Swimming Monkeys: Genesis (Book 1 in the Swimming Monkeys Trilogy)
Adult; Mystery/Thriller; (Market)
An Impossible Promise…A Remarkable Discovery…A Decision for Mankind…
When Ryan Webster is summoned to a Miami hospice by his dying grandfather, he knows his hero’s life is about to end. A renowned zoologist and founder of the world’s most famous primate park, his grandfather tells Ryan about a remarkable species of monkey kept secret by the Webster men since their discovery in 1926, the year after the Scopes Monkey Trial. Ryan makes an impossible promise when he’s told he has a unique gift and agrees that only he can save them and decide if the world is now ready to deal with the fallout from their revelation.
As Ryan follows his grandfather’s clues to California and beyond, he’s tracked by a relentless mercenary, targeted by radical Christians and hunted by the world’s most famous atheist. Aided by his crazy Iraqi War veteran turned surfer-dude uncle and the most enchanting but deadly woman he’s ever met, Ryan discovers the monkeys can do much more than swim, and he learns their revelation will shock evolutionist, rock the foundation of the Bible and transform the life of every human being on earth.
Now, his only hope to stay alive is to save the monkeys and live up to his promise to the greatest man he ever knew—and in the process become the man he’s not ready to be.
Swimming Monkeys: Genesis is an extraordinary thriller that blends real-science and riveting fiction to examine the on-going struggle between science and religion and the fallout that could affect us all.
Quarter Finalist
Plot/Idea: 10 out of 10
Originality: 10 out of 10
Prose: 8 out of 10
Character/Execution: 8 out of 10
Overall: 9.00 out of 10
Assessment:
A highly original premise swiftly draws readers into Hadden's novel, the first in a trilogy. Seventeen-year-old Ryan Webster has been entrusted with an unusual responsibility by his beloved, dying grandfather—a renowned primatologist. Ryan learns that his great-grandfather once discovered a new species of monkey, which he chose to keep hidden from the world. Now that the monkeys’ jungle habitat is being threatened, Ryan has inherited the task of protecting them. Hadden's prose can waver between a more mature, stylistic tone and one more in-line with a title geared toward young adults; the question of intended audience may be worth exploring, especially considering the youth of the protagonist. Regardless, Hadden’s work is a thrilling adventure with substance and memorably eccentric characters that cleverly integrates conflicts between creationism and evolution.
Date Submitted: July 14, 2016
