Andrew Papanikitas is Deputy Editor of the BJGP.
The challenge here is how to review a novel that a fun read without giving giving too much away…
The plot is eerily plausible. A postgraduate geneticist discovers an unexpected gene sequence appearing with an increasing frequency in blood donations. Her attempts at scientific curiosity are met with false accusations and cover-up, as she and her colleagues are drawn into an international conspiracy to ’save’ humanity. Professor McKinstry has clearly channelled an affection for Edinburgh and a depth of biomedical knowledge in a thriller about how horizon technologies might land among ordinary people. We are certainly more aware of viruses since COVID-19 and the use of a virus as a doomsday weapon has certainly done the rounds in pulp fiction, notably in Inferno by Dan Brown.1 The Quantum Gene deploys a virus in a way that is altogether more subtle. This has hints of Dan Brown and hints of Lee Child, though less silly than one and less grisly than the other.
Professor McKinstry has clearly channelled an affection for Edinburgh and a depth of knowledge in a thriller about how horizon technologies might land among ordinary people.
Rather like medicine, the plot of the novel has bursts of action and jeopardy but also has spells of explanation and, for want of a better word, ‘handover’. Around the world, a sizeable cast support the protagonists. I didn’t quite need to create a spreadsheet – that would probably have lead to me abandoning the novel. Occasionally, and I really do mean occasionally there is the odd sentence that betrays the lack of an editor (perhaps I should declare a conflict of interest here). A policeman (for example) quips that common things occur commonly which is a phrase endemic to academic doctors and not to coppers. In a heated discussion, one of the characters uses the word ameliorate. To my mind the word ameliorate tends to be more written than spoken. I also feel the title of the novel really does not do its plot justice. The Quantum Gene is about much, much more than a gene. This is a plot involving geniuses, billionaires, governments, spies, academic skullduggery, corruption and eco-terrorism – more suited to a good Netflix 10-episode miniseries than a movie (Guys, are you listening?). Whilst the title like The Odyssey Plot might sound too tacky and apocryphal (and like The Odessa File), perhaps something like The Edinburgh sequence or Perilous Knowledge -does anyone remember the pop-science genetics book by Wilkie?2 Having said this, I can imagine the boardroom where all of these discussions are added and where the executives all decide on the title Quantum Gene which sounds far more James Bond!
This is a plot involving geniuses, billionaires, governments, spies, academic skullduggery, corruption and eco-terrorism…
Brian McKinstry is emeritus professor of primary care E health at Edinburgh University. His ostensibly self-published debut novel is a biomedical thriller with potent themes of genetics and global conspiracy with a hint of artificial intelligence. Despite any criticisms, this is the first self published novel in awhile that I have been able to read from cover to cover and enjoy. It’s solid beach reading with a real sense of place and a subtle seasoning of scandal.
Featured book: McKinstry B, (self-published) The Quantum Gene, 2025, Dunstable, ISBN 9781919188805 Available in print and on Kindle via Amazon
References
- Brown D, Inferno, Corgi (paperback), 2014
- Wilikie T Perilous Knowledge: The Human Genome Project and Its Implication, University of California Press, 1994
Featured Photo by National Cancer Institute on Unsplash
