Stephen Baxter’s New Book “Evolution” Delivers
by Gen Wright
Evolution is a breathtaking science fiction story that will keep you spellbound from the beginning to end. Written by Stephen Baxter, this story is unorthodox and has a inclination to approach hard to believe events and notions. Baxter himself has avowed up front that he has turned a bit crazy in dealing with his story line.
Interesting Vignettes
The collection of short stories does not comprise of a sole plot circling around one set of characters. It breaks free from the convention and gives you a succession of vignettes to trace the rise of primates. Charles Darwin’s evolution theory has been prolonged and dramatized in this novel. The offering in the form of self-contained story segments does hamper the complete indulgence of reading a novel with the tale intertwined in a consecutive thread. Yet Baxter does a first-rate job at making each segment absorbing and eye-popping. Although the book is authored like a series of short stories, you need to read them in sequence to perceive the evolution process in its entire marvel.
The Story
Evolution begins with the asteroid collision that resulted in the extermination of the dinosaurs. The impact cleared the way for the subsequent rise of the earliest primates. Each segment thereafter focuses on the rise of a species of primate and the life they led. The segments also depict the trials and tribulations of each species of primate in a very abstruse manner. The segment of the novel that marks the transmutation of hominids into human beings is undoubtedly the highlight of the novel.
Remarkably, the story surpasses the current age and takes you on an imaginary excursion into the future. The tale culminates with the total annihilation of the Earth due to the Sun’s explosion and consideration about fresh evolution. The summation may register with you as a fabrication of an imagination that has run much too wild.
Superlative Writing Mettle
Baxter keeps you hooked through the total story with his writing mastery. Ingeniously using the notions of evolutionary anthropology, sociology, and biology, Baxter is able to seamlessly amalgamate his story segments in serenity. The narrative moves smoothly, embodying Baxter’s aptitude and is truly on target.
You can’t help feeling that a few segments are needlessly prolonged. At 564 pages the story is without a doubt very long. You might just have a pro tem thought that the narrative is getting a bit monotonous, but that is predominantly because each generation is impinged with similar endeavors and perils.
Evolution is loaded with detail and avoids fallacies. This is a concise indication that the yarn is a product of sincere and thorough research by Baxter. It is in no way garden-variety. The parts of the story that handle the future reflect an ample measure of imagination. In short, the tale contains all the ingredients for being rated as a gratifying science fiction book of high standard.
Evolution is a story of mankind. It dispenses an insight about mankind’s ancestors and how humans came into existence. It also urges you to think about the future; to think about the coming millenniums. In short, this tale makes stimulating reading.
About the Author
Gen Wright is a contributor to the online community Vampire Rave, a social network for real vampires. He also contributes to SciFi Section, a science fiction community.