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Darwinia
In an alternative history of the twentieth century, Europe is replaced by a land of nightmarish jungle and monsters that contains the secret of human destiny
320 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1998
180 people are currently reading
3427 people want to read
About the author
Robert Charles Wilson
96 books1,681 followersI've been writing science fiction professionally since my first novel A Hidden Place was published in 1986. My books include Darwinia, Blind Lake, and the Hugo Award-winning Spin. My newest novel is The Affinities (April 2015).
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June 21, 2020
The War in Heaven
Religious doctrine has always been an impertinent imposition on spiritual and metaphysical imagination by those in search of power. Doctrine not only stops the development of religious thought, it also promotes anti-religious sentiment that limits understanding of ourselves, of others, and of the meaning of our existence in the universe. Darwinia is a brilliant exposition of the insanity as well as inanity of doctrinal formulation and enforcement. Its premise is that the theory of evolution has been successfully suppressed by religious interests until The Miracle occurs. Significantly, however, the book is not anti-religious but also suggests the authentic, and humanly essential, poetic possibilities of religion.
It is not incidental that the book starts in 1912, that is, at the height of the Fundamentalist movement in the United States. Nor is it arbitrary that its main action occurs in the early 1920’s, a period of remarkable insight by the French Jesuit palaeontologist Teilhard de Chardin. Nor, finally, is it merely fictional convenience that the story centres on the re-exploration of the European continent, the cultural powerhouse of Christianity. Darwinia is a fantasy incorporating these three themes with great theological punch.
Doctrine kills religious imagination. It treats imagination as an algorithm. It substitutes a shared vocabulary and grammar for the intimate communication of religious experience. It insists that all religious experience be expressed in this vocabulary as if it were divinely rather than humanely created. Doctrine stops the evolution of religious thought and therefore of collective religious awareness. Paradoxically, doctrine deprives human beings of the ability not only to express but even to have religious experience. It gives religion a bad name. Religious doctrine, consequently, inhibits the evolution of the species, particularly its capacity for cooperation for mutual benefit.
Think about the development of the musical symphony. Suppose Papa Haydn had been the doctrinal head of the European musical establishment in the late 18th century, and had declared his preferred symphonic form, and perhaps that of Mozart and a few others, as the definitive and perfected expression of musical art. His followers might have gone on to prescribe the allowable instruments, permissible harmonies, the limits of interpretation and embellishment within this form. The consequence? No Beethoven, no Brahms; and subsequently no Tchaikovsky, no Stravinsky; and probably no Beatles and no Beach Boys.
The Fundamentalists published their ‘fundamentals,’ that is, their judgments about the essential doctrinal components of Christianity between 1910 and 1914 (in twelve volumes!). These fundamentals included not just statements about the nature of God, but also what they considered orthodox opinions about the nature of the world, including so-called ‘old earth creationism,’ the idea that fossils, geologic strata, and other evidence of evolutionary development were in fact an original part of creation as described in the book of Genesis. Why God would plant such misleading evidence for human beings to ponder about is, according to this view, just one of the divine mysteries.
Because of events recounted in the book, Fundamentalism becomes the politically correct form of religion in the North America of Darwinia. But a sort of Lewis & Clark expedition to what has become a European wilderness discovers overwhelming evidence that this cannot be the case. In fact, a futuristic Interlude recasts both the events which provoked the fashion for Fundamentalism, as well as the entire trajectory of sentient existence. This Interlude tells a creatively imaginative tale about human purpose and spiritual destiny which is simply beyond the capacity of such doctrinal religionists to imagine.
The discoveries made by the expedition parallel those of Teilhard de Chardin during his work in China at approximately the same time. Picking up on an idea of a Russian anthropologist, Teilhard developed the concept of the ‘noösphere’ which is a central theme of the Interlude and the key to the whole of Darwinia (the place name itself is a slur invented by the Hearst Press mocking the theory of evolution). This noösphere is the ‘next phase’ in evolution according to Teilhard. It follows on from the bare geosphere of non-living matter, and from the subsequent biosphere in which living beings have penetrated to every corner of the geosphere, transforming it into a cradle of self-development. All is contained in the ontosphere, the realm 0f existence.
The noösphere is a result of life developing and proliferating thought. The noösphere in a sense anticipates the reality of the ‘Cloud’ of the worldwide web by several generations. It consists of our shared knowledge, and our awareness of this knowledge, as something dependent upon but distinct from the matter, both living and non-living from which it has emerged. Teilhard considered this as pointing to a phenomenon of cosmic not just earthly import: The progressive spiritualisation of the universe. This is precisely the situation described in the Interlude.
Teilhard considered that this process of the transformation of matter into thought has a final objective. He called this the Omega Point, a teleological terminus for all of creation. The Interlude suggests that the Omega Point is far beyond the time of the inevitable heat death of solar systems, galaxies, and even the suspension of the Higgs field from which matter originates. Time advances more and more slowly until it stops entirely. Thought is the cosmic resistance to this physical entropy. The noösphere is the last battleground of the old universe and it is the potential source of many new universes. But only, of course, if the noösphere is allowed to evolve without inhibition.
The American philosopher, C. S. Peirce, had anticipated Teilhard by half a century when he defined truth as that which would be known just before the end of sentient life in the universe. In his philosophy, this final goal is a necessary presumption of science, indeed of any inquiring mind. This is the equivalent 0f Teilhard’s Omega Point and points to an implicit hope which is the foundation 0f all metaphysics, including religion. It also suggests a force exerted by the Omega Point backwards, as it were, in time and affecting events in the present. This is the force exploited by Wilson in his fantasy in a remarkably interesting way.
Teilhard was of course condemned as a heretic by the fundamentalist bullies in his own Catholic Church. His error was considered one of ‘modernism’, the very same evil that was being fought against by the Protestants (the Protestants also found the Catholics to be too fundamentalist but that’s another story). But Teilhard’s poetry found its way into the environmental movement as the Gaia Hypothesis among other things, and into Darwinia as a central inspiration. The Fundamentalists went on to become the Moral Majority and Evangelical Republicans, still trying to make the rest of us conform to their myopic vision 0f reality. Peirce’s name has been generally forgotten but not his philosophy which lives on in a number of ‘schools.’
Metaphysical poetry, and the people who write it, speak it, and appreciate it are still fighting to be heard in religion. There are always Fundamentalists who want to turn the imagination, and religion with it, into an algorithm. The war never ends. It’s a bumpy road to the Omega Point.
Religious doctrine has always been an impertinent imposition on spiritual and metaphysical imagination by those in search of power. Doctrine not only stops the development of religious thought, it also promotes anti-religious sentiment that limits understanding of ourselves, of others, and of the meaning of our existence in the universe. Darwinia is a brilliant exposition of the insanity as well as inanity of doctrinal formulation and enforcement. Its premise is that the theory of evolution has been successfully suppressed by religious interests until The Miracle occurs. Significantly, however, the book is not anti-religious but also suggests the authentic, and humanly essential, poetic possibilities of religion.
It is not incidental that the book starts in 1912, that is, at the height of the Fundamentalist movement in the United States. Nor is it arbitrary that its main action occurs in the early 1920’s, a period of remarkable insight by the French Jesuit palaeontologist Teilhard de Chardin. Nor, finally, is it merely fictional convenience that the story centres on the re-exploration of the European continent, the cultural powerhouse of Christianity. Darwinia is a fantasy incorporating these three themes with great theological punch.
Doctrine kills religious imagination. It treats imagination as an algorithm. It substitutes a shared vocabulary and grammar for the intimate communication of religious experience. It insists that all religious experience be expressed in this vocabulary as if it were divinely rather than humanely created. Doctrine stops the evolution of religious thought and therefore of collective religious awareness. Paradoxically, doctrine deprives human beings of the ability not only to express but even to have religious experience. It gives religion a bad name. Religious doctrine, consequently, inhibits the evolution of the species, particularly its capacity for cooperation for mutual benefit.
Think about the development of the musical symphony. Suppose Papa Haydn had been the doctrinal head of the European musical establishment in the late 18th century, and had declared his preferred symphonic form, and perhaps that of Mozart and a few others, as the definitive and perfected expression of musical art. His followers might have gone on to prescribe the allowable instruments, permissible harmonies, the limits of interpretation and embellishment within this form. The consequence? No Beethoven, no Brahms; and subsequently no Tchaikovsky, no Stravinsky; and probably no Beatles and no Beach Boys.
