HUGO AWARD FINALIST • “WOW! What a splendid (scary) notion: a human upgrade! What a superb plot! Darwin’s Radio is bloody damned good.”—Anne McCaffrey“Virus hunter” Christopher Dicken is a man on a mission, following a trail of rumors, government cover-ups, and dead bodies around the globe in search of a mysterious disease that strikes only pregnant women and invariably results in … invariably results in miscarriage. But when Dicken finds what he’s looking for, the answer proves to be stranger—and far deadlier—than he ever could have imagined. Something that has slept in human DNA for millions of years is waking up.
Molecular biologist Kaye Lang has spent her career tracing ancient retroviruses in the human genome. She believes these microscopic fossils can come to life again. But when Dicken’s discovery becomes public, Lang’s theory suddenly turns to chilling fact. As the outbreak of this terrifying disease threatens to become a deadly epidemic, Dicken and Lang must race against time to assemble the pieces of a puzzle only they are equipped to solve—an evolutionary puzzle that will determine the future of the human race . . . if a future exists at all.
Praise for Darwin’s Radio
“Bear is one of our very best, and most innovative, speculative writers.”—New York Daily News
“Superb . . . Bear’s novel is frighteningly believable with a lot of clearly explained hard science, but the personal struggles of the well-realized characters keep everything on a human level.”—Focus
“Bear is a writer of passionate vision.”—Locus
“Darwin’s Radio scores a high rating on the thrill monitor.”—Birmingham Post (England)
“Absorbing and ingenious.”—Kirkus Reviews
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Not bad for a medical sci-fi tale. Hard to put down.
A sudden accelerated world wide episode of human evolution creates a generation of children with new abilities and a different appearance.
I thought this was a thought provoking human evolution and medical mystery with a fairly good biology background.
Overly complex and in the end disappointing conclusion
I enjoyed this book entirely. It was refreshingly different with believable characters and circumstances. A good take on human nature and how ridiculously society reacts when there is change they do not understand and therefore fear. Well written.
If you read only one Greg Bear book, read this one. (But you should read lots of them!)
I would add delightful !
Great opening chapter or two. I can see how he sold this mess to his publishers. He wrote a couple of great chapters before his narrative wandered off into nonsense. Then the story bogs down. Greg Bear has his own strange and illogical hypothesis about evolution which he pushes hard and in great and painful detail in following chapters. He thinks …
Absolutely fantastic@
Somewhat of an odd book. You will probably get more out of it if you have a graduate degree in Biology. It was a good read.
I really enjoyed the book until the ending which just left you hanging. Obviously you have to read the next book to see what’s going to happen.
Ending felt incomplete
This book is the first of two and the story is great once you get started you won’t want to put it down its that good
Nothing special
Darwin’s Radio was at first daunting because of its scientific content and vocabulary. I worried that despite being an avid reader of over 150 books a year and a Literature teacher for over 15 years, it would be over my head. In truth, Science is not my strong suit, but the author makes it manageable. It is a challenging read for these reasons; …
Great concept but I had trouble with the decisions of the main characters – not very realistic
I thought I knew about genetics. Can’t believe how much I learned AND in an entertaining way. Will read it again some day.
Interesting read, but the wording was too technical for me.
Don’t get lost in the scientific jargon. Go with butte narrative and it will sweep you right along.
Provocative and compelling.