“Explain to us why you wish to enter The Academy.”

Candidates for The Academy must endure a grueling entrance exam, and young Anaximander has chosen as her special subject the life of Adam Forde, her long-dead hero. She begins by telling Forde’s story:

Late in the twenty-first century the island Republic has managed to survive a devastating worldwide plague by isolating its citizens completely from outside contact. For many years, approaching ships and planes are gunned down, refugees are shot on sight. No one is allowed in or out. The islanders are safe, but not free. Until a man named Adam Forde rescues a girl from the sea…

“Anaximander, we have asked you to consider why it is you would like to join The Academy. Is your answer ready?”

To answer that deceptively simple question, Anaximander finds she must struggle with everything she has ever known about herself and her beloved Republic’s history. What is the nature of being human, of being conscious? What does it mean to have a soul? And when everything has been laid bare, she must confront The Republic’s last great secret, her own surprising link to Adam Forde, and the horrifying truth about her world.

Genesis is a provocative novel of ideas that forces us to contemplate the very essence of what it means to be human. You will want to finish it in one sitting, and you will want to listen to it again and again.