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desert_side_notched's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
book_nerd_1's review against another edition
5.0
This is a great book. I've read it twice.
It starts out with dinosaurs, some real and some theoretical, but the story is mainly about human evolution. There are chapters about our ancestors and relatives from small rodent-like primates to neanderthals to the first monkeys transported to south america. Then comes the fun part, what happens to humans in the future.
A lot of people think evolution is a straight line from simple to more and more intelligent but intelligence is only one survival strategy and in this book humans in the future take much different paths.
It starts out with dinosaurs, some real and some theoretical, but the story is mainly about human evolution. There are chapters about our ancestors and relatives from small rodent-like primates to neanderthals to the first monkeys transported to south america. Then comes the fun part, what happens to humans in the future.
A lot of people think evolution is a straight line from simple to more and more intelligent but intelligence is only one survival strategy and in this book humans in the future take much different paths.
_moth_'s review against another edition
5.0
A long series of detailed fictional stories about a select few ancestors of modern homo sapiens, set within the frame of our known evolutionary history (or Baxter's pick of the most popular theories). Each of these stories skips forward to an important evolutionary step, either speciation or social divergence, followed by a unique projection into our future as a species.
The afterword perhaps should have been a forward as Baxter expertly blurs known history and his own creations and many reviewers seem to be looking for a level of accuracy that was not intended (nor that currently exists in many cases):
"This is a novel. I have tried to dramatize the grand story of human evolution, not to define it; I hope my story is plausible, but this book should not be read as a textbook. Much of it is based on hypothetical reconstructions of the past by experts in the field. In many cases I have chosen what seems to me the most plausible or exciting idea among competing proposals. But some of it is based on my own wild speculation.
I’m very grateful to Eric Brown, who kindly commented on the manuscript. Professors Jack Cohen and Ian Stewart of Warwick University were very generous with their time in providing expert advice to shore up my layman’s guesswork. I’m also indebted to Simon Spanton, for support above and beyond the call of editorial duty. Any remaining errors are, of course, solely my responsibility.
— Stephen Baxter
Great Missenden, U.K.
May 2002
"
The afterword perhaps should have been a forward as Baxter expertly blurs known history and his own creations and many reviewers seem to be looking for a level of accuracy that was not intended (nor that currently exists in many cases):
Spoiler
"This is a novel. I have tried to dramatize the grand story of human evolution, not to define it; I hope my story is plausible, but this book should not be read as a textbook. Much of it is based on hypothetical reconstructions of the past by experts in the field. In many cases I have chosen what seems to me the most plausible or exciting idea among competing proposals. But some of it is based on my own wild speculation.
I’m very grateful to Eric Brown, who kindly commented on the manuscript. Professors Jack Cohen and Ian Stewart of Warwick University were very generous with their time in providing expert advice to shore up my layman’s guesswork. I’m also indebted to Simon Spanton, for support above and beyond the call of editorial duty. Any remaining errors are, of course, solely my responsibility.
— Stephen Baxter
Great Missenden, U.K.
May 2002
"
benlundns's review against another edition
3.0
This is one of those books I found while browsing in the library. It was shelved under Science Fiction, probably because Baxter is primarily known for his science fiction stories. But this one was not so much science fiction as historical fiction. The last 3 chapters do deal with the human race going forward, but everything up to that point is going through world history up to that point. And honestly slogging through all that to get to the end was disappointing.
cdeane61's review against another edition
4.0
When I first picked this up I thought "no way". A 600 page novel about evolution?
Stephen Baxter pulled it off though. Kept me reading, kept me thinking, kept me interested and kept me entertained. What more can one ask for?
I love that he goes beyond our current time with his tale. So often people mistake modern humans as the "end product" of evolution, or can only imagine that the next step for us will be something better, or glorious. But that is not the way of evolution in life or in this novel. There is no story-line that we are evolving to "the next level" only that we are adapting to the environment around us.
Well done.
Stephen Baxter pulled it off though. Kept me reading, kept me thinking, kept me interested and kept me entertained. What more can one ask for?
I love that he goes beyond our current time with his tale. So often people mistake modern humans as the "end product" of evolution, or can only imagine that the next step for us will be something better, or glorious. But that is not the way of evolution in life or in this novel. There is no story-line that we are evolving to "the next level" only that we are adapting to the environment around us.
