Sena Jeter Naslund - Adam and Eve

Adam and Eve

Sena Jeter Naslund

Morrow, Sep 28 2010, $26.99

ISBN: 9780061579271

In 2017, renowned astrophysicist Thom Bergmann cannot hide his euphoria as he informs his wife Lucy that he has found extraterrestrial life. He gives her his flash drive data for safekeeping as he knows there are those who prefer to bury facts that they believe counter their religious system. Before Thom can go public, he is murdered. The Perpetuity rejects any proof that dares to oppose their fundamentalism. They destroy the evidence and assassinate the heretics. The leaders send fanatics to stalk Lucy.

While grieving her loss, Lucy is contacted by a friend of her late spouse Pierre Saad. He asks her to help him smuggle out of Egypt an ancient codex that that retells the Creation story of Adam and Eve from a perspective that would devastate the three major monotheistic religions. The Perpetual will die if necessary while trying to kill Lucy and Pierre as heretics and burn the scroll before they allow this to occur.

With multiple over the top story lines that only interact through Lucy, Adam and Eve is an odd thriller that feels like several short stories, which never quite gel into a cohesive tale. For instance, the title is based on Lucy crashing a plane in Iraq and meeting a crazed GI as they establish an Eden. Still fans who enjoy the creationist vs. evolutionist debate will appreciate this convoluted spin in which Sena Jeter Naslund makes the case that regardless of your belief, lunacy is war.

Harriet Klausner