Transfection [Format Kindle]

David Gaughran has a talent for packing a lot of punch into limited space. In this short story, TRANSFECTION, the question of genetically modified food is taken on in an age when vegetarians and vegans are the norm rather than the exception, especially when medical researchers announce that animals that were fed exclusively with genetically modified feed were six times as likely to develop cancer than those fed organic foods.

The new findings meant that Dr.Carl Peters and his assistant, Jim Glover and the rest of his staff would be receiving money at the university where they would do research in order to find a correction for the problem, and also that the price of shares in GM foods would take a nosedive and food prices would go up.

Since Dr. Peters' marriage had fallen apart, and he was always interested in the unconventional anyway, he and his assistant began working with genetically modified plant experiments. Steakhouses were out and vegan was in. However, what happens when Dr. Peters starts his work with plants will be shocking and will lead to his, and only his, downfall.

This is quite a well-crafted story. The creativity and originality of the plot and the character of Dr. Peters drives the story so well that I couldn't put it down. Readers will be very surprised with the ending, and I encourage reading this story. I highly recommend it.

An odd short story in that it spans more than 3 years in ~23 pages. This means a lot of information is glossed over, leaving too many questions unanswered. Numerous vague parts. This would be much better as a full novel, it seems too much like a teaser as is. The scientific mentions of transfection need work, as they are overly basic. Well-edited as far as typos and such. I downloaded this story for free, I would be disappointed had I spent the 99 cents for it. The product description does not really match the story I read--I was expecting something a bit different.

I love a good medical thriller. I challenge myself in understanding all the technical jargon and keeping up with the pace and different plots of the story. Short story thrillers are a little tricky. Usually, thrillers take their time establishing the mystery and building up to the big reveal. This book only had 5,000+ words to set it up and execute.

The blurb seemed very promising. It doesn't really give away much, if anything. But it read like a teaser or a pitch rather than a stand-alone story. The premise had so much to work on and a short story format was not enough for that. A lot was left unexplained, including the "reason behind the cancer link with GM food". So yeah, I ended the book scratching my head and trying to figure out what the hell just happened.

The writing was excellent and polished. I was impressed by that and frankly, that's the reason why I kept reading. For its length, the character development was done well even with the time jumps. But because plot development was severely lacking, I didn't care much for the story itself. It could've worked as a full book or anything longer than a short story.

Rating: 3/5.

Recommendation: It's 5,500 words, it shouldn't take you too long to read. I read it during my down time at work and still got stuff done.