Genesis: A Novel

By Bernard Beckett

A thought-provoking tale of the future set on an isolated island fortress: “The ending is an absolute mind-blower” (Booklist).
 
Anax thinks she knows history. She has studied the stories of the distant twenty-first century very diligently. Her grueling all-day examination has just begun, and if she passes, she’ll be admitted into the Academy—the elite governing institution of her utopian society. But Anax is about to discover that for all her learning, the history she’s been taught isn’t the whole story. And the Academy isn’t what she believes it to be.
 
In this brilliant and suspenseful novel, Anax’s examination leads us into a future where we are confronted with unresolved questions about technology and humanity, artificial intelligence and the nature of consciousness.
 
“A philosophical inquiry of sorts into a favorite and time-tested conundrum: Can a machine achieve consciousness, and if so, what should its relationship with its creators be?” —The Wall Street Journal

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: May 11, 2010
• ISBN: 9780547394381

Bernard Beckett

Bernard Beckett, born in 1967, is a high school teacher based in Wellington, New Zealand, where he teaches Drama, Mathematics and English. Genesis was written while he was on a Royal Society genetics research fellowship investigating DNA mutations. Genesis won the Young Adult Fiction category of the New Zealand Post Book Awards for Children and Young Adults 2007 and the 2007 Esther Glen award.

Book preview

Copyright © 2006 by Bernard Beckett

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

First published by Longacre Press, NZ, 2006

Subsequently published by the Text Publishing Co., Australia

First published in Great Britain in 2009 by Quercus

For information about permission to reproduce selections from this book, write to Permissions, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, 215 Park Avenue South, New York, New York 10003.

www.hmhco.com

The Library of Congress has cataloged the print edition as follows:

Beckett, Bernard, date

Genesis / Bernard Beckett.

p. cm.

First published by Longacre Press, NZ, 2006—T.p. verso.

ISBN 978-0-547-22549-4

I. Title.

PR9639.4.B434G46 2009

823'.92—dc22 2008037387

eISBN 978-0-547-39438-1

v3.0218

Is the soul more than the hum of its parts?

—DOUGLAS HOFSTADTER, The Mind’s I

First Hour

ANAX MOVED DOWN THE LONG CORRIDOR. The only sound was the gentle hiss of the air filter overhead. The lights were down low, as demanded by the new regulations. She remembered brighter days, but never spoke of them. It was one of the Great Mistakes, thinking of brightness as a quality of the past.

Anax reached the end of the corridor and turned left. She checked the time. They would be watching her approach, or so it was rumored. The door slid open, quiet and smooth, like everything in The Academy zone.

Anaximander?

Anax nodded.

The panel was made up of three Examiners, just as the regulations had promised. It was a great relief. Details of the examination were kept secret, and among the candidates rumors swirled. Imagination is the bastard child of time and ignorance, her tutor Pericles liked to say, always adding not that I have anything against bastards.

Anax loved her tutor. She would not let him down. The door closed behind her.

The Examiners sat behind a high desk, the top a dark slab of polished timber.

Make yourself comfortable. The Examiner in the middle spoke. He was the largest of the three, as tall and broad as any Anax had ever seen. By comparison the other two looked old and weak, but she felt their eyes upon her, keen and sharp. Today she would assume nothing. The space before them was clear. Anax knew the interview was being recorded.

EXAMINER: Four hours have been allotted for your examination. You may seek clarification, should you have trouble understanding any of our questions, but the need to do this will be taken into consideration when the final judgment is made. Do you understand this?

ANAXIMANDER: Yes.

EXAMINER: Is there anything you would like to ask, before we begin?

ANAXIMANDER: I would like to ask you what the answers are.

EXAMINER: I’m sorry. I don’t quite understand . . .

ANAXIMANDER: I was joking.

EXAMINER: Oh. I see.

A bad idea. Not so much as a flicker of acknowledgment from any of them. Anax wondered whether she should apologize, but the gap closed quickly over.

EXAMINER: Anaximander, your time begins now. Four hours on your chosen subject. The life and times of Adam Forde, 2058-2077. Adam Forde was born seven years into the age of Plato’s Republic. Can you please explain to us the political circumstances that led to The Republic’s formation?

