The Dar Lumbre Chronicles

In a futuristic society in the year 2086, a man by the name of Dr. Dar Lumbre is a geneticist working on an artificial heart to be used for transplants. The current government, NatGov, has declared that it is now illegal to do the work he is doing, making Lumbre’s accomplishments void in their eyes. When the police arrive to arrest him, he is nowhere to be seen. Immediately, a solar flare arises, erasing the majority of records held by NatGov, including the notes of Dr. Lumbre. Fast forward to the year 2135: Crane Hopkins is a geneticist working with the artificial heart DL-666, which is now starting to show signs of malfunction in its recipients. Created by Dar Lumbre, DL-666 is a mystery in and of itself. Its DNA must be figured out in order to make the tissue viable again. Crane and his partner Annie work with CellTech and are allowed to do the work Dr. Lumbre was banned from fifty years ago.

Word on the street is that Dar Lumbre will come back, but hasn’t yet. Some have come to see him as a “messianic prophet” with a foretold return similar to that of Jesus. Some wonder if he caused the solar flare to make his grand escape in the first place – or if he was possibly destroyed by the phenomenon. Dar Lumbre, a man of Mexican descent, has followers around the world who are eagerly waiting to witness his return. In contrast to his treatment by the government fifty years ago, the majority of people wish to see him come back. It is now up to Crane and Annie to vigilantly study DL-666 and pinpoint the sources of its flaws, as well as the clues Dar Lumbre has included into its DNA in order to solve the mystery of both the tissue and its creator.

Truly a sci-fi book, The Dar Lumbre Chronicles was very entertaining, especially with the imaginative descriptions of how our lives might be lived in the future. The author, Don Johnston, did an excellent job of including current facts in the flashbacks of the story to ground this imagined future in our world and for readers to relate to, as well as including plausible scenarios for the future. The book discusses prominent themes such as religion, politics, science, and love.

The author has served in the military, obtained a degree and worked in the field of science, and been a member of a Baptist church for 20+ years, and each part of this background comes through in his writing. For a debut novel, I believe he did very well and look forward to his future works.