4.5 stars. Oh, this was a fantastic read, a fantasy novel on a vast scale that questions the very existence of humans and how we came to be. It is a long read, and sometimes a bit dense, but overall engrossing. There were many PoV characters, and it was great how all they eventually crossed paths. I also particularly likes how that author used the two young women and their relationship to frame the novel. In a story that spans the entire duration of evolution of life on Earth, it was humbling to be reminded that the everyday lives of people are what matters in the end. Also a shoutout to the author for great LGBT inclusion. This was one of the best speculative fiction I’ve read in a long time.

(Review copy from Netgalley)

Adrian Tchaikovsky is one of my must-buy authors. He effortlessly moves between science fiction and fantasy, and he makes it look easy. His vast imagination is mindblowing, and his ideas always turn into fascinating thought experiments.

Unlike Children of Time, Doors of Eden probably isn't considered hard science fiction since it deals with parallel worlds and some of what slips through the cracks and into our world is beyond what we can possibly imagine.

Those familiar with Tchaikovsky's work won't be surprised to hear that there's an immense amount of evolutionary biology within these pages. And some of the creatures have far too many legs.

Let me be blunt: if evolutionary speculation and the analysis of how life on our world could have evolved differently isn't your jam, then this book is not for you. If, however, you enjoy evolutionary thought experiments and always wanted to know what the world would look like if there were more lemurs or giant centipedes, then pick Doors of Eden up right now!

Tchaikovsky delivers a very diverse cast. I always enjoy reading about lesbian and trans characters that feel fleshed out and three-dimensional.

I'd argue that Doors of Eden is possibly a bit on the nose politically. Tchaikovsky's worldviews basically drip from the pages, but I'd say the same is true for Children of Time and its sequel.

While the plot and especially the many parallel worlds are complex, Doors of Eden never feels overwhelming. My knowledge of science is a tad lacking to say the least, yet Tchaikovsky never lost me. It's a compelling read and despite its size I read it in two days because I simply didn't want to put it down.

I recommend this book to everyone who has an interest in parallel worlds and sometimes stands in front of the mirror wondering how different the world might look today if evolution had gone a different way. (Yes, yes, I do that. Poor mirror probably thinks I'm a bit...odd.)

I mean the New Scientist reviewed it and that is not the place I usually look for my next read.

Basically: read this! It's one hell of a ride!

This is science fiction apocalyptic portal adventure is a hefty read at over 600 pages, but it didn’t feel like it – I was a bit shaken when I realised how long it was. There are a handful of protagonists, including Lee, Julian and Kay – who is my personal favourite. A transgender woman who is fond of swearing and a brilliant mathematician. I thoroughly enjoyed Kay’s character, which pinged off the page. But I was also impressed at the nuanced characterisation of Julian, whose complicated relationship with one of his work colleagues is also poignantly portrayed against the apocalyptic events unfolding.

I am very aware that the peculiarities initially build quite slowly, so I don’t want to reveal Spoilers that would skew the reading experience – it’s a major reason why I never read blurbs until after I’ve finished the book. But while this one feels initially quite familiar – there are a number of odd events that can’t be explained away, and Julian is aware there is some sort of high-up knowledge… We’ve all read that one. However, Tchaikovsky does his usual trick of taking a recognisable trope and putting his own unique spin on it. There are a series of interludes where an American scientist and lecturer posts a particular theory and walks us through the progression this could take throughout the book. I love how these apparently random sections are ultimately brought into the wider narrative.

As usual, Tchaikovsky’s zoological expertise is in evidence, though this time around the spider content is minimal – however there are rats and birds, as well as scarily brilliant fish… And a particularly satisfying antagonist I loved to hate throughout. I loved this one – it’s Tchaikovsky at his best, I think. There is sufficient hard science that the nerd in me enjoyed and appreciated the theory, as well as loving his take on the Neanderthal sub-species, which I felt was particularly effectively handled. But also plenty of action, with a high-stakes narrative when meant that by the end, I stayed up far later than I should to discover how it all was wrapped up. Very highly recommended for fans of quality apocalyptic thrillers. The ebook arc copy of The Doors of Eden was provided by the publisher through NetGalley in return for an honest opinion of the book.
9/10

I was so excited to start reading this book, especially after so many good reviews.

The book started off on a good footing, but quickly became very difficult to read. The book has been written in a very complex way. I found it very difficult to keep my concentration and to focus on the unfolding story. So much so that I could not carry on any longer.

