A review by scribal
Dark Eden by Chris Beckett

3.0

Gave it 3 stars because the descriptions of the trees were so cool I will always remember them. Otherwise I would have done a 2.

Great idea for a world--plants that harness a planet's hot core and make light and food. But trite story--and yes based quite directly on the Old Testament. There's lots of basic psychological insight but delivered at a YA level. I do not ever want to read such a boring predictable "let's rebuild human society from scratch" story again!
Although I want to know more about the world, how it might actually work....but the author has to make the world human-habitable (oxegen atmosphere etc) so making it scientifically consistent is pretty much off the table.

Reread "40,000 in Gehenna" right after to cleanse my palate. Now there's a book that truly faces up to the possibilities of a small group of humans adapting to a new world.! Next up might be "Mission of Gravity" just for world-building calibration