The Fundamentalists published their ‘fundamentals,’ that is, their judgments about the essential doctrinal components of Christianity between 1910 and 1914 (in twelve volumes!). These fundamentals included not just statements about the nature of God, but also what they considered orthodox opinions about the nature of the world, including so-called ‘old earth creationism,’ the idea that fossils, geologic strata, and other evidence of evolutionary development were in fact an original part of creation as described in the book of Genesis. Why God would plant such misleading evidence for human beings to ponder about is, according to this view, just one of the divine mysteries.
Because of events recounted in the book, Fundamentalism becomes the politically correct form of religion in the North America of Darwinia. But a sort of Lewis & Clark expedition to what has become a European wilderness discovers overwhelming evidence that this cannot be the case. In fact, a futuristic Interlude recasts both the events which provoked the fashion for Fundamentalism, as well as the entire trajectory of sentient existence. This Interlude tells a creatively imaginative tale about human purpose and spiritual destiny which is simply beyond the capacity of such doctrinal religionists to imagine.
The discoveries made by the expedition parallel those of Teilhard de Chardin during his work in China at approximately the same time. Picking up on an idea of a Russian anthropologist, Teilhard developed the concept of the ‘noösphere’ which is a central theme of the Interlude and the key to the whole of Darwinia (the place name itself is a slur invented by the Hearst Press mocking the theory of evolution). This noösphere is the ‘next phase’ in evolution according to Teilhard. It follows on from the bare geosphere of non-living matter, and from the subsequent biosphere in which living beings have penetrated to every corner of the geosphere, transforming it into a cradle of self-development. All is contained in the ontosphere, the realm 0f existence.
The noösphere is a result of life developing and proliferating thought. The noösphere in a sense anticipates the reality of the ‘Cloud’ of the worldwide web by several generations. It consists of our shared knowledge, and our awareness of this knowledge, as something dependent upon but distinct from the matter, both living and non-living from which it has emerged. Teilhard considered this as pointing to a phenomenon of cosmic not just earthly import: The progressive spiritualisation of the universe. This is precisely the situation described in the Interlude.
Teilhard considered that this process of the transformation of matter into thought has a final objective. He called this the Omega Point, a teleological terminus for all of creation. The Interlude suggests that the Omega Point is far beyond the time of the inevitable heat death of solar systems, galaxies, and even the suspension of the Higgs field from which matter originates. Time advances more and more slowly until it stops entirely. Thought is the cosmic resistance to this physical entropy. The noösphere is the last battleground of the old universe and it is the potential source of many new universes. But only, of course, if the noösphere is allowed to evolve without inhibition.
The American philosopher, C. S. Peirce, had anticipated Teilhard by half a century when he defined truth as that which would be known just before the end of sentient life in the universe. In his philosophy, this final goal is a necessary presumption of science, indeed of any inquiring mind. This is the equivalent 0f Teilhard’s Omega Point and points to an implicit hope which is the foundation 0f all metaphysics, including religion. It also suggests a force exerted by the Omega Point backwards, as it were, in time and affecting events in the present. This is the force exploited by Wilson in his fantasy in a remarkably interesting way.
Teilhard was of course condemned as a heretic by the fundamentalist bullies in his own Catholic Church. His error was considered one of ‘modernism’, the very same evil that was being fought against by the Protestants (the Protestants also found the Catholics to be too fundamentalist but that’s another story). But Teilhard’s poetry found its way into the environmental movement as the Gaia Hypothesis among other things, and into Darwinia as a central inspiration. The Fundamentalists went on to become the Moral Majority and Evangelical Republicans, still trying to make the rest of us conform to their myopic vision 0f reality. Peirce’s name has been generally forgotten but not his philosophy which lives on in a number of ‘schools.’
Metaphysical poetry, and the people who write it, speak it, and appreciate it are still fighting to be heard in religion. There are always Fundamentalists who want to turn the imagination, and religion with it, into an algorithm. The war never ends. It’s a bumpy road to the Omega Point.
September 30, 2016
"Darwinia" has a four-star first half, and a one-star conclusion. An interesting premise that at first seems unlikely to be fully explained (in the good, mysterious way) is later unraveled in one of the most unbelievable and ridiculous revelations I've encountered in a long time. I'm a fan of pulp and wild-eyed, fevered imaginations, but the explanation for the the "Miracle" that converted old-world Europe into a wasteland of alien flora & fauna is beyond any hint of the suspension of disbelief. This is made all the worse by the quality of the first half -- what starts as a "Lost World"-style adventure into the wild with protagonist Guilford Law (I was reminded here of Greg Bear's "Dinosaur Summer") quickly moves into "At The Mountains of Madness" & "House of Leaves" territory when the expedition finds an abandoned, labyrinthine ruin of a city in the heart of transformed Europe. At this point I was excited -- not original territory, but *fun* territory. But then we started to spend more time with the cringing, tedious caricature of a woman that is Law's erstwhile wife, Caroline; more time on the ever-weirder sideplot about Elias Vale and his possession by god-bug; and finally, way, WAY too much time on the insanity of a plot revelation that is The Archive. In total honesty, I first picked this book up after being intrigued by the title and sublime artwork, and continuing to be intrigued by the fragments of plot I gathered from the summary. Even though judging a book by its cover often turns out swimmingly for me, in this case I have to consider that the old saw might be right. But my God -- that cover is still a beautiful thing.
July 5, 2018
Are you familiar with the simulation argument? If not, for sure you have seen The Matrix. In the last few years, the hypothesis that we are living in a simulated reality is more and more debated. But RCW did this 20 years ago, in this gem of a story.
Year 1912: the sky lights up in the middle of the night on the American continent and worldwide. People think Armageddon has come. But when the lights fade out, everything returns to normal on Earth, except that Europe with all its cities, people, flora, fauna vanished and had been replaced by a wild continent emerged straight from the Paleozoic era.
The rest of the world is in shock. Everybody is speaking of a Miracle, except few open minded. An expedition is gathered to find out what happened. And hell is waiting along with some eyes wide open moments.
There are some references to other classical works, such as Burroughs’ Barsoom and Lovecraft’s themes and it’s the first time when I encounter A.C. Clarke’s all three laws applied in a story. Not only it’s an ingenious alternate history and a sci-fi of ideas, it touches also philosophical, ethical and theological issues. His characters are no heroes, but flawed human beings, filled with the entire range of emotions.
In the end, it all comes on how you want to live your life. And like all his other works, this one will haunt your thoughts long time after reading it.
In my opinion, RCW is, unfortunately, one of the most underrated writers and this book’s average rating shows exactly that.
Year 1912: the sky lights up in the middle of the night on the American continent and worldwide. People think Armageddon has come. But when the lights fade out, everything returns to normal on Earth, except that Europe with all its cities, people, flora, fauna vanished and had been replaced by a wild continent emerged straight from the Paleozoic era.
The rest of the world is in shock. Everybody is speaking of a Miracle, except few open minded. An expedition is gathered to find out what happened. And hell is waiting along with some eyes wide open moments.
There are some references to other classical works, such as Burroughs’ Barsoom and Lovecraft’s themes and it’s the first time when I encounter A.C. Clarke’s all three laws applied in a story. Not only it’s an ingenious alternate history and a sci-fi of ideas, it touches also philosophical, ethical and theological issues. His characters are no heroes, but flawed human beings, filled with the entire range of emotions.
In the end, it all comes on how you want to live your life. And like all his other works, this one will haunt your thoughts long time after reading it.
In my opinion, RCW is, unfortunately, one of the most underrated writers and this book’s average rating shows exactly that.
March 19, 2023
Should you judge Darwinia by its cover? You know better.
Don't read any more reviews. It's impossible to fully discuss without spoilers.
Don't read any more reviews. It's impossible to fully discuss without spoilers.
December 15, 2016
Son zamanlarda okuduğum en kaliteli, en özenli, en fantastikli bilimkurgulardan biriydi. Ayrıntılı yorumum için instagram: dagli_asli
October 30, 2016
The first half of this, the half that details an exploration of Darwinia, is really good as several other reviewers have pointed out. The last half isn't quite up to level of the first half. It works and fits, but it doesn't quite fit. It's an interesting idea, one that made me poke things, but it felt, in a way, like a huge let down.
Truth be told, I think I would've preferred either another explanation for the transformation of Europe or not to have been told why it happened at all.
I think I am going to have use spoilers. Sorry.
The thing is the reason that Wilson gives opens a number of questions for me. For one, why are the Old Men all men? (And don't give me that bit about the name). I understand that the OM were men who were died in the Great War. But, didn't women die as the result of the war as well? Wasn't there a ship, Lustiana, that was torpedoed? Women were on that ship. They died. Then what about the women who would've died in WW II, but couldn't? So the OM group threw me. I'm not saying that Wilson needed to have another female heroine. I'm just saying that some mention of it would've been nice, or even just a hint that there were women as well, or a logical reason why women were excluded.
