Publisher's Weekly
Australian writer Turner provides a chilling tale of genetic manipulation. Raised in a state orphanage, David Chance is working as a journalist in rural Australia when experimental scientist Arthur Hazard reveals himself to be David's father and commands David to undertake a strange mission. Hazard explains that he is one of 12 people conceived without parents, the result of gene experimentation conducted by the government in an attempt to create geniuses. A success was scored with four of the so-called vitro kids, but they all committed suicide in 2023, shortly before David was born, possibly leaving a hidden legacy of knowledge. David is now enjoined to track down this legacy. He travels through the political and physical environments of Australia in 2047, looking for evidence and being either helped or hampered by people driven by secrets or expectations of their own. Turner, whose Drowning Towers won the Arthur C. Clarke Award, uses the test-tube geniuses to spotlight the deficiencies and the triumphs of being ''merely'' human. His future world is believable, the imagined scientific breakthroughs he postulates are intriguing and his characters are real enough to make us care about the issues he raises.
Library Journal
Raised in a state orphanage and trained as a journalist, David Chance settles into a comfortable niche in society until a letter from his natural father plunges him into a world of treachery and violence. As he uncovers the truth behind a generation of failed experiments in breeding genetically superior humans, Chance discovers his own carefully manipulated heritage. The Australian-born author of Drowning Towers ( LJ 9/15/88) explores the darker side of human concerns in a complexly layered sf/mystery set in an all-too-possible 21st century. Most collections should have this.
Kirkus Reviews
Another fascinatingly plausible exploration of a near-future scenario (Drowning Towers, 1988), this time involving genetic manipulation to bring about enhanced intelligence. Young journalist David Chance, who had thought himself an orphan, receives a message from his real father, Arthur Hazard, urging David to join him in exploring the unpublicized and unplumbed aspects of the intelligence-enhancing project that produced Arthur and others but eventually ended in disaster. Three groups of children were created; the first (Arthur's group) became technological whizzes; the second, gifted artists; the third developed intelligence so exceptional as to be incomprehensible, even to the other two groups, and eventually killed themselves. The third group's leader, Conrad, left a mysterious "legacy" that previous investigations have failed to discover. Where, and what, might this legacy be? First, Arthur sends David to tackle Armstrong, the still powerful and dangerous politician who originated the project. Soon, government security agents take note of David's activities. The legacy, it emerges, is a technique for achieving immortality. But who could be trusted with such a secret? Realistic, disturbing, thoughtful, and provocative: Layer upon layer of revelation unpeeled with patient, limpid skill.
Genre: Science Fiction
Australian writer Turner provides a chilling tale of genetic manipulation. Raised in a state orphanage, David Chance is working as a journalist in rural Australia when experimental scientist Arthur Hazard reveals himself to be David's father and commands David to undertake a strange mission. Hazard explains that he is one of 12 people conceived without parents, the result of gene experimentation conducted by the government in an attempt to create geniuses. A success was scored with four of the so-called vitro kids, but they all committed suicide in 2023, shortly before David was born, possibly leaving a hidden legacy of knowledge. David is now enjoined to track down this legacy. He travels through the political and physical environments of Australia in 2047, looking for evidence and being either helped or hampered by people driven by secrets or expectations of their own. Turner, whose Drowning Towers won the Arthur C. Clarke Award, uses the test-tube geniuses to spotlight the deficiencies and the triumphs of being ''merely'' human. His future world is believable, the imagined scientific breakthroughs he postulates are intriguing and his characters are real enough to make us care about the issues he raises.
Library Journal
Raised in a state orphanage and trained as a journalist, David Chance settles into a comfortable niche in society until a letter from his natural father plunges him into a world of treachery and violence. As he uncovers the truth behind a generation of failed experiments in breeding genetically superior humans, Chance discovers his own carefully manipulated heritage. The Australian-born author of Drowning Towers ( LJ 9/15/88) explores the darker side of human concerns in a complexly layered sf/mystery set in an all-too-possible 21st century. Most collections should have this.
Kirkus Reviews
Another fascinatingly plausible exploration of a near-future scenario (Drowning Towers, 1988), this time involving genetic manipulation to bring about enhanced intelligence. Young journalist David Chance, who had thought himself an orphan, receives a message from his real father, Arthur Hazard, urging David to join him in exploring the unpublicized and unplumbed aspects of the intelligence-enhancing project that produced Arthur and others but eventually ended in disaster. Three groups of children were created; the first (Arthur's group) became technological whizzes; the second, gifted artists; the third developed intelligence so exceptional as to be incomprehensible, even to the other two groups, and eventually killed themselves. The third group's leader, Conrad, left a mysterious "legacy" that previous investigations have failed to discover. Where, and what, might this legacy be? First, Arthur sends David to tackle Armstrong, the still powerful and dangerous politician who originated the project. Soon, government security agents take note of David's activities. The legacy, it emerges, is a technique for achieving immortality. But who could be trusted with such a secret? Realistic, disturbing, thoughtful, and provocative: Layer upon layer of revelation unpeeled with patient, limpid skill.
Genre: Science Fiction
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