Off Target by Eve Smith

 

Off Target by Eve Smith.

Published 17th February 2022 by Orenda Books.

From the cover of the book:

What if your future was just one modification away?

In an all-too-possible near future, when genetic engineering has become the norm for humans, parents are prepared to take incalculable risks to ensure that their babies are perfect - altering genes that may cause illness, and more...

Susan has been trying for a baby for years, and when an impulsive one-night stand makes her dream come true, she’ll do anything to keep her daughter and ensure her husband doesn’t find out... including the unthinkable. She believes 
her secret is safe. For now.

But as governments embark on a perilous genetic arms race and children around the globe start experiencing a host of distressing symptoms – even taking their own lives – something truly horrendous is unleashed. Because those children have only one thing in common, and people are starting to ask questions...

Critically acclaimed bestseller Eve Smith returns with a terrifying, cautionary glimpse of what the future may hold, with a startlingly thought-provoking blockbuster of a thriller.

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Susan longs for a child, but after years of trying for a baby with her husband Steve the hoped for pregnancy seems an impossible dream. Frustrated that Steve refuses to consider investigating the possibility of medical intervention, even though IVF is a common solution for the increasing number of couples facing fertility problems, Susan has a drunken one night stand with a work colleague - a sexual encounter that results in her getting pregnant.

Susan cannot bring herself to end this pregnancy, especially since this may be her only chance of having a child, but she also cannot allow her husband to find out that he is not the father of this baby. Caught in a dilemma, Susan agrees to the suggestion from her best friend to undergo a pioneering genetic treatment at an unregulated clinic in Ukraine that promises to solve all her problems. It's vital that no one ever finds out about what she has done.

Years later, Susan and Steve are the parents of a ten-year-old daughter called Zurel, who seems healthy, despite recently choosing to become a selective mute for reasons they have been unable to fathom. Susan is concerned that the treatment she received when she was carrying her may be responsible, but she cannot admit this to Steve as he remains blissfully unaware of the circumstances of Zurel's conception and the procedure she underwent.

But world events are about to expose Susan's desperate deception. The consequences of the widespread abuse of genetic tinkering in the last ten years are now having an impact on the children who have had their genes altered. A host of unexpected side effects, otherwise known as off-target effects, are being exhibited in these children, including a range of serious illnesses, and some of them have taken their own lives.

People are asking questions about gene therapy, and the explosion of non-medical interventions for those who can afford the price tag to ensure their children are born 'perfect'. The tide is turning, and world-wide protests are just the start of a menacing movement against those who have received genetic interventions. Susan's secret is no longer safe, and her family is in danger...

Eve Smith has the knack for taking a contemporary issue and speculating just how perilous this could become in the near future if events go unchecked. This time, instead of turning her attention to the antibiotic crisis as she did so well in her chilling debut novel The Waiting Rooms, she opens up a whole new Pandora's Box of terrifying themes by exploring the world of gene therapy in Off Target.

Off Target is a cautionary tale, delving into a wealth of dystopian themes around how misguided genetic tinkering can lead to catastrophe. Much of this reminds me of the manner in which Michael Crichton explored how gene splicing could be abused for ill-considered ends in his books, as Smith plays with the 'standing on the shoulders of giants' theme like in Jurassic Park and the controversy surrounding the ownership of genetic material in Next. She asks the same sort of ethical questions - a case of never mind the 'Could we do this?', but rather 'Should we do this?' - weaving these threads into an unsettling thriller that grips your heart with icy fingers.

I think it's fair to say that the majority of characters here are generally unlikeable, and Susan's motives are especially unpalatable, even though she is convinced she is doing the right thing at the time, but Smith uses them all to great effect in this story provoking feelings of anger and loss as you get involved in the nitty gritty of their lives - and my goodness, does she make you examine the blacks, whites and all the shades of grey about gene therapy. 

I enjoyed how Smith brings in much wider issues in the telling of this tale, touching on aspects such as infertility, the right to parenthood, science vs religion, money, politics, control, and how AI can isolate us from each other. She offers an added thought-provoking dimension by examining how the children affected by genetic treatments might actually think about what has been done to them - something I have not really considered before. The references to Kubrik/Spielberg's movie AI are also cleverly used to enhance the poignancy of Zural's part in the story.

This book is a clear-your-schedule, read in one single sitting affair, because you will not be able to put it down once you begin, and it will leave you with a lot to think about once it spits you out at the end. I cannot wait to see what dystopian nightmare Smith chooses to dissect in her next book!

Off Target is available to buy now in ebook, paperback and audio formats from your favourite book retailer.

Thank you to Orenda Books for sending me an ecopy of this book in return for an honest review, and to Random Things Tours for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.

About the author:

Eve Smith writes speculative fiction, mainly about the things that scare her. She attributes her love of all things dark and dystopian to a childhood watching Tales of the Unexpected and black-and-white Edgar Allen Poe double bills. In this world of questionable facts, stats and news, she believes storytelling is more important than ever to engage people in real life issues.

Longlisted for the Not the Booker Prize and described by Waterstones as "an exciting new voice in crime fiction", Eve’s debut novel The Waiting Rooms, set in the aftermath of an antibiotic resistance crisis, was shortlisted for the Bridport Prize First Novel Award and was selected as a Book of the Month by Eric Brown in The Guardian who compared her writing to Michael Crichton’s.

Eve’s previous job as COO of an environmental charity took her to research projects across Asia, Africa and the Americas, and she has an ongoing passion for wild creatures, wild science and far-flung places. When she’s not writing she’s racing across fields after her dog, trying to organise herself and her family, or off exploring somewhere new.