The mutated gene idea behind the Furies is cool, and this story certainly is entertaining. I had a hard time accepting John's motivation for sticking with the Furies. The way all of them, including Ariel, treat him throughout the story, it's hard to believe he would still be on their side. I would have expected John to side with Archibald and to team up with Gower and Archie to modernize the Fury family and improve the way the Fury men lived. His ending up in a sort of Eden with Ariel makes for a nice, romantic ending, but seems too contrived. Oh well. It's still a fun book, and the genetics in this book, while dated, is at least based on real, modern science. ( )

So, there's a secret society of "furies" who need to bring in genetic material from outside in order to breed. The women routinely leave their secret fortress and go out into the world looking to get pregnant. I think you can see where this book started to go off the rails for me. It was a pretty standard thriller with all sorts of evil agencies and groups trying to find and destroy the furies. Basically, this book didn't work for me. (Provided by publisher) ( )

The mutated gene idea behind the Furies is cool, and this story certainly is entertaining. I had a hard time accepting John's motivation for sticking with the Furies. The way all of them, including Ariel, treat him throughout the story, it's hard to believe he would still be on their side. I would have expected John to side with Archibald and to team up with Gower and Archie to modernize the Fury family and improve the way the Fury men lived. His ending up in a sort of Eden with Ariel makes for a nice, romantic ending, but seems too contrived. Oh well. It's still a fun book, and the genetics in this book, while dated, is at least based on real, modern science. ( )

The Furies by Mark Alpert
3 stars

From The book:
For centuries, the Furies have lived among us. Long ago they were called witches and massacred by the thousands. But they're human just like us, except for a rare genetic mutation that they've hidden from the rest of the world for hundreds of years.

Now, a chance encounter with a beautiful woman named Ariel has led John Rogers into the middle of a secret war among the Furies. Ariel needs John's help in the battle between a rebellious faction of the clan and their elders. The grand prize in this war is a chance to remake the human race.

Mark Alpert's The Furies weaves cutting-edge science into an ingenious thriller, showing how a simple genetic twist could have inspired tales of witchcraft and sorcery, and how the paranormal could indeed be possible.

My Thoughts:
I'd like to give the author the credit he deserves for creating a story and a universe that is not only interesting but very diverse. He has taken historical events and woven them into quiet an adventure. I believe...at least for me...it would have been worthy of another star if he had woven the story more around that parallel universe. The story strives for scientific plausibility...but it is too eager to explain things thus bogging the reader down in half formed theories.

The idea of "witches" existing in their human forms through the centuries and never ageing is an interesting concept and this should have been what was built on throughout the book. ( )

Family with odd DNA infighting. ( )