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Review
Trigell doesn't pretend to have any easy answers, only further and more complicated questions. Is genetic perfection a welcome goal? Are humans meant to be free from pain, illness and suffering? Who and what, exactly, defines a disability?--The Independent
Trigell s dystopian divided Britain is epically hellish, rendered through the voices of a procession of characters in a heightened prose that intensifies the sense of a decayed, degenerate world about to implode. Although it is science fiction, the world of Genus where those who can afford it have their children modified before birth feels as if it might be just around the corner.--Metro
The misadventures of the crippled painter, Holman, his former beauty queen mother, Adele Nicole, and the blinded writer, Crick, confirm the promise of Trigell s splendid debut, Boy A.--The Daily Mail
It is an old saying among science fiction fans that anyone can predict the car, it takes brains to predict gridlock. It is not the gadget that takes foresight, it is the uses people will make of it, and then the unintended consequences of those uses... No one can fault Trigell s ingenuity--The Times
Genus is an elegantly written, bleakly exaggerated look between the haves and have-nots. Mr. Trigell uses the bullhorn of science fiction to call out the communal hypocrisy of society. Whatever scientific advance that humanity creates with improvement in mind, Genus argues that we'll never leave our selfish instincts behind.--Pornokitsch.com
A timely meditation on the possibilities of genetic engineering within an unequal society.--3:AM Magazine
The gradually thickening plot is handled with dexterity for maximum intrigue and the commanding use of description is almost obscene in its richness.--The List
I read this book at the same time as the riots were taking place and it was disturbing how well Trigell has written about society s breakdown. The images he describes were playing out on the TV screen in front of me, which I think added to the poignancy of the story. Trigell is up on current affairs, and can see a future that may not be too far away from where we re actually heading.--Bookmunch
Overlaid on this world is a gripping murder mystery with a surprising conclusion. Although this is a fictional world, it is close enough to reality to make the reader feel that this could happen - indeed, there are some parts of the novel that have a vivid deja vu quality about them. As such, I found this a disturbing read. Reading groups too will find plenty of jumping off points for discussion.--New Books Magazine
Where the book really succeeds is the way Trigell depicts his future, world; our perspective is firmly rooted on the inside, to an almost suffocating degree... the jerky, rapid-fire sentences of Günther s scenes do much to convey his character, and Trigell frequently juxtaposes different senses of the same word or phrase to great effect. I ll certainly be reading more of Trigell s work after this. --David Hebblethwaite
Trigell s dystopian divided Britain is epically hellish, rendered through the voices of a procession of characters in a heightened prose that intensifies the sense of a decayed, degenerate world about to implode. Although it is science fiction, the world of Genus where those who can afford it have their children modified before birth feels as if it might be just around the corner.--Metro
The misadventures of the crippled painter, Holman, his former beauty queen mother, Adele Nicole, and the blinded writer, Crick, confirm the promise of Trigell s splendid debut, Boy A.--The Daily Mail
It is an old saying among science fiction fans that anyone can predict the car, it takes brains to predict gridlock. It is not the gadget that takes foresight, it is the uses people will make of it, and then the unintended consequences of those uses... No one can fault Trigell s ingenuity--The Times
Genus is an elegantly written, bleakly exaggerated look between the haves and have-nots. Mr. Trigell uses the bullhorn of science fiction to call out the communal hypocrisy of society. Whatever scientific advance that humanity creates with improvement in mind, Genus argues that we'll never leave our selfish instincts behind.--Pornokitsch.com
A timely meditation on the possibilities of genetic engineering within an unequal society.--3:AM Magazine
The gradually thickening plot is handled with dexterity for maximum intrigue and the commanding use of description is almost obscene in its richness.--The List
I read this book at the same time as the riots were taking place and it was disturbing how well Trigell has written about society s breakdown. The images he describes were playing out on the TV screen in front of me, which I think added to the poignancy of the story. Trigell is up on current affairs, and can see a future that may not be too far away from where we re actually heading.--Bookmunch
Overlaid on this world is a gripping murder mystery with a surprising conclusion. Although this is a fictional world, it is close enough to reality to make the reader feel that this could happen - indeed, there are some parts of the novel that have a vivid deja vu quality about them. As such, I found this a disturbing read. Reading groups too will find plenty of jumping off points for discussion.--New Books Magazine
Where the book really succeeds is the way Trigell depicts his future, world; our perspective is firmly rooted on the inside, to an almost suffocating degree... the jerky, rapid-fire sentences of Günther s scenes do much to convey his character, and Trigell frequently juxtaposes different senses of the same word or phrase to great effect. I ll certainly be reading more of Trigell s work after this. --David Hebblethwaite
Book Description
A dystopian vision of perfection from the acclaimed author of Boy A.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
22 of 23 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This novel is set in a Britain of the near future and is close enough to be able to make uncomfortable comparisons between what we are and what we may become. Society has changed with the ability to create genetically enhanced babies (the Improved), selecting characteristics such as health, looks, intelligence and athleticism. The very rich also add energy, confidence, determination and nerve. Words such as compassion, tolerance and empathy, however, are not in the brochures. As an interesting point, neither are those characteristics which create great artists or writers - perhaps being too unstable in personality. Hence, our hero - Holman, an artist and a dwarf, the Unimproved son of a model mother. Holman received no gene selection, not even the basic disease immunity packs - or 'charity packs' as they are known.
