One of the best reviews for The Gene Thieves came from an unknown reader, because actions speak louder than words.

What follows is a true story!

 

CLOSE ENCOUNTERS

OF THE

BEST KIND

 

So here I am walking to the post office smiling to myself, not paying too much attention because I’m revisiting the lively debate that cropped up at the crowded launch party for The Gene Thieves. Who should play Dancer in the movie, Hugh Jackman or Simon Baker?  Seemed that every one of the hundred or so guests wanted to put in a bid, even though only six people in the room could possible have read the book, as it was just hitting the shelves!

Okay, Simon Baker is already a blue-eyed blonde, but there’s always  bleach and coloured contacts. Mind you, I knew I was breaking one of the golden protocols of  a good screenplay, when I specified Dancer’s hair, eyes and tallness (never restrict the casting possibilities, a dark-haired star might walk away from the script!)  but hey, I was writing the novel.  Now I’m tackling the screenplay. 

 So, as I said, I wasn’t really watching where I was going.But then, neither was the man who walked into me.

That’s because he had his head in a book…my book!

As I walked past the station entrance he walked out, turned right and we bumped shoulders. The astonished look I gave him was mistaken for annoyance and he stopped, slammed the book closed and apologised.

“Sorry, silly of me, reading a book while I’m walking. I was reading it on the train and just had to finish the chapter.”

“Must be a good book.” I smiled ingratiatingly, using all my willpower to resist the impulse to fling my arms around him

and land a great big kiss on a rather nice young face.

“Terrific.”

He turned, anxious to get away from this chance encounter with a nosy, talkative stranger.

“That’s me.” I prodded the cover of the novel he’d now tucked under his arm.

“I beg your pardon?”

“The author, Maria Quinn, that’s me.”

He pulled the book out and scrutinised the cover, then looked

up at me.

“You’re kidding, right?”

“Look inside, there’s a picture.” 

Now the picture is in black and white and I tend to be pretty much in colour, remnants of red hair and big, bright earrings. Not the world’s best likeness but good enough for a police line up; at least he obviously thought so.

“ That’s amazing, I love this book!”

We stood, blocking the footpath, while scurrying commuters  muttered threats. He scrounged around inside his suit coat and pulled out a slightly chewed- looking biro.

“Will you sign it for me?

‘Make a back.”

... ‘To Sam, truth is stranger than fiction, even science fiction.…’ (name changed to protect the innocent reader).

 

 'Sam's' spontaneous review is still my favourite, but the more professional ones that follow are not bad either!

SYDNEY MORNING HERALD

SPECTRUM

Saturday April 25th 2009

>>>>>>> a u r e a l i s X p r e s s <<<<<<<

>>>>>>> December 2008 Edition <<<<<<<<<

Something for everyone here: part science fiction, part family drama, part mystery, part geo-political thriller. It’s a testament to Aussie Maria Quinn’s abilities that she manages to weave each element together seamlessly, all the while never

losing sight of the endearingly

normal humans at the core of her tale. Said tale concerns Dr Mitchell “Piggy” Brown, so-nicknamed because of his uncanny resemblance to the pink animal, and his quest to make a baby with the genetic material of his late mother and father. To keep things above board, he calls upon hotshot lawyer Peter “Dancer” Tebrett, expert at the Conjugal Law that has replaced Marriage Law in near-future Australia. Of course Piggy isn’t totally forthcoming about all the reasons he wants the child (though the one he does give is as heartbreaking as it is fascinating), but suffice to say the kid’s special in a number of ways—ways which make him very valuable to the very unscrupulous. The Gene Thieves is science fiction at its most engaging; looking to the future with optimism but not rose-tinted glasses, tempered by knowledge of the atrocities gone before (and probably still to come), committed in the names of profit and progress.

First-rate scientific, medical and legal research; a compellingly plausible plot drawing on some ‘futuristic’ notions that are nonetheless entirely grounded in the present; and a polished writing style: the ingredients of book which most assuredly deserves the accolades it has received.

That some of Maria Quinn’s predictive fiction in the realm of medical ethics, the law and society came to pass around the time her book was published is a reflection of the meticulous research that underpins the storyline. Each chapter teases the reader into the next, not in the formulaic, build-em-up-and-string-em-along and ultimately predictable fashion of a Grisham or a Dan Brown, but by shining a tantalising, shifting light at the end of carefully-constructed and at times crisscrossing tunnels of narrative.

The author has a deft, Carey-like feel for the English language, at once urbane and distinctively Australian. Her adroit use of dialogue is most impressive: male or female, young or old, endearing or sinister, her characters literally speak for themselves, lending further credibility to the intrigue which weaves its way through the novel. Make no mistake about it, the storyline is complex and rich in detail. It is the clarity of the writing, the balance, the easy shifting from the lofty to the vulgar, that make the journey such an engaging one.

It’s difficult to avoid the clichéd  ‘I couldn’t put it down’, so I won’t even try. This is a chronicle of where science, malice, heroism and passion may one day take us. Recommended unreservedly.

 

It's some time in the future. Marriage is a thing of the past and "Conjugal Contracts" are made and carry a five-year term.

Hmm, sounds like a

future development that may do more good for mankind than that whizzy glass screen Tom Cruise got to play with in Minority report. The Gene Thieves is described as "an exciting near-future thriller" and revolves around the concept of women choosing not to bear their own children, but to have others do it for them. Not quite a "pop down to the surrogate mother lot on Parramatta Road on a Sunday afternoon" kind of gig, but you get the picture.