While answers in books aren't always needed, if you're going to give them, think them though. If Europe ceased to exist prior to WWI, then everything in our history ceases. That's a great many people. What else happens or doesn't happen? You end up wanting more than the book gives you. This makes the first half of the book good, the ending not so much.
Which brings me to the women in the book. All are pretty one dimensional, with the possible exception of Caroline. It's true they are not vital to the story, and Lily is a strong character. But with the exception of Caroline, they could be men. The women seem to be walk on roles that are there to so women readers, like me, can't complain. I hate token female characters. I much rather have no female characters to be honest. For instance, the latest Sherlock Holmes movie would've been better if neither women was there. (And, I don't think the women did a bad job, though I think Adler was miscast).
Looking at the paragraphs makes me wonder if I being a bit of a hypocrite. Maybe, but I'm human, get over it.
Overall, the conclusion of the book is a bit of a disappointment, with one notable expectation.
The last chapter. It's beautiful. Heartbreakingly human.
Truth be told, I think I would've preferred either another explanation for the transformation of Europe or not to have been told why it happened at all.
I think I am going to have use spoilers. Sorry.
The thing is the reason that Wilson gives opens a number of questions for me. For one, why are the Old Men all men? (And don't give me that bit about the name). I understand that the OM were men who were died in the Great War. But, didn't women die as the result of the war as well? Wasn't there a ship, Lustiana, that was torpedoed? Women were on that ship. They died. Then what about the women who would've died in WW II, but couldn't? So the OM group threw me. I'm not saying that Wilson needed to have another female heroine. I'm just saying that some mention of it would've been nice, or even just a hint that there were women as well, or a logical reason why women were excluded.
While answers in books aren't always needed, if you're going to give them, think them though. If Europe ceased to exist prior to WWI, then everything in our history ceases. That's a great many people. What else happens or doesn't happen? You end up wanting more than the book gives you. This makes the first half of the book good, the ending not so much.
Which brings me to the women in the book. All are pretty one dimensional, with the possible exception of Caroline. It's true they are not vital to the story, and Lily is a strong character. But with the exception of Caroline, they could be men. The women seem to be walk on roles that are there to so women readers, like me, can't complain. I hate token female characters. I much rather have no female characters to be honest. For instance, the latest Sherlock Holmes movie would've been better if neither women was there. (And, I don't think the women did a bad job, though I think Adler was miscast).
Looking at the paragraphs makes me wonder if I being a bit of a hypocrite. Maybe, but I'm human, get over it.
Overall, the conclusion of the book is a bit of a disappointment, with one notable expectation.
The last chapter. It's beautiful. Heartbreakingly human.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 11, 2016
Hmmhh. I felt nonplussed by Darwinia. Unmoved and untouched. It was an odd book but not I felt in a good way. It wasn't a bad book...it just didn't hold together enough for me to have much impact.
It's also hard to tell you much about it without spoilers. But I will say that it felt somewhat disjointed. The initial premise changes radically toward the middle as we learn why the premise exists. There were many unwieldy ideas shoved into the basic story. Imagine Out of Africa with extreme sci-fi concepts welded into it. I'd also describe this as feeling roughly like a poor man's Southern Reach (by Jeff VanderMeer) crossed with The Matrix. And beyond the mashup of styles, I also just didn't care about the characters. It's not that Wilson wrote poorly, it's just his characters were rather uninteresting and didn't affect me emotionally. The whole book felt rather cold and distant.
Not much to love nor dislike. Just meh.
It's also hard to tell you much about it without spoilers. But I will say that it felt somewhat disjointed. The initial premise changes radically toward the middle as we learn why the premise exists. There were many unwieldy ideas shoved into the basic story. Imagine Out of Africa with extreme sci-fi concepts welded into it. I'd also describe this as feeling roughly like a poor man's Southern Reach (by Jeff VanderMeer) crossed with The Matrix. And beyond the mashup of styles, I also just didn't care about the characters. It's not that Wilson wrote poorly, it's just his characters were rather uninteresting and didn't affect me emotionally. The whole book felt rather cold and distant.
Not much to love nor dislike. Just meh.
June 25, 2025
Este libro es publicidad engañosa, un engaño orquestado por el autor que la escribió y por la editorial que colocó un resumen tan atractivo. Si tu me dices que esta novela va a tratar sobre la sustitución del continente europeo en los albores del siglo XX por otro completamente virgen con una fauna y flora que se podría decir alienígena, y que este continente tiene que ser explorado por una expedición científica para identificar y catalogar todas esas nuevas especies, me tienes que dar exactamente eso: ecosistemas fantásticos, animales y plantas extrañísimas tan asombrosas como peligrosas, naturalistas intercambiando impresiones, hipótesis y teorías, el hombre contra la naturaleza indómita; sentimiento de la maravilla, en resumen. Pero Robert Charles Wilson, quien ya me engañara hace unos años con su novela Spin de la misma manera, me la ha vuelto a jugar contándome una historia que nada tiene que ver con su premisa inicial.
Darwinia, en efecto, comienza con la inexplicable desaparición de todo el continente europeo, aunque mejor sería decir de todo el contenido europeo, pues del continente se han volatilizado ciudades, ciudadanos, animales, plantas, etc.; todo, a excepción de su contorno geográfico. En su lugar ha aparecido un nuevo continente, Darwinia, una extensión inmensa de bosque de plantas desconocidas para la ciencia habitada por una fauna que difícilmente puede considerarse terrestre. Tal desaparición provoca que las potencias europeas hayan desaparecido o hayan quedado reducidas a sus colonias, caso de Reino Unido, o a un puñado de ciudadanos que se alojaban fuera del continente para cuando ocurrió el fenómeno. Este cambio en el panorama geopolítico provoca, como es lógico, que la balanza de poder se incline hacia Estados Unidos, que pese a encontrarse inmerso en una crisis económica debido al colapso del comercio internacional, reclama los derechos de explotación del nuevo continente en contra de lo que queda del Imperio Inglés, dispuesto aún a recuperar su metrópolis a toda costa, y de los gobiernos improvisados de los extintos estados europeos, que ya han mandado adelantados, pioneros y buscavidas con la intención de asentarse en el continente antes que los estadounidenses. En este tumultuoso contexto ucrónico, una expedición científica parte hacía el interior de Darwinia para cartografiar esta terra ignota. Sin embargo, los mecenas impulsores de este proyecto tienen interés más particulares que científicos.
Con un inicio tan estimulante podéis imaginar la velocidad con la que devore los primeros capítulos. Tan cegado estaba por el entusiasmo que no reparé en que Wilson me había tendido una trama, que no había tomado en suficiente consideración la segunda línea narrativa de la novela. En efecto, la expedición no es la única ventana que tenemos a este mundo, hay otra que transcurre en Estados Unidos y que tiene a un médium como protagonista. Al principio no me importo, de hecho, vi con buenos ojos tener otro punto de vista para saber más de esos intereses ocultos que he mencionado antes. Además, este protagonista, que al poco se descubre como antagonista, añadía un nuevo misterio igual de sugerente, a saber, el origen de sus poderes. En efecto, lejos de ser un fraude o un oportunista, este médium es capaz de comunicar con los muertos mediante la intercesión de un ente desconocido, y es gracias a éste que el médium se convierte en un arribista y va escalando socialmente hasta llegar a medrar en las familias bien de Nueva Inglaterra. Sin embargo, conforme la trama se desarrolla, no pude evitar notar cómo esta segunda historia iba ganando más peso y cómo cada vez pasaba menos tiempo en Darwinia. Esto ya no me hizo gracia ¿No habíamos quedado que esta historia trataba sobre la exploración de un nuevo continente? ¿Acaso no pone Darwinia en la portada del libro?
Pues no. Esto no va de Darwinia; Darwinia es solo el pretexto para hablar de algo mucho más grande: años luz más grande. Porque Darwinia, en realidad, va de la lucha cósmica de entre el conjunto de todas las conciencias inmortales de antiguas civilizaciones interestelares y una suerte de IAs víricas. Al parecer, en el casi cero absoluto que marca la muerte térmica del universo, estas inteligencias colectivas crearon -o crearán, o hubieran creado; con estas cosas los tiempos verbales son confusos-, fuera del tiempo, un reservorio virtual que contendría todas las conciencias de todos los individuos de todas las especies que han existido en este y en los infinitos universos. Durante la confección de estas unidades de almacenamiento cósmicas surgen estas inteligencias artificiales que buscan apoderarse de ellas y corromperlas, lo que obliga a estas macroentidades a tomar ciertas medidas que provocan, entre otros desajustes, que haya aparecido Darwinia en la Tierra.
