Epic/Mythological Fantasy
Date Published: 08-28-2018
Publisher: Troubador
Akasha is a precocious young woman who lives in a world where oceans circulate in the aquamarine sky waters.
Before she was born, the Helios, a tribe of angels from the sun, came to Earth to deliver the Surge, the next step in the evolution of an embryonic human race. Instead, they left humanity on the brink of extinction and spawned a race of monstrous hybrids.
Horque is a Solarii, another tribe of angels, sent to Earth to rescue the genetic mix-up and release the Surge.
When Akasha has a premonition that a great flood is imminent and falls in love with Horque, her life becomes an instrument for apocalyptic change. But will it save the three races - humans, hybrids and Solarii – from the killing waters?
Interview with Justin Newland
For those interested in exploring the subject or theme of your book, where should they start?
The short answer is - at the beginning. Because my story is about the beginnings, the origins, the genesis of things. ‘Genes of Isis’ is a glyph or shorthand for the word genesis.
Genesis is the first book in the Old Testament, and that’s where I got the theme or subject from. Basically, the story of my novel, The Genes of Isis, is a modern re-telling, or re-interpretation, of the story of the Fallen Angels and the Flood from the Book of Genesis.
How did you become involved with the subject or theme of your book?
I became interested in Ancient Egypt because I wanted answers to questions such as: Where did we come from? How did we get to where we are today? Why are things as they are?
I wanted to conceive a story that offered the discerning reader a different entry point to these age-old questions. Inevitably, it led me to Ancient Egypt, the world’s earliest recorded historical culture.
Just as the upbringing of a child influences his or her growth and development, as the oldest civilisation, Egypt influenced everything in World History that followed. It’s for this reason that Egypt is known as the ‘Mother and Father of all Things’.
The Ancient Egyptians imagined their origins though creation myths, such as the myth of Isis and Osiris. In it, Osiris, her husband, is murdered and has his dismembered body parts distributed all over Egypt. Isis gathers them together and miraculously brings him back to life. This is a story of life and death, procreation, rebirth and the struggle for power, all archetypal themes.
What were your goals and intentions in this book, and how well do you feel you achieved them?
My goal was to explore the Ancient Egyptian creation myth, and suggest an alternative genesis for the human race.
I mean, there are anomalies in the historical trace, there are always small gaps, understated assumptions, and it was these I wanted to explore in my novel.
The Bible suggests that the human race is 7-9,000 years old. But how can that be? Because archaeologists have found skulls buried in the earth that are upwards of a million years old.
It’s a contradiction.
Or is it?
Could it be that the Bible is right after all, in so far as what is 7-9,000 years old is our present human genetic, and that the human genetic before that was so different that it was not worth considering?
I elaborated on this theme very well in the novel, and hopefully will leave the discerning reader with more questions than answers.
Anything you would like to say to your readers and fans?
I’d like to mention something more about the Flood, since it plays a crucial role in the unfolding of the story in The Genes of Isis.
In the Book of Genesis, the flood lasted 40 days and nights. If that’s the case, how did all that water get up there in the first place?
This is another area I explored in the novel. To do so, I went back into the historical record, and in this case, to an old text called the Ancient Egyptian Pyramid Texts. In it, there’s a quote:
'I shall cross the great lake in the sky and return home to the sun.'
According to this, there’s a ‘great lake in the sky’. But how did that get there? I haven’t seen any lakes in the skies lately, have you?
Here’s a more recent quote from a Medieval prophetess from Yorkshire, in England:
‘Beneath the water, men shall walk. Shall ride, shall sleep, shall even talk.'
What if the ‘waters’ were already up there in the sky in a great lake? That would explain the 40 days and nights worth of rain, wouldn’t it?
It was these sayings that gave me the idea for the sky waters, an important element of the world of The Genes of Isis.
What did you enjoy most about writing this book?
The
Genes of Isis was my first novel, and it’s a seminal book. You
won’t find anything like it on the market place. It mixes
mythology, legend, ancient history with genetics and questions about
our genesis.
