Product Description

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #266889 in Books
• Published on: 2000-11-15
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 320 pages

Amazon.com
Phil D'Amato, a forensic scientist working for the NYPD, is visiting an old friend in rural Pennsylvania--home of the Amish. When the friend with no known allergies drops dead of a sudden allergic reaction, D'Amato decides to investigate. He finds himself at the center of a 30,000 year-old biowar being waged with genetically engineered weapons. As he probes deeper, it becomes apparent that the Amish are not the technophobes they appear to be.

In his first novel, Levinson was not afraid to tackle big concepts. His narrative spans 1,300 years and several continents, from the Tocharians, a tribe living in Xinjiang on the Silk Road route around 750 A.D., to a New York library janitor who may or may not be entirely human. When the bodies of what look like recently dead Neanderthals start turning up in Toronto and London, the book revs into high gear. We hurtle through a dozen murders, theories for the origins of Homo sapiens and the demise of the Neanderthals; touch on aspects of the philosophy of science and the possibility that cave paintings are really prehistoric movies; and wrap up with an interesting vision of what humanity might have been--if only things had turned out differently.

Phil D'Amato made his first appearance in Analog, and fans of his forensic sleuthing will love this full-length treatment. It is biological SF of the Old School--plenty of adventure with no fancy writing and very little character development to get in the way of the plot. --Luc Duplessis

From Publishers Weekly
Combining Neanderthals and mechanical looms, cantaloupes and coded butterflies, Levinson's debut novel (he's also the current president of the Science Fiction Writers of America) offers a flurry of amazing prehistoric technologies, demonstrating that the mysteries of our past can be just as fruitful as those of our future. A series of strange deaths draws forensic detective Phil D'Amato (returning from Levinson's shorter fiction) ever deeper into an ancient and ongoing biological war. D'Amato's vacation in Lancaster, Pa., quickly gets serious when an Amish man is murdered, then D'Amato's good friend Mo turns up dead. Before he dies, Mo tells of his investigation into the local Amish, of their homes lit by specially bred fireflies and their possible control of deadly allergic reactions. The rest of the novel's first part works like an expanded short story as D'Amato gradually learns to take the Amish biotechnology seriously. But after a harrowing rescue from incendiary fireflies, the main plot pauses, and its second part jumps back to eighth-century central Asia. This self-contained story follows young Gwellyn on his search to discover the secret of the Neanderthals, who may yet be alive. Blending exotic travel through the Byzantine and Islamic empires with Gwellyn's growing realization that the Neanderthals are far stranger than humanity ever imagined, this is the novel's standout section. The book returns to the likable D'Amato for its remainder, as he pursues a bewildering array of murders, deceptions and ancient bioweaponsAall connected, somehow, in the recurrence of silk. Before its dramatic conclusion, Levinson's ambitious plot occasionally leaves his narratorAand his readerAat sea in loose ends and expository dialogue, but abundant, clever speculations, which creatively explain gaps in both ancient history and biology, compensate handsomely, providing more wonders than many a futuristic epic. (Oct.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
The sudden death of a friend from an apparent allergic reaction leads forensic detective Phil Levinson to suspect murder and exposes him to a bizarre conspiracy with its roots in the distant past and its repercussions in the modern world. Blending together a story of the violent extermination of a species of "singers" in the eighth century A.D. with a tale of 20th-century intrigue and suspense, this first novel by the current president of the Science Fiction Writers of America spins an ingenious web of genetic manipulation and anthropological evidence. A good selection for most sf collections.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Customer Reviews

Not Free SF Reader
Amish vs Neanderthals, seriously.


Levinson has taken his Mendelian Lamp Case story and expanded it into a novel. In fact, that story makes up the first part of the book.

He's maybe not a bad example of giving someone that likes mysteries etc. something more sfnal, as this is very simple and straightforward, apart from the odd bioengineered aging virus and message butterflies.

Dr Phil D'Amato, the main character, is certainly a dangerous man to know, and here, a couple of secret groups are tring to do bad things to each other, in a bit of a conspiracy theory style story.

The second part of the book has a historical interlude showing how this conflict developed.

LARGE ideas, excellent first novel
Paul Levinson mixes LARGE ideas, from Amish scientists manipulating genetics the old fashioned way, to immortality and worldwide encoded plagues and immunities. The novel focuses for the most part on Detective Phil D'Amato, who is trying to determine why seemingly healthy people, including some Neanderthal-esque folks, are keeling over to violent allergic deaths.

There is a detour that takes us back in time to Neanderthal's, the Silk Road and some further clues. This break in the narrative threw me at first, leading me to see this first part as one short story and this as a second. But the last half of the novel moves quickly and pulls all of the ideas together nicely, while leaving events open for a follow-on story (I haven't yet read the rest of Paul's books, don't spoil it for me!).

Excellent hard-core sci-fi, especially in describing the Amish scientists doing in-depth gentics without lab equipment. The lanterns are especially cool.

Skipping ahead to read Paul's "The Plot to Save Socrates", then back to the other Detective D'Amato books.

Some of the worst dialoge I've ever read
You know, I should have known when I bought the book that there is a REASON that that Goodwill had 25 copies of this book on clearance for .25 cents each. First person novels are difficult to write as it is, and Mr. Levinson proves it. I made it through 25 pages and threw the book in the trash. Truly some of the worst dialog I've ever read, not to mention just bizarre writing. Within five pages Phil's (main character) best fried (Mo) dies behind the wheel of the car with Phil in the passenger seat. Phil calmly calls for help and steers the car off the road and seems to have no emotions about the whole incident whatsoever.
Then, within 15 pages Phil is having sex with a colleague of Mo's. Phil and this lady know each other for less than 30 seconds and they are already feeding each other grapes in a provocative manner. (Helloooo? Your best friend just died in front of you? Remember?) Of course this leads to the inevitable, obligatory sex scene as well. Truly bizarre writing and thoroughly confusing.