★★★★
SYNOPSIS:
Grace's nine-year-old son, Jordan, is dying. First, the Metagenesis disease will tear his soul from his body, and then it will kill him. Desperate for a cure, Grace agrees to take part in an illegal clinical trial cloning souls. Supported by her best friend Kay, the two embark on the ultimate "Vegas Vacation" to the past in search of the right soul to clone, racing against time to save Jordan's life. But someone is trying to stop them and when they discover why Grace must make a choice: let her son die or kill her husband. If she kills her husband, she triggers widespread Metagenesis, sealing the fate of the human race with a new plague.
Humanity is counting on Grace choosing to let her son die.
(Taken from Goodreads)
OUR REVIEW:
Maria's Thoughts:
Grace is put in a peculiar maybe even dangerous situation. To save her son from certain death from metagenesis she must travel back in time to find a previous incarnation of Jordan's father, Marc. Her goal is to inject him and clone his soul which will then be given to Jordan, thus saving his life and enabling him to reincarnate. Or so Grace is led to believe.
After Grace and Marc are given the awful news that Jordan is dying and will not be able to reincarnate, Grace appeals to the eminent Dr Messie. He believes that he can save the world from metagenesis. Grace is told that her mission is only a trial, but if she is successful her act will save not only Jordan but enable Dr Messie to save mankind from the plague of metagenesis. Grace jumps at the chance of saving her only son.
Grace and an old friend, Kay are sent back 80 years to search for the one man that can make a difference.
Although Grace has a deadline, she is in contact with Marc via a pager-like device which enables her to gauge how long Jordan has left. Does she quit whilst she still has time to be with Jordan or does she continue her task and risk getting back too late to be with him on his deathbed?
An interesting Sci-Fi adventure with a many twists. Well thought out, in most parts and certainly catches the imagination. Grace's friendship with Kay threw me a bit, not sure if that was a red herring, but they worked together well and followed through in their search despite someone trying to thwart their mission.
Really enjoyed the book but disliked the author's character choice for the Dr's preincarnation.
Emma's Thoughts:
It's not often I'll start a book review with the final pages, but wow(!), this had some very clever twists at the end. I could see I only had a few pages to go and was concerned the ending would be rushed, but the author achieved it... all in one sentence! And then after all that, there was another twist in the epilogue too - very cleverly done!
I'll be honest - the title of the book put me off reading it, as I had no idea what 'Hamartia' was or how to pronounce it even (I looked it up myself when Kay shouted "Look it up!" halfway through for my 'aha moment'!). Personally, I think a different title would suit the book better. The first chapter was a little hard to get my head around, but once I pushed on and stopped reading 'metagenesis' as 'meningitis' in my head, I started getting into the futurist theme of the book. If you aren't into sci-fi, 'the future', time travel or reincarnation then this book may not be for you, but it's also about love and friendship and doing the right thing and maybe about how history repeats itself. I did enjoy the book and found myself wanting to read on after some particular chapter cliff-hanger's. Overall I thought it was very smart, well thought out and one I will definitely pass onto my 'sci-fi' mad Dad to read!
Gemma's Thoughts:
O.K so Science Fiction is not my favourite genre and I normally shy away from reading books that fall into this category. However, I was rather taken with this book which surprised me. I found the writing easy to comprehend, the concepts easy to follow and not too alien or unbelievable.
The situation that Grace finds herself in is heart wrenching and then to face a further dilemma of sacrificing one person to save another is mind blowing. Who would you save? I loved the setting of the novel and enjoyed the humorous elements that weaved alongside the story line. How the author managed to think up this complex plot is beyond me. I truly applaud Rich in delivering a coherent novel, with twist upon twist, that could capture the imagination of a Sci-Fi novice like me.
Our Scores:
Emma: 7/10
Gemma:7/10
Maria: 7/10
AUTHOR:
Raquel Rich is a full-time author and occasional blogger. She loves to travel, suntan, walk her dog, and is obsessed with all things Beauty & the Beast. She despises cold weather, balloons, and writing about herself in the third person but noticed all the real authors do that. Raquel left (ok, got let go from) a career in the travel industry and rather than looking for a real job, she wrote her first book, HAMARTIA. Born and raised in Canada to Brazilian parents, she lives in the Toronto area with her family. She’s married to the guy she’s been with since she was fifteen (her baby daddy), and her superpowers include being a mom to their two awesome grown-ass boys and one fur baby.
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