The Unimproved are barely represented in government and most live in The Kross, in London. This is a London where even a minor criminal conviction costs you your right to vote, where schools are streamed by 7 and privilege is brought before birth. Those people who have children they cannot afford (sound familiar?) are seen as reckless in a society where having a baby is the most expensive thing most people do. Synth and drugs are tolerated and have become the opiates of the masses. Like many of the Unimproved, Holman comes from a single parent family: "It takes two parents to save for an enriched child, but only one to spawn", as the saying goes...
Into this wonderfully created world death stalks daily, but a series of murders have unsettled The Kross. First Jesus, a pimp, is found dead. Then a taxi biker and then a hooker. All are known, or have been met, by Holman, who becomes a suspect. There are a brilliant cast of characters - Detective Gunther (best set of genes on the force), the Regans (a cloned crime family) and Holman's mother - the delightfully vague Adele Nicole, people the society the author has imagined and make it real. This is a world of terrorist threat and casual violence, where life is cheap and there is little help for those who stand outside the norm. The storyline and plot are great and I don't want to spoil it for you by saying too much about the murderers, but it is Holman who is the best part of the book for me. As the book says, "He is Frankenstein's monster: except that IT was deformed and unnatural. Holman is deformed and natural, stranded in a world where that is the most unnatural state: where those created by scientists are the normal and beautiful beings." A stunning novel and would be fantastic for reading groups, with so many things to discuss. Highly recommended.
The Unimproved are barely represented in government and most live in The Kross, in London. This is a London where even a minor criminal conviction costs you your right to vote, where schools are streamed by 7 and privilege is brought before birth. Those people who have children they cannot afford (sound familiar?) are seen as reckless in a society where having a baby is the most expensive thing most people do. Synth and drugs are tolerated and have become the opiates of the masses. Like many of the Unimproved, Holman comes from a single parent family: "It takes two parents to save for an enriched child, but only one to spawn", as the saying goes...
Into this wonderfully created world death stalks daily, but a series of murders have unsettled The Kross. First Jesus, a pimp, is found dead. Then a taxi biker and then a hooker. All are known, or have been met, by Holman, who becomes a suspect. There are a brilliant cast of characters - Detective Gunther (best set of genes on the force), the Regans (a cloned crime family) and Holman's mother - the delightfully vague Adele Nicole, people the society the author has imagined and make it real. This is a world of terrorist threat and casual violence, where life is cheap and there is little help for those who stand outside the norm. The storyline and plot are great and I don't want to spoil it for you by saying too much about the murderers, but it is Holman who is the best part of the book for me. As the book says, "He is Frankenstein's monster: except that IT was deformed and unnatural. Holman is deformed and natural, stranded in a world where that is the most unnatural state: where those created by scientists are the normal and beautiful beings." A stunning novel and would be fantastic for reading groups, with so many things to discuss. Highly recommended.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
Well written and thought provoking sci-fi, in a dystopian future world. The riots in London this last week and the right wing politics of
a) welfare parents should have fewer children
b) class separation between haves and have nots
along with the images of fire, burning, arrests, looting and chaos all fit dramatically into this book. I felt I was reading something almost prescient. It challenges what your own prejudices are.
