As someone in the genetics field, the idea of editing the genome like a word document and the appeal of technology like Crispr-Cas9 is very alluring but anyone who knows even a bit about the genetics of it knows the looming dangers of such scientific advancements. on one side the craziness of such editing going wild with off-target mutations, use of viral vectors and hitherto unseen consequences on a broader ecological scale to name a few as well as the wastage of such technology due to too high regulation by politicians, higher authorities etc. It's a delicate balance and one that Crouch tackles in the book. It's a nice idea that a good samaritan rises to the occasion and possesses the right skill set and mindset to change humankind for the better. Unfortunately, we've messed up so many times that trusting someone to take on such a task as the kind that inadvertently gets assigned to our protagonist here to change humankind for the better is a pipe dream. The sentiment is understandable but farfetched at the moment not just cause of the complicated science of it (I'm sure gene editing is advancing at a very rapid rate) but because of the emotions and opinions involved.

Putting the real-world implications aside this is a fast-paced book, an easy and entertaining read and far simpler than 'recursion' or 'dark matter' with the science. My issue would be that this could have been more nuanced as it just felt a little too easy a solution at the end. Also, someone needs to do some extra beta reading because there were phrases like "momentous moment" that could've been written better.