The Genome

By: Sergei Lukyanenko

Narrated by: Scott Aiello

Length: 13 hrs and 28 mins

Publisher's Summary

A science fiction thriller by the author of Night Watch, the hit novel that inspired two major motion pictures.

Five months after the horrific accident that left him near death and worried that he'd never fly again, master-pilot Alex Romanov lands a new job: captaining the sleek passenger vessel Mirror. Alex is a spesh - a human who has been genetically modified to perform particular tasks. As a captain and pilot, Alex has a genetic imperative to care for passengers and crew - no matter what the cost.

His first mission aboard Mirror is to ferry two representatives of the alien race Zzygou on a tour of human worlds. His task will not be an easy one, for aboard the craft are several speshes who have reason to hate the Others. Dark pasts, deadly secrets, and a stolen gel-crystal worth more than Alex's entire ship combine to challenge him at every turn. And as the tension escalates, it becomes apparent that greater forces are at work to bring the captain's world crashing down.

©2014 Sergei Lukyanenko (P)2015 Audible Inc.

Not as captivating as the nightwatch series

it was okay. certainly not what I was expecting. was slower than I thought it would be. I would consider another book if this were a series

Child porn? Seriously. Unacceptable.

I got this audiobook because it was recommended to me on a list I found of good sci-fi stories. I got into the second chapter, somewhat bothered by then about some odd little misogynistic phrases and by the authors focus on the young girl character’s body as an erotic object. But when a sex scene between a 30-year-old man and a 14-year-old girl got underway, I had to stop this audiobook and delete it from my library. There’s no way that’s good storytelling. No defense for it.Regardless of the subject. It’s just child porn.

Good story, poorly performed

I enjoyed this story- not as philosophical or thought provoking as the Night Watch series but certainly entertaining. Scott Aiello’s performance took away from the experience with his juvenile alien voices and inability to keep the characters matched to the correct voices. I recommend avoiding his work.

too bad

What would have made The Genome better?

Not eligible for return .. too bad

Has The Genome turned you off from other books in this genre?

Lukyanenko, having Ukrainian ancestry himself, threatens authors who support the Euromaidan that he will make every effort to prevent their books being published in Russia. He also forbade the translation of his books into Ukrainian.
He welcomed the accession of the Crimea to the Russian Federation.

What didn’t you like about Scott Aiello’s performance?

Aiello is OK

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

disappointment

Any additional comments?

No more Lukyanenko ever

Disapointed

Great start but really disappointed in the book as a whole. I love The Watch series and having read the very different premise for this book I was really looking forward to Lukyanenko bringing something new to the science fiction genre. The narration is good and I was pulled into the story from the start but was left wondering why I bothered. There's a lot of ick factors and there's no real pay off to the listener for going through them. The whole thing felt slightly heavy handed and misogynistic (which was a real surprise after the Watch had such strong female characters in it ). Great concept but the three rating is purely because the first half had so much potential. If this had been written by another writer I don't think I'd have bothered staying with it. It's always difficult to make sweeping generalizations but I really think this story will appeal most to heterosexual men, as the female and gay character/s are just stereotypical window dressing. Far too many trite concepts and cliches and without giving to much away, it fizzles out just where the characters could have become really interesting.