INVIVO by Robert A. BrownMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
INVIVO is part science fiction, part crime fiction and part literary fiction. That mishmash is what’s responsible for the good and the not-so-good qualities of the book.
The science involved is a little farfetched, but possible given today’s molecular genetics technology. The crime involved is horrendous, so it’s far-reaching effects on the characters is eminently plausible. The human reactions that are the ramifications of the events described are also understandable, and the author does a good job of allowing us to feel the emotions of his deep and complicated characters.
However, the story has a lot of moving parts, and the way in which these parts mesh together could have been better thought out. Some things are not well explained, for instance, how one of the characters, a college student, could effortlessly travel from Scotland to Mexico. The author switches between multiple plotlines at the drop of a hat, which can be jarring and disconcerting. I found the ending trivial, almost as if the author really did not want to answer the moral question he posed. I really wish Mr. Brown had taken more time with this book to iron out these flaws. So I give INVIVO five stars for imagination and daring and three stars for plotting and execution, which averages out to four stars overall.
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