Gene Kindle Edition

A well written novel, but left me with more questions than answers. Where Decipher had me gripped and made sense at the end, I felt a bit robbed by Gene, never did work out who these characters were in present or past form and the ending left me with a huh? I do like books that switch between past and present, Wilbur Smiths Sunbird and Kate Mosse' Labyrinth to name a couple, are fine examples. It hasn't put me off Stel's work it could have been better though.

I chose this book purely on the basis of his excellent first book "Decipher" which I thoroughly enjoyed. This one however, was a huge disappointment in every respect. The story line was disjointed and character development non existent. A very dull book indeed.

Perhaps I was expecting too much. I really loved his previous work, Decipher, but Gene left me feeling something was lacking. Whereas Decipher was grounded (for the first part of the book) in science and actual history, too much of Gene is direct, straight-forward stuff with no room at all for interpretation on the reader's part. OK, Decipher goes off on a real tangent with Golems etc, but Gene starts that way and maintains the same throughout with little deviation from the outset.A decent story, and I'd say it was a good read. Just disappointed me a little, probably the anticipation I felt when I saw it had been released.

Good book.

A book my other half had been wanting to read for a long time and so she was very happy

Although published by a major publisher in the UK, Gene "scared off a lot of editors in the US." After reading it, the reasons are clear. It wasn't for lack of a good story, nor was it for lack of a good reason. In short, the editors had no idea in which section of the bookstore Gene belonged. If a bookstore can't shelve a book correctly, they can't expect to sell it. Pavlou's solution was to skip both the publisher and the bookstore to give interested readers in the US a chance to find his book on their own.If forced to boil it down to the essence, I would describe Gene as part police procedural and part fantasy, with elements of mythology, science fiction and history thrown in. There is a mystery to be solved and risk for a main character if it isn't solved soon, which also makes it a thriller.I can see how this could scare a reader off. Someone who dislikes any of these genres might feel that Gene isn't right for them. But if you're interested in being taken out of your genre-comfort-zone, you might find that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.**Originally written for "Books and Pals" book blog. May have received a free review copy. **

This is another new author to me. Is it me, or are the publishing houses giving more opportunities to new authors. If this is an example of the fresh ideas that can be put to paper if given the chance, then I for one am all for it. Not really my type of book, or so I initially thought. I ended up enjoying this book as much as anything I have read recently and that covers quite a few volumes.Detective James North is an officer in the New York Police department, a seasoned cop who thinks he has experienced everything the Big Apple can throw his way. He is called to a hostage situation that is taking place in the New York Metropolitan Museum. Just another punk, trying to screw a few dollars out of someone, or so he thought.When he arrives he's surprised by two things. The hostage taker, a young man called Gene has been asking for him by name. Also he is wielding a bronze-age sword like an expert. Not after all a run of the mill hostage situation and one that is about to go badly wrong.North ends up on the wrong end of a needle and finds himself injected with a substance that causes him to have nightmares and flashes of memory that are not his own. Nut one memory does stay true. He must kill the hostage taker, a man named Gene and although he doesn't know it yet Gene feels the same way about him.GENE is the story of forgotten Greek warrior Cyclades who fought and died in the Trojan Wars, and was fated by the gods to be reincarnated seven times and I found it a fascinating read.

And I don't mean that in the modern 'really good' sense, but in the older sense; this book is worthy of awe. Having ticked just about every box that there is to tick with his first novel, I didn't think Stel Pavlou could surpass that achievement. I was wrong.I sat and read this book in one sitting, on one day. In between the nature of memory, and how the genetic transmission of memory/instinct may function, in between the richly created worlds of the past, in between the fire of the characters is a great story that pretty much literally left me astounded.I could run off into cliche, but all I can say is that this is a book that deserves to be read, lent to a friend and the reread as soon as (or if!) you get it back. It is such a rich novel in so many ways.