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Greg Bear

Darwin's Children

Stella Nova is one of a new kind of human. The SHEVA virus has altered the progress of pregnancy, resulting in children who are significantly different from what has been seen before. But many of the old-style humans aren't happy with this. Darwin's Children by Greg Bear tells of the ensuing struggles of the new children and their families in a hostile environment.

Bear raises some intruiging questions of how viruses affect us - whether they just the agents of disease they are made out to be, or whether they play a much more integral part in our lives. He also creates a fascinating description of the social structures formed by the new kind of people. The thing is though, this is mixed in with a different kind of story - one of paranoia and dubious political decisions, reflecting the ultra security-conscious nature of post 9/11 America. I felt that this part of the story didn't really gel with the rest of it. For instance, we hear how the virus had had its effect in the rest of the world without the resulting paranoia, but this seemed to have no influence within the USA. In today's global society I find this most unlikely. I have to say though that I'm not very keen anyway on the genre of tense political thrillers, and so I'm probably biased in my view of how this aspect fits in with the rest of the story. I'd recommend that you read some of the other reviews to find out their opinions on this matter. I'd note also that this is really a sequel to Darwin's Radio and so maybe I should have read that first.

Amazon.com info

Mass Market Paperback 512 pages
ISBN: 0345448367
Salesrank: 150158
Weight:0.5 lbs

Published: 2004 Del Rey

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Amazon.co.uk info

Paperback 480 pages
ISBN: 0007132387
Salesrank: 102393
Weight:0.55 lbs

Published: 2004 HarperCollins Publishers Ltd

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Amazon.ca info

Mass Market Paperback 512 pages
ISBN: 0345448367
Salesrank: 119088
Weight:0.5 lbs

Published: Del Rey

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Product 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—one that would alter our species forever. 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. DARWIN’S CHILDREN 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. From the Hardcover edition.

Product 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—one that would alter our species forever. 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.

DARWIN’S CHILDREN

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.

From the Hardcover edition.

If you liked Darwin's Children, you will not like this one. *
One of the most boring books I have ever seen in print. Nothing happens. Years of story time pass...and nothing happens. Familiar characters from Darwin's Radio...remain exactly the same, doing exactly the same jobs and stuck in exactly the same contrived, unbelievable politics...despite decades of story time passing. No new science is introduced and the only new character (and the only interesting character) is Stella Nova, who grows up and reveals some weakly thought out changes the SHEVA children go through. The book hinges on hopeless, repressive prejudice (behaviors inconsistent with epidemics seen in the last 1000 years), an archaeological miracle identical to the one in the first book, then suddenly, and with no connection to the rest of the book, everything magically gets better in the last 40 pages, a dues-ex-machina that seems to be telling the reader: "and some time passed and everyone got happy again." There is also an annoying, poorly written, religious thread that wastes fifty or more pages which adds nothing to the book, nothing to the speculative element, nothing to the characters and appears to be nothing but some rambling born-again-Christian fluff. Is Bear a born again? It would explain a lot of what is wrong with this book. This book is definitely not worth reading, and really wasn't even worth killing trees to print

If you liked Darwin's Children, you will not like this one. *

One of the most boring books I have ever seen in print.

Nothing happens.

Years of story time pass...and nothing happens.

Familiar characters from Darwin's Radio...remain exactly the same, doing exactly the same jobs and stuck in exactly the same contrived, unbelievable politics...despite decades of story time passing. No new science is introduced and the only new character (and the only interesting character) is Stella Nova, who grows up and reveals some weakly thought out changes the SHEVA children go through.

The book hinges on hopeless, repressive prejudice (behaviors inconsistent with epidemics seen in the last 1000 years), an archaeological miracle identical to the one in the first book, then suddenly, and with no connection to the rest of the book, everything magically gets better in the last 40 pages, a dues-ex-machina that seems to be telling the reader: "and some time passed and everyone got happy again."