Es en el momento en que aparece este giro en la novela que Darwinia pasa no a un segundo plano, sino que se convierte en un escenario comparsa que nada importa, porque ahora solo importa esta lucha, lucha que llevaran a cabo mediante avatares, que ya podéis imaginar quiénes son. En efecto, el protagonista, Guilford, que se enrola como fotógrafo en la expedición al continente, y el antagonista, el médium; aunque no son los únicos, hay muchos más avatares buenos y malos pululando a lo largo de la historia que solo tienen verdadero peso al final de la novela.
Es un error juzgar una obra por lo que no es en vez de por lo que es. Puede que Wilson me haya escamoteado la historia que yo quería leer, pero no era esa la historia que Wilson quería escribir, y eso es lo que yo debo juzgar. Bien, pues si juzgo la novela luego de este volantazo solo puedo decir que la historia es, a lo sumo irregular, con un ritmo aceleradísimo, con la aparición y desaparición de varios personajes que parece que van a tener mayor peso en la trama y un protagonista soso y aburrido.
Puede que haya revelado mucho más de lo que debería con esta reseña, pero me gustaría evitar a futuros lectores el mismo posible desengaño. Darwinia no es una novela de aventuras clásica en tierras vírgenes desconocidas, sino una novela de ciencia ficción dura y transhumanista igual de ambiciosa y desquiciada que Ilión de Dan Simmons, aunque infinitamente menos lograda. Si os acercáis, que sea sabiendo lo que vais a leer, que gestionar las decepciones siempre es desagradable y uno acaba siendo injusto con la novela, cuyo único pecado es ser irregular.
Darwinia, en efecto, comienza con la inexplicable desaparición de todo el continente europeo, aunque mejor sería decir de todo el contenido europeo, pues del continente se han volatilizado ciudades, ciudadanos, animales, plantas, etc.; todo, a excepción de su contorno geográfico. En su lugar ha aparecido un nuevo continente, Darwinia, una extensión inmensa de bosque de plantas desconocidas para la ciencia habitada por una fauna que difícilmente puede considerarse terrestre. Tal desaparición provoca que las potencias europeas hayan desaparecido o hayan quedado reducidas a sus colonias, caso de Reino Unido, o a un puñado de ciudadanos que se alojaban fuera del continente para cuando ocurrió el fenómeno. Este cambio en el panorama geopolítico provoca, como es lógico, que la balanza de poder se incline hacia Estados Unidos, que pese a encontrarse inmerso en una crisis económica debido al colapso del comercio internacional, reclama los derechos de explotación del nuevo continente en contra de lo que queda del Imperio Inglés, dispuesto aún a recuperar su metrópolis a toda costa, y de los gobiernos improvisados de los extintos estados europeos, que ya han mandado adelantados, pioneros y buscavidas con la intención de asentarse en el continente antes que los estadounidenses. En este tumultuoso contexto ucrónico, una expedición científica parte hacía el interior de Darwinia para cartografiar esta terra ignota. Sin embargo, los mecenas impulsores de este proyecto tienen interés más particulares que científicos.
Con un inicio tan estimulante podéis imaginar la velocidad con la que devore los primeros capítulos. Tan cegado estaba por el entusiasmo que no reparé en que Wilson me había tendido una trama, que no había tomado en suficiente consideración la segunda línea narrativa de la novela. En efecto, la expedición no es la única ventana que tenemos a este mundo, hay otra que transcurre en Estados Unidos y que tiene a un médium como protagonista. Al principio no me importo, de hecho, vi con buenos ojos tener otro punto de vista para saber más de esos intereses ocultos que he mencionado antes. Además, este protagonista, que al poco se descubre como antagonista, añadía un nuevo misterio igual de sugerente, a saber, el origen de sus poderes. En efecto, lejos de ser un fraude o un oportunista, este médium es capaz de comunicar con los muertos mediante la intercesión de un ente desconocido, y es gracias a éste que el médium se convierte en un arribista y va escalando socialmente hasta llegar a medrar en las familias bien de Nueva Inglaterra. Sin embargo, conforme la trama se desarrolla, no pude evitar notar cómo esta segunda historia iba ganando más peso y cómo cada vez pasaba menos tiempo en Darwinia. Esto ya no me hizo gracia ¿No habíamos quedado que esta historia trataba sobre la exploración de un nuevo continente? ¿Acaso no pone Darwinia en la portada del libro?
Pues no. Esto no va de Darwinia; Darwinia es solo el pretexto para hablar de algo mucho más grande: años luz más grande. Porque Darwinia, en realidad, va de la lucha cósmica de entre el conjunto de todas las conciencias inmortales de antiguas civilizaciones interestelares y una suerte de IAs víricas. Al parecer, en el casi cero absoluto que marca la muerte térmica del universo, estas inteligencias colectivas crearon -o crearán, o hubieran creado; con estas cosas los tiempos verbales son confusos-, fuera del tiempo, un reservorio virtual que contendría todas las conciencias de todos los individuos de todas las especies que han existido en este y en los infinitos universos. Durante la confección de estas unidades de almacenamiento cósmicas surgen estas inteligencias artificiales que buscan apoderarse de ellas y corromperlas, lo que obliga a estas macroentidades a tomar ciertas medidas que provocan, entre otros desajustes, que haya aparecido Darwinia en la Tierra.
Es en el momento en que aparece este giro en la novela que Darwinia pasa no a un segundo plano, sino que se convierte en un escenario comparsa que nada importa, porque ahora solo importa esta lucha, lucha que llevaran a cabo mediante avatares, que ya podéis imaginar quiénes son. En efecto, el protagonista, Guilford, que se enrola como fotógrafo en la expedición al continente, y el antagonista, el médium; aunque no son los únicos, hay muchos más avatares buenos y malos pululando a lo largo de la historia que solo tienen verdadero peso al final de la novela.
Es un error juzgar una obra por lo que no es en vez de por lo que es. Puede que Wilson me haya escamoteado la historia que yo quería leer, pero no era esa la historia que Wilson quería escribir, y eso es lo que yo debo juzgar. Bien, pues si juzgo la novela luego de este volantazo solo puedo decir que la historia es, a lo sumo irregular, con un ritmo aceleradísimo, con la aparición y desaparición de varios personajes que parece que van a tener mayor peso en la trama y un protagonista soso y aburrido.
Puede que haya revelado mucho más de lo que debería con esta reseña, pero me gustaría evitar a futuros lectores el mismo posible desengaño. Darwinia no es una novela de aventuras clásica en tierras vírgenes desconocidas, sino una novela de ciencia ficción dura y transhumanista igual de ambiciosa y desquiciada que Ilión de Dan Simmons, aunque infinitamente menos lograda. Si os acercáis, que sea sabiendo lo que vais a leer, que gestionar las decepciones siempre es desagradable y uno acaba siendo injusto con la novela, cuyo único pecado es ser irregular.
July 25, 2016
Regrettably, this book had so much potential which was never fully exploited (in my opinion, at the least). The alternative Europe setting promised much excitement and suspense. But that world was never fully realized. I really wanted to know more about "Darwinia" but in retrospect it seems that Robert Charles Wilson never really considered that to be the driving point of his book.
The characters were 2-dimensional and too many were killed-off nonchalantly to keep me interested in the plot.
Robert Charles Wilson could have written this book even without any major alternate historical settings which, happily, would have stopped me from getting lured into reading this mediocre "science-thriller".
A disappointing experience.
2.40 stars
The characters were 2-dimensional and too many were killed-off nonchalantly to keep me interested in the plot.
Robert Charles Wilson could have written this book even without any major alternate historical settings which, happily, would have stopped me from getting lured into reading this mediocre "science-thriller".
A disappointing experience.
2.40 stars
March 30, 2017
Yazının aslı ve tamamı --> https://yaprakonur.wordpress.com/2017...
Kısaca Darwinya, mükemmellikten bir adım uzak da olsa ilginç kurgusu ve fikirleriyle okunmaya değer bir kitaptı. Bu fikirleri görmek için çok yüksek olmayan bir beklentiyle okunmasını tavsiye ederim.
Kısaca Darwinya, mükemmellikten bir adım uzak da olsa ilginç kurgusu ve fikirleriyle okunmaya değer bir kitaptı. Bu fikirleri görmek için çok yüksek olmayan bir beklentiyle okunmasını tavsiye ederim.
