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Title: Alpha Gene
Author: Angel M. Huerta
Published: 2013 by White Goblin
Genre: Science Fiction, Fantasy
Click here to buy Alpha Gene from Amazon.com
Imagine being able to lift a car, move objects with your mind, and become invisible at a moment’s notice. Doctor Lucas McKenna had been researching a gene that would make this possible for years. He was just about to make a presentation on this gene when his research partner is murdered, and Dr. McKenna is to blame. He is found not guilty and relocates to a small town, where the alpha gene that he had researched and imagined for so long is shown to him through children, right before his very eyes. These almost teenagers feel alone with their powers, but Dr. McKenna takes them in under his wing, and helps them learn to control their abilities. And with each other these kids find confidence, fight bullies, and learn to accept themselves.
The story starts out with Dr. McKenna as the main character, and it’s told through his point of view. But then it shifts to the children’s stories, mostly Peter. I think it would have been helpful if it then switched to Peter’s point of view instead of third character because I always felt that first person pov made the story more ‘real’ if you will.
One other thing that would make me stop the story in my tracks was all the spelling and grammar mistakes. Some words are spelled right, but just in the wrong form, for instance, “Go take a sit, kid, any seat,” (p. 58).
And then, there was the constant age change.
For young Peter, the road trip had been torture. A twelve-year-old kid, confined to the back seat of a car for six hours, that’s almost like prison time. Peter was a smart kid, not grades smart but street smart. The ten year old was kind of tall for his age, had black hair, and sported a few freckle here and there. (pgs.49- 50)
See what I’m saying? I had to not think about their age and just assumed they were somewhere in between 10-12 years old.
One last bothersome thing was the fish, Merlin. Peter was still getting used to his powers, and Merlin the fish ended up on the floor. Peter’s mom came up when she heard the ruckus and “by the time she pulled it out of the back of the desk, the poor little creature was breathing no more.” (p. 124). Of course it wasn’t breathing, it’s a fish! They breathe in water. Yes, maybe the fish was dead from suffocation or from the force of being thrown out of an exploding fish tank, but we don’t know for sure because they didn’t try to put it back in water. (I’m just saying, cause my fish once jumped out of the tank before I knew to put a cover on top. When my husband found it we thought it was dead, but we put it in the water and it lived another year!)
Okay, on to the positives. It was a good story! This is Mr. Huerta’s first book, and I think he did an amazing job. If it wasn’t for the grammar errors, the age change, and point of view issues, I probably would have rated it higher than I did. But for what it’s worth 3 ½ stars is still a good rating.
My Rating: 3 1/2 out of 5 stars
~Pam
*****I received this book free from the author in exchange for an honest review.*****
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Grand Junction, CO with her two cats. When not writing novels, she plays with plushie microbes and teaches biology classes at Colorado Mesa University. She is the author of the Portals of Destiny series and the Adventures of Alexis Davenport series. She has also been published in several anthologies: Battlespace (military sci-fi), Orange Karen: Tribute to a Warrior (fundraiser), and Ancient New (steampunk/fantasy).
