List Epithetical Books Darwin's Radio (Darwin's Radio #1)
| Title | : | Darwin's Radio (Darwin's Radio #1) |
| Author | : | Greg Bear |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | Deluxe Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 448 pages |
| Published | : | March 4th 2003 by Ballantine Books (first published May 4th 1999) |
| Categories | : | Science Fiction. Fiction |
Greg Bear
Paperback | Pages: 448 pages Rating: 3.7 | 12976 Users | 745 Reviews
Description As Books Darwin's Radio (Darwin's Radio #1)
So I keep on reading Bear novels, feeling disappointed, waiting a while, then rinse and repeat.This time I've clarified why I am so ambivalent about this guy: he has fascinating ideas then writes dull books about them. The premise here is an extreme example. Our "junk" DNA turns out to be a collection of emergency rapid-response evolutionary accelerators - and the emergency response has just been triggered. Cue mysterious pregnancies, peculiar facial mutations and a really big scientific mystery that turns very political very fast. The detail is very convincing - Bear did a heap of research.
But here's the problem: almost every event of a dramatic nature happens off-stage and the middle part of the book, between the initial scientific drama and the political nightmare at the end bogs down severely. (view spoiler)[Then, to add insult to injury, the book closes before the new generation of evolved humans reaches their teens, so the social consequences are not fully explored (but there is a sequel). It looks like things are heading into X-Men territory, but of course more seriously treated, or, more precisely, in the vein of Nancy Kress's Sleepless books. (hide spoiler)]
There is a theme of the disaster that occurs when science gets forced into the political arena; you only have to look at the climate change debate to know how that goes. It is very realistically handled but develops too slowly. I am reminded of Kim Stanley Robinson. Several of his works deal with science and internal and external politics and how real science is done and I can't help thinking a more interesting novel would have resulted if he had started with the same material.
I acquired Darwin's Children without realising that it was a sequel and then picked up this book subsequently. I will probably read Darwin's Children at some point, since it is lying around and because it really ought to cut to the chase, with the background already painted in with excessive attention to detail but I shall try to resist the urge to buy any more Bear novels regardless of how interesting the premise sounds...
Declare Books Concering Darwin's Radio (Darwin's Radio #1)
| Original Title: | Darwin's Radio |
| ISBN: | 0345459814 (ISBN13: 9780345459817) |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Series: | Darwin's Radio #1 |
| Characters: | Kaye Lang, Christopher Dickens, Mitch Rafelson |
| Literary Awards: | Hugo Award Nominee for Best Novel (2000), Nebula Award for Best Novel (2000), Locus Award Nominee for Best Science Fiction Novel (2000), John W. Campbell Memorial Award Nominee for Best Science Fiction Novel (2000), Endeavour Award (2000) |
Rating Epithetical Books Darwin's Radio (Darwin's Radio #1)
Ratings: 3.7 From 12976 Users | 745 ReviewsColumn Epithetical Books Darwin's Radio (Darwin's Radio #1)
So I keep on reading Bear novels, feeling disappointed, waiting a while, then rinse and repeat.This time I've clarified why I am so ambivalent about this guy: he has fascinating ideas then writes dull books about them. The premise here is an extreme example. Our "junk" DNA turns out to be a collection of emergency rapid-response evolutionary accelerators - and the emergency response has just been triggered. Cue mysterious pregnancies, peculiar facial mutations and a really big scientific mysteryA fast-paced, page-turning sci-fi/medical thriller, with an acknowledged nod to Robin Cook's "Outbreak." However, the interesting (although improbable) scientific ideas in the book lift it above the run-of the-mill bestseller.An unusual discovery is made - two Neandertal mummies, with a seemingly normal, Homo Sapiens infant. Is the child theirs?Meanwhile, a new transmissible retrovirus is discovered - although it might seem to be nothing more than a cold, one of its side effects in pregnant
So I keep on reading Bear novels, feeling disappointed, waiting a while, then rinse and repeat.This time I've clarified why I am so ambivalent about this guy: he has fascinating ideas then writes dull books about them. The premise here is an extreme example. Our "junk" DNA turns out to be a collection of emergency rapid-response evolutionary accelerators - and the emergency response has just been triggered. Cue mysterious pregnancies, peculiar facial mutations and a really big scientific mystery
A CDC disease chaser discovers a virus that seems to be asymptomatic in everyone but pregnant women, and mass graves in Georgia (the country) and a newly discovered family of forty thousand year old mummies suggest this isnt the first outbreak. And our heroes -- that CDC disease hound, a successful biologist, and an anthropologist with questionable ethics -- begin to suspect it isnt an outbreak at all.Okay, so its not actually a read a textbook instead science fiction book. I mean, the science
If I could give half stars, this would be a 2 1/2. Its ok. The premise is interesting, but the story itself is disjointed and unclear. There doesnt seem to be any cohesive story. There are interesting ideas strewn about, but this could have been handled in a lot fewer pages. Ill still read the sequel. Id like to know where Bear was headed.
Darwins Radio is a pleasure for someone who loves hard science fiction, as I do. Heres the premise: SHEVA, a retrovirus long-buried in our genes, suddenly awakens and begins to attack pregnant women, forcing them to miscarry after three months. But thats just the beginning after the miscarriage, these same women spontaneously become pregnant again, this time developing a fetus thats not quite human. The federal government, led by the science establishment, after first denying the truth, then
I liked it. I started it as an audiobook for a long weekend drive up to Eugene and I liked it enough to check out the book and finish reading it once I got back-I thought about finishing it through the cds but that would have taken too long and I HAD to know what would happen. It's really like two books in one. The first part has lots of science and a slower pace, then the book starts to go down an entirely different and unexpected path, raising some interesting ethical issues along the way. The
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