The Doors of Eden

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How long, after all, does it take for life to generate sentience, for sentience to generate a civilization that can command its world enough to be proof against disaster? Each branching timeline that we’ve followed is set into motion later than the last. In each new timeline, the previous lords of Earth are suppressed in favour of a new might-have-been, for otherwise the new hopes would be precluded by the old rulers’ presence.”

A new book from Adrian Tchaikovsky, one of my favourite authors, is always an exciting event. The Doors of Eden was a book that immediately caught my attention with its stunning cover and intriguing concept. I had sky-high expectations for this book, and I am so pleased to say thatthey were absolutely met! The Doors of Eden is an incredibly accessible, fun, and thought-provoking science fiction story with Tchaikovsky's signature twist.Just because you wrote a bunch of science jargon, doesn't mean this is a good science fiction novel. Children of Time has won the Arthur C. Clarke Award in 2016, and Children of Ruin won the “best novel of the year” in The British Science Fiction Association Award a few days ago. Tchaikovsky’s newest work, The Doors of Eden, will definitely continue to win him more prestigious SFF awards in the future.

Other characters? 🤔....Yes, I'm going to add in this special agent, Julian, that's going to be crippled with guilt every time he hangs out with his female colleague because he maybe likes her 🤷🏾‍♀️ & I'm going to introduce his wife as this silent character that keeps giving him disapproving looks (she also writes erotic fiction), because why the hell not. I WANT more of this book. I don't know how it'd be pulled off, but I still WANT more and more and more. :) Inventive, funny and engrossing, this book lingers long after you close it' - Tade Thompson, Arthur C. Clarke Award-winning author of Rosewater Lastly, do remember that this is Tchaikovsky’s book, you might as well prepare yourself to meet terrifying creatures. And spiders. Everywhere, a garden of life arises—the very first Eden. But it doesn’t support life like ours, or even our ancestors’. This is life of another caste entirely. A world of quilt-bodied things that lie supine upon the sea floor, or inch slowly across the bacterial mats without limbs or muscles, feeding upon them without mouths. They are a global community of organisms alien to us, and they live without tooth or claw, without eyes, without organs.Being a bit of a cryptid fan myself, this book was the best of both worlds for me as it scratched that itch as well as gave me a fascinating SFF story to digest as well. The characters are so well done and each has their own motivation (some not exactly ethical) for discovering what happened on that fateful night on Bodmin Moor. This book is also creepy as hell in certain parts and it kept me completely engaged as I couldn't believe what I was reading sometimes. In my opinion this is one of the more brilliantly inventive SFF books to come along in a long time. It reminded me of some of my favorite Neal Stephenson books, but unlike Neal's novels, Adrian Tchaikovsky really knows how to ramp up the tension and always delivers a stunning conclusion that satisfies. The Doors to Eden is essentially a by-the-seat-of-your-pants hard sci-fi thriller, balanced with mind blowing scientific theory on evolutionary biology and Tchaikovsky's wild imagination. It will make you question your understanding of the history of the Earth, our universe and our place in it, as well as the meaning and significance of sentience. The story is not only thrilling, but endearing and humorous, masterfully written with exceptional balance and pacing. A central driving theme, also shared with Star Trek, is the notion of IDIC - Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations - the idea that we are all made better, stronger and smarter, by combining the diverse talents and perspectives of everyone.

First off, I’m a big fan of sci-fi stories about alternate universes and parallel worlds. I love the endless possibilities they offer, and the mind-warping questions they always seem to leave behind. But on the flip side, these kinds of books often have a lot going on in them, and sometimes, the intricate web of plotlines and character lives can get a tad overwhelming. Tchaikovsky did a great job organizing multiple threads and streamlining the overall narrative, but I think even he stumbled at times and lost control of the story because it occasionally felt like things got away from him. This was especially the case as we delved further into the middle sections of the book, where the storytelling didn’t feel as tightly plotted or well-paced.The tension in our story comes from reality collapsing (no biggie, obviously). A group of scientists across the parallel Earths realize that realities are starting to bleed into one another and citizens from different Earths are leaking into non-native parallel worlds and scaring the locals. They also realize that these leaks are heralding the end of all existence entirely, and decide to band together to see if they can maybe stop it. The novel follows approximately six human point of view perspectives. These include the already mentioned Lee, MI5 agent Julian who is nothing like James Bond, transgender genius scientist Dr Kay Amal Khan, and ex-army type Lucas May. We, as readers, learn about the multiple different species, societies, advancements and Earths from very human perspectives. However, you could say that there is one viewpoint from a species that is not human but I will not go into any further details regarding this. The characters' stories cross over as the walls between Earths become thinner, meaning potential outcomes could be drastic and even Earth(s)-shattering. The majority of the characters are a pleasure to follow. They are likeable, well-developed and relatable. In addition to the main characters, I had a soft spot for the awesome Dr Rat and his translator, and also Mal's "cousin" friend Stig. Pixieltd on Reading The Wheel of Time: Taim Tells Lies and Rand Shares His Plan in Winter’s Heart (Part 3) 6 hours ago Eventually, the plot is spanning all sorts of times and beyond, and it's quite an epic conclusion. I think this is certainly a story which builds in the telling and I really enjoyed the journey through the science and beyond. The Doors of Eden is truly epic is ambition and scale. The novel follows its main characters across many alternative Earths. Each world has changed - and creatures have evolved differently - across these multiple timelines. In Tchaikovsky's science fiction masterclass Children of Time, we were presented with highly intelligent spiders. Here, we're witness to extremely advanced rat-creatures, bird-like tribal dinosaurs, and science-savvy cavemen too. There are even village-sized insects that can act as flying vehicles. Tchaikovsky's imagination is bizarre, mindboggling yet at the same time is utterly brilliant.