There is also an annoying, poorly written, religious thread that wastes fifty or more pages which adds nothing to the book, nothing to the speculative element, nothing to the characters and appears to be nothing but some rambling born-again-Christian fluff. Is Bear a born again? It would explain a lot of what is wrong with this book.

This book is definitely not worth reading, and really wasn't even worth killing trees to print

pretty awful. moralistic religious garbage NOT hard sci fi *
I'm pretty dissappointed. I had read Eon and that was pretty ok. Not exactly the bleeding edge of hard sci fi, but ok. Darwin's children has poorly explained science ideas, 1 dimensional characters and really offensive religious and political rhetoric. The main character, a scientist, has a bizzarre and senseless god friend. The none-too-subtle predictions of an impending police state would be fine, if they didn't try to piggy back on mawkish sympathy for a non-existent (and utterly unbelievable) human species. I guess the moral of the story is that if we should suddenly have a generation's worth of really tall freckled kids we should NOT put such kids into concentration camps. I mean I've heard that republicans are bad, but concentration camps?! For children!? And yeah this new species isnt even explained or described hardly at all. We know they rely on scent alot for communication. Aside from being slightly gross, it's unclear in what way exactly the "virus children" represent the next evolutionary step. O yeah and the most most MOST annoying aspect is Mitch's whole "homo sap as cultural animal" spiel. Literally, in the same paragraph, he "recalls" that chimps eat other species of monkey while insisting its perfectly natural that that humans befriend hypothetical extinct non-sapient hommes. Bleh

pretty awful. moralistic religious garbage NOT hard sci fi *

I'm pretty dissappointed. I had read Eon and that was pretty ok. Not exactly the bleeding edge of hard sci fi, but ok.
Darwin's children has poorly explained science ideas, 1 dimensional characters and really offensive religious and political rhetoric.
The main character, a scientist, has a bizzarre and senseless god friend. The none-too-subtle predictions of an impending police state would be fine, if they didn't try to piggy back on mawkish sympathy for a non-existent (and utterly unbelievable) human species. I guess the moral of the story is that if we should suddenly have a generation's worth of really tall freckled kids we should NOT put such kids into concentration camps.
I mean I've heard that republicans are bad, but concentration camps?! For children!?
And yeah this new species isnt even explained or described hardly at all. We know they rely on scent alot for communication. Aside from being slightly gross, it's unclear in what way exactly the "virus children" represent the next evolutionary step.
O yeah and the most most MOST annoying aspect is Mitch's whole "homo sap as cultural animal" spiel. Literally, in the same paragraph, he "recalls" that chimps eat other species of monkey while insisting its perfectly natural that that humans befriend hypothetical extinct non-sapient hommes.
Bleh

Good sequel to Darwin's Radio ****
This was a good follow up to Darwin's radio. If you liked the first one, you'll like this book also.

Good sequel to Darwin's Radio ****

This was a good follow up to Darwin's radio. If you liked the first one, you'll like this book also.

An enjoyable read ****
This is a very short review but to the point, as the author of The Second Virgin Birth, I must say that, Darwin's Childrem, is well written with a well thought out plot line that holds you interest the entire book. I enjoyed reading it.

An enjoyable read ****

This is a very short review but to the point, as the author of The Second Virgin Birth, I must say that, Darwin's Childrem, is well written with a well thought out plot line that holds you interest the entire book. I enjoyed reading it.

Too Far Fetched. The Prequel is better *
It seemed that this book was written because of the success of the first one. I liked Darwin's Radio much better as in the sequel, the author went way beyond fiction. If you read the first one, stick with it and don't buy this one so you can have a lasting better impression which might be affected by this book..

Too Far Fetched. The Prequel is better *

It seemed that this book was written because of the success of the first one. I liked Darwin's Radio much better as in the sequel, the author went way beyond fiction.
If you read the first one, stick with it and don't buy this one so you can have a lasting better impression which might be affected by this book..

