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A review by mrninjaviking
Genesis by Bernard Beckett
3.0
This book had caught my eye at a book store a while back, but I never did get a copy. My brother-in-law David however had a copy that he was looking to trade on PaperBackSwap, so I gave him the point and took it myself.
Per usual, I turn to Amazon.Com and Publishers Weekly for a description:
This story is short. I really don't know how to truly classify whether something is a novel, though I know some of the doorstoppers published today are certainly novels, but some "stories" seem so short, yet are said to be novels. I would call this a novella or novelette, especially because of today's standards. What is funny, is that I think it's still too long.
Someone that goes by the name of P. Blackburn wrote an excellent review of the book on Amazon.Com. The title of the review is "Derivative material strongly written" which hits it on the head for me. Though the reference to "Brave New World" by Adolus Huxley is lost on me, since I have not read the book yet, he/she hits on many of the same feelings I have about this book.
I started to find it tiresome even sooner. There was a lot of philosophical discussions between Adam and Art, and though filled with some tension, it got too deep for me to enjoy. Sometimes I felt they went on far too long.
I almost felt cheated by the twist. It threw off my whole perspective of the characters, as it should, but made it felt almost worthless to read.
I couldn't put my finger on exactly how I felt about the end until I read this. It really sums it up well.
Beckett's writing is very good. His prose, his descriptions, his dialog, are all well done. He has talent. But given the nature of the story, I think it could have had more of an effect if it was shorter. Still an interesting science fiction story.
Per usual, I turn to Amazon.Com and Publishers Weekly for a description:
Anax, the dedicated student historian at the center of Beckett's brutal dystopian novel, lives far in the future—the distant past events of the 21st century are taught in classrooms. The world of that era, we learn, was ravaged by plague and decay, the legacy of the Last War. Only the island Republic, situated near the bottom of the globe, remained stable and ordered, but at the cost of personal freedom. Anax, hoping her scholarly achievements will gain her entrance to the Academy, which rules her society, has extensively studied Adam Forde, a brilliant and rebellious citizen of the Republic who fought for human dignity in the midst of a regimented, sterile society. To join the Academy's ranks, Anax undergoes a test before three examiners, and as the examination progresses, it becomes clear that her interpretations of Adam's life defy conventional thought and there may be more to Adam—and the Academy—than she had imagined.
This story is short. I really don't know how to truly classify whether something is a novel, though I know some of the doorstoppers published today are certainly novels, but some "stories" seem so short, yet are said to be novels. I would call this a novella or novelette, especially because of today's standards. What is funny, is that I think it's still too long.
Someone that goes by the name of P. Blackburn wrote an excellent review of the book on Amazon.Com. The title of the review is "Derivative material strongly written" which hits it on the head for me. Though the reference to "Brave New World" by Adolus Huxley is lost on me, since I have not read the book yet, he/she hits on many of the same feelings I have about this book.
... I found "Genesis" becoming tiresome at about two-thirds through.
I started to find it tiresome even sooner. There was a lot of philosophical discussions between Adam and Art, and though filled with some tension, it got too deep for me to enjoy. Sometimes I felt they went on far too long.
The twist at the end is meant to be surprising, but when a twist comes out of the blue with little set-up, the effect is difficult to believe and less successful.
I almost felt cheated by the twist. It threw off my whole perspective of the characters, as it should, but made it felt almost worthless to read.
The final pages reminded of a certain "Twilight Zone" episode.
I couldn't put my finger on exactly how I felt about the end until I read this. It really sums it up well.
Beckett's writing is very good. His prose, his descriptions, his dialog, are all well done. He has talent. But given the nature of the story, I think it could have had more of an effect if it was shorter. Still an interesting science fiction story.