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Gene by Stel Pavlou
01/09/2005 . Source: Shaun Green 
pub: Simon and Schuster. 433 page hardback. Price: £12.99 (UK). ISBN: 0-7432-0859-5. Buy from Amazon US - Buy from Amazon UK
nb: US titles may only be available from Amazon US, and UK titles from Amazon UK. check out website: www.simonsays.co.uk
The first few chapters of this, Pavlou's second novel, are an intense experience. An unidentified man, later to be called Gene, enters the New York City Metropolitan Museum of Art and walks into a room displaying ancient Greek artefacts, including some supposedly from the Aegean battle at Troy.
At 10.23, he loses it. He begins to weep. Then he picks up an ancient bronze sword, injures several museum staff, takes a young boy hostage and asks for Detective James North by name.
These events occur at the very beginning of the novel and what follows is similarly fast-paced. The hostage situation turns bad and North is forced to pursue Gene through New York. The pursuit culminates in a back-alley brawl and ends with Gene escaping. North is left lying delirious in the alley with a syringe half-full of an unidentified substance dangling from his leg. Whatever the syringe contained it has inflicted bizarre and unpleasant nightmares and memories upon North.
This is the contemporary aspect of the novel. The other tells a story throughout time of the Greek warrior Cyclades and the Babylonian Magus Athanatos. Cyclades was felled in Troy and cursed with immortality, and Athanatos seeks to perpetuate his lifespan with dark magic. When Cyclades is re-born he automatically seeks out Athanatos, desiring his destruction for the murder of Cyclades' lover. This story is recounted in scenes set in a variety of locations throughout the past 3000 years. These are obviously well-researched and feel very authentic.
Cyclades and Athanatos have been re-born in North and Gene but neither knows which they are or who the other is. All that they know is that they are compelled to kill one another. The epic tale of Cyclades and Athanatos is dark and deep and as the struggle continues around New York it only seems that the stakes are higher and the methods crueller.
'Gene' takes mythology, science, intrigue and action and creates a compelling and intricate tale. There is a constant sense of doubt throughout as to who is Cyclades and who is Athanatos. Although it sometimes seems clear there is always doubt and often something will be discovered that throws the reader entirely off-track.
Pavlou's scriptwriting credentials are obvious from the writing style in this novel. It is fast, pacey and often spartan. At times, scientific detail and technical minutiae will be deployed, but this is written in an approachable manner. Even if you do not understand the in-depth explanations concerning human DNA structure, you can glean from them what you need to know to keep reading. However, the intertwined fates of Cyclades and Athanatos are no simple matter, and it is due to this that the story would benefit from being read slowly and absorbed carefully. Unfortunately, this is at odds with the fast-paced nature of the writing. This is my main criticism, but is only slightly distracting issue. It is still comfortingly easy to get caught up in the story.
Anyone who likes their thrillers with brains, their intrigue with action or their mythology modern would probably find 'Gene' a most rewarding experience.
Shaun Green
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