Victor Masip’s thrilling sci-fi novel THE CODE OF LIFE centers on a scientific discovery lurking inside human DNA that could upend humanity’s understanding of itself.
The book follows the brilliant geneticist Camille Dubois as she makes a groundbreaking finding while combing through junk DNA that makes up 98% of its matter. She finds a hidden code in the genome that shows how biology contains instructions, instincts, inherited knowledge, and ancestral memory similar to how birds know what migratory paths to follow. She delves deeper into the secrets of human DNA with the backing of a tech billionaire, forced to reckon with the far-reaching implications of the discovery.
Palpable details make the prose evocative, setting the scene with details like how the chairs are wobbly outside a cafe in Paris’s Latin Quarter and what neighboring businesses it’s sandwiched between. The writing shows a flair for a memorable turn of phrase, such as “it felt like trying to map the cosmos with a pocket telescope.” It also extracts a dulcet musicality from phrases like “distant echoes of a cosmic pulse.” Although the style can be poetic, sometimes it verges on being overwritten. Characters don’t laugh; they laugh until their sides ache. Camille doesn’t just nod when her father remarks she should pursue a practical career: “She’d nodded, smiled, murmured the right assurances, but inside, she’d felt the walls closing in, suffocating her with their practicality.” She doesn’t read an email; the words burn into her, leading her to grip the desk and her pulse to thunder. Such over-the-top writing calls attention to itself, occasionally breaking the spell of the story.
The dialogue sings with clever exchanges, like a fellow scientist wondering if Camille was “just here to make the rest of us feel like intellectual peasants” or astronauts being warned the term “quarters” is being used loosely when describing their living quarters. But sometimes conversations can feel like they’re simply vehicles for exposition. A monologue at a crucial point stretches for pages with nothing but exposition, driving forward the plot in a ham-fisted way.
The science also can sound dubious at times. It’s clear some research went into it, but it sometimes smacks of pseudo-science—as when discussing DNA in broad, general terms. Driven more by plot and ideas than characterization, the book flows well while ratcheting up the tension—holding interest even as the story gets less grounded and rockets into space. Camille’s well-developed interiority helps convey the gravity and stakes.
THE CODE OF LIFE also leads to the most sweeping ending possible, but it’s not as dramatic as it should be. It’s pat, stringing together broad generalizations that dilute the impact and strike a kumbaya tone. A more evocative epilogue would have teased infinite vistas of possibility, more effectively stirring the wonder than the climax by being more terse and suggestive—rather than spelling everything out. However, THE CODE OF LIFE nevertheless delivers on the promise of its highly original conceit and leads a thought-provoking exploration of philosophical ideas.
Victor Masip’s high-minded science-fiction thriller THE CODE OF LIFE tackles big ideas about human DNA. This unique novel takes a thought-provoking look at humanity’s biological programming, exploring profound philosophical concepts through a compelling story.
~ Joseph S. Pete for IndieReader