Good but could have been so much more. ****
This is a good solid book that follows on well from Darwins Radio. It gets bogged down in scientific terms in places, as if Bear is showing us what he knows rather than progressing the story and the story lines could have been developed so much more, with more focus on some plot lines and less on others. Never the less if you like Darwins radio, you will like this and overall it is a good story that keeps you turning the pages.

Good but could have been so much more. ****

This is a good solid book that follows on well from Darwins Radio. It gets bogged down in scientific terms in places, as if Bear is showing us what he knows rather than progressing the story and the story lines could have been developed so much more, with more focus on some plot lines and less on others. Never the less if you like Darwins radio, you will like this and overall it is a good story that keeps you turning the pages.

Thought provoking ****
This is a very good book. The science is good enough to be believable - nothing is too exagerated and the reactions to the 'children' are all too credible. I read Darwin's Radio, enjoyed it, but found this to be a much stronger book in which the characters are fleshed out in a much fuller way. I look forward to reading more of Greg Bear's work.

Thought provoking ****

This is a very good book. The science is good enough to be believable - nothing is too exagerated and the reactions to the 'children' are all too credible. I read Darwin's Radio, enjoyed it, but found this to be a much stronger book in which the characters are fleshed out in a much fuller way. I look forward to reading more of Greg Bear's work.

X-men grown-up ****
"Darwin's Children" is a provocatively titled novel, dripping with menace and postulates the "what if?" scenario of a fictional leap in human evolution. As serious scientific fiction, it is very well written. The prose flows well, the dialogue believable, the characters interesting and all representing a side in the debate of the ethics and emotions of the above scenario. All with a prevading sense of menace. The fiction is based on generally established science and the book very helpfully provides a glossary for readers who do not have a science background. Though readers with degrees in relevant areas may today spot discredited ideas, it doesn't ruin the story which is about society within and without a new species of human. Uncomfortably, but bravely, the novel revolves around an inverted eugenic-panicked America. Or, put in a historical context, it is as if the American government acted like Nazis but imprisons a master race instead of embracing it. A scary, difficult scenario. Fans of "The X-files" and "The X-men" would enjoy this novel as an extension of their favourite scenario. Indeed, "X-men 2" movie is an action-packed slant on this tale. Readers of Stephen King's "Firestarter" will see overtones of one of the main characters - a young girl with special abilities. Bear approaches the topic from his own angle and doesn't waste a word. The novel is however relatively short, and there are many areas where it could be expanded. In other words, a sequel is possible given the wealth of material present. The novel however, doesn't go anywhere near Apocalypse in spite of the blurb. Overall, a good read basing itself on good science.

X-men grown-up ****

"Darwin's Children" is a provocatively titled novel, dripping with menace and postulates the "what if?" scenario of a fictional leap in human evolution.

As serious scientific fiction, it is very well written. The prose flows well, the dialogue believable, the characters interesting and all representing a side in the debate of the ethics and emotions of the above scenario. All with a prevading sense of menace.

The fiction is based on generally established science and the book very helpfully provides a glossary for readers who do not have a science background. Though readers with degrees in relevant areas may today spot discredited ideas, it doesn't ruin the story which is about society within and without a new species of human. Uncomfortably, but bravely, the novel revolves around an inverted eugenic-panicked America. Or, put in a historical context, it is as if the American government acted like Nazis but imprisons a master race instead of embracing it. A scary, difficult scenario.

Fans of "The X-files" and "The X-men" would enjoy this novel as an extension of their favourite scenario. Indeed, "X-men 2" movie is an action-packed slant on this tale. Readers of Stephen King's "Firestarter" will see overtones of one of the main characters - a young girl with special abilities. Bear approaches the topic from his own angle and doesn't waste a word.

The novel is however relatively short, and there are many areas where it could be expanded. In other words, a sequel is possible given the wealth of material present. The novel however, doesn't go anywhere near Apocalypse in spite of the blurb.