Was this a trick? Anax’s topic clearly stated her area of expertise covered the years of Adam’s life only. The proposal had been accepted by the committee without amendment. She knew a little of the political background of course, everybody did, but it was not her area of expertise. All she could offer was a classroom recitation, familiar to every student. This was no way to start. Should she challenge it? Were they expecting her to challenge it? She looked to their faces for clues, but they sat impassive as stone, offering her nothing.

EXAMINER: Anaximander, did you understand the question?

ANAXIMANDER: Of course I did. I’m sorry. I’m just . . . it doesn’t matter . . .

Anax tried to clear her mind of worries. Four hours. Plenty of time to show how much she knew.

ANAXIMANDER: The story begins at the end of the third decade of the new millennium. As with any age, there was no shortage of doomsayers. Early attempts at genetic engineering had frightened large sectors of the community. The international economy was still oil based, and the growing consensus was that a catastrophic shortage loomed.

What was then known as the Middle East remained a politically troubled region, and the United States—I will use the designations of the time for consistency—was seen by many to have embroiled itself in a war it could not win, with a culture it did not understand. While it promoted its interests as those of democracy, the definition was narrow and idiosyncratic, and made for a poor export.

Fundamentalism was on the rise on both sides of this divide, and the first clear incidents of Western Terrorism in Saudi Arabia in 2032 were seen by many as the spark for a fire that would never be doused. Europe was accused of having lost its moral compass and the independence riots of 2047 were seen as further evidence of secular decay. China’s rise to international prominence, and what it called active diplomacy, led many to fear that another global conflict was on the horizon. Economic expansion threatened the global environment. Biodiversity shrank at unprecedented rates, and the last opponents of the Accelerated Climate Change Model were converted to the cause by the dust storms of 2041. In short, the world faced many challenges, and by the end of the fifth decade of the current century, public discourse was dominated by a mood of threat and pessimism.

It is, of course, easy to be wise with the benefit of hindsight, but from our vantage point it is now clear that the only thing the population had to fear was fear itself. The true danger humanity faced during this period was the shrinking of its own spirit.

EXAMINER: Define spirit.

The Examiner’s voice was carefully modulated, the sort of effect that could be achieved with the cheapest of filters. Only it wasn’t technology Anax heard; it was control, pure and simple.

Every pause, every flickering of uncertainty: the Examiners observed them all. This, surely, was how they decided. Anax felt suddenly slow and unimpressive. She could still hear Pericles’ last words. They want to see how you will respond to the challenge. Don’t hesitate. Talk your way toward understanding. Trust the words. And back then it had sounded so simple. Now her face tautened and she had to think her way to the words, searching for them in the way one searches for a friend in a crowd, panic never more than a moment away.

ANAXIMANDER: By spirit I mean to say something about the prevailing mood of the time. Human spirit is the ability to face the uncertainty of the future with curiosity and optimism. It is the belief that problems can be solved, differences resolved. It is a type of confidence. And it is fragile. It can be blackened by fear, and superstition. By the year 2050, when the conflict began, the world had fallen upon fearful, superstitious times.

EXAMINER: Tell us more about these superstitions.

ANAXIMANDER: Superstition is the need to view the world in terms of simple cause and effect. As I have already said, religious fundamentalism was on the rise, but that is not the type of superstition I’m referring to. The superstition that held sway at the time was a belief in simple causes.

Even the plainest of events is tied down by a thick tangle of permutation and possibility, but the human mind struggles with such complexity. In times of trouble, when the belief in simple gods breaks down, a cult of conspiracy arises. So it was back then. Unable to attribute misfortune to chance, unable to accept their ultimate insignificance within the greater scheme, the people looked for monsters in their midst.

The more the media peddled fear, the more the people lost the ability to believe in one another. For every new ill that befell them, the media created an explanation, and the explanation always had a face and a name. The people came to fear even their closest neighbors. At the level of the individual, the community, and the nation, people sought signs of others’ ill intentions; and everywhere they looked, they found them, for this is what looking does.

This was the true challenge the people of this time faced. The challenge of trusting one another. And they fell short of this challenge. This is what I mean, when I say they faced a shrinking of the spirit.

EXAMINER: Thank you for your clarification. Now please return to your story of the times. How did The Republic come to be established?

Just as Pericles had predicted, Anax was buoyed by the sound of her own voice. This is what made her such a good candidate. Her thoughts followed her words, or so he explained it. Everybody is different, and this is your skill. So although the story she was telling was a stale one, left too long, examined too often, Anax found herself wrapping it in new words, growing in confidence with every layer.

