A while back I read Blood Music by Greg Bear, a highly-respected writer of "hard SF," which is basically science fiction that is especially heavy on the science quotient. I found that book so intriguing that I wanted to try another of Bear's works and consequently chose Darwin's Radio, his best selling Nebula Award winner from 1999. Once again, I was not disappointed. Darwin's Radio is a gripping novel that balances well-researched (and therefore highly plausible) speculation, an engaging and sometimes shocking plot, and believable interactions amongst several well-defined characters. In short, this book has it all.
Darwin's Radio is a novel about evolution...specifically, the next stage in human evolution. It interweaves and ultimately brings together the stories of three main characters: Mitch Rafelson, a highly principled but somewhat reckless archaeologist; Christopher Dicken, a government scientist that tracks dangerous viruses; and Kaye Lang, a molecular biologist whose prediction that human DNA has embedded within it ancient diseases seems to be coming true. The book opens with two distinct story lines. Mitch, along with a couple of unethical comrades, discovers a 15,000-year-old family, consisting of a Neaderthal couple along with an apparently modern human baby, frozen in the Italian Alps. In the meantime, Kaye and Christopher separately investigate a 5-year-old mass murder in the Republic of Georgia in which the victims are pregnant women with deformed fetuses. Shortly after these mysterious and seemingly unrelated events, people all over the world become afflicted with Herod's Flu, an illness that is typified by unexpected pregnancies that end in the miscarriage of deformed fetuses.
Darwin's Radio is a novel about evolution...specifically, the next stage in human evolution. It interweaves and ultimately brings together the stories of three main characters: Mitch Rafelson, a highly principled but somewhat reckless archaeologist; Christopher Dicken, a government scientist that tracks dangerous viruses; and Kaye Lang, a molecular biologist whose prediction that human DNA has embedded within it ancient diseases seems to be coming true. The book opens with two distinct story lines. Mitch, along with a couple of unethical comrades, discovers a 15,000-year-old family, consisting of a Neaderthal couple along with an apparently modern human baby, frozen in the Italian Alps. In the meantime, Kaye and Christopher separately investigate a 5-year-old mass murder in the Republic of Georgia in which the victims are pregnant women with deformed fetuses. Shortly after these mysterious and seemingly unrelated events, people all over the world become afflicted with Herod's Flu, an illness that is typified by unexpected pregnancies that end in the miscarriage of deformed fetuses.
Darwin's Radio follows Mitch, Kaye and Christopher as they try to unravel the causes and treatment for what most believe is a deadly virus reawakened from our own genes, though Kaye is increasingly convinced that the symptoms may not indicate a disease at all. Instead, she comes to the conclusion that the so-called pandemic is really an example of something entirely different: "It's evolution, but it's directed, short-term, immediate, not gradual, and I have no idea what kind of children will be produced."
There are many facets to this book and one of them is social commentary. Much of the book is an exploration of how individuals, governments, and societies cope with that which they fear. Greg Bear paints a portrait of an America in which pregnant mothers and newborn babies are sequestered in internment camps due to the uncertainty of the risks they might pose to the general populace. As the "disease" spreads, civil liberties for those affected become secondary and, in some cases, non-existent.
It is a tribute to Greg Bear's writing ability that Darwin's Radio is a page-turner in spite of the highly technical terminology and concepts. Just in case, though, Bear provides a glossary in the back of the novel with terms such as HERV, intron, phenotype, transposon, and so forth. Speaking personally, I appreciated that greatly. Even so, the writing was so fluid that I just flew through the book. As an added bonus, some of the story takes place in Seattle and it was fun to recognize references to the UW Quad and the Broadway Post Office on Capitol Hill.
So if you want to know what comes next for the human race, check out Darwin's Radio and then try its sequel, Darwin's Children.
There are many facets to this book and one of them is social commentary. Much of the book is an exploration of how individuals, governments, and societies cope with that which they fear. Greg Bear paints a portrait of an America in which pregnant mothers and newborn babies are sequestered in internment camps due to the uncertainty of the risks they might pose to the general populace. As the "disease" spreads, civil liberties for those affected become secondary and, in some cases, non-existent.
It is a tribute to Greg Bear's writing ability that Darwin's Radio is a page-turner in spite of the highly technical terminology and concepts. Just in case, though, Bear provides a glossary in the back of the novel with terms such as HERV, intron, phenotype, transposon, and so forth. Speaking personally, I appreciated that greatly. Even so, the writing was so fluid that I just flew through the book. As an added bonus, some of the story takes place in Seattle and it was fun to recognize references to the UW Quad and the Broadway Post Office on Capitol Hill.
So if you want to know what comes next for the human race, check out Darwin's Radio and then try its sequel, Darwin's Children.
I really enjoyed Darwin's Radio and Darwin's children! Thanks for the post.