Sabotage in Paradise

What happens when perfection isn’t good enough? A witty question gets a witty answer in the science fiction novel Sabotage in Paradise that sets the clock ahead one thousand years. On Eidolon, a scientific paradise, geneticists have delivered everyone’s most cherished fantasies, including health, brains, longevity, and beauty, plus an everlasting carnival of lovemaking with the most desirable partners modeled on celebrities. Driven almost mad by apathy after several hundred years of living with perfection, one of the deftest saboteurs imaginable betrays the island’s worship of the double helix. This genetic genius unfolds the novel’s central and surprising premise in a gene-based confrontation spanning centuries. The story features such unusual items as the “genome iconizer” tracing future faces from the genes themselves—enhanced by beautiful as well as comic pictures in the text. Beyond the wit and fun, the tale explores the consequences of genetic determinism. The increasing legibility of the genome will inspire an all-but-irresistible homage to the double helix lurking in our future. Genes will be our Moses leading to a paradoxical Promised Land that’s more fantastic—and familiar!—than we have imagined. Sabotage in Paradise combines philosophy with a light touch and polished style. It challenges the tyranny of standards that control us in the present and may shape us in the future after further breakthroughs in genetics. It defends diversity with a crystal ball as clever as it is original. Sabotage in Paradise creates a memorable experience by emphasizing fun amid profundity.