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Darwin's Children (Abridged): A Novel Audiobook
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(3.00) - 2,566 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
Greg Bear’s Nebula Award–winning novel, Darwin’s Radio, painted a chilling portrait of humankind on the threshold of a radical leap in evolution. Now Bear continues his provocative tale of the human race confronted by an uncertain future, where “survival of the fittest” takes on astonishing and controversial new dimensions. Eleven years have passed since SHEVA, an ancient retrovirus, was discovered in human DNA—a retrovirus that caused mutations in the human genome and heralded the arrival of a new wave of genetically enhanced humans. Now these changed children have reached adolescence . . . and face a world that is outraged about their very existence. For these special youths, possessed of remarkable, advanced traits that mark a major turning point in human development, are also ticking time bombs harboring hosts of viruses that could exterminate the “old” human race. Fear and hatred of the virus children have made them a persecuted underclass, quarantined by the government in special “schools,” targeted by federally sanctioned bounty hunters, and demonized by hysterical segments of the population. But pockets of resistance have sprung up among those opposed to treating the children like dangerous diseases—and who fear the worst if the government’s draconian measures are carried to their extreme. Scientists Kaye Lang and Mitch Rafelson are part of this small but determined minority. Once at the forefront of the discovery and study of the SHEVA outbreak, they now live as virtual exiles in the Virginia suburbs with their daughter, Stella—a bright, inquisitive virus child who is quickly maturing, straining to break free of the protective world her parents have built around her, and eager to seek out others of her kind. But for all their precautions, Kaye, Mitch, and Stella have not slipped below the government’s radar. The agencies fanatically devoted to segregating and controlling the new-breed children monitor their every move—watching and waiting for the opportunity to strike the next blow in their escalating war to preserve “humankind” at any cost.
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"The sequel to the equally good Darwin's Radio, this book delves further into the human race's response to a sudden evolutionary event among newborn children. Greg Bear has a dark, eerie quality to his stories, but his books are hard to put down."
— Abe (4 out of 5 stars)
Darwin's Children Listener Reviews
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" This is Bear's followup to the award-winning "Darwin's Radio", which I loved. Darwin's Children isn't bad, but I didn't find it as compelling as its predecessor. However it does offer interesting ideas about what life as a human might be like with additional or enhanced senses that generated genuine collective emotion and thought. What would society look like if the primary underlying factor was an intense compulsion to cooperate and to seek harmony and communion? "
— John, 2/16/2014 -
" 2nd in series concerning accelerated evolution of human species. Steeped in genetic and virus research. "
— Chuck, 1/29/2014 -
" Not as good as I was hoping. The actual story was disjointed and sort of fell away in the end. "
— Debbie, 1/25/2014 -
" Good but Darwin's Radio was better. The story just kind of faded away at the end. "
— John, 1/24/2014 -
" A good story to help appreciate how much damage an ignorant populace can cause in ten or so years. Some amazing language in this book: "steepy" and "frithing" and "demes." "
— Jay, 1/22/2014 -
" Really interesting. Not a quick page turner, but it puts forward some very thought provoking points. Definitely worth a read, and one of those books that can actually be brought up in conversation about something other than the book itself. "
— Ailie, 1/18/2014 -
" An interesting theory on evolution. Retrovirus triggered radical steps in evolution. Would be cool if it were true and would explain a lot. "
— James, 1/14/2014 -
" I was delighted to see that there was a sequel to Darwin's Radio. But this book did not quite have the punch of the first. "
— Eric, 12/17/2013 -
" Not as gripping the fist book...but not awful. "
