The Barnes & Noble Review
The award-winning archaeologists Kathleen O'Neal Gear and W. Michael Gear bring their gift for research to a fascinating tale of cutting-edge science run amok, showing us the similarities and vast differences between humanity and creatures barely a breed apart. A thought-provoking blend of scientific study and contemporary suspense thrills, Dark Inheritance follows in the tradition of the authors' highly popular ten-volume historical First North Americans series, as well as their haunting Anasazi mysteries The Visitant and The Summoning God.
The giant British pharmaceuticals firm SAC, investigating new medications for HIV, gives Dr. Jim Sutton a bonobo chimpanzee named Umber, who's been treated with human antibodies. Raised from birth by Sutton and his daughter, Brett, Umber is hyperintelligent, with a near-human capacity for reason and understanding. Much more than a test subject, Umber is like a family member -- he uses computers and garners an immense vocabulary in sign language. In due time, Umber is even capable of speech with a Hawking device, which allows the ape to communicate in a mechanized voice.
Eventually, when the SAC comes under fire for its questionable testing, the Duttons and Umber are sent to an advanced scientific lab in the heart of Africa. It's there that Jim and Brett, with the help of journalist Valerie Radin, begin to piece together the mystery of Umber and her fellow SAC apes, even while learning that the possible terrors of manipulated genetics have in fact become a reality.
The authors have taken great pains to entwine the various major themes here, and they've succeeded in giving us an enticing brew of genetic riddles and spiritual dilemmas. All the story threads are equally engaging, as perceptions between accepted scientific theories begin to crumble in a wash of horror.
In a manner reminiscent of Michael Crichton's Congo, the Gears have managed to turn scientific speculation into a fast-moving plot peppered with moments of great poignancy and extreme violence. Dark Inheritance is a novel of raw power on several levels, with the right amount of scientific values, criminal mayhem, and high action tossed into the heady stew.(Tom Piccirilli)
Tom Piccirilli is the author of eight novels, including Hexes and Shards, and his Felicity Grove mystery series, consisting of The Dead Past and Sorrow's Crown. He has sold more than 100 stories to the anthologies Future Crimes, Bad News, The Conspiracy Files, and Best of the American West II. An omnibus collection of 40 stories titled Deep into That Darkness Peering is also available. Tom divides his time between New York City and Estes Park, Colorado.
The Gears tap into some of our primal fears--and today's headlines--with the story of an anthropology professor who has volunteered to raise a chimpanzee in his home. He soon suspects that the amazingly bright chimp has been genetically altered. Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.
Adult/High School-The 21st century meets H. G. Wells's The Island of Doctor Moreau and Mary Shelley's Frankenstein in this latest venture by the Gears. The length may seem daunting, but a few pages should be enough to capture the attention of most scientific-fiction lovers. Anthropologist Dr. Jim Dutton has raised a Bonobo pygmy chimpanzee for the past 12 years alongside his 13-year-old daughter, Brett, as part of a research project for pharmaceutical giant SAC (Smyth-Archer Chemists). As it turns out, Umber not only knows sign language, but she can also read, speak through a computerized voice synthesizer, and write. Even more alarmingly, she ponders God, her soul, and the consequences of actions. Dutton fudges results to SAC for fear of losing the animal to experimentation if her true abilities were known. Worried, he consults an old friend and colleague to determine why Umber seems so mysteriously human, and those inquiries bring the attention of SAC on his family and friends. In their attempt to keep Umber as part of their family, Dutton, Brett, and her estranged mother (a well-known investigative reporter) end up in Africa, battling for their survival against an insane blue-eyed ape and the greedy director willing to kill to preserve the SAC financial empire and the secrecy of the ape project. The action-packed story is fascinating, but its real value is the questions it poses, including: Does one have to be a "human" to be a "person?"-Carol DeAngelo, Kings Park Library, Burke, VA Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.
Heartfelt story about an ape raised to human intelligence. The Gears are best-known for their earlier archeological novels, usually about the First North Americans (The Visitant, 1999), though this time out they choose a subject that would appeal to the Steven Spielberg, who not only made E.T. but adapted Michael Crichton's dino novels. SAC, a British pharmaceuticals firm, searching for an HIV antivirus, has given apes human antibodies to make them good test subjects. Later developments lead to an amazing leap in intelligence, raising some test anthropoids to hominid status. Umber, a bonobo ape, is raised from birth with anthropology professor Dr. Jim Sutton's daughter Brett, a girl Umber's age. Umber speaks with a Stephen Hawking—like mechanical voice, wonders about God, etc. Then the chimp must be introduced to the wilds of Africa, where the Duttons find SAC far outstripping Umber as a test subject. Once again, first-rate storytelling from this immensely prolific team. Author tour; TV satellite tour
