Darwin's Children [Englisch] [Taschenbuch]

First off, don't even consider reading this novel before reading its predecessor "Darwin's Radio"; there is simply too much plot and science to attempt to pick up without the benefit of reading the first novel. Secondly, while there is some serious science discussed in both books, the reader shouldn't feel that a lack of formal biology education will prevent them from understanding and enjoying these books (although it certainly won't hurt). Bear does an excellent job of working the necessary science into the flow of the narrative, and he even provides a fairly comprehensive glossary at the end of the book.

That said, I found 'Darwin's Children" to be every bit as engaging and every bit as frustrating as "Darwin's Radio". The premise, that a new branch of human evolution is beginning, is an intriguing one, and the idea of following this new species as it grows to maturity has the potential to be fascinating. And to a degree, it is; unfortunately, Bear all to frequently takes the reader down literary dead-ends, and makes temporal jumps just when the story is getting interesting.

First the good, though, and there is plenty. To begin, Bear's characters are a step above the first novel. That's not to say that the were lacking previously, but the author has taken this opportunity to instill them with a deep pathos that is truly memorable. The characters, operating under horribly strenuous circumstances represent the full range of human emotion. Moreover, their philosophies are well defined and realistic; they absolutely fit the situation at hand, and nicely mirror historical precedent. Secondly, Bear has created a dystopian near future that is all too believable. He draws nicely on the subtle but pervasive daily fear of the post 9/11 world to create a U.S. that is both terrifyingly different, and yet disturbingly familiar. While he often where's his politics on his sleeve, Bear does draw nicely on the concern for a potential erosion of our civil liberties in the years to come. Finally, as I alluded to earlier, Bear does a superb job of incorporating genuinely cutting edge science without bogging down the narrative. In fact, the scientific dialogue almost becomes a character unto itself, as the reader ponders what revelation will be next.

Unfortunately, all of these elements are let down by rather discordant storytelling. In a book just under four hundred pages long, Bear has attempted to cover three different time periods separated by six years. Frankly, this is just too much to attempt in a relatively short novel. In any given section the pacing and plot lines are excellent, but just when the reader is immersed in the story, it jumps rather jarringly ahead by a few years. Moreover, critical plot developments are presumed to have taken place in the intervening periods, which is extraordinarily frustrating when one considers how successful Bear is at writing sympathetic characters. Secondly, there are more than a few blind alleys that left me puzzled. On more than one occasion Bear seems about to reveal a major plot point, only to back away. Perhaps other readers will deduce Bear's thinking, but in spite of rereading several sections I haven't been able to ascertain where he was headed. Finally, there is an odd supernatural/spiritual/religious plot line around one of the main characters. In and of itself this isn't a bad thing, but it seems oddly out of place with the rest of the story and doesn't really add anything to the novel.

Ultimately "Darwin's Children" isn't a bad novel, but it could have been much more. With it's well drawn characters, fascinating plot and superb settings it could have been a great novel. Unfortunately, Bear bit off more than he could chew in the allotted space. The end result is a novel that is often fascinating, frequently gripping but in the end, to broken up to be completely successful. I enjoyed reading it, but I would recommend waiting for the paperback or picking it up at the library rather than investing in the hardcover edition.

Jake Mohlman

I'd enjoyed Greg Bear's fisrt novel in this series, Darwin's Radio, tremendously - evolution, physical anthropology and neaderthals, with a new race of humans being born. What's not to like?

In Darwin's Children, the first generation of new humans are growing up, and there's enormous government tension engendered by their presence, the fear of them as a contagious virus that needs to be contained, etc. (In the real world, I suspect the response to 'new' humans would be far more savage and deadly, but perhaps the author didn't want to go there.)

Mitch and Kay, and their new human daughter Stella, are key protagonists in this novel, but not the only players: every chapter in the book switches - irritatingly - from one character point of view to another.

As is so often the case with science fiction, the science becomes the protagonist, with the human characters often little more than mouthpieces for lengthy disserations on various scientifica topics - in this book for example, evolutonary and viral biology (though Bear provides a glossary at the back for the jargon-challenged).

I suppose this would have all been fine, except nothing really happens in Darwin's Children. There are tensions. Stella grows up. Mitch and Kay have relationship issues. There's a very touching archaeological find of mixed races buried in 30,000 years of old lava (CAN two races of humanoids work together???). Oh, and Kay has an epiphany - which is all very interesting - but ultimately has little bearing on either the story or the development of Kay's character.

In short, after rushing out to buy the book in hardcover, I was left feeling flat. Perhaps this was a book Bear didn't want to write anyway - but his publisher made him....

I usually like Greg Bear's work, but "Darwin's Children" was surprisingly dull. A lot of talk, not many new ideas (just rehash of the genetic stuff in "Darwin's Radio"), uninvolving characters, and a strangely irrelevant Divine Intervention. Plowing through this book felt like a tedious homework assignment. It's a case of competent storytelling without much to say.

I was also a little annoyed at an undertone stuck solidly in A.D. 2003: Bear takes swipes at Fox News, the Evil Republicans, American voters as sheep. Hey, I'm a Democrat, too, but I see enough of this political sniping in the real world. The best science fiction weaves social commentary into the plot and assumes the reader is intelligent enough to make their own comparisons to current events.