The Pleistocene Redemption

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Author response to Publishers Weekly: Please note that TPR is a very controversial book. It contains a spiritual message and prophesy which are not fiction but which do inflame some people who are anti-religious and socially far left of center. PW's use of the phrase "religious tract" reveals the bias. No, it's not about evolution. It's about abortion and genuine insights from God sensed over a lifetime. The "technical flaws" are intentional blunt & choppy stylistic devices which PW's expert seized upon. Readers loved the characterization! As for "things man was not meant to know:" There is no such point conveyed in TPR because the exact opposite is asserted! Scientific investigation is viewed as essential! PW and LJ are the only negative voices among 27 reviews by literary, scientific and theological professionals! The Review: Taking place over the next quarter century, this episodic SF novel seeks to combine thriller, religious tract and cloning la Jurassic Parkwith little success. Geneticist Kevin Harrigan and his friend and partner, Manfred Freund, are pulled into illegal genetic research by Ismail Mon, an Iraqi. Their initial research re-creates a good many Pleistocene animals, some benign, others (such as the ancestor of the Komodo dragon) not. The research goes on to re-create both Neanderthal and Cro-Magnon humans and to serve as a cover for lethal biological warfare intended to make Mon the ruler of the world. Gallagher's characterization is wooden, his dialogue something denser yet, his action scenes muddled by clumsy prose and technical flaws. The frequent preaching against Harrigan's "rationalism" ends up sounding like the old SF clich: "There are things man was not meant to know." Crichton, much less Conan Doyle, this isn't.

Library Journal

Author response to Library Journal: TPR contains a very controversial spiritual & social message. It inflames people who are anti-religious and socially far left of center. LJ's use of the phrase "ponderous philosophy" and "limp conclusion" reveals the bias. Just read the strong enthusiasm which others had for TPR's important moral message and powerful conclusion. LJ and PW are the only negative voices among 27 reviews by literary, scientific and theological professionals! LJ implies that TPR is a rehash of JURASSIC PARK. Despite the prehistoric (not dinosaur) animals, the technology in TPR is vastly different and is the real-life basis for genetic weapons potential! The Review: In this debut, Kevin Harrigan is a brilliant, obnoxious scientist who figures out how to splice missing sequences of DNA and re-create creatures of the Pleistocene era. Sound familiar? After Harrigan and his colleagues are caught working on illegally obtained remains of one of humankind's ancestors found frozen in the Alps, hoping to reproduce the missing link, an Iraqi officer hires them for what appears to be a scientific enterprise. The scientists learn, too late, that the Iraqis are actually pursuing a new type of biological weapon. After 300 pages of ponderous philosophy and overwrought violence, the story reaches a limp conclusion. Despite a few good action sequences, this too-familiar story is lumbering and poorly written. Not recommended.Robert C. Moore, DuPont Merck Pharmaceuticals Co. Information Svcs., N. Billerica, Mass.

Bookwatch

Gallagher goes into intense detail of every aspect of this world he has created. So much so that not only does the reader feel like a nightmare that won't stop has been recreated ... so vivid that reading becomes a scary, yet thrilling adventure in exploring our own roots ... profound ... a wonderful job of connecting philosophy and the humanities with science... surprising ... intense ... sobering ...