Book Review: The Mendelian Threshold

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

The Mendelian Threshold     Amazon US PB Amazon Canada PB
Robert Humphrey
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Science Fiction
Tattersall, Aug 2000, 261 pp.

Chronicle reporter Nick Hoskins saw Michael Smyth by chance. Nick was at the cemetery visiting the graves of his parents when he noticed the Armani clad individual. After the gentleman left, a curious Nick went over to read the gravestone of William A. Smyth. Nick thought perhaps there is a human-interest story here that will keep him temporarily away from his mainstay of political corruption (an oxymoron in the mind of the journalist). However, a check into his newspaper's obituary stated very little about the death of one of the small town's wealthiest individuals. Wondering why, Nick begins making inquiries.

As he digs deeper, Nick learns that the ultimate cloning has occurred in his backyard. The brilliant British geneticist, William Smyth, has ingeniously produced replications of himself. However, problems exist as a rival scientist sees profit by harvesting the organs of the cloned beings to sell on the market. Nick and his new associates risk all to stop the reaping of organs from the clone community.

This reviewer had no plans to read another novel about clones, but I made a commitment. I expected my fifty-page rule to bail me out, but to my delight, I spent the next couple hours reading the best book I can recall on the subject. The MENDELIAN THRESHOLD provides a thrilling close up into modern genetics, especially cloning. In his debut novel, Robert Humphrey forces readers to battle with the ethics of cloning and the potential for misuse including growing human crops for their organs. By making readers debate the topic, this is a science fiction thriller at its best even though clones of this tale will surely follow as the word spreads

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner