Darwin's Children

Starred review from March 3, 2003
In this masterful sequel to his Nebula Award–winning Darwin's Radio, Bear takes us into a near future forever changed by the birth of millions of genetically enhanced babies to mothers infected with the SHEVA virus. These children may represent the next great evolutionary leap, but some fear their appearance rings a death knell for traditional humanity. Geneticist Kaye Lang, archeologist Mitch Rafelson and their daughter, Stella Nova, have been hiding from an increasingly repressive U.S. government that wants to put the so-called "virus children" in what are essentially concentration camps. Eventually, the family is captured, and when Mitch resists he's arrested on a trumped-up charge of assaulting a federal officer. In later years, Kaye returns to genetics and Mitch, once he's out of jail, to archeology, but neither gives up hope of finding and freeing their daughter. Meanwhile, Stella, imprisoned but surrounded by her own kind, begins to explore the full significance of what it means to be post-human. Though cast in a thriller mode, like much of Bear's recent work, this novel may contain too much complex discussion of evolutionary genetics to appeal to Michael Crichton or Robin Cook fans. Nonetheless, Bear's sure sense of character, his fluid prose style and the fascinating culture his "Shevite" children begin to develop all make for serious SF of the highest order. (Apr. 1)Forecast:An eight-city author tour, plus national print advertising in both mainstream and SF/fantasy publications, should launch this into bestseller territory. Look for further award nominations for Bear, as well as the forthcoming Warner Bros. movie based on his novel
The Forge of God.

December 1, 2002
The Nebula Award-wining Darwin's Radio saw the appearance of new, improved human beings called Homo sapiens novus. Now lots of Homo sapiens are out to get them.

Copyright 2002 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 1, 2003
Adult/High School-In Darwin's Radio (Ballantine, 1999), a long-dormant retrovirus triggered an evolutionary leap. One of the resultant "virus children" was Stella Nova, the daughter of Mitch, an anthropologist, and Kaye, a molecular biologist. As this sequel begins 12 years later, the three are hiding out to escape an increasingly powerful "emergency" government agency set up to "protect" the public from the strange new children. With the complicity of politicians and the news media, EMAC has incited and exploited public fear, violating traditional American rights and isolating the youngsters in inhumane "schools." Stella is caught and placed in one of these institutions while her parents and several other characters studying the new evolutionary development endure their own privations in a country gone terribly wrong. As the adults struggle to carry on their work, Stella and the other virus children grow to maturity, covertly exploring their talents and inventing a new culture that transcends human limitations in several significant ways. Grounded in the cutting-edge science of genetics, this compelling story also explores the seemingly paradoxical question of spirituality. Bear's chilling portrait of America under the heel of EMAC is a cautionary tale worthy of George Orwell or Sinclair Lewis, yet his protagonists shine with humanity, courage, and, in the end, the hope that different species can share the world in peace. This outstanding novel can be read independently, but would best be enjoyed by those who read the first book.-Christine C. Menefee, Fairfax County Public Library, VA

Copyright 2003 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 15, 2003
Genetics and evolution are fascinating subjects for speculation, especially in Bear's capable hands. A decade ago (see " Darwin's Radio," 1999), human evolution took a leap when children genetically different from the rest of humanity were born around the world, thanks to the actions of retrovirus fragments in the human genome. " Darwin's Children" begins as the virus children are sent away to schools, often situated in old prisons, to keep them segregated from the rest of the world, which largely fears them. A new disease has emerged among the children, and it takes a great toll, in part because there simply isn't enough medicine to combat it, thanks to corruption in the bureaucracy. Stella Nova, the daughter of two eminent scientists who were at the forefront of predicting and understanding the malady, is one of its survivors. The rest of the book follows Stella's and the other remaining new children's struggle to understand their place in a world that wants to suppress them. Bear handles the interaction between science and plot with practiced aplomb.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2003, American Library Association.)