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Stephen Baxter Delivers an Unconvential Novel With Evolution

CT ThompsonBy CT Thompson
Apr 20, 2009
Evolution is a gripping science fiction story that will keep you enthralled from the beginning to end. Penned by Stephen Baxter, this novel is eccentric and has a propensity to move towards unrealistic adventures and conclusions. Baxter himself has avowed openly that he is a bit crazy concerning his story line.

Engaging Vignettes

The book does not contain a sole plot circling around one cluster of characters. It breaks free from the stereotype and gives you an array of vignettes to follow the evolution of primates. Charles Darwin's evolution theory has been stretched out and dramatized in this story. The offering in the form of self-reliant story segments does obstruct the complete enjoyment of reading a story with the story weaved in an unbroken thread. Regardless, Baxter does an acceptable job at making each segment absorbing and electrifying. Although the novel is styled like a series of short stories, you need to read them in order to comprehend the evolution process in its continuous marvel.

The Story

Evolution starts with the asteroid collision that resulted in the obliteration of the dinosaurs. The collision cleared the way for the subsequent development of the first primates. Each segment thereafter looks at the progression of a species of primate and the life they led. The segments also characterize the fortunes of each species of primate in a most enlightened style. The segment of the book that marks the conversion of hominids into human beings is surely the high point of the novel.

Astonishingly, the tale surpasses the current age and carries you on a fantasy excursion into the future. The book climaxes with the holocaust of the Earth due to the Sun's death and consideration about fresh evolution. The finale may register with you as a product of a reality that has run untamed.

Superlative Writing Mettle

Baxter keeps you addicted through the entire story with his writing deftness. Adeptly using the ideas of evolutionary biology, sociology, and anthropology, Baxter is able to seamlessly concatenate his story segments without difficulty. The tale moves smoothly, showing Baxter's moxie and is truly impeccable.

You can't help feeling that some segments are uselessly prolonged. At 564 pages the story is without a doubt very long. You may just have a pro tem thought that the tale is getting a bit monotonous, but that is largely because each generation is burdened with similar battles and hazards.

Evolution is chock-full of detail and steers clear of fallacies. This is a clear attestation that the yarn is a product of sincere and in-depth research by Baxter. It is in no way dull. The bits of the book that handle the future epitomize an abounding measure of imagination. In short, the story contains all the elements for being rated as a gratifying science fiction story of high standard.

Evolution is a yarn of humankind. It gives you an insight about your ancestors and how mankind came into existence. It also urges you to consider the future; to contemplate the coming millenniums. All in all, this tale makes gripping reading.
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