ANAXIMANDER: The first shot of the Last War was fired in misunderstanding. It happened on August 7, 2050. The Japanese-Chinese alliance had spent eighteen months trying to piece together a coalition to oversee the sulfur-seeding project, in the hope that the heat-trapping effects of atmospheric carbon could be countered. That the coalition was unable to advance was due largely to the distrust I have mentioned. The U.S. blocked the initiative, believing it was part of a greater plan to establish a new international order, and China in turn believed the U.S. was deliberately accelerating climate change in order to crush the Chinese economy. In the predictable way these things unfold, China set about a plan for a secret unilateral action.

The plane shot down over U.S. air space in the Pacific was engaged in the first of the seeding trials, although as we all know, the U.S. never wavered from its official line that it was a military plane engaged in hostile actions.

EXAMINER: It is better you assume we know nothing.

Anax bowed her head in apology, feeling her cheeks glow with shame. She waited for a signal to continue but none came. In any other circumstance

Reviews for Genesis

[devilwrites · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The premise: Anaximander has spent the last four years of her life preparing for the grueling entrance exam to the Academy, the governing body of her land. She's chosen as her focus the life of Adam Forde, her long-dead hero; Adam was the driving force that broke down the standards of the Republic by simply saving the life of a young girl, and his actions inspired a nation. During Anax's exam, she realizes there's more to Adam's story than she ever knew, and learning these secrets inspires her to question who and what she is, and whether or not she truly wants to be a part of the Academy.My RatingBuy the Paperback: or find the hardcover really cheap, cause it's not worth the $20.00 price tag. However, this is a rare book that makes you think, and while other reviews have stated that there's nothing original about the ideas or world-building presented in this novel, I'd argue that's not the point. The point is the ultimate message and the journey that you as a reader has to take to get there. It's an intelligent book, and whether or not the final message leaves you with a sick feeling in your stomach like it did mine, I think the journey is worth it. Hell, I had to read it twice to really absorb what was going on. The premise might sound a little boring, and the structure of an oral exam reeks of telling over showing, but the author shows a little creativity in how knowledge is revealed within the story, and again, the book's going to make you think, even if you get angry that you're having to think it through so much. I don't recommend speed-reading this one, and if you're familiar with philosophy, you may have fun with this, even if you find the debates a little familiar and boring. In truth, it's not a boring book: it's a smooth read that has you constantly wondering what's going on, because nothing is as simple as it appears. I will say I'm not sure, despite the fact it was written for children/YA, that I'd recommend this book to that age group (which might explain why, in the US, it's marketed in the adult SF/F section) simply because the final message is disturbing and not one that I'd want my own child coming away with. But that's me.Review style: reverting back to my stream-of-conscious style, because sorting this book out in my head pretty much requires it. THERE ARE MASSIVE SPOILERS. If you don't want to be spoiled, then there's no need to click for the full review below.However, if you want the full review, you're more than welcome to it. As always, comments and discussion are most welcome, and I'm really looking for readers who are familiar with this text.REVIEW: Bernard Beckett's GENESISHappy Reading!

[jonfaith · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Jokes have always fascinated me, the origins of such especially. My delivery of such has been fine, but i enjoy the embroidery most all, the dusting of detail that deepens both the poetry and the joke's release. Mr. Beckett had a sound premise: a manifesto exhibited in the form of a dialogue with futuristic trappings about a utopian/dystopian outcome and the role of artifical intelligence to either facilitate or condemn. Fine, I accept that - as apremise. The arc unfolds with a Rod Serling twist and I was rather pissed, just like when I viewed Source Code.

[stbalbach_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Genesis is New Zealand author Bernard Beckett's breakout novel and probably the biggest novel out of New Zealand at the moment. Originally published in his country of origin in 2006 - where it went on to win a number of awards - in 2008 Genesis made New Zealand publishing history when it was offered the largest advance ever put forward for a young adult novel. The novel was released in the UK as two separate editions: adult and young adult, and went into bidding wars in over 20 other countries, including the US. One of the blurbs says it is destined to be "a modern classic."It's very short, readable in 3 hours or so, but it is philosophically and symbolically dense that rewards reflection and slowing down. Although set in a post-apocalyptic world with science fiction trappings (ie. a giant metal "sea fence" around an island), it really is a novel about philosophically age old questions and ideas. It's been compared to Philip K. Dick with its emphasis on asking what it means to be human; the nature of consciousness and artificial intelligence; the nature of a soul and what makes humans unique. At its core it is an essentially humanistic story, relevant to the here and now, as the best fiction is.If one is reading for the plot and wondering what happens, it will not disappoint, it "gripped me like a vice" said Jonathan Stroud, but the novel brings up a whole host of questions and ideas that are really at the core of the book. This is a thinking persons story. Is it a classic? I don't think so, at least not on the level of 1984 or Brave New World, but it is very good international fiction from New Zealand, a good story, and thought provoking ideas about man and machine.

