The author sent me a copy of her novel to review:
I didn’t think anybody could make the world of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) a somewhat gripping read-through, but Polish writer Kata Mlek easily met my challenge. This is the first novel of a planned trilogy. I thought the ebb and flow of the novel was outstanding with some intervals of relative calm and then many chapters of great peril. The only salient criticism I have of the novel is that there are too many main characters for my taste. I found other minor faults in Kata’s novel, but since I haven’t read her second book in the series, The Last Man, it wouldn’t be fair to bring it up. Jeffrey M. Smith’s 2003 noteworthy expose`on GMOs, Seeds of Deception, seems to back-up the foundation of Kata’s novel. One thing for sure is that Kata Mlek is one fine storyteller. So let me tell you a little about her novel.
The novel takes place in the very near future, mainly in Poland, Hungary and Africa. Miroslav (Miran) works for TransAgra, a company that makes transgenic oats, but Miran wants to start his own GMO company that he names Genesis. He is backed financially by the heir to a Belgian mining fortune, Andreas Maes, and romantically by his best researcher, Sylvia (Satia). Miran is apparently bisexual since he has relations with both genders (Andreas and Satia). The other main player in the GMO world is VitaGen run by Elliot Goldblum. Andreas and his investors decide that Goldblum must go. They kidnap his son Zachary in exchange for his stock in VitaGen. He refuses. A box with his son’s head is mailed to him. I’m only mentioning this because VitaGen and the Goldblums are a very small and early part of the story. Obviously, Andreas' group takes over Vitagen and make Miran the president of the new company, Genesis.
Now the other player in this story is Will Smart, the CEO of EatSmart of Hungary. Since his company knew that GMO plants were mostly outlawed in Europe, he ran a series of Smart’s Organic Farms (SOFs) to compete. His company’s war against Miran’s GMO company is the focal point of the story. How was Genesis going to get their GMO plants unprohibited? What lies did EatSmart make up to enrage the public against Genesis? Smart’s farms would recruit families to live on his farms to produce “crops using natural seeds and fertilizers.” Why was Smart running his farms like a cult? Is Smart’s EatSmart company just as unprincipled and miscreant as Miran’s Genesis company? You Bet Your Bippy! And, you haven’t met the Beata and Yatsek family; the Anna and Mihal family; Emeryk Baranovski or Levi yet. The struggle for the dominance of the world’s food supply by Genesis and EatSmart goes on throughout the 247 pages of this novel. And, according to the author, into the next novel.
This novel was a surprise to me. The teasers that I read didn’t make it seem that I would like the story. I think the big reason this novel was a joy to read was because Kata Mlek left out all the technical jargon about GMOs. If I want to know the technical side of GMOs, I will grab a textbook on the subject (Haha, highly unlikely). Good job, Kata, I highly recommend your novel.
RATING: 4 out of 5 stars
Comment: If you want to see a first-rate movie about the GMO problem, watch Daryl Wein’s 2015 movie, Consumed, starring Danny Glover, Zoe Lister-Jones, and Victor Garber.
Environmental activist Erin Brockovich said about the movie, “Entertaining, relatable, suspenseful and informative, and a real eye opener to what is going on. This film has re-inspired and educated me. BRAVO!"
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