Your Subtitle text
G.E.N.I. - Lillian Skamsar
G.E.N.I. – Genetically Enhanced Natural Intelligence
Lillian Skamsar
ISBN: 9781606931073
Eloquent Books
Reviewed By Josee Morgan
Official Apex Reviews Rating:
Powerful, shadowy forces behind the scenes are always involved in covert activities of which you haven’t the slightest idea…
In the case of the Unites States government, such activities centered on the efforts of the armed forces in the 1960’s and 70’s to create the perfect human soldier. How did they plan to do so? By splicing human genes with the best available genes from different species across the planet – even going so far as to combine the genes of both humans and animals. Despite their best efforts, government researchers failed to develop any of the resulting embryos – save two…
Michael and Zainal Emassi are both born on January 6, 1979, the only successful results of the government’s controversial experiment. Of the two, Zainal proves to be the superior mental and physical specimen, so much so that an elite, top secret para-military unit, the Dragons, is created just for him. Rounded out with top human soldiers from the SEALs, Rangers, and Deltas, the Dragons have one mission only: to wage tactical warfare against dangerous terrorist cells around the world.
Their efforts always prove exceptional, and they never fail – until one fateful day when Zainal and the rest of the Dragon crew are ambushed on a hostage recovery excursion in Norway. The unit is caught completely off guard, and Zainal is ultimately captured by the terrorist cell responsible for the surprise attack. Beaten mercilessly to within an inch of his life, Zainal manages to survive the ordeal and is eventually recovered by American forces, who seek to restore him back to health.
It quickly becomes apparent to the powers that be, though, that the Dragons’ ambush is hardly the result of random luck, and they soon launch an intense investigation to discover the responsible party/parties who engineered the set-up – the last thing they expect to learn, though, is that someone within their own ranks may ultimately be pulling the deceptive strings…
G.E.N.I. is an action-packed, all-engrossing literary thrill ride. With it, Lillian Skamsar follows faithfully in the footsteps of James Patterson and Robert Ludlum before her with her innate ability to keep the reader turning page after page in breathless anticipation. Her attention to detail is relentless, and her masterful storytelling is both compelling and probing, making for a highly entertaining – and ultimately rewarding – read.
Combining taut suspense, thick intrigue, and ever-unfolding drama, G.E.N.I. is a superbly crafted, welcome addition to the world of political mystery thrillers. Highly recommended.
Official Apex Reviews Interview: Lillian Skamsar (G.E.N.I.)
Apex Reviews: Lillian, thanks for joining us for this interview. We're looking forward to learning more about your book.
What inspired you to craft this action-packed, highly entertaining story?
Lillian Skamsar: Well, I've always had stories going on. My imagination is pretty graphic, so it's been like a movie playing in my head. During my last maternity leave, my imagination really sparked, and this story evolved. Starting work again, I shared my thoughts with some friends, particularly my colleague, Marius Kvam (who also drew the great cover for my book.) The story was developing more and more details, and I had to start writing some of it down; otherwise, I'd probably just forget most of it. I gave a few pages to Marius to read, since we'd been talking about the story. His wife, Leah Mae DuBois, came across the pages and wanted to read more. So, I continued to write things down and ended up with a lot of pages - well, a manuscript, more like it. Having put all this time and effort into writing it down, I figured I had nothing to loose in trying to get it published. So, I guess this happened because I didn't want to forget the story.
AR: Your descriptions of the super soldiers, their exploits, and the American government's various military operations are quite detailed. Did you perform much research prior to penning the tale?
LS: I've always had an interest in things not usually associated with a girl’s interests. I've always been interested in the military. I served my one-year mandatory military service in the Royal Norwegian Air Force loading weapons on F-16s. Jets have always been an interest of mine, and my favourite is the A-10 Warthog...I am impressed at what special soldiers and units are trained to do and what they are capable of. I had some knowledge prior to writing, but most of my research was done during the writing. I've been subscribing to National Geographic for the last 11 years, and I used several articles from there as information. Also, I've become an habitual Wikipedia user...
AR: Is there a particular reason that the 1960's & 70's serve as the timeframe for the government's covert experiment?
LS: Setting the timeframe, I didn't want my hero to be too old or too young. And, historically, both in fiction and probably real life, a lot of black research projects were going on at that time. I also wanted the G.E.N.I. project to have been going on for some time before they succeeded.
AR: Out of all the genetically engineered soldiers that the government tried to create, only two embryos ultimately survived and developed. Precisely how many other embryos did they attempt to engender?