[librarybrandy · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Anax is standing before a panel of examiners, the three people who will decide her fate: will she be admitted to the Academy? Is her knowledge and understanding of her topic--Adam Forde, the historical figure whose actions may have changed the course of their utopian Republic--enough to prove herself worthy?

That's pretty much the whole story: the reader (or in my case, listener) gets the history of this culture as Anax understands it, without a lot of time spent on explaining the current culture. It's an interesting approach in its own right; the reader doesn't learn much about the society as it currently stands until the very end, when the truth about Adam's final decisions is revealed, along with what that means for Anax.

It's not the most engrossing plot, bogged down as it is in discussions of philosophy and ethics as they relate to the explosion of technology and AI. (This isn't set all that far off--2075, in a world both post-apocalyptic and plague-ridden.) There were elements of the ending I liked and elements that didn't quite fit, but overall this tied together very well. I enjoyed it but didn't love it, though I can think of a few people who would absolutely go bonkers for this academic utopian novel.

[phredfrancis · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is a rather cerebral bit of sci-fi. It's a dystopian futuristic tale with a few surprises, including the form of the book itself. If you're looking for something action-packed, then you can look elsewhere. The novel is structured around a student's presentation and defense of her project while being considered for admission to a prestigious and mysterious Academy.

It helps immensely if you enjoy Socratic philosophical discussions on the nature of the mind, the individual, and what makes one human. It's not as dry as it might sound. The arguments are easily followed and serve a dramatic plot, but argument and the notions that are presented are at the heart of the story.

As I read, I did find myself at times wishing that I could enter the story more fully, because the form definitely keeps one at a distance. But if the author had allowed the central arguments to recede behind action and description, the story would not work as it does, and the ideas would not linger as they do. In the end, this is really a story about ideas, both beneficial and dangerous.

[kenazari_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Amaaaaaaazing book. Thrilling and unexpected.

[karin7-11 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

While I argued with half the book, this is a very well crafted book that is well worth reading. It's written much like a Socratic dialogue, and is a literary, philosophical book that can be read even by people who normally avoid scfi. A good part of the book deals with what is consciousness. The characters are well done and the book not long. It was released as adult fiction in the US, but as Y/A in NZ.

[cheryl_in_cc_nv · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Ok I'm impressed. Short. Like a magazine story from the 50s, or a Twilight Zone episode, but, of course, richer. The Examination is all. The only 'plot' is in the very last bit. Try to forget everything you've heard about this when you get around to sitting down to read it. And read it closely, carefully. Especially recommended to YA and NA.

[tigerbuns · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Good, smart book for younger readers (and older readers, too) that manages to be a gripping read and a thought exercise at the same time. There are lots of nudges to explore ideas and possibilities, and the book touches on many different fields of the humanities like philosophy (and subsequently ethics), sociology, anthropology; also questions of state and goverment forms, chemistry, evolution - really, there is a lot of food for thought in here. And even though this may seem like that's too many ideas for this small volume, it's not, since the book introduces all of this without being too didactic about it or even requiring prior knowledge (kudos, really, this is quite perfect for YA literature - thoughtful, respectful and intelligent enough for smart kids who are already familiar with the subjects in here, but not requiring a certain level of education).

The core questions of consciousness/AI/being human have been posed before in films, books, and manga, but I appreciated that the author goes that extra step and actually works through possible answers and offers some detailed arguments for both sides and the possible entanglement and overlapping of those arguments, which I found quite interesting. Yup, liked the book. Recommended. *nods*

[gayla.bassham · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Really stunning. First, it made for a gripping read despite the fact that the whole thing is structured as (essentially) a conversation with a dissertation committee. Secondly, the ending twist was well-done and (to me, at least) truly surprising. Highly recommended.

