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trish204 's review for:
The Doors of Eden
by Adrian Tchaikovsky
A fucking reality grenade! *lol*
Imagine a universe in which there are myriad Earths. Every parallel Earth is different with different dominant species. Imagine all these branching timelines being done on purpose to find what works best. You know, evolution but on a whole new level. This is the universe of this book.
In the beginning, two English girls are in love and love hunting monsters (think Nessie or Big Foot). One day, they go to Bodmin Moor and one of them, Mal, disappears. But she‘s not dead as everyone had feared. However, when she resurfaces 4 years later, she‘s changed and she hasn‘t come alone.
Suddenly, „agents“ walk our Earth and there appear to be more and more cracks between the different Edens/Earths resulting in different dominant species clashing with each other. Because something is coming and it will end every single Eden/Earth if not stopped. But for anyone to be able to stop it, one must first know what „it“ is. You know, knowledge being power.
Kidnapped scientists, „wayfarers“ between the Edens, mysterious lectures as interludes between the chapters - this book was full of great scientific concepts and fascinating what-ifs.
It‘s really hard trying to sum up this book, especially since I don‘t want to give away too much. Suffice it to say that there is an interesting group of characters of different species all trying to untangle timelines and figuring out the respective evolution for each Eden/Earth. Their interactions are indeed interesting but nothing compared to the discoveries. I seriously loved all the what-ifs, such as a global ice sheet being a supercomputer on one Earth or communist cavemen or one dominant species not actually being the big bad hunter but the big bad hunter being used by a sort of symbiont/parasite.
The truly big question, though, is: is there a plan behind it all? Is there an original Earth? A Universe #0? Is there a sort of creator (don‘t think God, think scientists with a lab experiment or think accident)?
Following the discoveries, the breadcrumbs so to speak, was seriously cool and I adore the author for how he handled the alternate-Earth-trope.
It is noteworthy, however, that on top of all of this the author also managed to include his typical examination of different human psychologies (mostly thanks to Rov). No matter where you look, the story is deep and rich.
Add to that a wonderful array of literary references that always please this little bookworm‘s heart as well as a fast-paced plot that had me hooked from start to finish and you have one of the best scifi books I‘ve read. This should be right up there with the big names, honestly! How this hasn‘t won more than just the one award is a mystery to me but maybe intelligent scifi is out of style right now. I can only hope that will change again and that this book will not have been forgotten until then. It would be a great loss.
Imagine a universe in which there are myriad Earths. Every parallel Earth is different with different dominant species. Imagine all these branching timelines being done on purpose to find what works best. You know, evolution but on a whole new level. This is the universe of this book.
In the beginning, two English girls are in love and love hunting monsters (think Nessie or Big Foot). One day, they go to Bodmin Moor and one of them, Mal, disappears. But she‘s not dead as everyone had feared. However, when she resurfaces 4 years later, she‘s changed and she hasn‘t come alone.
Suddenly, „agents“ walk our Earth and there appear to be more and more cracks between the different Edens/Earths resulting in different dominant species clashing with each other. Because something is coming and it will end every single Eden/Earth if not stopped. But for anyone to be able to stop it, one must first know what „it“ is. You know, knowledge being power.
Kidnapped scientists, „wayfarers“ between the Edens, mysterious lectures as interludes between the chapters - this book was full of great scientific concepts and fascinating what-ifs.
It‘s really hard trying to sum up this book, especially since I don‘t want to give away too much. Suffice it to say that there is an interesting group of characters of different species all trying to untangle timelines and figuring out the respective evolution for each Eden/Earth. Their interactions are indeed interesting but nothing compared to the discoveries. I seriously loved all the what-ifs, such as a global ice sheet being a supercomputer on one Earth or communist cavemen or one dominant species not actually being the big bad hunter but the big bad hunter being used by a sort of symbiont/parasite.
The truly big question, though, is: is there a plan behind it all? Is there an original Earth? A Universe #0? Is there a sort of creator (don‘t think God, think scientists with a lab experiment or think accident)?
Following the discoveries, the breadcrumbs so to speak, was seriously cool and I adore the author for how he handled the alternate-Earth-trope.
It is noteworthy, however, that on top of all of this the author also managed to include his typical examination of different human psychologies (mostly thanks to Rov). No matter where you look, the story is deep and rich.
Add to that a wonderful array of literary references that always please this little bookworm‘s heart as well as a fast-paced plot that had me hooked from start to finish and you have one of the best scifi books I‘ve read. This should be right up there with the big names, honestly! How this hasn‘t won more than just the one award is a mystery to me but maybe intelligent scifi is out of style right now. I can only hope that will change again and that this book will not have been forgotten until then. It would be a great loss.