LS: I haven't really thought about a specific count, but I figure they would have used a lot of time to figure out how to combine the different genes successfully before they tried to develop the embryos. Then, they would have failed a lot before they somehow, by sheer luck probably, succeeded.
AR: What specific animals served as Michael and Zainal's "fathers"?
LS: Hehe...wouldn't you like to know...? I can reveal his feline inheritance: he has genes from a black jaguar, strength, teeth, and partially his eyes. They're cat-like, but not quite the same as the jaguar. Zane's pupils contract to a vertical slit, while the jaguar's is round. Other than that, I couldn't say; not all the G.E.N.I. files were made public...
AR: Was it difficult for you to preserve the suspense of the story while allowing the tale to unfold?
LS: Eeeh…it wasn't something I consciously thought about; it all sort of just happened this way. There was only one place where I really had to do something. I was developing a lot of characters, and they were getting hard to keep track of. I think I created, at least I hope I did, a surprise no one saw coming.
AR: Our reviewer drew comparisons between your writing style and that of James Patterson & Robert Ludlum (congratulations!). Who have been some of your chief writing influences?
LS: I am truly honored, thank you! I have to admit, my knees turned wobbly when I read the review; it was beyond any of my expectations. Robert Ludlum has always been one of my favourite authors, along with Tom Clancy, Chris Ryan, W.E.B. Griffin, Dan Brown, and many more. Obviously, Anne McCaffrey's Freedom series inspired me a lot.
AR: What are your future writing plans?
LS: I've started on a sequel to the book, so far just jotting things down. But, 7 notebooks so far tells me there might be a story there, too. The general outline is playing in my head; hopefully, I'll manage to get it all down on paper.
AR: Will you be making any appearances anytime soon - either in person or online - where our readers can come out and support you? If so, where?
LS: As of today, I have nothing scheduled. I'm working on some book signings in Norway, as this is where I live.
AR: How can our readers learn more about you and your writing efforts?
LS: I'm working on a homepage and a blog that, hopefully, I'll have time to finish soon.
AR: Also, please share your contact information, just in case they'd like to reach you directly.
LS: You can reach me via email at lillianskamsar@hotmail.com or my press manager, Ellen Green, at PressManager@aegpublishinggroup.com.
AR: Any final thoughts you'd like to share?
LS: I'd love to hear from anyone who's read the book, and I hope they all enjoyed it.
AR: Thanks again, Lillian, and best of continued success to you in all your endeavors!
Lillian Skamsar
ISBN: 9781606931073
Eloquent Books
Reviewed By Josee Morgan
Official Apex Reviews Rating:
Powerful, shadowy forces behind the scenes are always involved in covert activities of which you haven’t the slightest idea…
In the case of the Unites States government, such activities centered on the efforts of the armed forces in the 1960’s and 70’s to create the perfect human soldier. How did they plan to do so? By splicing human genes with the best available genes from different species across the planet – even going so far as to combine the genes of both humans and animals. Despite their best efforts, government researchers failed to develop any of the resulting embryos – save two…
Michael and Zainal Emassi are both born on January 6, 1979, the only successful results of the government’s controversial experiment. Of the two, Zainal proves to be the superior mental and physical specimen, so much so that an elite, top secret para-military unit, the Dragons, is created just for him. Rounded out with top human soldiers from the SEALs, Rangers, and Deltas, the Dragons have one mission only: to wage tactical warfare against dangerous terrorist cells around the world.
Their efforts always prove exceptional, and they never fail – until one fateful day when Zainal and the rest of the Dragon crew are ambushed on a hostage recovery excursion in Norway. The unit is caught completely off guard, and Zainal is ultimately captured by the terrorist cell responsible for the surprise attack. Beaten mercilessly to within an inch of his life, Zainal manages to survive the ordeal and is eventually recovered by American forces, who seek to restore him back to health.
It quickly becomes apparent to the powers that be, though, that the Dragons’ ambush is hardly the result of random luck, and they soon launch an intense investigation to discover the responsible party/parties who engineered the set-up – the last thing they expect to learn, though, is that someone within their own ranks may ultimately be pulling the deceptive strings…
G.E.N.I. is an action-packed, all-engrossing literary thrill ride. With it, Lillian Skamsar follows faithfully in the footsteps of James Patterson and Robert Ludlum before her with her innate ability to keep the reader turning page after page in breathless anticipation. Her attention to detail is relentless, and her masterful storytelling is both compelling and probing, making for a highly entertaining – and ultimately rewarding – read.
Combining taut suspense, thick intrigue, and ever-unfolding drama, G.E.N.I. is a superbly crafted, welcome addition to the world of political mystery thrillers. Highly recommended.