Maybe I will finish the book at some time, but for now I have put it on the back burner. If you like a book where the author describes things (the monsters) in a complicated fashion, then I suspect you will really enjoy this book. However, I could not get to grips with it.

Content/Trigger Warnings: Dead name and wrong pronouns used on a transgender character [done on purpose by the horrible nazi of a bad guy, but still, better to be warned going into this!] Extreme violence, and lol do not read if you cannot stand creepy-crawlies.

DNFing the Audiobook, I jumped immediately into this and was thrilled to find myself 100% invested in my eARC.

This is just another notch on Tchaikovsky's literary bedpost for another masterful work, and it was one I thoroughly enjoyed.

The science behind this is well researched and the different Earths were completely fascinating.

The characters are all quite varied, we have our f/f 'youths' who are pulled into the race to save the universe in quite unexpected ways, we have the brilliant Dr. Kay Khan for our amazing scientist, the bad guys of course who are properly and thoroughly easy to dislike while still being multifaceted, and the MI5 members who have also accidentally become part of the rescue team which also consists of some weasel-rat beings, the biggest 'bug' you've ever seen, and neanderthals.

The interludes and divisions of chapters make this a quicker read than one might assume when first glancing at the page count of this, and the pacing is pretty well done as well which really helps to make this feel seamless and quick rather than painfully long and dry as it could have been given the 'pure science' to it.

A 5/5 read for me, and so, 5/5 huge cups of coffee, I look forward to recommending this to my fellow SciFi fans and thank you so much to Tor and NetGalley for a copy of this in exchange for my honest opinion.

As usual in my reviews, I will not rehash the plot (in this case it would take up pages!) - you need to read it for yourself to appreciate the breadth and depth.

This book kept my interest throughout - the plot twists are so many and various that I really couldn't anticipate what would happen next. A real rollercoaster, with parallel worlds, aliens, and real science. I liked the explanations by "Professor Emerson" - made sense (at least as much sense as any origin of the universe theories I've ever managed to read!)

There are some fabulous characters - my favourite being Kay Amal Khan for sheer chutzpah and scientific brilliance!

I haven't read any of the author's other works - but will certainly seek them out now. I will actually re-read this another time too - very rare accolade from me.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC. All opinions my own.

Adrian Tchaikovsky is one of my favourite sci-fi authors, and so I was thrilled when I was given the opportunity to read an advanced copy of his latest book!

The Doors of Eden is a twisty-turny inter-dimensional adventure following a host of interesting and diverse characters. The plot is fairly complex, and I'll admit that it took until I was a good chunk of the way into the book before I truly began to enjoy the journey.

Whereas sci-fi has historically had a reputation for underdeveloped non-male characters, Tchaikovsky introduces us to an impressive and incredibly refreshing cast - his women are written with depth and drive, there's racial inclusion, and several main characters are LGBTQ+. What's more, I appreciated that current socio-political issues concerning race, gender and sexuality are highlighted, which for me helped to give more authenticity and depth to the world Tchaikovsky creates.

Not always a simple or straightforward read, but one which I found rewarding in the end. Certainly worth the effort and brain power if sci-fi is your jam!

The Doors of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky

Some time ago girlfriends Mal and Lee headed to Bodmin Moor in search of the Birdman. They are cryptid hunters, searching for the creatures, the monsters, of myth and legend. They discover far more than they bargained for and only Mal returned. Four years later, Mal sees Lee in London. Lee is on the run, something terrible is happening. Mal pursues her determined to discover the truth but she isn’t alone. There are others on her trail. Meanwhile, physicist Kay Amal Khan is attacked in her lab and M15 agent Julian Sabreur is put in charge of the investigation. He finds himself up against agents that he can’t identify. There’s something not quite right about them. And then he discovers grainy footage of a young woman who is believed to have died on Bodmin Moor.

I am a huge fan of Adrian Tchaikovsky’s science fiction – Children of Time is one of my very favourite novels (please read it if you haven’t already!) – and so I read The Doors of Eden as soon as I could. It has a stunning cover and it’s every bit as good on the inside. It’s a substantial epic read, which is just how I like my science fiction, which perfectly suits its plot and ideas, which are magnificently ambitious and mind bending.

