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3.86 AVERAGE
3.86 AVERAGE
This novel builds on an idea of parallel universes and, therefore, multiple parallel earths each of which has evolved differently, with sentience, culture, and technology developing at different times via different dominant species. But cracks are opening up between worlds. Other species are entering our world. Humans are going missing into others. Intelligence agencies are investigating. It all starts off as an intriguing story, but when a select group of humans head off to try and seal the cracks (within a gravity defying, city sized, space-faring trilobite) the explanations for the time issues and the universe jumping become unsatisfactory. A satisfactory ending, nontheless.
Ingenious, inventive sci-fi that I've never read the likes of before. Tchaikovsky continues to delight. The plot did stall out a bit in the middle, but thankfully picked right back up again. One thing I'm not entirely happy about is the handling of the trans woman character. Nothing egregious but at times I felt the need to represent people being weird or bigoted about her went too far. Though I did find the character of Rove a great addition and his bullshit alone would not have bothered me, I think.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Deadnaming, Transphobia
Moderate: Racism, Xenophobia
2.5. Amazing world building, but much too long and confusing. Ending was too abrupt.
WHAT?? WHAT?? The other day I was looking for a film to watch, I skimmed the channels and ended up at the Syfi channel where a man was being chased through the snow by another man dressed in a rubber shark costume. The man in the rubber shark costume was being controlled by an evil genius (played by a lesser known Kardashian) who was a war with a tribe of tech savvy lobsters (played by former members of NSYNC and The Backstreet Boys). In the end, the world was saved by a flying wood louse and a talking blancmange.
This book is 10 times madder than that.
A heady mix of..
PRIMEVAL, DR WHO, SPOOKS and .............. FRIENDS??
This book is 10 times madder than that.
A heady mix of..
PRIMEVAL, DR WHO, SPOOKS and .............. FRIENDS??
The Doors of Eden had compelling characters (some of whom were unnecessary), enjoyable world building (often in worlds that didn't need to be visited), and a novel, interesting story (with many non sequitur tangents). Ultimately, the book had a great plot, but was twice as long as it needed to be. This is far from Tchaikovsky's best work.
This was spectacular. Forget singular world-building, Adrian Tchaikovsky has done an incredible job building an infinite number of worlds along the evolutionary timeline, each with their own species, cultures, and technology. From flashily-dressed dinosaurs to scientifically advanced Neanderthals to interstellar trilobites, each iteration of Earth was thrilling. The individual characters we encounter from each of these Earths were also richly layered and complex.
Layered against these unique worlds are the stark realities of humankind, where discrimination and hatred still persist. Dr. Kay Amal Khan may be Earth's best hope at survival – but even in the face of global calamity, she continues to be faced with transphobia and xenophobia. The petty bureaucracies of government, the fear of vulnerability and connection, human foibles are put on full display.
My one gripe was that there were parts of the novel which did seem to drag on. For a novel where infinite worlds are about to collapse in on themselves, there just wasn't the sense of urgency that I would have expected. I get that math takes a while to do, and goodness knows I certainly can't do it at all, but some of it moved at a glacial pace – no pun intended, if you've read the novel.
Nevertheless, this is a marvellous read, and I highly recommend that you add it to your list.
Layered against these unique worlds are the stark realities of humankind, where discrimination and hatred still persist. Dr. Kay Amal Khan may be Earth's best hope at survival – but even in the face of global calamity, she continues to be faced with transphobia and xenophobia. The petty bureaucracies of government, the fear of vulnerability and connection, human foibles are put on full display.
My one gripe was that there were parts of the novel which did seem to drag on. For a novel where infinite worlds are about to collapse in on themselves, there just wasn't the sense of urgency that I would have expected. I get that math takes a while to do, and goodness knows I certainly can't do it at all, but some of it moved at a glacial pace – no pun intended, if you've read the novel.
Nevertheless, this is a marvellous read, and I highly recommend that you add it to your list.
I read and loved Children of Time but struggled to get into Children I’d Ruin. When Doors of Eden came out I grabbed a copy but didn’t get to it right away. When I did I was blown away. This story was big in scope and had wonderful character development and world building. I’m truly impressed by this novel and am immediately going back to give CoR another attempt! READ THIS BOOK!!
Relentlessly imaginative and thought-provoking! Absolutely loaded with fascinating world-building and exotic creatures! One of the best science fiction novels I’ve read in years!
What if life on Earth had evolved differently? AT takes this question and puts it on steroids, imagining how various life forms could have evolved into primary species. Take felines, for example: "Rather indolently, the great cats secure their hold on the world by having all of nature love and worship them." Some have figured out how to use the portals between parallel Earths for investigation, while some accidentally come through and cause confusion. A problem with the portals and structure of the parallel Earth system arises, and it takes a collaboration between the greatest minds of different worlds to fix it.