Overall, a good read basing itself on good science.

wow - mind blowing / opinion changing *****
This is fab yarn & well told. I love the characters & the intricacies of the plot. Bear as usual makes you believe in the people & you get carried away hoping for a happy ending. The scary this is that it's so possible, the scince is such that I genuinly think that this may happen or something very similar ... I want to think that the human race would be kinder, but deep down I know we're not that nice. This tale make me feel guilty & question what I would do ... But theb that's Greg's style all along.

wow - mind blowing / opinion changing *****

This is fab yarn & well told. I love the characters & the intricacies of the plot. Bear as usual makes you believe in the people & you get carried away hoping for a happy ending. The scary this is that it's so possible, the scince is such that I genuinly think that this may happen or something very similar ... I want to think that the human race would be kinder, but deep down I know we're not that nice. This tale make me feel guilty & question what I would do ... But theb that's Greg's style all along.

Lost *
I read and enjoyed Darwin's Radio and gave it a good review. Before reading Darwin's Children I read the reviews on Amazon and generally found them discouraging. (why did I miss the good ones that I now find ? who knows). Never the less I pressed on and read it. True to the reviews that I had read I found the bio detail oppressive and skipped it as I largely done with Radio. But the unlike Radio I found that not only was I losing the thread of the story, I was also losing the will to continue. Do you know someone who thinks they know more than you, but rather than communnicating at you're level really delights in talking above your head using language that they know you won't understand. You must do, the world's full of such people. This seems to be Greg Bear. I struggled to page 255, one of the bodies is "gravid" !!!!. I have a wide vocabulary but had to guess at this one, is it a common term in the US, not in the UK. Next page "stone soup. Merton looked puzzled. Eileen explained stone soup. How colonial" She didn't explain to me, and I would have liked her to. I can find other examples, too much of this finally annoyed me. Bear's use of language excludes the reader rather than includes and this can't be good. I don't want him to limit himself to single sylables (see, my spellings naff) but common usage would be nice. Forgive my ignorance

Lost *

I read and enjoyed Darwin's Radio and gave it a good review. Before reading Darwin's Children I read the reviews on Amazon and generally found them discouraging. (why did I miss the good ones that I now find ? who knows). Never the less I pressed on and read it. True to the reviews that I had read I found the bio detail oppressive and skipped it as I largely done with Radio. But the unlike Radio I found that not only was I losing the thread of the story, I was also losing the will to continue. Do you know someone who thinks they know more than you, but rather than communnicating at you're level really delights in talking above your head using language that they know you won't understand. You must do, the world's full of such people. This seems to be Greg Bear. I struggled to page 255, one of the bodies is "gravid" !!!!. I have a wide vocabulary but had to guess at this one, is it a common term in the US, not in the UK. Next page "stone soup. Merton looked puzzled. Eileen explained stone soup. How colonial" She didn't explain to me, and I would have liked her to. I can find other examples, too much of this finally annoyed me. Bear's use of language excludes the reader rather than includes and this can't be good. I don't want him to limit himself to single sylables (see, my spellings naff) but common usage would be nice. Forgive my ignorance

Darwin's Legacy ****
I've been a fan of Greg Bear for sometime, it started, I think, with Eon. Like Orson Scott Card, another favourite, Bear writes stories about people, draped over a science fiction setting, driven by the same emotions as us all. In that regard, Darwin's Children doesn't disappoint; there's no escaping Mitch and Kaye's love for their daughter and each other, tested as it may be. After finishing Darwin's Radio, I was hesitant to pick up the sequel. I found Darwin's Radio to be cluttered with genetics 101 to the point of losing the story. Darwin's Children doesn't make that mistake. It finds a better balance of story and science. I read on the web that the book will soon be turned into a movie, which surprises me, as there's very little in the book that would seem attractive to Hollywood. It's a great read that gives pause. Enjoy.

