Friday, April 5, 2013

"Frameshift" by Robert J. Sawyer

I complained about this book a lot while I was reading it, but I have to admit that by the time it was over, I had enjoyed it. I complained because the scenarios were just too staged for the points the author was making, and the lead characters were just too perfect as people. Very contrived and sappy. The man had Huntington's chorea, the woman was telepathic, and an evil scientist impregnated her with a cloned Neanderthal baby. He wasn't the Nazi war criminal, though. That was the head of an evil medical insurance company that started murdering genetically flawed people to help its bottom line. The book's scientific point (I skimmed this part) was that we have timed triggers in our DNA, which will allow huge segments of the population to evolve simultaneously, e.g. for telepathy. According to the book's premise, there is a grand evolutionary scheme. Bullshit, unless we happen to be genetically engineered. Typical Robert Sawyer fare. Good ideas, but weak character development.