Brave new waves: Genetic determinism in Kelley Armstrong’s darkness rising trilogy

Abstract

The field of genetic engineering has witnessed a tremendous growth in the contemporary era in which genetic modifications have yielded desired outcomes. Particularly, genetic determinism has played a vital role in comprehending the present-day evolving identities that are formed, contested and altered in this technology-driven world. Hence, this research paper postulates adolescence through the construct of genetic determinism in The Darkness Rising Trilogy by Kelley Armstrong. Present-day adolescent novels not only address complex issues such as identity formation, defiance, climate change, Artificial intelligence, surveillance and genetic modifications but also analyze young adults’ identity as a socially and culturally constructed entity. This paper adopts a close textual reading to analyze the construction of identities of the young adults whose latent genes are kindled to resurrect their extinct supernatural powers through the lens of Foucault’s concept of ‘Biopower’ and posthumanism. Further, the study contends that Armstrong’s trilogy reconstitutes adolescence not just as identity reconfiguration or sociocultural migration but as a genetically mediated process constituted by genetic manipulation, twenty-four-hour surveillance and institutional hegemony. Thus, the study restructures adolescence as a locus of contestation where genetic modification, power, and identity intersect in multifaceted and transformative ways.