There is so much going on in The Doors of Eden, there are several storylines and characters to follow, as various people try and work out what is going on, find out what is broken with the world. We move between them but we also fall within the fractures of the world, where we come across incredible sights – intelligent and really rather revolting rat creatures (I imagined them as meerkats), enormous insects, bird men, Neanderthals and more. The fear that characters feel on encountering these extraordinary beings is palpable. These alternate worlds are ridiculous in some ways and absolutely chilling in others. We are regularly given extracts from Other Edens: Speculative Evolution and Intelligence by Professor Ruth Emerson (University of California), which makes it all seem plausible, backed up by the work of Dr Kay Amal Khan. It’s a fantastic weaving of fantasy, myth, science, evolution and… something else.

The novel is extremely entertaining and thrilling but it is also driven by the most wonderful characters whose feelings for one another are tenderly treated. The love affair between Mal and Lee is so beautifully portrayed. Soon they are nothing like the daft girls we meet at the beginning as they are changed forever by what they find in the mist. Kay Amal Khan is transgender and that adds another layer as this is used against her by the evil forces at work. These are people that we grow to care about.

As you’d expect from Adrian Tchaikovsky, The Doors of Eden is a beautifully written novel. Its descriptions of places and creatures are hugely atmospheric, frightening and, when needed, humorous. This is a book to immerse oneself in fully. The language is gorgeous, the characters are varied and intriguing, the story is immensely appealing and thought-provoking, and there are moments to make you shiver and others to make you laugh. One of the top books of the year for sure.

I’m currently listening to the audiobook of Adrian’s Cage of Souls – it is fabulous.

Other reviews
Children of Time
Children of Ruin
With C.B. Harvey and Malcolm Cross – Journal of the Plague Year

What if…. these are probably the key words for science fiction. What if Mars has life on it; what if I could download myself into the internet; and what happens if I could recreate dinosaurs? Science fiction deals with possibilities we as yet cannot see in our reality. Reading Adrian Tchaikovsky’s latest novel The Doors of Eden I was struck by how many possibilities were being presented to us and I also recalled another familiar phrase ‘life finds a way’ as I was delivered an excellent thriller, science fiction novel and altogether damn good read!

Mal and Lee are two young would-be crypto-zoologists fascinated with tales of creatures that shouldn’t exist travel to Bodmin Moor not to see the legendary Beast but the source of a new video showing bizarre huge Birdmen. They encounter something truly bizarre and Lee loses Mal in a summer snowstorm having no future contact with her for four years. In the meantime a company uses a spookily accurate way of recasting stock outcomes finally goes bust and its remnants are snapped up by the enigmatic billionaire Denton Rove. In the U.K. the govt assigns an agent Julian Sabreure (only Janes Bond in his imagination) to prevent harm coming to an important asset - the incredibly bright physicist Dr Kay Amal Khan from a group of right wing thugs, but he find although too late her attackers were still brutally stopped. Lee though finally finds Mal near the crime scene in the company of a powerful stranger. All these groups are becoming aware that the worlds are ending but not everyone thinks this is a bad idea….

On the one hand this is a huge epic story but it’s curiously fast on its feet. Tchaikovsky gives each thread of the story a mystery be it a missing lover, a spy mission or a physicist who really would like to be left alone and smoke while they work. Intermixed with these though are snippets of an academic text exploring alternate earths where evolution went in many different directions.
The former appear certainly in the early stages as a standard SF thriller - secrets, government agents and a clearly marked evil billionaire who even gloats but Tchaikovsky adds in a lot more refreshing elements. Lee and Mal are a young lesbian couple and they add the heart to the story - people who’ve always wanted to believe there is more to life. Dr Kay is sarcastic, funny and down to earth rather than Oxbridge tweed jacket professor happy to poke a finger at reactionaries. Interestingly this key character to saving the world is also a trans woman, an element that her right wing enemies can’t stand on top of her ethnicity. The govt agents are more the standard leads you expect in such thrillers Julian likes to cut corners but perhaps still a little too focused on keeping life bordered while his best friend Alison is an obsessive analyst looking for patterns. I really liked the juxtaposition of these finding the world is way more weirder than they expected and it’s this new generation helping us find a way out of our problems. Watching them learn to accept the forces of change was heartwarming.

