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jammer_in_to's review against another edition
3.0
Good - not great
Not as fun as children of time but not bad. The sections on each evolution were the best parts. Would recommend if you liked the other works
Not as fun as children of time but not bad. The sections on each evolution were the best parts. Would recommend if you liked the other works
pcaron_de's review against another edition
4.0
An edge of your seat romp through space and time with multiple timelines and investing species. What I've come to expect in a Tchaikovsky science thriller. Lots of fun with likable heroes one of whom says,
‘We’re here and they trust us. It’s a million-to-one long shot, and only these two desperate lesbians can save the world. Perfect action movie material.’
Perfect indeed. What's not to love with dialogue like that!
‘We’re here and they trust us. It’s a million-to-one long shot, and only these two desperate lesbians can save the world. Perfect action movie material.’
Perfect indeed. What's not to love with dialogue like that!
eliendriel's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
smmrmmrmmr's review against another edition
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I love speculative biology. Lesbians???? TRanSGenders???? In MY Sci-FI novel???? hell yeah :)
ianl1963's review against another edition
2.0
I have to say Sophie Aldred excellent.
A good book in here somewhere, just became rather tedious at times.
A good book in here somewhere, just became rather tedious at times.
emheld's review against another edition
2.0
2.5/5 rounded down - while I'm sure Sophie Aldred is a fine actress, she and this material did not go well together. Her American accent threw me out during the interludes (often the most interesting material), but it's not all on her. Tchaikovsky had grand ideas and cardboard characters. It was maybe too large a narrative for a single volume "?*IF* he wanted to include so many primary protagonists
Decent start, by after the first 100 pages (3-4 hrs) or so it gets very muddied and convolute, but not in a fun way. I'm down for a complex story, yet this one was more like a mass of spaghetti with uneven sauce and nary a meatball.
The final sixth ratchets up the tension and gets to a fascinating concept for the story - a strong combo of Tchaikovsky's big sci-fi ideas and narrative drive. Great! ...but he could've gotten there twice as fast. Lots of fluff. 18 hours in audiobook that could be distilled to a 2 hr 15 min sci-fi action movie.
Decent start, by after the first 100 pages (3-4 hrs) or so it gets very muddied and convolute, but not in a fun way. I'm down for a complex story, yet this one was more like a mass of spaghetti with uneven sauce and nary a meatball.
The final sixth ratchets up the tension and gets to a fascinating concept for the story - a strong combo of Tchaikovsky's big sci-fi ideas and narrative drive. Great! ...but he could've gotten there twice as fast. Lots of fluff. 18 hours in audiobook that could be distilled to a 2 hr 15 min sci-fi action movie.
literaryhomeboy's review against another edition
2.0
The first Tchaikovsky book I didn’t like. What a chore to get through!
hrgisahero's review against another edition
4.0
Cool world but without skimping on some key characters. A great standalone, would love to delve more into any of the other worlds. Sci-fi as fantasy is what this is.
debbiesilkserif's review against another edition
4.0
Received via Tor and NetGalley in exchange for an completely unbiased review.
Also posted on Silk & Serif
The Doors of Eden is a tome at over 600 pages, but is written so beautifully that is doesn’t feel like 600 pages. It was a delight to read.
I had a really difficult time writing this review. I wrote and rewrote my review before taking a break and then make this final attempt. My review doesn't do this book justice and some aspects of the book I found had my opinion waffling over whether this was a Very Good Book or just A Goo Book. In the end, regardless of my struggles, the crux of this review is: Its a worthy read and you wont be sorry you read it!
This is my first Tchaikovsky book, so going in I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. Sure, Tchaikovsky is known as a brilliant voice in fantastical literature, but sometimes an author everyone loves can, frankly, be a slog or often over-hyped. I recently read the Book of Koli by M.G. Carey which had rave reviews on Goodreads, but undoubtedly was one of my least favourite novels of the year thus far. Unpopular opinion? Yes. But a very good example of how a really popular and beloved novel may not work for everyone. Fortunately, this was not the case for The Doors of Eden and I think I found a new favourite author.
The Doors of Eden is an extremely expansive story that tries to tie in science, fantasy and politics in a cohesive but fun package. It was a pleasure to read and captured my attention from the start. The novel also explores the many parallel earths theory without getting too complex or ungainly.