A big selling point of this book is that the large-scale, regulated surrogacy concept is credible. Maria Quinn gives the concept some debate through the different views of her characters, and it's an interesting enough idea to sit with you on the train. As are the book's other main issues of gene manipulation and life enhancement through medical finessing. There's also a murder, a suicide, a birth, some love interests and a couple of intriguing main characters to keep you company as you try to figure out just who has taken what and who is still hiding things. Quinn is a debut writer who lets the ideas speak for themselves and doesn't feel compelled to push her presence in front of the reader. The Gene Thieves is engaging and thought provoking.

A fascinating book, which speculates about where we will go in terms of social & technological change, based on current capabilities. The plot is well developed, the storyline flows & drags you into the middle of these people, making you feel like part of 

the whole scenario. While the story is set in the future, the issues raised, including cloning, genetic selection & modification, and surrogate parenting, are increasingly relevant today.

I bought this book from the Author at a meet the Author book event held at the Customs house Library, part of the reason for this event was that a pivotal moment of the story in fact takes place at the Customs house Library, as envisaged in the near future. This book is the Author’s first published book and I expect that the scenes in the background of the story are places and things that the Author is fond of? It is worth mentioning that Maria Quinn comes to novel writing from ‘the trade’, in her case copy writing for Advertising and script writing for TV etc., as opposed to the ‘Literary’ path of Academic credentials or persistent amateur writing attempts?

The book is entirely acceptable as both a Science Fiction story, the consequences of an innovation are explored, and as a mainstream techno-thriller, as there is a crime and a mystery that has to be resolved through the story. The story is this, in a world where the institution of Marriage has been replaced by sequential conjugal contracts and surrogate pregnancies are a reproductive option, a researcher has decoded a genetic pathway to longevity. He is already wealthy, as he has sold to the Japanese Government a patent for blue eyes. He wants to have a child, in effect another child of his late parents. Corporate forces kidnap his child and the ransom demanded is the longevity technology. A dashing UN Science nobbling committee activist, marriage contract lawyers and a Surrogate baby farm collective all become involved. In spite of the ‘defeat’ of the institution of Marriage, it seems that guilt and divine retribution survive into the future as several ‘sinners’ get their come-uppance through the book and in the end, the eternal family triumphant? The ‘Adventures’ are at times James Bond-ish, but under the circumstances they are credible and through the book the body count of incidental figures mounts, there is cross dressing, beach side holidays recalled, a family secret, surfing and Sydney sights, so what’s not to like about this book? Maria has finished a second book, which is a non-SF book, although the world that has been created in this book could stand a sequel / prequel?

Conclusion – I recommend this book, and I hope that Maria will be encouraged to write more Science Fictional / Techno thriller books as the genre is enriched by the entry of Writers with ’new to the Genre’ writing skills and points of view, also I do have a weakness for Sydney centric SF.

 

The Gene Thieves is an exciting near-future thriller revolving around genetics, family secrets and kidnapping. Mitchell ‘Piggy’ Brown is a brilliant scientist, haunted by his physical imperfections and an abusive childhood. He seeks to redress the cruelty

he suffered by creating another child from his parents’ frozen embryos and sperm. Having dedicated his life to unravelling the mysteries of the human genome, Piggy’s research uncovers the ultimate prize in medical science. When ruthless pharmaceutical companies catch wind of his findings they stop at nothing to get hold of this valuable research and Piggy’s baby is literally torn from the surrogate mother’s womb and held to ransom. What follows is a high-tech race against time to track down the kidnappers and save the child. This fast-paced and engaging novel is written in a lucid, easy-to-read style accessible for a wide audience. Characters are well developed and Quinn makes good use of the Sydney setting to add some local colour.

© Copyright 2008, Thorpe-Bowker

 

 

'Maria Quinn presents some scary possibilities in

her book'.

Although The Gene Thieves

does have a very compelling story to tell, for me the book’s greatest strength is the cast of memorable characters that made me want to delay finishing the book for as long as possible, for I knew I would miss them all when I turned the last page - and this has certainly been the case.

 

This debut novel from Australian author Maria Quinn is set in the near future, when genetic engineering of babies is becoming not only possible, but popular. The genes for various appearance traits are being discovered and techniques are being developed to introduce these traits into embryos. Many people are now using the services of surrogate mothers to bring their baby to term. Sperm and eggs are routinely saved for producing future offspring. The laws about such matters have been gradually sorted out and tightened up, and the procedures are now pretty much standard. 

The story puts pressure on currently established beliefs, particularly religious ones, but presents a plausible scenario where the legal problems of genetics can be overcome. The human side of the story shows that far from being a 

mechanical process, parenting can still have room for love

and compassion. 

In some ways the story takes up where John Wyndham’s “Trouble With Lichen” leaves off. This story from 1960 dealt with the development of an immortality drug and the legal, ethical and social disruption that it caused. Genetics has the same potential, and Maria Quinn’s novel deals with these problems on a more personal level. 

The science fiction, mystery and detective story angles are covered with the same skill that I would expect from a British author – there is no Buck Rogers here, just a good solid story built up on a logical base of the current technology. This is something the British excel at, and Maria Quinn has shown herself to be their equal. 

The story never gets boring, the science is clearly explained where necessary, the characters are skillfully drawn and believable. I look forward to seeing more of Ms Quinn’s work.

 

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