What is stunning though is the huge web of worlds Tchaikovsky throws at us. When you consider how many options over billions of years that life could have followed to find a dominant species on Earth then these almost short story snapshots of alternative evolutions and civilisations are each almost a novel in themselves. From one where huge trilobites reach space to another where cats rules the world; just don’t think about the cockroaches….. this is the type of SF that makes you take a deep breath and just consider on a huge planetary scale what eventually makes us and also that what we class as humanity isn’t already going to be ape-related.

There is however a key theme here of diversity leading to progression. The enemy are we find truly narrow minded they cannot accept Dr Kay as a woman and continually use her dead name and when they meet try to re-impose her former identity. They cannot think of a world where mutual co-operation is worthwhile and perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised a capitalist billionaire wants to use all their wealth just to make things suit them. The ultimate master plan once unveiled is both amazingly dull but a huge insight into how such people think. What I really liked delivered was when the other characters meet a mysterious group of tall, large powerful humanoids the government initially calls ‘Pug Uglies’. When we discover more about this group; their aims and abilities it’s a strong reminder that we shouldn’t think of ourselves as the centre of the universe. Their own origin story is well worth a consideration of our own.

The story moves along at a pace from avoiding attacks; escapes from danger and quests for answers across a multiverse before in its latter half becoming a final mission to stop the end of everything with a team of uneasy characters who don’t fully trust each other. It’s treads a line between playful action and intelligent speculation on life, evolution and the origins of the universe - at no time does it feel like coasting and the finale is wonderfully inventive and hammers that final message home.

It feels a full standalone tale but opens up possible ideas for future adventures that was I not expecting. A host of interesting characters; wonderful alternative universes and yes there are some insects of incredible size as always to be expected. But this was a read that once I settled in to it I did not want to let go of. A strongly recommended science fiction tale for 2020: we need some hope in this day and age that things can get better - go find it!

An excellent, fast paced, action packed and gripping mix of sci-fi and techno-thriller that kept me hooked till the last page making me turn pages as fast as I could.
It's not easy to describe in a short review because it's a highly enjoyable read but it's also a great speculative fiction dealing with the "what if there are parallel Earths" dilemma (or the time pantaloon quoting Pratchett).
The world building is amazing, it describes a lot of different civilizations and alien creatures making them lively and realistic. The character development is excellent and I loved Julian, Lee and Dr Khan.
The author is a master storyteller and he manage six differents POV, a fast paced plot and a lot of actions never making you feel confused.
It's an excellent and highly entertaining read, strongly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

Unfortunately this one missed the mark for me. I enjoyed the concept, and the piercing was fast to get through the book, but it was very jumpy, there are six different POV is throughout the book, and allow multiple people these can be done well I think this one moved about too much and cause me to get lost and pulled out of the story more than drawn in in. I have read two other Tchaikovsky books before one was dogs of war which I absolutely loved and the other was children of time which I mostly loved. I did enjoy some aspects of this book. I enjoyed the attempted diversity and that the queer relationships were presented in a really normal way however there were a couple of remarks made about the trans-character in the book which I thought could have been worded better for exampleThat being a woman suited her better. But I did enjoy the diversity of the characters and also the mention of mental illness as well. The concept was there but it was almost kept kept to him for me, I understand that it was meant to keep you in the dark to be more of a sci-fi thriller but I would’ve liked you to find out more as the story was going on rather than leaving us in the dark to build tension. A couple of times characters were portrayed as bad parents and it was kind of brushed off because they had high-pressure jobs and therefore understandable which I didn’t agree with. And also there were things throughout the story that were just incorrect and pulled me out of the book, the science was well researched but then there will be random on truths like the fact YouTube is full of porn which is just country and it just made me stop and think that that was ridiculous and weird to include which just pulled me out of the story. Put on a hole for anyone who like science fiction and political thrillers who don’t mind stories that jump about three timelines and enjoy fast paced rates and this authors work I would recommend with caution.

My thanks to Pan Macmillan-Tor for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘The Doors of Eden’ by Adrian Tchaikovsky.

‘The Doors of Eden’ opens with Mal and Lee, two women fascinated by cryptozoology, going to Bodmin Moor to look for monsters. Yet only one came back. Lee was devastated by the loss of Mal but now four years later she’s miraculously returned. Lee is full of questions - what happened that day? Where has she been? Still Mal’s mysterious reappearance has attracted the attention of MI5.

In another plot line top physicist Kay Amal Khan has recently been attacked by far-right extremists and MI5 agent Julian Sabreur has been placed in charge of the investigation. Yet soon Julian clashes with agents of an unknown power, who may or may not be human. His only clue is grainy footage that shows a woman who supposedly died on Bodmin Moor. Oh Mal, what have you been up to?