Official Apex Reviews Interview: Lillian Skamsar (G.E.N.I.)
Apex Reviews: Lillian, thanks for joining us for this interview. We're looking forward to learning more about your book.
What inspired you to craft this action-packed, highly entertaining story?
Lillian Skamsar: Well, I've always had stories going on. My imagination is pretty graphic, so it's been like a movie playing in my head. During my last maternity leave, my imagination really sparked, and this story evolved. Starting work again, I shared my thoughts with some friends, particularly my colleague, Marius Kvam (who also drew the great cover for my book.) The story was developing more and more details, and I had to start writing some of it down; otherwise, I'd probably just forget most of it. I gave a few pages to Marius to read, since we'd been talking about the story. His wife, Leah Mae DuBois, came across the pages and wanted to read more. So, I continued to write things down and ended up with a lot of pages - well, a manuscript, more like it. Having put all this time and effort into writing it down, I figured I had nothing to loose in trying to get it published. So, I guess this happened because I didn't want to forget the story.
AR: Your descriptions of the super soldiers, their exploits, and the American government's various military operations are quite detailed. Did you perform much research prior to penning the tale?
LS: I've always had an interest in things not usually associated with a girl’s interests. I've always been interested in the military. I served my one-year mandatory military service in the Royal Norwegian Air Force loading weapons on F-16s. Jets have always been an interest of mine, and my favourite is the A-10 Warthog...I am impressed at what special soldiers and units are trained to do and what they are capable of. I had some knowledge prior to writing, but most of my research was done during the writing. I've been subscribing to National Geographic for the last 11 years, and I used several articles from there as information. Also, I've become an habitual Wikipedia user...
AR: Is there a particular reason that the 1960's & 70's serve as the timeframe for the government's covert experiment?
LS: Setting the timeframe, I didn't want my hero to be too old or too young. And, historically, both in fiction and probably real life, a lot of black research projects were going on at that time. I also wanted the G.E.N.I. project to have been going on for some time before they succeeded.
AR: Out of all the genetically engineered soldiers that the government tried to create, only two embryos ultimately survived and developed. Precisely how many other embryos did they attempt to engender?
LS: I haven't really thought about a specific count, but I figure they would have used a lot of time to figure out how to combine the different genes successfully before they tried to develop the embryos. Then, they would have failed a lot before they somehow, by sheer luck probably, succeeded.
AR: What specific animals served as Michael and Zainal's "fathers"?
LS: Hehe...wouldn't you like to know...? I can reveal his feline inheritance: he has genes from a black jaguar, strength, teeth, and partially his eyes. They're cat-like, but not quite the same as the jaguar. Zane's pupils contract to a vertical slit, while the jaguar's is round. Other than that, I couldn't say; not all the G.E.N.I. files were made public...
AR: Was it difficult for you to preserve the suspense of the story while allowing the tale to unfold?
LS: Eeeh…it wasn't something I consciously thought about; it all sort of just happened this way. There was only one place where I really had to do something. I was developing a lot of characters, and they were getting hard to keep track of. I think I created, at least I hope I did, a surprise no one saw coming.
AR: Our reviewer drew comparisons between your writing style and that of James Patterson & Robert Ludlum (congratulations!). Who have been some of your chief writing influences?
LS: I am truly honored, thank you! I have to admit, my knees turned wobbly when I read the review; it was beyond any of my expectations. Robert Ludlum has always been one of my favourite authors, along with Tom Clancy, Chris Ryan, W.E.B. Griffin, Dan Brown, and many more. Obviously, Anne McCaffrey's Freedom series inspired me a lot.
AR: What are your future writing plans?
LS: I've started on a sequel to the book, so far just jotting things down. But, 7 notebooks so far tells me there might be a story there, too. The general outline is playing in my head; hopefully, I'll manage to get it all down on paper.
AR: Will you be making any appearances anytime soon - either in person or online - where our readers can come out and support you? If so, where?
LS: As of today, I have nothing scheduled. I'm working on some book signings in Norway, as this is where I live.
AR: How can our readers learn more about you and your writing efforts?
LS: I'm working on a homepage and a blog that, hopefully, I'll have time to finish soon.
AR: Also, please share your contact information, just in case they'd like to reach you directly.
LS: You can reach me via email at lillianskamsar@hotmail.com or my press manager, Ellen Green, at PressManager@aegpublishinggroup.com.
AR: Any final thoughts you'd like to share?
LS: I'd love to hear from anyone who's read the book, and I hope they all enjoyed it.
AR: Thanks again, Lillian, and best of continued success to you in all your endeavors!