Review: Science, science fiction, fantasy, and mythology
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 07 11, 2014
Greek author John Lambrakis, born in Volos, Magnesia, Greece was graduated from the Department of Biology of the National Kapodistrian University of Athens. Married to an archeologist Lambrakis debuts as an author with THE ANCIENT DNA - a mixture of biology, studies of DNA investigations, and a hefty dose of romantic love for everything Greek. Apparently he makes notes of flights of fancy ideas and with the background of his background in the field of biology he pastes these together in a novel that defies classification.The book opens with fragments of sentences and oddly placed ideas and images that it is not until a few pages into the book that we realize we are on a diving adventure of our main character Dorian Pericles. Visions of underwater Greek ruins are illuminated along with a dream-like state. When the story actually begins we learn that Dorian Pericles is a genetic engineer in Athens who steps away from a rather flatline life when he discovers an old manuscript which along with current articles on genetic engineering with DNA studies leads to an adventure of note.  Being a biologist, Lambrakis feels the need to bring his reader up to date: `DNA is present in every live organism on the Planet, in animals and plants. Indeed, it exists in every individual cell. If we take a cell, from human skin for example, and isolate its DNA, then this DNA alone exists in all human cells whether they belong to their heart, their eyes or any other part of their body. As is also known, in the DNA there is information as to the way an organism is formed. This means that in the human skin DNA of the previous example, there is information about the whole human body as well as all the cells rather than only about that specific skin cell. So, theoretically, using a small part of someone's skin, we could create a new person that will look exactly like them. This amazing particle could be seen as the informer and commander, the chief engineer of life.` Once the reader is grounded in the scientific aspect of his story, the fantasy begins. Pericles combines DNA from a horse and an eagle and creates his own Pegasus (in Greek mythology, a winged divine stallion) and mounts his creation to soar above the beauty of the lands and seas of Greece only to experience further encounters with the land of Atlantis. And the real adventures begin.This being John Lambrakis' first novel it is understandable that the final result of this Pegasus flight is not entirely smooth. There is a very strong need for a keen editor to work with the author's possible English as a second language. Much of the descriptive scenes are beautifully phrased but the flow of the novel is confusing and needs re-structuring. That said, the ideas - blending contemporary scientific investigation and thought with the ancient Greek edification using Greek mythology as the `rocket fuel' is solid. It is one thing to write science fiction based on pure imagination and quite another to use science as the launching pad for a terrific little story! Lambrakis has his elements aligned, and we'll wait to read more. Grady Harp, July 14