[elizajane_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Reason for Reading: I love dystopian literature and will read pretty much anything I can get my hands on as long as it sounds interesting to me.The year is 2075, an island society lives behind a Great Sea Fence and is modeled after Plato's Republic. The society is Utopian to all those within, but watching over society very carefully is The Academy where the Original Sin has been concealed very carefully from this Brave New World.Written in a unique format, we meet Anaximander as she begins her four hour oral exam to gain entry as an historian at The Academy. The book's chapters are divided into the four separate hours of Q & A followed by a stretch of break time between each where Anax is left to her thoughts. Anax's project is based on Adam Forde a great cultural hero who died before the Great War. Through her telling of his story and the questions asked of her we learn the history of this world: the global disasters, the Last War, the seclusion of The Republic behind the Great Sea Fence, the plague that destroyed much of mankind and The Republic's response to killing any who sought asylum with them, and finally, the beginning of the Great War which tore down the old Republic and established the New Platonic Republic. We are mostly exposed to Adam and his world, along with an Artificial Intelligence (AI) device that has been left with Adam after he ends up in jail, as all true great people's hero's eventually do. It is through Adam's and Art's relationship and lack of such that we really get to know this man and his society and eventually back to Anax's. The surprise reveal at the ending was a shock to me but now that I've thought about it I should have seen it coming, but I didn't. The book is unusual. It wasn't a page-turner for me and took longer for me to read 185 pages than it should have. But it was interesting and never did I consider putting the book away, or *not* continuing on with it. The story lingers with me. The ending is certainly what makes the book worth the read and leaves one to ponder on many levels. Readable.

[timjones_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This philosophical YA science fiction novel by a New Zealand author has some interesting ideas and a killer conclusion, but I found the framing story irritating. I'm sure it would have appealed a lot to the teenage me, though.

[eclecticdodo · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Post apocalypse book with an interesting structure. Anax is taking an exam to enter the academy that leads her society. Her chosen subject is the man who kickstarted the revolution leading to life as she knows it. I very much enjoyed this book and the ending is excellent, totally unexpected so I won't spoil it.

[reginar_447079 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Dystopia is the new cool kid on the block of young adult genre literature. Readers of this genre are familiar with the storylines and themes: teenagers struggling to survive in a scary society that sets kids against each other for entertainment; a creepy society sets kids against each other in order to determine the characters' roles and jobs in the world; the collapse of society by disease, zombies, or natural disaster and the survival during the anarchy of the collapsed society. Genesis is not that, but in a way all of those. It is a short book, only 150 pages. The story unfolds in a very unusual format. It is told through an interview of a young student who is attempting to prove herself to the society's upper crust Academy in a sort of dissertation or thesis defense. The society described and the world lived in is not our society or our world. History is the topic of the student's "interview" and through her exploration of the topic to the examiners, the reader learns about the world and the society in Genesis. We hear of the society's history, focusing on the life of one key man "Adam". His story, because it is being told by the main character, Anax, the reader "hears" Adam's story almost as we would hear a story sitting around a camp fire. The interview set-up is a difficult manner in which to deliver a fully fleshed out history. In a way it is a huge info-dump, but unlike many information dumps the telling of the history of this world is not at all painful, it is intriguing. Mr. Beckett delivers the story of "Adam", so well that I typically forget that I was not reading about Adam from his point of view. Fans of dystopian and post-apocalyptic genre, will not be disappointed with Genesis. It has everything we love - disease, war, starvation, authoritarian governments, resistance, and a hint of passion. But, even this is not what the story is really about. Though the examination of the breakdown of a world is not what the book is about, the telling of it is done better than most dystopias. I would love to dive back into this world and read more about its evolution. So what is the story really about? The author examines what is artificial intelligence; what makes a human being human? How do humans learn? How do we progress? What is thought? If you want to ignore the philosophical nature of the book and just read about the collapse of the world, then no worries you can do that with this book because the story is so darned fantastic. But if you want to think about these topics in a very light and out of the box way - well you can do that too. Here are some little tidbits of interesting thoughts from this book, none contain spoilers. "They had embraced change uncritically, forgetting the most fundamental law of science, that change means decay.""History has shown us the futility of the conspiracy theory. Complexity gives rise to error, and in error we grow our prejudice.""For a society to function successfully perhaps there needs to be a level of empathy that cannot be corrupted.""It is in conflict that our values are exposed.""The very fear of dying ... breathes life into me."If you have read any other reviews for this book then you probably know there is a huge WHAT THE HECK ending???!!!!! Let it happen. Let the ending surprise you. Do not get spoiled by synopses of this book. Let the author tell you his story. Every step of the way it is fascinating and a great ride.