November 19, 2016
1912 yılında Avrupa kıtasının büyük bir kısmında mucizevi bir şey oluyor; Eski Avrupa yok oluyor ve yeni yeni bitkiler, yeni tür hayvanlar meydana çıkıyor. Ülkeler ve bu ülkelerde yaşayan bütün canlılar da bu yok oluşa dahil oluyorlar, kimse onlara ne olduğunu bilmiyor. Kısacası koskoca Avrupa gidiyor yerine koskocaman Amazonvari bir habitat ortaya çıkıyor. Dini kesim bu değişimi Tanrı'nın dokunuşuna ve varlığına yoruyor. Hatta medya bile doğa-bilimcilerle dalga geçmek için bu yenilenmiş kıtaya Darwinya adını veriyorlar. Sanırım hani evrim vardı yaratılış yoktu demek istiyorlar.
Biz ise Mucize'den 8 yıl sonra Eşi ve küçük kızıyla Amerika'dan Yeni İngiltere'ye giden Guilford Law isimli genç bir fotoğrafçının yaşadıklarına tanık oluyoruz. Kendisi bir fotoğrafçı ve eşini ve kızını Yeni Londra'da bırakıp keşif ekibiyle Darwinya'nın Avrupa kısmını inceleye gidecek.
Diğer yandan ise Mucize'den sonra Tanrılarla konuştuğunu iddia edip; insanların geçmişini geleceğini gören, kayıp eşyaları bulan, hastalıklarının iyileşip iyileşmediğini söyleyen ve bu sayede yolunu bulan Elias Vale'in yaşadıklarına tanık oluyoruz.
Başka karakterlerin gözünden de kitabımızı okusak da olayların çoğunluğu bu iki karakterimiz ve onların çevrisinde geçiyor.
Kitabı okumaya başlamadan önce aklıma hemen Jules Verne'in Dünya'nın Merkezine seyahat kitabı gelmişti. D.M.S. kitabındaki gibi bu kitapta da çevremizi keşfe çıkacağız ve değişik maceralar yaşayacağız sanmıştım. Ancak durum çok farklı yerlere uzanıyor. Darwinya'da macera yaşamıyor muyuz? Tabi ki yaşıyoruz ama işler orada bitmiyor.
Darwinya, bazı okuyuculara ağır gelebilir. Nedeni ise hem kitabın ağır ilerlemesi hem de bazı bölümlerin çokça Kutsal Kitap göndermeleri, kozmoloji ve doğa-bilim terimleri / göndermeleri içermesi. Ben bazı bilgileri biliyordum bazılarını ise Google'ladım. Okurken pek sıkıntı çekmedim.
Kitap kesinlikle zaman kaybı değildi. Benim tek eksik bulduğum kısım Darwinya'daki canlıları daha çok tanımamak oldu, 3-5 yaratıkla falan karşılaşıyoruz ancak fazlasını göremiyoruz. Tasvirler ise çok yetersiz kalmış. Yazar bu kısımlarda cimri davranmış veya hayal gücü yetmemiş olabilir. Bu yüzden kitaptan yarım puan kırdım. Bir yarım puan ise bazı karakterlerin gereksiz yere ölmesi ve bazı kısımların okuyucuya aktarılamaması yüzünden kırdım.
Beklentiyi yüksek tutmazsanız keyif alabilirsiniz.
Son olarak bir alıntıyla bitirelim:
"Bilim bakmak demekti... Özel bir tarzda bakmak. Özellikle de anlamadığımız şeylere dikkatle bakmak. Söz gelimi yıldızlara bakmak ve onlardan korkmamak, onlara tapmamak, sadece sorular sormak, bir sonraki ve onun ardındaki sorulara açılacak kapıların anahtarlarını bulmak."
Biz ise Mucize'den 8 yıl sonra Eşi ve küçük kızıyla Amerika'dan Yeni İngiltere'ye giden Guilford Law isimli genç bir fotoğrafçının yaşadıklarına tanık oluyoruz. Kendisi bir fotoğrafçı ve eşini ve kızını Yeni Londra'da bırakıp keşif ekibiyle Darwinya'nın Avrupa kısmını inceleye gidecek.
Diğer yandan ise Mucize'den sonra Tanrılarla konuştuğunu iddia edip; insanların geçmişini geleceğini gören, kayıp eşyaları bulan, hastalıklarının iyileşip iyileşmediğini söyleyen ve bu sayede yolunu bulan Elias Vale'in yaşadıklarına tanık oluyoruz.
Başka karakterlerin gözünden de kitabımızı okusak da olayların çoğunluğu bu iki karakterimiz ve onların çevrisinde geçiyor.
Kitabı okumaya başlamadan önce aklıma hemen Jules Verne'in Dünya'nın Merkezine seyahat kitabı gelmişti. D.M.S. kitabındaki gibi bu kitapta da çevremizi keşfe çıkacağız ve değişik maceralar yaşayacağız sanmıştım. Ancak durum çok farklı yerlere uzanıyor. Darwinya'da macera yaşamıyor muyuz? Tabi ki yaşıyoruz ama işler orada bitmiyor.
Darwinya, bazı okuyuculara ağır gelebilir. Nedeni ise hem kitabın ağır ilerlemesi hem de bazı bölümlerin çokça Kutsal Kitap göndermeleri, kozmoloji ve doğa-bilim terimleri / göndermeleri içermesi. Ben bazı bilgileri biliyordum bazılarını ise Google'ladım. Okurken pek sıkıntı çekmedim.
Kitap kesinlikle zaman kaybı değildi. Benim tek eksik bulduğum kısım Darwinya'daki canlıları daha çok tanımamak oldu, 3-5 yaratıkla falan karşılaşıyoruz ancak fazlasını göremiyoruz. Tasvirler ise çok yetersiz kalmış. Yazar bu kısımlarda cimri davranmış veya hayal gücü yetmemiş olabilir. Bu yüzden kitaptan yarım puan kırdım. Bir yarım puan ise bazı karakterlerin gereksiz yere ölmesi ve bazı kısımların okuyucuya aktarılamaması yüzünden kırdım.
Beklentiyi yüksek tutmazsanız keyif alabilirsiniz.
Son olarak bir alıntıyla bitirelim:
"Bilim bakmak demekti... Özel bir tarzda bakmak. Özellikle de anlamadığımız şeylere dikkatle bakmak. Söz gelimi yıldızlara bakmak ve onlardan korkmamak, onlara tapmamak, sadece sorular sormak, bir sonraki ve onun ardındaki sorulara açılacak kapıların anahtarlarını bulmak."
November 11, 2012
At firt glimpse I was immediately taken in by the cover stating Darwinia was a Hugo Award Finalist.
An important fact in my book.
The quotes I read here and there said it was a variation on The Lost World by Arthur Conan Doyle, in the tradition of Edgar Rice Burroughs, Jules Verne, and H.G. Wells, comparable to Philip K. Dick or A.E. van Vogt, and since then, armchair critics have said that it has a sprinkling of the Elder Gods mythos by H.P. Lovecraft, and that the creature portion was reminiscent of Stephen King, and several made reference to The Matrix.
Incredibly, all of this is true.
Not so incredibly, it never reached the heights of anything it was referenced to.
Not for me, anyway.
I found a brand new mint copy of it with the title on the book cover in rose gold embossed lettering, with an eye-catching cover that was right up my alley.
I was SO stoked!:
It started off great and the first half really pulled me in. I thought the characters, plot, world, and sequences were all really fascinating. The second half, however, unraveled to the extremes and, shockingly, fell flat, in my opinion.
Knowing that Robert Charles Wilson had previously won the Philip K. Dick Award for his previous novel, Mysterium, published before this one in 1994, I wasn't surprised that his writing, characters, and world were all very engaging, at first. Once it reached it's zenith and beyond, the culmination of his grandiose plot and his handling of the character development just never measured up to the level of intent this novel needed them to be. At least not for me, it didn't.
After seeing all the authors it was referenced to, Arthur Conan Doyle, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Jules Verne, and H.G. Wells, I was expecting it to be a lot of fun.
Everything popular those authors wrote was fun.
This is a bleak read and not fun at all.
Maybe I should've paid more attention, when reading about Darwinia, to how many times I heard the name, Philip K. Dick. It was never the intent of Robert Charles Wilson to make this fun in the first place. *BTW, before anybody says anything, I want to go on record and say that I've read and liked many stories by Philip K. Dick but, most of them are bleak and he's a real big hit or miss for me, mattering on what I'm reading by him.
I will defend this book somewhat and say that there are some clever ideas, interesting concepts, and it's very unique.
I so wanted to really like this book!
I give it an unfortunate 3 stars.
Recommended for readers who like their adventures more bleak than I do, and for those who might be able to look past it's many faults, and enjoy some of it's separate parts, rather than for it's sum.
**I want to mention again, what a cool cover by sci-fi painter, Jim Burns!
August 5, 2014
This was OK. I remember seeing this book on the shelf when it came out way back when I was in high school (and in the middle of my longest-running SF phases) and being lured by the cover. I finally got around to reading it due to a dearth of reading options. (Hurricanes will do that to you.) I still think it has a lovely cover, and the blurb seemed to promise a book about ecology, evolution, and the 20-th century scientific spirit. I was excited about all of it.