What if cockroaches become sentient long before humanity, or dinosaurs or even plants? What would such a world look like? I loved the "intermissions" between chapters where the history of each parallel earth is outlined and further develops the reader's understanding of the different parallel universes and how a slight change in Earth's history lead to divergent evolution.
I also loved that Tchaikovsky captured the feeling of being a government spook. The main characters Julian and Allison work for an intelligence agency and felt surprisingly authentic (or so i imagine) given the fantastical nature of the story overall. I think Tchaikovsky tried to develop a cast of characters who are the modern day “every man” in a diverse set of circumstances: a cryptologist, a set of spies, a touch of LGBTQ and even a CEO with nazi-esque leanings. All of the characters have a part to play at the end of time - some of their roles surprising, some not.
The characters themselves made this review so difficult for me to write: near the end, many of the characters became politicized or unlikable making the story a little less enjoyable. Also, with all the diversity represented in this book, the lack or respect for certain minor characters soured me on the ending somewhat. Regardless, the story itself was fun and filled with so many interesting things and unexpected plot twists, that the characters became secondary to the story itself.
In addition, the end felt a little rushed and could have used some more TLC - but it wasn’t a deal breaker. I’d immediately TBR and pre-order a follow up novel in this universe because I loved Tchaikovsky the uniqueness of The Doors of Eden and am incredibly curious what other creatures exist in this really complex and ODDLY realistic world.
Also posted on Silk & Serif
The Doors of Eden is a tome at over 600 pages, but is written so beautifully that is doesn’t feel like 600 pages. It was a delight to read.
I had a really difficult time writing this review. I wrote and rewrote my review before taking a break and then make this final attempt. My review doesn't do this book justice and some aspects of the book I found had my opinion waffling over whether this was a Very Good Book or just A Goo Book. In the end, regardless of my struggles, the crux of this review is: Its a worthy read and you wont be sorry you read it!
This is my first Tchaikovsky book, so going in I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. Sure, Tchaikovsky is known as a brilliant voice in fantastical literature, but sometimes an author everyone loves can, frankly, be a slog or often over-hyped. I recently read the Book of Koli by M.G. Carey which had rave reviews on Goodreads, but undoubtedly was one of my least favourite novels of the year thus far. Unpopular opinion? Yes. But a very good example of how a really popular and beloved novel may not work for everyone. Fortunately, this was not the case for The Doors of Eden and I think I found a new favourite author.
The Doors of Eden is an extremely expansive story that tries to tie in science, fantasy and politics in a cohesive but fun package. It was a pleasure to read and captured my attention from the start. The novel also explores the many parallel earths theory without getting too complex or ungainly.
What if cockroaches become sentient long before humanity, or dinosaurs or even plants? What would such a world look like? I loved the "intermissions" between chapters where the history of each parallel earth is outlined and further develops the reader's understanding of the different parallel universes and how a slight change in Earth's history lead to divergent evolution.
I also loved that Tchaikovsky captured the feeling of being a government spook. The main characters Julian and Allison work for an intelligence agency and felt surprisingly authentic (or so i imagine) given the fantastical nature of the story overall. I think Tchaikovsky tried to develop a cast of characters who are the modern day “every man” in a diverse set of circumstances: a cryptologist, a set of spies, a touch of LGBTQ and even a CEO with nazi-esque leanings. All of the characters have a part to play at the end of time - some of their roles surprising, some not.
The characters themselves made this review so difficult for me to write: near the end, many of the characters became politicized or unlikable making the story a little less enjoyable. Also, with all the diversity represented in this book, the lack or respect for certain minor characters soured me on the ending somewhat. Regardless, the story itself was fun and filled with so many interesting things and unexpected plot twists, that the characters became secondary to the story itself.
In addition, the end felt a little rushed and could have used some more TLC - but it wasn’t a deal breaker. I’d immediately TBR and pre-order a follow up novel in this universe because I loved Tchaikovsky the uniqueness of The Doors of Eden and am incredibly curious what other creatures exist in this really complex and ODDLY realistic world.
gabrielleint's review against another edition
4.0
This book was really good. I only removed one star because of the length. I think some of the parts of the book could have been cut out. It was a really fun, action-packed book for probably two-thirds of it but I struggled a bit through the last third. However, this book is very cool--at the beginning it felt like fantasy, and by the end it felt more like a sci-fi space opera which I enjoyed. I like how Tchaikovsky often returns to the theme of better technology seeming like magic to people or beings who don't understand that technology yet. I just really enjoy his books and they all feel like a very fun companion while I'm reading them.