Dr Khan’s research had been theoretical, until she found cracks between our world and parallel Earths. Now these cracks are widening, revealing extraordinary creatures and wildly different environments. The whole situation is coming to a crises point that could bring about the end of all Earths.

Interspersed with the chapters featuring the above characters are Interludes from a book titled: ‘Other Edens: Speculative Evolution and Intelligence’ by Professor Ruth Emerson of the University of California. These were interesting ‘what ifs’ with respect to evolution.

I found this an excellent and highly engaging science fiction novel with techno-thriller elements. Although not part of his award winning, ‘Children of Time’ series, it had a similar epic feel.

‘The Doors of Eden’ includes plenty of action, multiple world building, fascinating alien creatures, strong characterisations that were inclusive in terms of diversity, great dialogue that includes snappy repartee, and just the right amount of humour to balance the darker aspects. There was also a number of nods and winks in the direction of popular culture that kept me on my toes.

Adrian Tchaikovsky continues to impress me and has reignited my love of science fiction. He is a modern master of the genre and I look forward to reading more of his work.

The world is stranger than they'd thought. And more dangerous than they'd feared. Lee’s best friend went missing on Bodmin Moor, four years ago. She and Mal were chasing rumours of monsters when they found something all too real. Now Mal is back, but where has she been, and who is she working for? When government physicist Kay Amal Khan is attacked, the security services investigate. This leads MI5’s Julian Sabreur deep into terrifying new territory, where he clashes with mysterious agents of an unknown power ­who may or may not be human. And Julian’s only clue is some grainy footage ­– showing a woman who supposedly perished on Bodmin Moor. Khan’s extradimensional research was purely theoretical, until she found cracks between our world and countless others. Parallel Earths where monsters live. These cracks are getting wider every day, so who knows what might creep through? Or what will happen when those walls finally come crashing down...

Adrian Tchaikovsky returns with another gloriously thrilling world hiding many dark secrets. From the opening chapter, I was intrigued and had the drive to need to know more and fast. At its heart, this is a page-turning adventure about parallel universes and the monsters that they hide. It's a lush and richly-imagined work full of the type of creativity and bizarre themes we readers have come to know and love from this science fiction fan favourite. The level of intricate detail given to both the world and the characters is nothing short of amazing and you find you become easily invested in both of these aspects of the story. Following the characters across many alternative Earths, we are treated to a superbly told story with everything required to make cracking sci-fi. A sensational, entertaining and outstanding read. Highly recommended. Many thanks to Tor for an ARC.

4.5 out of 5 stars

A new book from Adrian Tchaikovsky, one of my favourite authors, is always an exciting event. The Doors of Eden was a book that immediately caught my attention with its stunning cover and intriguing concept. I had sky-high expectations for this book, and I am so pleased to say thatthey were absolutely met! The Doors of Eden is an incredibly accessible, fun, and thought-provoking science fiction story with Tchaikovsky's signature twist.

If you haven't read any of his books before, or are newer to reading sci-fi, I think this would be a great place to start with Tchaikovsky's science fiction work due in part to the fact that it is mostly set in the real world. Not only does the familiarity of London streets and modern life help set the scene for readers, the characters are totally relatable and face real issues. This real-world setting is something new for him, I believe, and it works incredibly well! Don't worry though, there are plenty of trilobites, rat people, and other strange terrestrial and alien beings to fill the pages as well as humans!

While the plot and world are excellent, the characters are what really drive this story. We have multiple points of view across the book, and they intertwine together so effectively. This is one of the rare books where I enjoyed every POV, rather than preferring one over others because each voice was used so intentionally and added their own flavour to the story -- I can't think of a single one that should be cut. I absolutely loved Lee and Mal, our lesbian cryptid hunters and introduction to the book, as well as Alison,  the MI5 analyst who sees a little more than the rest of us. However, my absolute favourite was Dr Kay Amal Khan, the fabulously smart-mouthed, cigarette smoking genius who will save us all. The chemistry between these human characters and the relationships they form (or are forced into) with the non-humans they encounter are just fantastic.

The Doors of Eden is an incredibly pacey, otherworldly, and fun science fiction adventure -- who would have thought the end of the world would be so delightful? A must-read for fans of Tchaikovsky's work and newcomers alike -- you'll absolutely tear through it!