Unfortunately, the book and the writing fell flat. Another reviewer here has described it as a Doctor Who episode without the Doctor, and that's a very apt way to sum it up. There were enough somewhat interesting ideas here for a short story, but not enough to carry a novel. The ideas weren't arresting or original enough to merit the mental space Wilson spends on them. In cases like these, sometimes the characters and the writing can carry the day, but not so here. The characters are two-dimensional and plain. While I feel that the writing style may have been a deliberate attempt to capture the tone of the Victorian age, it came up uninspired and bland.
Unfortunately, the book and the writing fell flat. Another reviewer here has described it as a Doctor Who episode without the Doctor, and that's a very apt way to sum it up. There were enough somewhat interesting ideas here for a short story, but not enough to carry a novel. The ideas weren't arresting or original enough to merit the mental space Wilson spends on them. In cases like these, sometimes the characters and the writing can carry the day, but not so here. The characters are two-dimensional and plain. While I feel that the writing style may have been a deliberate attempt to capture the tone of the Victorian age, it came up uninspired and bland.
October 11, 2019
1912. Europe vanishes, replaced by an antediluvian world inhabited by fantastic creatures. Naturally, an expedition is mounted. But it soon becomes clear that someone--or something--doesn't want Darwinia’s secrets exposed …
Wilson has done an impressive job of world building. There's a wealth of detail in the sights, sounds, and even smells that bring Darwinia to life. But it's not a world recognizable from Earth’s ancient past, more like a world where insects became the dominant life form. Wilson does eventually reveal what's going on, and it's stranger than you’re imagining--it was certainly stranger than I imagined anyway.
And the societal ramifications of an entire continent being replaced in the blink of an eye aren't skimped on either. Religious fundamentalism is on the rise. After all, one couldn't ask for a plainer example of a miracle. Darwinia appeared overnight, complete with geological strata, plants with growth rings, and all other “evidence” of having been there for millennia. Wilson also implies that European literature and culture in general is now frowned upon. Clearly they must have been doing something offensive in the sight of God to bring such a fate upon themselves …
Darwinia is as fine a science fiction novel as you’re likely to read. Highly recommended!
Wilson has done an impressive job of world building. There's a wealth of detail in the sights, sounds, and even smells that bring Darwinia to life. But it's not a world recognizable from Earth’s ancient past, more like a world where insects became the dominant life form. Wilson does eventually reveal what's going on, and it's stranger than you’re imagining--it was certainly stranger than I imagined anyway.
And the societal ramifications of an entire continent being replaced in the blink of an eye aren't skimped on either. Religious fundamentalism is on the rise. After all, one couldn't ask for a plainer example of a miracle. Darwinia appeared overnight, complete with geological strata, plants with growth rings, and all other “evidence” of having been there for millennia. Wilson also implies that European literature and culture in general is now frowned upon. Clearly they must have been doing something offensive in the sight of God to bring such a fate upon themselves …
Darwinia is as fine a science fiction novel as you’re likely to read. Highly recommended!
March 1, 2010
I had certain expectations going into Darwinia: A Novel of a Very Different Twentieth Century and it didn't meet those expectations. It turned out that it wasn't about what I thought it was about at all. It had a big twist that completely turned my assumptions of the reality of the novel's world upside down. I didn't like how that twist was revealed so blatantly so early in the story.
I know I'm giving the impression that I disliked Darwinia, however I don't mean that at all. The story is very intriguing and Robert Charles Wilson creates a very new and unique world. The characterizations are weak, but the story makes up for that. I do recommend Darwinia760961 to science fiction fans.
I know I'm giving the impression that I disliked Darwinia, however I don't mean that at all. The story is very intriguing and Robert Charles Wilson creates a very new and unique world. The characterizations are weak, but the story makes up for that. I do recommend Darwinia760961 to science fiction fans.
November 5, 2007
Reminiscent of such diverse writers as Edgar Rice Burroughs, H. G. Wells, and Philip K. Dick, Darwinia by Robert Charles Wilson is an amazing piece of literary alchemy. Imagine, if you will, a reality where in 1912 Europe transforms into a strange land of nightmarish jungles and alien creatures. This so‑called Miracle is the centerpiece of this fascinating and truly different alternate history.
Young Guilford Law joins an expedition to explore this Darwinia. What they uncover shatters conception of reality and man's destiny in the universe. This book is at the essence of what makes SF wonderful!
Young Guilford Law joins an expedition to explore this Darwinia. What they uncover shatters conception of reality and man's destiny in the universe. This book is at the essence of what makes SF wonderful!
March 22, 2023
Do you like the idea of an Edgar rice Burroughs jungle adventure crossed with some H.P. Lovecraft cosmic horror? Sure, it’s what we all dream about, right?
This book will almost get you there. The first half, as another reviewer said was five stars, about halfway it changes gears. While the second half was still enjoyable and well done I wish it had continued on the track it was on in the first.
Still good though, looking forward to reading more from this guy, I’ve had spin on my shelf for awhile.
This book will almost get you there. The first half, as another reviewer said was five stars, about halfway it changes gears. While the second half was still enjoyable and well done I wish it had continued on the track it was on in the first.
Still good though, looking forward to reading more from this guy, I’ve had spin on my shelf for awhile.
June 10, 2007
The same author's Spin is a far better book, and there were points when the meta-reference became too much for me (yes, even me), but it's a really interesting premise that quite often delivers on its promise, especially in the first half. The second half, where the book threatens to eat itself, I'm not as big a fan of, but the storytelling works well. Wilson is a good writer.
May 12, 2022
Me ha sorprendido gratamente, sobre todo la narración y la construcción de los personajes. Los capítulos son cortos y dinámicos. Las explicaciones pseudocientificas no son excesivamente largas que es lo que más detesto de la ciencia ficción.
Su implicita critica a la religión es patética ya que es más difícil creer lo que propone la pseudociencia que lo demás. La historia hubiera ganado más si en vez de ceros y unos hubieran sido ángeles y demonios de verdad
Su implicita critica a la religión es patética ya que es más difícil creer lo que propone la pseudociencia que lo demás. La historia hubiera ganado más si en vez de ceros y unos hubieran sido ángeles y demonios de verdad
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 13, 2014
Este livro deixou-me perplexo. Aliás, mais do que isso - estupefacto!
Sendo a Ficção Científica o meu género literário favorito, e sendo ainda raras as boas traduções de grande obras de FC para a Língua Portuguesa, foi com alguma expectativa que abordei a leitura deste Darwinia de Robert Charles Wilson (RCW), tanto mais que se trata de um livro da coleção Bang da SdE, que nos habituou já a traduções muito precisas e bem conseguidas, acompanhadas por boas edições sem gralhas. Infelizmente, este livro desiludiu-me a todos os níveis.
De uma forma geral, este livro é muito, mas mesmo muito, aborrecido. Mais do que isso, é maçador. Para cada ideia, o autor utiliza um número tão excessivo de adjetivos que quando acabamos de ler uma frase já não nos lembramos como é que ela começou, e muito menos a que é que se referia, seja pessoa, lugar ou objeto. Após as 80 páginas iniciais, ficou claro para mim que o autor privilegiou nesta obra a verborreia literária em lugar de brindar o leitor com frases mais simples, cativantes ou entusiasmantes. Há formas mais diretas e não menos literárias de escrever prosa que não entediam tanto o leitor e cativam mais o interesse por prosseguir a leitura.
Em segundo lugar, a ideia principal é tão original que o autor necessita de introduzir um interlúdio perfeitamente disparatado e desenquadrado a meio do livro para tentar dar alguma explicação a um leitor que se encontra literalmente perdido no meio de descrições pseudoliterárias e cenas de ação tão confusas que é preciso ler mais do que uma vez para tentar compreender, da segunda vez ignorando os desnecessários, coloridos, abundantes, recheados, enegrecidos e (Ainda se lembra a que é que eu me estava a referir no início desta frase? Precisamente! Agora imagine que o livro é todo assim... mas para pior!)
Tendo já lido outra obra deste mesmo autor, "Spin", vencedor do Hugo Award de 2006, encontrei uma enorme semelhança na forma como ambas as obras se iniciam. De facto, em qualquer dos casos, RCW recorreu a um evento anormal/enigmático/catastrófico que foi utilizado para introduzir a ideia principal em torno da qual se constrói a estrutura do livro. Em ambos os casos, ocorreu um evento que modificou o nosso planeta, foi presenciado por um adolescente que mais tarde irá ter um papel preponderante na resolução do enigma inicial. No final, fica-se com a ideia que a peocupação do autor nõ é respeitar o interesse do leitor, e eu não gosto deste tipo de estórias.