[roguelibrarian · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Plot: Anax is a bright young history student who wants to be admitted to the prestigious Academy that guides her society. In order to succeed, she must pass a grueling 5 hour oral exam to test her knowledge of her chosen subject, the controversial and charismatic Adam Forde. Through her words we learn about the relationship between Adam and the android art and how it changed the world forever.This is a short novel, I read it in one sitting, but a very thought provoking one. It reminds me of novels such as Brave New World and 1984. The frame used to tell the story is very effective and leads to some truly shocking revelations whereas the story of Adam and Art makes you think long and hard about your ideas of consciousness, history, ethics and the state.

[callmecayce · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A very strange novel, but very good -- if extremely sad at the end. I suggest reading it without knowing anything about it -- because it'll blow your mind.

[squishy133 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

‘Genesis’ was a very short novel, though this says nothing about its depth and the amount of thinking it will leave you to do. It is an incredibly layered novel, with many different aspects to think about. The strangest part, for me, was that I was rather bored throughout reading it, but came to a far better understanding and appreciation of ‘Genesis’ a few hours after I had finished reading it.The story is an unusual one, set in a post-apocalyptic future. The world has recovered from some sort of mass warfare, economic and social collapse and straight out confusion. From what I gathered, a third world war had basically broken out, decimating Earth’s population. A virus was also introduced, which played a major part in the downfall of the world as we know it. Those who were left began their own colony of sorts, where they rejected refugees out of fear that the virus would return. People were sorted into class systems according to their intelligence and physical form at birth. Adam Forde, a main focus of the novel, is born into the highest class, but after several attempts at rebellion he is demoted to watching for refugees that he is instructed to gun down. Adam, however, saves a young girl that he sees. This results in him being put in a facility as a companion to the secret artificial intelligence program that had created Art, a robot.The story is told from the perspective of Anaximander, or Anax. She is in an exam to enter the famous Academy, with her topic being the life of Adam Forde.The writing style is interesting, with the story being conveyed in the form of questions from the examiners, and answers from Anax. This format, however, I found to be quite dry and emotionless. It was all straight facts from practically the first page, and for me, it was information overload. Info-dump isn’t good at the best of times, and I admit, I was tired when I started this, but it was all too much to take in. There was facts about the world flying left right and center and there was just too much at one time to retain. The format was a new and interesting way of presenting the novel, but in the situation where a lot of information needs to be conveyed (especially in a novel as short as this) I felt that it didn’t work all that well.Anax might have been an interesting character, though I feel that we really didn’t get to know much about her. Again, this comes back to the style of the novel, which made my relationship with Anax impersonal. We didn’t get enough internal monologue, and so there just wasn’t enough of Anax’s feelings and opinions being conveyed. Sure, we got what she told the examiners, but that really wasn’t enough.Adam, however, was another story. From the reports of him conveyed by Anax, I felt we got to know Adam quite well. He was a likeable character, with real feelings and the sort of rebellious hero personality that you expect from post-apocalyptic novels.Art was also an interesting and creative character. His design was innovative and intriguing, and his conviction was admirable. I did, however, have mixed feelings about Art. I’m not sure whether I like him or I don’t!The plot of the novel was complicated, and although the language wasn’t hard for me, I found the book a little confusing. This probably stemmed from all the philosophical ‘humanity’ talk that came about from Adam and Art’s conversations. This got pretty deep, and required a lot of thought. At the time, I found these conversations pretty dull, and put the book down several times. After finishing, however, I couldn’t get the novel out of my head and just kept thinking about them. There was something about the ‘humanity/conscience’ debate that just pulled me in, long after I had put Genesis down.I’m not sure where the Adam, Eve and Genesis references really fit into the book, however.The twist and ending of the novel came as a surprise for me, though I was quite confused towards the end and had to read things several times – and I’m still a little lost! At one stage, during the real climax of the novel, I think I was (and you should be shocked) almost about to cry…and then it was gone. Seriously, the moment it hit an emotional moment, it went straight back to being flat. I was a little annoyed at that – OK, maybe I was just tired and emotional, but the moment was just gone in a flash. Bummer.Still, the ending was pretty confusing.Genesis puts forward a lot of ethical dilemmas, which are relevant even now. When I read it, I found the novel dragging and it had a bit of info-dump at times, but it’s after I finished the novel that it really hit home for me. It’s a heavy book, in the way that it leaves you thinking about it, but light in that it’s pretty short.I’d recommend it to anyone looking for something short, but questioning, and anyone interested in post-apocalyptic YA literature. While the character and the plot are a little dry, the novel will leave you thinking long after you’re done.