Well done.
endquote's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
pasuht's review against another edition
2.0
I really wish this book wouldn't have started so strong. Then I would have been angry, annoyed, and bored enough early enough to dnf this and read something else.
In loosely connected narratives Evolution tells the story of humanity, its evolutionary line that came before and speculations on what comes after.
The first part, about mammals and primates was good. Seriously, if this book would have stopped after 300 pages (it's roughly double that length) with the first biologically modern humans, you'd look at a 4, maybe even 5 star review, if I would have been in a good mood. I know just enough about the science to know some of the stuff wasn't completely on point, but it was entertaining and interesting.
But the part where Baxter tackles history instead of paleontology, his writing is just absolutely terrible. The chapters about the first farming civilizations were mean spirited and, honestly, icky. The Rome part didn't keep me awake successful enough to be icky. The soldiers in the modern chapters were back to being icky.
Still hoping that this interlude of ickiness would be quickly forgotten when Baxter gets to the past human evolution I read on. My wish was granted - and the monkey paw opened.
The middle part at least evoked some emotions in me, even if they weren't the one the author might have hoped for. The undirected speculations of the last part of the book were just so uninteresting to me, I prayed for the icky parts to come back, I kid you not.
Also, a word about penises. I'm pro penises! I think penises are cool and in some cases fun! But the number of penises sticking out, penises becoming "rock hard", penises swinging, penises, penises, PENISES makes me think there was some kind of dare or lost bet on the side of the author in play.
In loosely connected narratives Evolution tells the story of humanity, its evolutionary line that came before and speculations on what comes after.
The first part, about mammals and primates was good. Seriously, if this book would have stopped after 300 pages (it's roughly double that length) with the first biologically modern humans, you'd look at a 4, maybe even 5 star review, if I would have been in a good mood. I know just enough about the science to know some of the stuff wasn't completely on point, but it was entertaining and interesting.
But the part where Baxter tackles history instead of paleontology, his writing is just absolutely terrible. The chapters about the first farming civilizations were mean spirited and, honestly, icky. The Rome part didn't keep me awake successful enough to be icky. The soldiers in the modern chapters were back to being icky.
Still hoping that this interlude of ickiness would be quickly forgotten when Baxter gets to the past human evolution I read on. My wish was granted - and the monkey paw opened.
The middle part at least evoked some emotions in me, even if they weren't the one the author might have hoped for. The undirected speculations of the last part of the book were just so uninteresting to me, I prayed for the icky parts to come back, I kid you not.
Also, a word about penises. I'm pro penises! I think penises are cool and in some cases fun! But the number of penises sticking out, penises becoming "rock hard", penises swinging, penises, penises, PENISES makes me think there was some kind of dare or lost bet on the side of the author in play.
jgolomb's review against another edition
4.0
Fun fictional accounting of our past and future evolution.
pctek's review against another edition
4.0
It is a book about life. A Novel. Not a manual or even sticking to (accepted known) facts.
Starts with dinosaurs...and the first mammals. Ends with artificial beings and what's left of mammals. Don't think it's about humans, some is, but most isn't.
There are inaccuracies - moths don't feel pain? wrong.
But it's a kind of moral lesson also. We as our particular species, were here for 5 minutes, and despite our arrogance in thinking we can control our fate, we won't be here for much long than another 5 minutes....As far as geological timescales go. Of course, being a novel, he might be way off we last maybe 1 minute longer....
Written well enough you care about most of the characters that pop up throughout the long long theoretical history of how it goes.
Starts with dinosaurs...and the first mammals. Ends with artificial beings and what's left of mammals. Don't think it's about humans, some is, but most isn't.
There are inaccuracies - moths don't feel pain? wrong.
But it's a kind of moral lesson also. We as our particular species, were here for 5 minutes, and despite our arrogance in thinking we can control our fate, we won't be here for much long than another 5 minutes....As far as geological timescales go. Of course, being a novel, he might be way off we last maybe 1 minute longer....
Written well enough you care about most of the characters that pop up throughout the long long theoretical history of how it goes.