Finalmente, apesar de a capa indicar "Vencedor do prestigiado Philip K. Dick Award", refere-se ao prémio que RCW venceu em 1994 com a obra "Mysterium" e não com este livro especificamente. Para além disso, este livro, "Darwinia", apenas esteve na lista de nomeações para o Hugo Award de 1999, que foi atribuído, nesse ano, a Connie Willis.
Resumindo, a minha opinião é que pegar neste livro é uma grande perda de tempo. Para mim foi. Não aconselho a ninguém, e tão cedo não irei dedicar a minha preciosa atenção a livros escritos por este autor.
Sendo a Ficção Científica o meu género literário favorito, e sendo ainda raras as boas traduções de grande obras de FC para a Língua Portuguesa, foi com alguma expectativa que abordei a leitura deste Darwinia de Robert Charles Wilson (RCW), tanto mais que se trata de um livro da coleção Bang da SdE, que nos habituou já a traduções muito precisas e bem conseguidas, acompanhadas por boas edições sem gralhas. Infelizmente, este livro desiludiu-me a todos os níveis.
De uma forma geral, este livro é muito, mas mesmo muito, aborrecido. Mais do que isso, é maçador. Para cada ideia, o autor utiliza um número tão excessivo de adjetivos que quando acabamos de ler uma frase já não nos lembramos como é que ela começou, e muito menos a que é que se referia, seja pessoa, lugar ou objeto. Após as 80 páginas iniciais, ficou claro para mim que o autor privilegiou nesta obra a verborreia literária em lugar de brindar o leitor com frases mais simples, cativantes ou entusiasmantes. Há formas mais diretas e não menos literárias de escrever prosa que não entediam tanto o leitor e cativam mais o interesse por prosseguir a leitura.
Em segundo lugar, a ideia principal é tão original que o autor necessita de introduzir um interlúdio perfeitamente disparatado e desenquadrado a meio do livro para tentar dar alguma explicação a um leitor que se encontra literalmente perdido no meio de descrições pseudoliterárias e cenas de ação tão confusas que é preciso ler mais do que uma vez para tentar compreender, da segunda vez ignorando os desnecessários, coloridos, abundantes, recheados, enegrecidos e (Ainda se lembra a que é que eu me estava a referir no início desta frase? Precisamente! Agora imagine que o livro é todo assim... mas para pior!)
Tendo já lido outra obra deste mesmo autor, "Spin", vencedor do Hugo Award de 2006, encontrei uma enorme semelhança na forma como ambas as obras se iniciam. De facto, em qualquer dos casos, RCW recorreu a um evento anormal/enigmático/catastrófico que foi utilizado para introduzir a ideia principal em torno da qual se constrói a estrutura do livro. Em ambos os casos, ocorreu um evento que modificou o nosso planeta, foi presenciado por um adolescente que mais tarde irá ter um papel preponderante na resolução do enigma inicial. No final, fica-se com a ideia que a peocupação do autor nõ é respeitar o interesse do leitor, e eu não gosto deste tipo de estórias.
Finalmente, apesar de a capa indicar "Vencedor do prestigiado Philip K. Dick Award", refere-se ao prémio que RCW venceu em 1994 com a obra "Mysterium" e não com este livro especificamente. Para além disso, este livro, "Darwinia", apenas esteve na lista de nomeações para o Hugo Award de 1999, que foi atribuído, nesse ano, a Connie Willis.
Resumindo, a minha opinião é que pegar neste livro é uma grande perda de tempo. Para mim foi. Não aconselho a ninguém, e tão cedo não irei dedicar a minha preciosa atenção a livros escritos por este autor.
July 24, 2011
Photographer in alt history 1920’s gets recruited into a battle for the memory of the universe taking place at the end of time. Which is a way more interesting summary than this book deserves.
Yeah, I think I need to stop digging through RCW’s back catalog in search of a book as brilliant and wonderful as Spin. There clearly isn’t one back there, and it isn’t worth having to slog through stuff like this.
This is supposed to be a skiffy meditation on immortality and memory and living, all wrapped in cool alt history packaging. Unfortunatley, It’s actually a thoroughly boring and disjointed bit of cardboard wanking of the “but I just want to live a normal life, why must I do great things?” variety. Complete with fridging of the wife for plot convenience and “character development,” of course, this being the most common fictional method of making a dude interesting or driven or whatever.
Blech. RCW,, for serious: you are better than this crap.
Yeah, I think I need to stop digging through RCW’s back catalog in search of a book as brilliant and wonderful as Spin. There clearly isn’t one back there, and it isn’t worth having to slog through stuff like this.
This is supposed to be a skiffy meditation on immortality and memory and living, all wrapped in cool alt history packaging. Unfortunatley, It’s actually a thoroughly boring and disjointed bit of cardboard wanking of the “but I just want to live a normal life, why must I do great things?” variety. Complete with fridging of the wife for plot convenience and “character development,” of course, this being the most common fictional method of making a dude interesting or driven or whatever.
Blech. RCW,, for serious: you are better than this crap.
February 25, 2010
This book is a kinetic tumble of genres: alternate history, science fiction, geographical survey, action thriller, horror, mythology. The story is idea-driven much more than character-driven; it's the detached logic of situations that makes many sections heartwrenching. The complete strangeness of Darwinia juxtaposes the absence of Europe, direct ancestor of my literary development. Indeed, in this scenario, I would not have been born at all, as my paternal grandfather would have disappeared in 1912 at age ten. There's no rest for the reader, no place of comfort, as there is none for most of the characters. I'm glad I read (and finished) this book. It made me think; it took familiar world-pieces, tossed a number of them out, and placed the rest in very unfamiliar combinations. It charged my imagination; parts of it creeped me out. Not a comfortable read, but a worthwhile one.
April 18, 2010
Two pages of lame science fiction padded by lengthy carrying on by not-so-compelling characters. The premise, (and this doesn't spoil much) has potential: Europe suddenly vanishes and is replaced by a Europe analog from another world, with a whole new family tree of life to discover. But only a small handful of silly organisms are mentioned, most are unimaginative in their detail, and the rest are only mentioned by name.
I really get angry when I read awful "science fiction" like this that attempts to explain mystical foolishness like ghosts, gods, psychics, and the afterlife in terms of half-baked ideas that sound like science, but are really the worst kind of trash.
I really get angry when I read awful "science fiction" like this that attempts to explain mystical foolishness like ghosts, gods, psychics, and the afterlife in terms of half-baked ideas that sound like science, but are really the worst kind of trash.
May 5, 2010
Gah. I loved the first half of this but it got too weird and convoluted and I sort of lost interest near the end. It was missing the great characters that Wilson does so well in his later novels, too. This won't stop me from jumping right into Blind Lake though.
December 27, 2024
This speculative fiction plays hommage to the 19th century science fiction writers, such as Jules Verne, H.G. Wells and Edgar Rice Burroughts and their works, The Mysterious Island, The Time Machine, The Lost World, respectively.
In this alternative history novel, an event dubbed as "the Miricle" occurs in Europe and much of Great Britain eliminating much of its population in a rapture-like event and returning the land to a primeval state in short order now known as Darwenia. (I'm not sure why someone would consider this a miraculous occurence!)
The novel spotlights in alternating stories two protogonists. First, there is Guildford Law, a young married aristocrat, and a bit of a milquetoast, who is looking forwarded to proving himself on an expedition into Dawrenia to explore the new land. The second protagonist is Elias Vale, a former huckster but now legitimate psychic after a life-changing event who has discovered that he has a greater life purpose soon to be revealed to him by "the gods." Although revealed later, Guildford will also learn that he, too, has a greater purpose, which will put him at odds with Elias during the climax of the book.
The mysteries to be reveals include who terraformed Europe into Darwinia and the fate of those inhabitants that disappeared and what each protagonist's purpose will be.
There were aspects of this novel that I enjoyed, but most of it was simply a meager "meh." I expected fauna dreamed up by Verne and Burroughs but only go horse-sized worms and poisonous insects, similar to the fleshing-eating beetles in Stephen Sommers' The Mummy. Much of the plot appeared to be a mish-mash of several inspirations.
In this alternative history novel, an event dubbed as "the Miricle" occurs in Europe and much of Great Britain eliminating much of its population in a rapture-like event and returning the land to a primeval state in short order now known as Darwenia. (I'm not sure why someone would consider this a miraculous occurence!)
