins with the first 27 lines of the Human Genome. Thereafter the prologue lays out the death of Cyclades during the Trojan War, and makes it clear that his death is merely the beginning of the journey. Told in first person, Cyclades, a Greek warrior, is mortally wounded. A Sybil forces him to have sex to continue his line, whereupon he dies for the first time in the book.
Book One, shifts to third person and jumps to the year 2004. In New York City Detective James North has been called to the Metropolitan Museum of Art to deal with a mentally unstable man who has run amok amid the exhibits.
Critical reaction
Gene has been listed in the Daily Mirror's Top 10 books to look out for in 2005.Gene has also been featured as one of the top picks of 2005 at Ilovereading.co.uk.