Reviews

The Doors of Eden by Adrian Tchaikovsky

andrewbutler92's review

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mysterious medium-paced

4.0

julaun's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

chappellmw90's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

xyranys's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

_head_full_of_books_'s review against another edition

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adventurous challenging mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

xhekap30's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

darrenlewis's review against another edition

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3.0

I really enjoyed the criminal sub plot and all the characters. The story tailed off for me a little in the last third though, but overall an enjoyable read in a more "grounded" setting than the Space Opera stuff of AT that I've enjoyed to date.

brianbbaker's review against another edition

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Shelved

caraway_and_rye's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

the_coycaterpillar_reads's review against another edition

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4.0

The Doors of Eden is just one of those books that will blow your mind to freaking shreds! If I had one thought at the end of reading this tome, that was, that my teeny tiny brain just pales into comparison with some of the greatest minds in our world. I was in awe; I was in heaven but most of all that science fiction itch was scratched to the bone! If you haven’t read any of Adrian Tchaikovsky, have you been sitting underneath a freaking rock? He has written an immense number of books but ashamedly I haven’t read any of the others, rectifying that immediately.

Let it be known that I have never read anything like this!

Science fiction is not a genre that I have dipped my toes into very often. I guess I feel intimated by it. The technical jargon, the character names, the trajectory of the plot. I’ve DNF’d more than I’d care to admit. I’ve never found my glue, that passion to read more in the genre…until I discovered The Doors of Eden. Adrian Tchaikovsky is the living and breathing proof that the human imagination can span the galaxies. He has pushed the boundaries both with research and a narrative that will imprint itself in our skies.

The story introduces us to Lee and Mal, lovers and cryptid hunters. Their current mission is to go searching for The Birdmen on Bodmin Moor. How is it possible that only one girl can come back? How can one girl just vanish into thin air? Four years later, in the current timeline, Lee receives a call from Mal. Why is she making contact now, when Lee has painstakingly brought herself to believe that Mal was dead? If the Doors of Eden do one thing well, then that’s, teasing the reader into asking question after question, and really these questions are a drop in an excessively big ocean.

I thought I knew what I was getting into before I started this story but really, in brilliant Jon Snow fashion – I knew nothing! This story had me all in. All the bets were off. I did wonder if Tchaikovsky has the secret ingredient into making his stories into mind blowing works of art. The narrative and the plot development were carried out with laser precision. The author had an uncanny ability to tap into our deepest desires and lay them bare for all to see. He knows how human nature evolves and he made us question why we are the way we are.

Tchaikovsky gave me everything that I didn’t know that I needed in a science fiction novel. Parallel worlds. Inter-dimensional creatures. Cracks in the universe. Power struggles. The author isn’t frightened of throwing punch after punch and giving you one more just for good measure. The emotion, the connections but above all the coming together to preserve this universe, good or bad. The diversity of themes running through it only strengthened the story and gave us a multi-layered story, science and evolution being at its core.

The Doors of Eden is at its centre a story but love and our need to preserve our history. Each character, although different, are multi-faceted but strangely normal and that’s what I got onboard with instantaneously. I fell in love with out much the author highlighted that nothing is black and white. The author started with a blank canvas but ended up with Edvard Munch’s Scream masterpiece. No apologies and no mercy.