I asked the questions: Who are we? What are we? What is our human genetic? Why are we like we are? Who made us? I enjoyed trying to answer these questions in a fictional story, but in as realistic way as possible.
Can you tell us a little bit about your next books or what you have planned for the future?
Since The Genes of Isis, I’ve written three other novels.
The Old Dragon’s Head is a historical fantasy and supernatural thriller set during the Ming Dynasty and played out in the shadows the Great Wall of China.
A homage to Old China, it explores the secret history of modern China, as it struggled to shake off the yoke of Mongol invasion by Genghis Khan in the 14th Century.
It reveals the secret history of perhaps the single most significant event that shaped our modern world - the Industrial Revolution.
It features Tula, a young woman, as she confronts her faith in herself, her faith in a higher purpose, and ultimately, what it means to abdicate that faith.
I am currently working on a novel set in Elizabethan England, which is a re-telling of the story of the repulse of the Spanish Armada in 1588.
How long have you been writing?
I wrote a novel about Ancient Greek gods and goddesses when I was a student, which is too long ago to remember. I’ve always had a love of literature, philosophy, and history and spent years reading and researching, until about fifteen years ago, I decided I wanted to start writing.
Can you tell us a little bit about the characters in The Genes of Isis?
The Genes of Isis has several point-of-view characters. The main character or MC is a young woman named Akasha, and the novel features her journey from maiden to mother, and from apprentice to priestess.
Shamira is a priestess, and mentor to Akasha.
Horque is another character in the story. He’s an Ancient Egyptian, and is Protector to the Pharaoh. His mother is Issa, a healer and expert in the esoteric arts.
Cheiron is the Ancient Egyptian Head Priest, who tries in vain to control Issa.
Lasec is a nasty piece of work, who is the executioner.
If you could spend the day with one of the characters from The Genes of Isis, who would it be? Why you chose this particular character, where you would go and what you would do?
I’d spend it with Issa, the Ancient Egyptian priestess, and I’d ask her to show me around the temples, courts, and pyramids of Egypt, and reveal to me the mysteries therein. I’d walk by the River Nile with her, and we’d contemplate the passing of time, and how days become ages, and the evening becomes an epoch. We’d listen to the soft waters, eat dates and walk in the shade of the palm trees.
Then, I’d sit with her, and ask her about the true origins of Ancient Egypt, how the civilization seemed to arise full-formed out of nothing, from nowhere, as if it was an implant from elsewhere. Finally, I’d ask her how much of the novel is true.
About the Author
Justin Newland is an author of historical fantasy and secret history thrillers - that’s history with a supernatural twist. His stories feature known events and real people from history which are re-told and examined through the lens of the supernatural. He gives author talks and is a regular contributor to BBC Radio Bristol’s Thought for the Day. He lives with his partner in plain sight of the Mendip Hills in Somerset, England.
His Books...
The Genes of Isis is a tale of love, destruction and ephemeral power set under the skies of Ancient Egypt. A re-telling of the Biblical story of the flood, it reveals the mystery of the genes of Isis – or genesis – of mankind. ISBN 9781789014860.
“The novel is creative, sophisticated, and downright brilliant! I couldn’t ask more of an Egyptian-esque book!” – Lauren, Books Beyond the Story.
The Old Dragon’s Head is a historical fantasy and supernatural thriller set during the Ming Dynasty and played out in the shadows the Great Wall of China. It explores the secret history of the influences that shaped the beginnings of modern times. ISBN 9781789015829.
‘The author is an excellent storyteller.” – British Fantasy Society.
Set during the Great Enlightenment, The Coronation reveals the secret history of the Industrial Revolution. ISBN 9781838591885.
“The novel explores the themes of belonging, outsiders… religion and war… filtered through the lens of the other-worldly.” – A. Deane, Page Farer Book Blog.
His latest, The Abdication (July, 2021), is a suspense thriller, a journey of destiny, wisdom and self-discovery. ISBN 9781800463950.
“In Topeth, Tula confronts the truth, her faith in herself, faith in a higher purpose, and ultimately, what it means to abdicate that faith.”
V. Triola, Coast to Coast.
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