What would you do if you know your exact point of death? What if death is encoded into our DNA at birth? Imagine the possibilities. They’re hard to grasp, right?

John H. Thomas delves into those very questions in his new novel, "The Terminal Gene." The novel’s far from an existential crisis, but instead it is wrapped around a techno-thriller tale and packed with betrayals, double-crosses and exposes what people would do for a loved one.

The year is 2029, and Dr. Emily Harper works in the labs of Helix, a multinational company set in Boston, where she uncovers a gene, universal to all living creatures on earth, and realizes it tells the exact time of death, but more than that, Dr. Harper is quick to point out the implications releasing the information to the public without further analysis is ethically wrong and could be used to profit from it. Just think the implications on something as simple as life insurance.

Boston in near-future is relatable, with Tesla cars and cellular phones still around. An interesting thing is the mention of drones, many of them, as an ever-present staple of modern life, giving the vibe of 1984 or Blade Runner.

Beyond the technology, the story is a fast-paced thriller at its heart. Running for one’s life is part of the plot, and Emily does run, helped by her fiancée, Tyler Reed, a former marine who’d set the world on fire to keep Emely safe. And the set of skills he acquired in his previous career do come in handy when threats start flashing on Emely’s computer screen, only to promptly escalate to murder attempts.

Emily and Tyler can’t exactly out run their problems, as they first need to find out the real intentions behind Helix’s CEO, James Kessler, a truly evil character that seems destined to channel the old Bond film villains (In fact, he may only be missing a secret lair inside a hollowed-out volcano). Kessler has plans that will make Helix be at the top of the world for the next hundred years, and so he’s obsessed with securing his legacy. What’s worse, he is not to be concerned with mundane stuff like answering to his board, or keeping everything legal. No, he’ll stop at nothing to put his vision of the new world order in motion.

The book is written with flair, where you can find lines like: “The half-drawn blinds sliced the sunlight into long, jagged shadows across the hardwood floor.” These sentences appear out of the blue, with a consistency and frequency that the reader is no longer surprised to find them.

Evil villains and flourish sentences are not the only calls to classic techno-thriller, there are also headings. Each chapter comes with a title that sums up the essence of its content. It’s quite apparent the author had his fun coming up with them.

"The Terminal Gene" is, in conclusion, a fast-paced read with many thrills, betrayals and double-crosses that keeps the reader guessing where the next blow, or plot-twist, may come from. It’s not just a satisfying read, but an exhilarating journey into the near future.