[catalogthis · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

A good idea, lazily executed.

[lhtouchton · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Fascinating, thrilling, intense, thought-provoking book. Deep questions of what it means to be conscious, to be human. I'll need to read it another time or two (or three) to absorb it. Powerfully shocking ending - wow.

[whitebalcony · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Bloody brilliant!! Don't read any reviews. Just read the book.

[chrystal_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Wow. The oral examinantion with small breaks and holograms to break up the four one hour sections made this book with intense ideas a quick read. I wish I could have read it in one sitting, it would have been even more powerful. At no point did I even thin Anaximander was not a human girl, and the realization leaves you asking so many questions... I will be thinking about this book for a long time and will read it again in the future.

[theepicrat · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I am finding it a little hard to summarize Genesis without totally spoiling everything - or making it completely complicated and boring. I don't know what I had been expected, but the story that I got was beyond intriguing and different from the usual YA or science fiction book. I did not prepare myself for an intellectual discussion on man vs robots, conscious vs artificial thought, or a twisted ending that completely caught me off-guard.I'll describe Genesis like a slow roast - a little dry on the outside, but full of savory food for thought on the inside. Anax's examination served as a medium to delivering the story of Adam Forde and his role in the development of artificial intelligence. I wish there had been more focus on Anax's character, that we got to know her a little bit better beyond her academic ambitions.Other than that, this was truly an unexpected treat from fluffy romances and reading slumps. A short but excellent science fiction read! If you liked Ishmael by Daniel Quinn, then you will most likely enjoy Genesis.

[cmcvittie_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

As a fan of the genre, I stuck with this story until the end. It raises some interesting questions about human choices in the face of isolation from plague, generosity of spirit, educational excellence and the merits of human experience versus machine design, but in the end, the characters never really developed for me. Perhaps that was by author design, but it made it difficult to care in the end, which has a surprising twist. This is a relatively easy read for grades 8-10, although there are better examples in the genre that would possible interest them more.

[irisheyz77 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Genesis by Bernard Beckett is one of those books in which is best to know nothing about it before starting to read it. So for that reason I have not include a synopsis here on my blog. As Genesis is a short book, weighing in at only 160 pages, its hard to say too much about it without giving anything away. Its also a book in which I've only heard rave things said about it so I was eager to read it. However, the high price tag (retails at $20, ebook at $14) made me pause at actually buying it. Thankfully my local library had a copy so I was able to borrow it.Initially I found this book hard to get into and so it took me longer to finish than it probably should have. I also found the story to be a bit predictable. I didn't find much fresh or new about it compared to books that have a similar storyline. There were some thought provoking aspects of it but overall they didn't really win me over to the story as a whole. I liked it, but I didn't love it nor do I think this is one that I would recommend to any dystopian lovers out there. Mainly because as I said above, there isn't anything fresh to this story. The world building was a bit underdeveloped as to where the inhabitants of this island were now. But the history of the world was pretty fleshed out and I did enjoy learning about that. In some ways I think that this story might have done better if it had more pages with which to tell it in. What about you? Have you read Genesis? What did you think about it? Let me know in the comments below.As originally posted on my blog Ticket to Anywhere

[galleysmith · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

It’s extremely difficult to review this book without giving away the most surprising elements of the story. But as a lover of dystopian settings I’ll say that this one was pretty awesome. It’s one hundred percent worth your time to read.It’s a pretty short story that is quickly read. Having said that, however quick a reader can get through is of no real consequence though as it is as profound and thought-provoking a book as many of the classics. I’m going to get a bit cliche here and say that when all is said and done Genesis is the very definition of a page-turner.Beckett paints the picture of a stunning locale — futuristic in tone but simplistic in reality. Moreover, he generates innovative and enthralling characters in Anax, Adam and Art. Each obviously has their own individual characteristics but are all also bound together by their love of thought. Their story, told primarily in flashbacks, is a stunning portrait of how one event can be the catalyst to shaping an individual’s opinions on humanity, religion and government.Subtle hints throughout the story foreshadow the end (which I will not spoil here) but, surprisingly, did not give it all away. It wasn’t until I went back and re-read certain points that I noticed small references, a word here and there, that reinforced the ultimate resolution to the story. Beckett was quite masterful in that way.In case you didn’t already get the idea, I absolutely recommend that anyone read this book. Even if you aren’t a sci-fi fan (it’s really not overwhelming in the fantasy elements) I believe you’ll find it enjoyable.