Darwin's Legacy ****

I've been a fan of Greg Bear for sometime, it started, I think, with Eon. Like Orson Scott Card, another favourite, Bear writes stories about people, draped over a science fiction setting, driven by the same emotions as us all. In that regard, Darwin's Children doesn't disappoint; there's no escaping Mitch and Kaye's love for their daughter and each other, tested as it may be. After finishing Darwin's Radio, I was hesitant to pick up the sequel. I found Darwin's Radio to be cluttered with genetics 101 to the point of losing the story. Darwin's Children doesn't make that mistake. It finds a better balance of story and science. I read on the web that the book will soon be turned into a movie, which surprises me, as there's very little in the book that would seem attractive to Hollywood. It's a great read that gives pause. Enjoy.

Could have been happy with just Darwin's Radio ***
This sequel tells the story of Kaye's daughter up to about 16 years of age. The new species of man Bear creates proves to be not all that different. There are new social interaction possibilities, and new english phrases, but they really aren't that much different. This makes it not that interesting. Additionally, the more group focus of the new species leaves the individual characters seeming disinterested or plain. If you liked Darwin's Radio - I would suggest you leave it at that, and use your imagination instead of reading this.

Could have been happy with just Darwin's Radio ***

This sequel tells the story of Kaye's daughter up to about 16 years of age. The new species of man Bear creates proves to be not all that different. There are new social interaction possibilities, and new english phrases, but they really aren't that much different. This makes it not that interesting. Additionally, the more group focus of the new species leaves the individual characters seeming disinterested or plain.
If you liked Darwin's Radio - I would suggest you leave it at that, and use your imagination instead of reading this.

The first novel from Bear I didn't finish **
Greg Bear was my favorite writer, period. If I saw a new novel from him, I'd buy it, no questions asked. But Darwin's radio falls short. His mutated children characters could be fascinating, but he doesn't spend enough time on them. On and on we go, about Washington, hearings, and recriminations. Hey, if I wanted to see that crap, I can turn on C-SPAN and watch the 9-11 hearings, I don't need to pay eight bucks. Where is the wonder and majesty of the Way, in the Eon series? The vast loneliness of space, and awesome sense duty in the Forge of God books? The strangeness and alien humanity in Queen of Angels? This book is a disappointment. If you want to go find the wonder that was Greg Bear, go get yourself an Alistair Reynolds book. That guy ROCKS! And Mr. Bear, please go back into the wonder business, so I can go back to buying your books again without worring about wasting my time.

The first novel from Bear I didn't finish **

Greg Bear was my favorite writer, period. If I saw a new novel from him, I'd buy it, no questions asked. But Darwin's radio falls short. His mutated children characters could be fascinating, but he doesn't spend enough time on them. On and on we go, about Washington, hearings, and recriminations. Hey, if I wanted to see that crap, I can turn on C-SPAN and watch the 9-11 hearings, I don't need to pay eight bucks. Where is the wonder and majesty of the Way, in the Eon series? The vast loneliness of space, and awesome sense duty in the Forge of God books? The strangeness and alien humanity in Queen of Angels? This book is a disappointment. If you want to go find the wonder that was Greg Bear, go get yourself an Alistair Reynolds book. That guy ROCKS! And Mr. Bear, please go back into the wonder business, so I can go back to buying your books again without worring about wasting my time.

Boring, Disjointed and Over-rated ***
The sequel to the considerably better Darwin's Radio lacks much of interest - the injection of recent understandings of the possible role(s) of viruses in evolution aside. The topic matter at hand truly could lend itself to very interesting story-telling, but in this text Bear does not seem to push hard enough. What it lacks is a penetrating insight needed to take expository texts into the realm of worthwhile fiction. Also, I think that a chief problem in the plot arcs is that they do not cohere very well. Much is left out and context is often absent, with the result for me being that I really didn't follow the story - as it were - too closely. I found myself skipping/skimming over large portions of the text. The "science is good" in the text, sure, but the "science is good" also in Scientific American. In the SF genre, good science absent good ploting means, ultimately, a less fruitful yield. What perhaps irks me the most is that the actual payoff of the text is so asymmetrical with the tout & hype. Put another way, if this is considered "masterful" science fiction, then we are in a dark period of science fiction writing. My view is that the science fiction genre, emblazoned as it used to be with irreverance and occasional iconoclastic brilliance, is now almost completely subject to creativity-dampening strictures of political correctness. Bear's work is almost a monment to P.C. in writing. Put anoyther way: P.C. and S.F. are utterly incompatible. Since the publishing industry will not publish those texts which do not jibe with current notions of what's P.C., and since the American readership is evidently so docile and easily pleased, then we may predict an extended dark age for the SF genre. However, to give Bear proper credit for not being completely P.C., he does engage the issue regarding the peopling of the Americas. This contribution to the discourse alone made me bump Bear's work up from two to three stars. All praise be the vestigial remnants of independent thought!!!

