The Experiment [Audio CD]

John Darnton (Author), George Guidall (Narrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: 2000

15 Compact Discs, Unabridged,

Product Details

• Audio CD
• Publisher: Recorded Books (2000)
• ISBN-10: 0788747614
• ISBN-13: 978-0788747618
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 6.2 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (77 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,142,721 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Something Went Haywire With This Experiment, February 2, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: The Experiment (Paperback)

John Darnton's Pulitzer Prize credentials and industry plaudits at the top of this page duped and misled me. No prizes for this yarn. The book fails from the classic high-concept, poor-execution syndrome. The idea of an island of clones as an organ farm for the rich and famous is the fodder of good thrillers. What would happen if one of these poor clones escaped and made his way to New York City in search of his twin? Imagine the thrills and fun a reader could have turning pages to find out if this renegade fish out of water could stay one step ahead of the bad guys and foil the whole conspiracy!

No such luck. The novel's trouble begins as soon as the hapless twin manages a convenient escape from "Clone Island." From there, he quickly teams up with the "real" Jude and his girlfriend. Then they're off on a slow-witted, cross-country trek to find out -- well, we're never quite sure what they're looking for.

Our bumbling trio of hard drinkers (immune to hangovers!) prove to be amateur sleuths when it comes to unraveling conspiracies that reach all the way to -- surprise! -- Washington D.C. They could be swept up and killed at any time. Instead, they are allowed to traipse across the country, SLOOWWWLY unearthing clues to their pasts. The trio is never clever enough to figure out the big picture or who is supposedly chasing them. I ceased having fun. By the end of the story, the mad scientists finally sit our hero down and spell out the plot to him in a few pages of rushed narrative so the reader can make sense of this plodding story. Imagination, apparently, has run dry in New York.

Darnton shows off his investigative-reporting chops by expositing the science of cloning and life extension, presented here as a series of character lectures. This is more biochemistry than I needed to make this elementary plot work for me. Bombard the reader with cool science to make up for lazy plotting -- is that the formula for best sellers today? If he had worked half as hard to develop the plot and characters, we might have had some fun here.

I expected more from Darnton. His world-class wordsmithing barely stopped me from tossing this bore aside unfinished. And Darnton's shameless name-dropping in the "acknowledgements" buys him few points -- he makes sure we all know that he personally interviewed Dolly's creator so he would understand how to make clones. I would have been more impressed had he sought the counsel of Patricia Cornwell, not for the pat-on-the-back sound bite the editors snared for the cover, but rather for showing him how to craft a tasty page-turner.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good biological thriller, September 8, 2000

By 

Stacey Williams (Crest Hill, Illinois USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Experiment (Paperback)

Skyler lived his whole life on a secluded island as one of dozens of test subjects in a ground-breaking experiment being conducted by The Lab. The Lab, where Skyler has called home for 25 years will soon become a frightening memory after he makes a gruesome discovery; the mutilated body of another "subject". Skyler flees the island and ends up in New York where he comes face to face with himself.

Jude is a reporter for a local tabloid and becomes engrossed in his newest subject, a younger yet identical version of himself. Along with Tizzie, a medical researcher in biology and identical twins, the three set out on the long path to discover what the meaning is behind The Lab, the "Orderlies" who follow them around, and why there is suddenly a rash of similar murders.

Darnton did an excellent job in his research for this state-of-the-art thriller. If you enjoy biological thrillers, The Experiment is the book for you. I love this kind of novel, but I thought Darnton got a little too detailed at times when discussing the biological aspects of the story. When the technical descriptions went on too long, I found myself skimming right over them. It seemed this information got a little technical for the lay person who is just looking for a good suspense story.

Darnton presents a great story-line and "The Experiment" kept me up late at night reading. The characters develop well, especially Skyler, who becomes a personal friend. There is suspense, action, murder, and of course, biology to keep you interested until the very end.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Man, this is a BAAAAD book, October 2, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Experiment (Hardcover)

As a reader of several novels a week, I expect -- at a very minimum -- that the author of a book at least TRIES to be creative. Darnton must think the reading public are all a bunch of fools. With his credentials, he should be ashamed of himself for cheating us -- his readers. I'm sure that after the undeserved success of his first novel, NEANDERTHAL, that he is laughing all the way to the bank and really doesn't care about entertaining his readers. We're not morons, Darnton. Don;t ever do this again to us. You've forever lost me as a future reader of your fiction. Shame on you.