The novel spotlights in alternating stories two protogonists. First, there is Guildford Law, a young married aristocrat, and a bit of a milquetoast, who is looking forwarded to proving himself on an expedition into Dawrenia to explore the new land. The second protagonist is Elias Vale, a former huckster but now legitimate psychic after a life-changing event who has discovered that he has a greater life purpose soon to be revealed to him by "the gods." Although revealed later, Guildford will also learn that he, too, has a greater purpose, which will put him at odds with Elias during the climax of the book.
The mysteries to be reveals include who terraformed Europe into Darwinia and the fate of those inhabitants that disappeared and what each protagonist's purpose will be.
There were aspects of this novel that I enjoyed, but most of it was simply a meager "meh." I expected fauna dreamed up by Verne and Burroughs but only go horse-sized worms and poisonous insects, similar to the fleshing-eating beetles in Stephen Sommers' The Mummy. Much of the plot appeared to be a mish-mash of several inspirations.
April 9, 2020
Portraying an alien ecology gaining a foothold on Earth, Darwinia is reminiscent of Ian McDonald's Evolution's Shore. In tone, it harkens back to Burroughs and Lovecraft. Wilson paints a fluid, enthralling picture of an unearthly wildlife, as well as one of humans struggling to understand this bizarre, enigmatic squatter in their midst.
Interlaced with this story is that of the ambitious, yet kindly, Guilford Law; he yearns for a normal life, feeling that reward of his work with the expedition will give his family the security he desires, though his doubts about Finch's theory give him pause. Thus, the young man is a fascinating, complex figure with which to carry the story. Other characters, including a spiritualist/con man, a frontiersman, and a skeptical scientist, prove equally absorbing.
This novel is full of surprises, turning as it does in a direction quite different from that which it seems to take in the beginning; nevertheless, this twist makes for a quite satisfying, enjoyable science fiction adventure. I recommend Darwinia most highly.
Interlaced with this story is that of the ambitious, yet kindly, Guilford Law; he yearns for a normal life, feeling that reward of his work with the expedition will give his family the security he desires, though his doubts about Finch's theory give him pause. Thus, the young man is a fascinating, complex figure with which to carry the story. Other characters, including a spiritualist/con man, a frontiersman, and a skeptical scientist, prove equally absorbing.
This novel is full of surprises, turning as it does in a direction quite different from that which it seems to take in the beginning; nevertheless, this twist makes for a quite satisfying, enjoyable science fiction adventure. I recommend Darwinia most highly.
August 10, 2014
There comes a time when you read a book (especially science fiction, but that is a discussion for a whole new entry) when a concept is totally new a fascinating, and this is one of them. I guess every genre suffers from the adage - there are no new stories, just ways of re-telling old ones - or something like that.
Anyway this book I will admit had one such idea - I cannot really explain it since practically the WHOLE book hinges around it, what I can say is that I didnt see it coming and in a strange way it all makes sense. I will admit that this was the first book I had read of Robert Charles Wilson but it so impressed me I will be looking for others of his to see if they too are as intriguing and interesting to read.
What I will also guilty put my hand up to is that the cover is a brilliant piece of artwork sadly not given real justice to considering the small picture that is available here - it amongst other things influenced me to pick this book up and give it a try.
Anyway this book I will admit had one such idea - I cannot really explain it since practically the WHOLE book hinges around it, what I can say is that I didnt see it coming and in a strange way it all makes sense. I will admit that this was the first book I had read of Robert Charles Wilson but it so impressed me I will be looking for others of his to see if they too are as intriguing and interesting to read.
What I will also guilty put my hand up to is that the cover is a brilliant piece of artwork sadly not given real justice to considering the small picture that is available here - it amongst other things influenced me to pick this book up and give it a try.
July 29, 2007
This came highly recommended, but my overall impression was "blah". It is well-written, I'll grant that, and the first half was just fine, but I spent the second half rolling my eyes so hard it's a surprise I actually managed to finish it. I don't usually have trouble suspending my disbelief, but this was just silly.
September 16, 2021
Read as part of my ongoing shelf audit. Verdict: much to my surprise, a keeper.
Sometimes books I pick up on a whim blindside me, and this one definitely did. It was messy, but... I kind of loved it? I definitely understand the low average rating - it's a mixture of high-concept science fiction, alternate history, and ecofiction, and those three elements aren't always smoothly combined or consistently present in the book. But it's one of those things that just resonated with me.
I think the other GR reviews have pretty solidly spoiled this book, so I'm going to go ahead and drop the 'twist' as well, because it's hard to talk about this book without it.
So, the whole story takes place inside a simulation rendered by a galaxy-sized superintelligence, as part of an archive of the history of said galaxy. Basically. I think that's right. Gonna be honest, when Wilson started talking about 'noospheres' he lost me a bit. The point, however, is that this world is virtual, and the weird 'supernatural' phenomena which occur in it - the Conversion of Europe, the visions some people have afterwards, etc - are all manifestations of, basically, a virus in the software.
When this was first revealed in the text, I was... very skeptical. It happens around 140 pages into the paperback, and the entire first section is an adventure tale following an expedition into this strange, pseudo-Devonian Europe, so it's jarring to go from that to discussion of galactic collapse and an Archive designed to, I think, survive the heat death of the universe. It felt like a cop-out - and yet, how else could Wilson possibly explain the Conversion, short of invoking an actual deity or deities?
So. The whole virtuality concept lets Wilson play with the set piece of this mysterious version of Europe, and that leads to some intriguing discussions between characters about evolution, creation, and the idea that a creator could imbue a world with a false "appearance of age". In the context of a virtual reality, of course, that's actually possible, which makes the whole debate more thought-provoking. (Wilson moves away from this idea, but I'd love to read an entire novel focused on it, if one exists...)
As the plot progresses and the characters become increasingly, undeniably aware that they live in a virtual reality, Wilson poses what I have always felt is the ultimate question in these thought experiments: Would it change anything?
There are complicating factors - the aforementioned computer virus has to be combatted, and that ends up being a pretty straight-up battle sequence - but ultimately, I felt the heart of the book was in the idea of what makes an experience real and valuable, which is a fascinating thing to ponder.
I don't know if I would recommend this book to others, because I feel like it's difficult for me to explain why I enjoyed it so much or assess whether someone else's experience would be similar, but I'm definitely keeping it around for the time being.
Favorite quote:
Sometimes books I pick up on a whim blindside me, and this one definitely did. It was messy, but... I kind of loved it? I definitely understand the low average rating - it's a mixture of high-concept science fiction, alternate history, and ecofiction, and those three elements aren't always smoothly combined or consistently present in the book. But it's one of those things that just resonated with me.
I think the other GR reviews have pretty solidly spoiled this book, so I'm going to go ahead and drop the 'twist' as well, because it's hard to talk about this book without it.
So, the whole story takes place inside a simulation rendered by a galaxy-sized superintelligence, as part of an archive of the history of said galaxy. Basically. I think that's right. Gonna be honest, when Wilson started talking about 'noospheres' he lost me a bit. The point, however, is that this world is virtual, and the weird 'supernatural' phenomena which occur in it - the Conversion of Europe, the visions some people have afterwards, etc - are all manifestations of, basically, a virus in the software.
When this was first revealed in the text, I was... very skeptical. It happens around 140 pages into the paperback, and the entire first section is an adventure tale following an expedition into this strange, pseudo-Devonian Europe, so it's jarring to go from that to discussion of galactic collapse and an Archive designed to, I think, survive the heat death of the universe. It felt like a cop-out - and yet, how else could Wilson possibly explain the Conversion, short of invoking an actual deity or deities?
So. The whole virtuality concept lets Wilson play with the set piece of this mysterious version of Europe, and that leads to some intriguing discussions between characters about evolution, creation, and the idea that a creator could imbue a world with a false "appearance of age". In the context of a virtual reality, of course, that's actually possible, which makes the whole debate more thought-provoking. (Wilson moves away from this idea, but I'd love to read an entire novel focused on it, if one exists...)
As the plot progresses and the characters become increasingly, undeniably aware that they live in a virtual reality, Wilson poses what I have always felt is the ultimate question in these thought experiments: Would it change anything?
There are complicating factors - the aforementioned computer virus has to be combatted, and that ends up being a pretty straight-up battle sequence - but ultimately, I felt the heart of the book was in the idea of what makes an experience real and valuable, which is a fascinating thing to ponder.
I don't know if I would recommend this book to others, because I feel like it's difficult for me to explain why I enjoyed it so much or assess whether someone else's experience would be similar, but I'm definitely keeping it around for the time being.
Favorite quote:
"Truth is often simple. Deceptively simple. But I won't put my ignorance on an altar and call it God. It feels like idolatry, like the worst kind of idolatry."
July 15, 2019
I read this when it came out. Superior and original Sci-fi.
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