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3.86 AVERAGE
3.86 AVERAGE
adventurous
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
adventurous
funny
hopeful
inspiring
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:
Complicated
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
Very fun, fairly light read full of lots of enjoyable speculative biology. Warning for some transphobia (but only by characters who are clearly portrayed as The Bad Guys.) It felt more fantasy than sci fi, much more comedic in tone than Children of Time, but also very good.
Spoiler below-
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I am also so, so pleased that Tchaikovsky did what I’ve been begging writers to do for years and ended a sort of love triangle with “Hey, wouldn’t polyamory be a totally acceptable solution to everyone involved here and maybe we should just… do that and avoid any more drama?”
Spoiler below-
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I am also so, so pleased that Tchaikovsky did what I’ve been begging writers to do for years and ended a sort of love triangle with “Hey, wouldn’t polyamory be a totally acceptable solution to everyone involved here and maybe we should just… do that and avoid any more drama?”
Content Warnings
Moderate: Deadnaming, Transphobia, Violence
The Doors of Eden is a smart, slick sci-fi thriller exploring parallel worlds, evolution and human history in an unusual new way. The books start from the perspective of Lee and Amal, two Cryptid hunters who are dedicated to chronicling some of the world’s more unusual goings on. When they go to explore reports of ‘birdmen’ near a local spot stone circle called the Six Brothers, the pair are thrust into a tale beyond even their wild imaginations. What follows is an intricate, epic exploration of what the Earth could look like if the evolutionary scales had been tipped ever so slightly in another direction, and the varying ways that humanity would react to the knowledge that we’re not alone.
To many degrees, what I loved the most about this book was the exciting sense of exploration and discovery. The parallel worlds are all incredibly well formed and there’s just enough science involved for these to feel very authentic. My absolute highlights of the book were the entries, dotted throughout, describing other worlds, how they diverge from ours and the end result of each. I’d love a spin-off which just explores tons more of these parallel worlds.
Overall, this is a very thorough, well-paced read that fluctuates between clever world building and action-packed sequences to good effect. The characters are strong and largely well formed, though maybe a slight streamlining of the cast might have made it easier to invest in them more powerfully. Nonetheless, it’s very well crafted sci-fi combining great plot and adventure with a perfect veneer or science to make it all seem authentic. Highly recommended.
To many degrees, what I loved the most about this book was the exciting sense of exploration and discovery. The parallel worlds are all incredibly well formed and there’s just enough science involved for these to feel very authentic. My absolute highlights of the book were the entries, dotted throughout, describing other worlds, how they diverge from ours and the end result of each. I’d love a spin-off which just explores tons more of these parallel worlds.
Overall, this is a very thorough, well-paced read that fluctuates between clever world building and action-packed sequences to good effect. The characters are strong and largely well formed, though maybe a slight streamlining of the cast might have made it easier to invest in them more powerfully. Nonetheless, it’s very well crafted sci-fi combining great plot and adventure with a perfect veneer or science to make it all seem authentic. Highly recommended.
3 1/2 stars. My biggest problem was with the Interlude sections- I didn’t find them that important to the story and the narrator’s “California” accent was really hard to listen to - attempt at a non-accent resulted in a mix of flat vowels and occasional Brooklyn accents. I ended up just skipping over these sections, I just could not listen to them. Otherwise the narrator was spot on and great.
Multiple earth timelines, technologically advanced neanderthals, dinisaur-bird men, lesbian cryptid hunters, trans scientist, evil billionaire. Somewhat convoluted, but still a good tale of how to join together to prevent the end of the universe.
Evolution SF, like his Children of Time and Children of Ruin. Enjoyable, fascinating, but a bit too long - running through more scenarios than we needed in order to get the idea, because he had all these good ideas and couldn't resist throwing all of them in. 597 pages, so the print copy's a bit hefty to carry around to read on the bus or at Starbucks.