Gene

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Average rating4

A genre-bending tour-de-force.

Part contemporary, hard boiled detective story and part historical epic, Gene is a modern myth. A tale of two mortal enemies reincarnated multiple times over the course of 3,000 years. From New York, to Byzantium, from ancient Rome to the palace of Knossos and the Trojan War. Locked in an endless cycle of revenge for an act of war whose victims have long since turned to dust.

As ever, Pavlou takes us on a jaw-dropping journey through science and history, exploring the disturbing implications of genetic memory, and striking at the heart of what it means to be human. What influences us more - nature or nurture?

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Tegan

CW transphobia in book, use of outdated terminology to describe a transgender person
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Got through a hundred pages of encumbering descriptions (I rolled my eyes easily twice a page) before hitting my deal breaker. I can deal with flimsy plot and under developed characters - I was a third of the way through after all. The unnecessarily long descriptions stuck in my craw but I powered through and gave it a chance.

What I will not put up with is explicit transphobia. Yes, this book is from 2005 but that isn't and shouldn't be an excuse. The characters clear revulsion at having to speak to a [outdated term used by the author for a transgender person, most often used negatively] and refusing to accept their femme-aligned name as their real name was distressing to read. The transphobia lasted maybe one page and was written in a way that assumed we would understand and identify with the protag's thoughts and behaviour. Ugh.

You, Stel Pavlou, make my skin crawl.

0/5 stars and I'm glad I bought the book second hand for $1.