It's written from the point of view of different characters - the stunted Holman with his artistic ability and the perfect Gunt, the policeman with perfect genes but no engineering. It's a violent book in parts, but justified with fascinating characters, an edgy plot and an all too foreseeable future. Highly recommended.
a) welfare parents should have fewer children
b) class separation between haves and have nots
along with the images of fire, burning, arrests, looting and chaos all fit dramatically into this book. I felt I was reading something almost prescient. It challenges what your own prejudices are.
It's written from the point of view of different characters - the stunted Holman with his artistic ability and the perfect Gunt, the policeman with perfect genes but no engineering. It's a violent book in parts, but justified with fascinating characters, an edgy plot and an all too foreseeable future. Highly recommended.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I probably would have reviewed this book anyway, but the events of the last week have made that seem all the more important. Because the `near future' described in Genus feels a whole lot nearer now!
Genus is set in a London divided by genetics, but the way Trigell has set it up, it is fairly easy (and presumably intentionally so) to read the genetic underclass of tomorrow as the social underclass of today. They live on sink estates; they seem to be part of a different world with different values from that of mainstream society; many `normal' people are a little scared of them and a little disgusted by them; and, as the story unfolds, the underclass riot in a manner so similar to what has just happened, that it is hard to believe the fact that this must have been written many months or possibly years before. It feels like it should have been written afterwards as a deliberate allegory. I only hope the rest of the novel doesn't come true as well, because things get very dark indeed.
I cannot recommend this book enough, it is so rare to read a story so gripping, on the basic level, which also makes you think about where society is going.
Genus is set in a London divided by genetics, but the way Trigell has set it up, it is fairly easy (and presumably intentionally so) to read the genetic underclass of tomorrow as the social underclass of today. They live on sink estates; they seem to be part of a different world with different values from that of mainstream society; many `normal' people are a little scared of them and a little disgusted by them; and, as the story unfolds, the underclass riot in a manner so similar to what has just happened, that it is hard to believe the fact that this must have been written many months or possibly years before. It feels like it should have been written afterwards as a deliberate allegory. I only hope the rest of the novel doesn't come true as well, because things get very dark indeed.
I cannot recommend this book enough, it is so rare to read a story so gripping, on the basic level, which also makes you think about where society is going.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
First book I read from my new Amazon Reader, so worth it!
It's a brilliant book, I've never read a book by Jonathan Trigell before, but I'm hooked, he's such an imaginative sci fi Author, and I quite know what to expect, what a great... Read more
Published 1 month ago by S. J. Brown
it really could have been so much better
I started reading this book interested in the world where gene therapy has split society into the gene rich and the unimproved and status is based on how much gene enrichment has... Read more
Published 2 months ago by mythicalkings
Gripping dystopia
Genus by Jonathan Trigell is set in a future dystopia in which society is more or less segregated along genetic lines: the 'Generich' are genetically engineered, disease-immune... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Joanne Sheppard
Interesting read but...
Was one of the first books that I bought for my new Kindle.
Can't complain about the price as it was one of the kindle daily deals. Read more
Can't complain about the price as it was one of the kindle daily deals. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Richard
solid dystopian sci-fi
I bought this in the kindle sale - no experience of the author, it was just cheap and had a few good reviews. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Misty
BUY THIS BOOK!
Genus by Jonathan Trigell, the acclaimed writer of Boy A is a great book, so good that whilst halfway through it I stopped and messaged my one of my best friends on Facebook to... Read more
Published 3 months ago by R. A. Davison
Turgid tripe
Seriously recommend to try a sample before buying this one. It's boring, offensively crude and has all the subtlety of a neon banner in it's real world parallels. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Andy
Really enjoyable, lovely writing
Some great plot strands, gorgeous writing, believable characters, a nice turn of phrase--I really enjoyed this book, and devoured it in a couple of frenzied sittings. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Selene Doros
Brilliant british sci-fi
A story that's set just in the slightly distant future - as most of the best are. Just close enough that you can imagine one scientific breakthrough or a war can move you to this... Read more
Published 4 months ago by CoolJules
Solid British Sci-Fi
I am reliably informed that Genus is Jonathan Trigell's third book, though it is the first that I have downloaded and read after receiving a Kindle for Christmas. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Crazy Jamie
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