A cloning experiment leads to the restoration of an ancient civilization in Berkhout’s debut sci-fi novel.
In the year 2020, Fred Edwards and his colleague Sandrina LaFaccia of the Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago are deeply involved in research on Egyptian mummies. They enjoy their work, and are anxious to learn as much as possible about their subjects. Fred suggests to LaFaccia and their director, Dr. John Beatty, that they try to clone a mummy, in order to track its development. They decide to fertilize human eggs with genetic material taken from King Tut, then work with a fertility clinic to implant the eggs in the wombs of women seeking treatment. To ensure their experiment escapes scrutiny, they match the eggs with women who look like they could have given birth to boys that resemble the pharaoh. At first, the experiment seems to be a success; however, the project is eventually disbanded and Edwards, LaFaccia and Beatty lose control of their clones. Years later, a series of events brings the clones together. They soon learn the incredible secret of their birth and chart a course to rule Egypt once again. Berkhout’s audacious premise is buttressed by vivid settings and finely drawn characters. The settings are expansive, stretching from Illinois and Wisconsin to Germany, Australia and conflict-battered Egypt. Berkhout moves back and forth through these places at a frenetic pace that adds urgency to the narrative. The clones, and their respective home environments, are particularly well-conceived; each clone stands out as a unique character, due to Berkhout’s skillful development of their diverse backgrounds. However, the novel does suffer a bit from curious editing choices; for example, certain curse words are censored, but the seduction of a young clone by his mother’s girlfriend is presented in graphic detail.
Berkhout brings a provocative premise to life, but its effect is somewhat diminished by awkward editing.
Pub Date: May 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-1629010557
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Inkwater Press
Review Posted Online: July 31, 2014
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.
Sisters work together to solve a child-abandonment case.
Ellie and Julia Cates have never been close. Julia is shy and brainy; Ellie gets by on charm and looks. Their differences must be tossed aside when a traumatized young girl wanders in from the forest into their hometown in Washington. The sisters’ professional skills are put to the test. Julia is a world-renowned child psychologist who has lost her edge. She is reeling from a case that went publicly sour. Though she was cleared of all wrongdoing, Julia’s name was tarnished, forcing her to shutter her Beverly Hills practice. Ellie Barton is the local police chief in Rain Valley, who’s never faced a tougher case. This is her chance to prove she is more than just a fading homecoming queen, but a scarcity of clues and a reluctant victim make locating the girl’s parents nearly impossible. Ellie places an SOS call to her sister; she needs an expert to rehabilitate this wild-child who has been living outside of civilization for years. Confronted with her professional demons, Julia once again has the opportunity to display her talents and salvage her reputation. Hannah (The Things We Do for Love, 2004, etc.) is at her best when writing from the girl’s perspective. The feral wolf-child keeps the reader interested long after the other, transparent characters have grown tiresome. Hannah’s torturously over-written romance passages are stale, but there are surprises in store as the sisters set about unearthing Alice’s past and creating a home for her.
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.Pub Date: March 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-345-46752-3
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2005
A strict report, worthy of sympathy.
A violent surfacing of adolescence (which has little in common with Tarkington's earlier, broadly comic, Seventeen) has a compulsive impact.
"Nobody big except me" is the dream world of Holden Caulfield and his first person story is down to the basic, drab English of the pre-collegiate. For Holden is now being bounced from fancy prep, and, after a vicious evening with hall- and roommates, heads for New York to try to keep his latest failure from his parents. He tries to have a wild evening (all he does is pay the check), is terrorized by the hotel elevator man and his on-call whore, has a date with a girl he likes—and hates, sees his 10 year old sister, Phoebe. He also visits a sympathetic English teacher after trying on a drunken session, and when he keeps his date with Phoebe, who turns up with her suitcase to join him on his flight, he heads home to a hospital siege. This is tender and true, and impossible, in its picture of the old hells of young boys, the lonesomeness and tentative attempts to be mature and secure, the awful block between youth and being grown-up, the fright and sickness that humans and their behavior cause the challenging, the dramatization of the big bang. It is a sorry little worm's view of the off-beat of adult pressure, of contemporary strictures and conformity, of sentiment….
A strict report, worthy of sympathy.Pub Date: June 15, 1951
ISBN: 0316769177
Page Count: -
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Nov. 2, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1951
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