— Kathryn, 10/25/2013 -
" the premise was good... but it was typical and predictable.. and for me, I don't know.. I enjoyed reading it but felt it was lacking depth and more importantly, for me, intensity. "
— thebutterflycastle, 6/6/2013 -
" Super-creepy science-fiction bio-thriller. Bear's ideas about the real forces at work on our planet get you thinking.... "
— Christopher, 4/3/2013 -
" Id forgotten about this having read darwins radio ages ago it was lovely to find this carried on, I enjoyed this couldnt put it down.. "
— Wendy, 10/28/2012 -
" Not quite as good as Darwin's Radio, but a very good novel nonetheless. "
— Mhoram, 7/28/2012 -
" Eh. Not bad, but didn't live up to Darwin's Radio. I was pretty bored by Mitch's sections...I felt it slowed down the book too much. My final opinion is that while it wasn't a complete waste of time, it also wasn't a great draw. "
— What_a_card, 7/21/2012 -
" The Darwin's series are my all time favorite books! They're a great read. Everything you can ever want out of a book (in my opinion) is here. Science fiction, action, intrigue, suspense and romance! I want more! "
— Kelly, 7/14/2012 -
" Pretty standard sci-fi - what have we done with genetic engineering type thing. An ok read. "
— Kettie, 6/22/2012 -
" One of the best science fiction books I've read in years. Greg Bear is a really smart author. I'd rank it up there with "A Stranger in a Strange Land" "
— Ethan, 5/22/2012 -
" Sequel to Dar Radio, children explore what it means to be post-human "
— Michelle, 2/3/2012 -
" Followup to Darwin's Radio. How would you parent the next step in human evolution? "
— Karen, 5/6/2011 -
" Second of a series<br/>OVER WRITTEN, with pages of conversation that aren't important and characters who could have been left out. The head hopping (jumping of POV) was quite distracting. No flow. I never could relate to anyone. Read it all, as an exercise in determination. <br/> "
— Kae, 2/18/2011 -
" Great book. Not as good as Darwin's Radio, though. "
— Doreen, 1/22/2011 -
" This book is heavy on the science in sci-fi, but it is thought provoking and entertaining. It delves into true human nature and how scared we are of things that are different. "
— Bryony, 1/13/2011 -
" the premise was good... but it was typical and predictable.. and for me, I don't know.. I enjoyed reading it but felt it was lacking depth and more importantly, for me, intensity. "
— thebutterflycastle, 12/22/2010 -
" Not as good as the first one, but still enjoyable. "
— Scoozer, 10/2/2010 -
" Eh. I just couldn't stay with it. The writing is excellent as with all of his books. It was just the story line. "
— Thea, 9/15/2010 -
" Not quite as good as Darwin's Radio, but a very good novel nonetheless. "
— Mhoram, 8/16/2010 -
" This was a hard book to read, quite dark emotionally as well as all the scientific information. However, it was a good sequel to Darwin's Radio, and nicely tied up the original story line. "
— Liz, 6/1/2010 -
" Excellent read! I was really on the edge of my seat through many parts of the book. Greg Bear adds such intelligence to his books but in a way that readers new to Sci-Fi can grasp. "
— Lauren, 4/26/2010 -
" LIked Darwin's Radio better, not a bad sequel, first book had a better pace. "
— Peter, 4/20/2010 -
" A good sequel to Darwin's Radio, not QUITE as good as the radio but still very interesting. "
— Dan, 4/13/2010
About Greg Bear
Greg Bear is an American author of more than forty books spanning the science fiction, fantasy, and horror genres. His science fiction works have covered themes of galactic conflict, artificial universes, consciousness and cultural practice, and accelerated evolution. His fiction has garnered five Nebula Awards, two Hugo Awards, the Monty Award, and the Heinlein Award. He has also been an illustrator of science fiction works in both hardcover and paperback. He has written articles on film for the Los Angeles Times and book reviews for the San Diego Union. He is a founding member of the Association of Science Fiction Artists and of the San Diego Comic-Con. and has served as president and vice president of the Science Fiction Writers of America. He has also served as a consultant for NASA, the US Army, the State Department, and other organizations on such matters as crime and criminal justice, virology and evolution, and bio security.