[bookwormygirl · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Anaximander, with the help of a tutor, has been studying in order to take the four-hour exam she must pass in order to become a member of The Academy. This book is mostly a transcript to her oral exam before a three judge panel.I found Mr. Beckett's writing style unique as the whole story is told mostly through Anax's interview with The Academy elders and through several flashbacks. Through this interview we learn what has become of the world after wars and a deadly plague have ravaged the planet and its inhabitants. Behind the great sea fence, the people who reside on her island keep it safe by shooting any vessel that comes within sight. We also get a lot of detail on how their precious island came to be, the forefathers who had the knowledge to create their walled-in sanctuary, a man named Adam and how history was changed when a young woman named Eve washed ashore.As you read Anax's story you quickly become immersed in the history of this post-apocalyptic world and you become just as intrigued by Adam and his interactions with a robot named Art. But Anax slowly begins to suspect that the history she knows so much of might not be as correct as she once thought... making you, as the reader, wonder if the truth will set her free.I have become quite the fan of dystopian / post-apocalyptic novels recently. And,this is, by far, one of the best I've read. Although it's really a short read (only 208 pages), it is packed full of philosophical ideas - from living in the ideal society to what it is to be human. I was pretty awed that this would be considered YA fiction - since it is so philosophical, but do not let that stop you from reading it. This can definitely be a cross-over into adult fiction. Oh, and have I mentioned that surprise ending that I was caught totally unaware by and left with a big "O" on my mouth. Love when that happens! This one will definitely appeal to science fiction and philosophy lovers.

[allthesedarnbooks · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was a short, interesting little book. Set in a not-so-distant dystopian future, the novel centers around Anaximander, a young student, who is being questioned by the members of the Academy, in order to gain a place among their ranks. It is through this interview that we learn the history of the society Anax lives in. I don't want to give too much away, but it's all about the nature of humanity and freedom, with a great twist at the end. I'm not sure about the style of the book, it almost reads like a play, with pages of dialogue, and I'm not sure it wouldn't have worked better that way. Still recommended, especially for fans of dystopian literature, or people who are interested in artificial intelligence. Three and a half stars.

[tiamatq_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was an intriguing book, and another one that I think fits into sci-fi for those who don't normally read sci-fi. It's also got a generous dollop of philosophy, which I think almost all great sci-fi has, and is about the only way I want to read anything that has to do with philosophy.Genesis is the story of Anaximander's entrace exam for The Academy. It is a four-hour exam in which she with be questioned by three examiners on the subject of her choice. Anax's speciality is a man called Adam Forde, who we know is connected with the creation of Anax's society, but other than that, we learn about him and this new society as the Anax answers questions. We also discover what came of our current world, how The Republic was created, and how Adam challenged society and changed it. Of course, things are not what they seem and Anax has a tenuous connection to Adam of which she is not aware. The idea of humanity, of thoughts, ideas, and feelings, are called into question throughout the test, and the reader is often exposed to layers of story all at once, from Adam's perspective to Anax's interactions with the examiners to her private thoughts and fears.I spent the majority of the story wondering what the swerve would be, and enjoyed it when it was revealed. Even flipping back through the book, there are wonderful clues and hints at how the exam and Adam's story will end. However, I think this story ends up being more about the philosophy than about science fiction. Anax's story's ending is good but felt just a bit predictable. Adam's story felt like the strong point of the book, and I think the connection, particularly between Anax and Adam could've used some more development, since the reveal comes so quickly.Overall, an interesting book that creates interesting discussion points and would make for a few good reads. It's a fast-paced story and a compelling story-telling technique.

[j3745 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Compelling. Thought provoking.

[abigail0ann · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

This sounded like an interesting book when I picked it up from the library (a story about what it means to be human). It started off well, having been written in a very interesting style. However, the story twist came very quickly and so near the end that I hadn't even taken it in before the book ended. In brief, an OK plot but could have done with more decriptions and fleshing out to make it a good book.