Boring, Disjointed and Over-rated ***

The sequel to the considerably better Darwin's Radio lacks much of interest - the injection of recent understandings of the possible role(s) of viruses in evolution aside.

The topic matter at hand truly could lend itself to very interesting story-telling, but in this text Bear does not seem to push hard enough. What it lacks is a penetrating insight needed to take expository texts into the realm of worthwhile fiction.

Also, I think that a chief problem in the plot arcs is that they do not cohere very well. Much is left out and context is often absent, with the result for me being that I really didn't follow the story - as it were - too closely. I found myself skipping/skimming over large portions of the text.

The "science is good" in the text, sure, but the "science is good" also in Scientific American. In the SF genre, good science absent good ploting means, ultimately, a less fruitful yield.

What perhaps irks me the most is that the actual payoff of the text is so asymmetrical with the tout & hype.

Put another way, if this is considered "masterful" science fiction, then we are in a dark period of science fiction writing. My view is that the science fiction genre, emblazoned as it used to be with irreverance and occasional iconoclastic brilliance, is now almost completely subject to creativity-dampening strictures of political correctness. Bear's work is almost a monment to P.C. in writing.

Put anoyther way: P.C. and S.F. are utterly incompatible. Since the publishing industry will not publish those texts which do not jibe with current notions of what's P.C., and since the American readership is evidently so docile and easily pleased, then we may predict an extended dark age for the SF genre.

However, to give Bear proper credit for not being completely P.C., he does engage the issue regarding the peopling of the Americas. This contribution to the discourse alone made me bump Bear's work up from two to three stars. All praise be the vestigial remnants of independent thought!!!

X-Men 2 All Over Again ***
This isn't really a bad book, but it is almost a rehash of the second X-Men movie. Here you have a school (or a series of schools) for gifted children beset by government officials or self-appointed vigilantes who want either to kill them outright or put them in "camps", as in the X-Men movie. I kept expecting adamantine claws to extend from a character's hands to slice up a bad guy (but that never happened). I tried to push the images of Charles Xavier's School for Gifted Children out of my mind, but I couldn't do it. The writing is competent, but the drama is flat. The other lasting criticism I have of both books together (Darwin's Radio and Darwin's children) is that the specialness or unique qualities of the new children aren't made all that clear. Perhaps this will come in the last novel of the series. As it is, there are far greater classics of mutants in the genre. It's hard to beat Van Vogt, Stapelton, and Sturgeon who've already done it better.

X-Men 2 All Over Again ***

This isn't really a bad book, but it is almost a rehash of the second X-Men movie. Here you have a school (or a series of schools) for gifted children beset by government officials or self-appointed vigilantes who want either to kill them outright or put them in "camps", as in the X-Men movie. I kept expecting adamantine claws to extend from a character's hands to slice up a bad guy (but that never happened). I tried to push the images of Charles Xavier's School for Gifted Children out of my mind, but I couldn't do it. The writing is competent, but the drama is flat. The other lasting criticism I have of both books together (Darwin's Radio and Darwin's children) is that the specialness or unique qualities of the new children aren't made all that clear. Perhaps this will come in the last novel of the series. As it is, there are far greater classics of mutants in the genre. It's hard to beat Van Vogt, Stapelton, and Sturgeon who've already done it better.