Darwin’s Children
-
- $95.00
-
- $95.00
Descripción editorial
Evolution is no longer just a theory – and nature is more of a bitch goddess than a kindly mother – in this tense science thriller from the author of the Nebula Award-winning Darwin’s Radio
Stella Nova is one of the ‘virus children’, a generation of genetically enhanced babies born a dozen years before to mothers infected with the SHEVA virus.
In fact, the children represent the next great evolutionary leap and a new species of human, Homo sapiens novus, but this is officially denied. They’re gentle, charming and persuasive, possessed of remarkable traits. Nevertheless, they are locked up in special schools, quarantined from society, feared and reviled.
‘Survival of the fittest’ takes on a new dimension as the children reach puberty. Stella is one of the first to find herself attracted to another ‘virus child’, but the authorities are watching and waiting for the opportunity to strike the next blow in their escalating war to preserve ‘humankind’ at any cost.
Reviews
‘A gripping evolutionary thriller that combines cutting-edge science with a compelling storyline. It's a novel that stretches the envelope of known science – which is exactly what science fiction should do’ P.D. Smith Guardian
'Bear's ability to tell a good story is surpassed only by his enthusasiam for the advancing edge of molecular biology … he might just be anticipating the next giant leap in our understanding of evolution and ourselves' Nature
‘GREG BEAR develops his characters extremely well, and there is plenty of action, too, in Darwin's Children … Bear is very good at blending hard science, politics and fiction, and this is one of his strongest novels yet. Convincing, and at times depressing, it tackles the difficult question of whether a government gripped by prejudice and fear can be prevented from wiping out its perceived enemies’ New Scientist
About the author
Greg Bear was born in 1951 and published his first short story sixteen years later. His first novel was published in 1979, and his most famous novels, Blood Music and Eon, emerged during the eighties and have now become established classics.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this masterful sequel to his Nebula Award winning Darwin's Radio, Bear takes us into a near future forever changed by the birth of millions of genetically enhanced babies to mothers infected with the SHEVA virus. These children may represent the next great evolutionary leap, but some fear their appearance rings a death knell for traditional humanity. Geneticist Kaye Lang, archeologist Mitch Rafelson and their daughter, Stella Nova, have been hiding from an increasingly repressive U.S. government that wants to put the so-called "virus children" in what are essentially concentration camps. Eventually, the family is captured, and when Mitch resists he's arrested on a trumped-up charge of assaulting a federal officer. In later years, Kaye returns to genetics and Mitch, once he's out of jail, to archeology, but neither gives up hope of finding and freeing their daughter. Meanwhile, Stella, imprisoned but surrounded by her own kind, begins to explore the full significance of what it means to be post-human. Though cast in a thriller mode, like much of Bear's recent work, this novel may contain too much complex discussion of evolutionary genetics to appeal to Michael Crichton or Robin Cook fans. Nonetheless, Bear's sure sense of character, his fluid prose style and the fascinating culture his "Shevite" children begin to develop all make for serious SF of the highest order. (Apr. 1)