Note (plus marked spoiler): It would be disingenuous for me to not mention the treatment of Kay by other characters in the story, as I worry it may make some readers, especially trans readers, uncomfortable. She's a trans woman and while I thought Tchaikovsky did a great job of making her a complex and fabulous character, some of the side characters misgender and deadname her throughout the book in passing. This is meant to show the ignorance of these characters, but I wanted to give a heads up about these moments.

*Minor spoilers below*

There is also a Very Bad Villain who refuses to accept her identity and forces her to masculinise in a small part of the book.

I wasn't sure what to expect starting this, as I haven't read anything by Tchaikovsky before. I LOVED the beginning, with Mal and Lee looking for monsters, but liked it a bit less as the plot developed. I did enjoy it, but at times it started reminding me of a film rather than a book - I think the more characters that were introduced the less opportunity we had to connect with them, and it felt more like just action playing out. It would make an amazing film though!

I received this novel from Pan McMillan through NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review: my thanks to both for this opportunity. I have tried to keep the following review mostly spoiler-free!
I enjoyed Doors of Eden. It reads as very British, refreshing, and hopeful SF from Adrian Tchaikovsky, an award-winning writer (his novel Children of Time won the Arthur C Clarke award in 2016).
Events take place on Bodmin Moor in Cornwall, in the city of London, and - far beyond. The scenes set in the Natural History Museum are particularly inventive and of course very nostalgic for anyone who has queued as a child (or with their children) to see the dinosaurs there. and admired the ichthyosaurs and giant sloth. I also enjoyed the references to Narnia, Dr Who, and Iain Banks.
The characters are immensely likeable – a female couple, a transgender scientist, a transcendental computer programmer plus a stiff upper lip spy! These and many others find their lives intermingle as ‘Forteana’ cryptozoology myths (the beast of Bodmin) turn into Narnia style reality. Slowly the disparate characters figure out what might be going on and how to save the universe(s) – with a little help from other sources. The spy thriller elements add twists and turns which are interspersed with tender moments. The villains show dark aspects of nationalism, competition and capitalism personified but have grimly comic moments. The conclusion is rather satisfying and hopeful.
Threads of the erudite narrative are well woven together to keep you guessing (sometimes a bit confusing in later stages but worth persevering). I love the playful sections of alternative evolutions - they were dense, lyrical, and thoughtful. Also, the story keys into the mythic in interesting ways…in his words ‘we can almost remember what it feels like to crest a hill, to see fires of the other beneath the trees’.
Overall, it is a great adventure - fun and intelligently written. Also – a big plus for me – ultimately optimistic! I would recommend, especially if you enjoyed the CS Lewis Narnia books as a child and the Iain M Banks Culture books as an adult.

Lee and Mal are cryptid hunters. They search for the weird and the wonderful, creatures that most people don’t believe are real. Most of their leads are bogus, but one night they stumble across something that has them certain they have found something. Bird-like creatures who move too fluidly to be a hoax.
But during their investigation, Lee and Mal are separated, lost on the moors and Mal goes missing, presumed dead, until four years later when she calls Lee and asks to meet. Where has Mal been all this time and who were the bird-like people they met all those years ago?
The Doors of Eden is a long story that spans many years and has multiple points of view ranging from Lee and Mal to Julian, a secret service agent, Dr Kay Amal Khan theoretical physicist and mercenaries, with many other characters besides. But despite the size and the vast number of characters, it isn’t an unwieldy story. It has a decent pace, relatable characters, and the stakes are high.
The story is told in two parts as well as many points of view. Running throughout are excerpts from another book written by one of the characters about other universes different, but like our own. I won’t tell you who wrote this book within a book, I’ll leave you the joy of working it out for yourself, but it was one of my highlights. Each except looks at an earth like ours in another universe or reality, where a different species to human rises to dominance and changes the shape of their earth. Fascinating as these are, they serve a purpose and they show us where the book is going without making it obvious.
The Doors of Eden does not fit neatly into any one genre. It starts as a fantastical monster hunt, one more in a seeming surge in cryptology stories that are coming through. But then it changes to high science fiction with large, complex ideas of parallel Earths that are unravelled gradually throughout the book. Initially, some of the ideas took me a while to grapple with, but Tchaikovsky leads us from point to point, giving us time to understand a theory before we’re introduced to a new one.
Tchaikovsky utilises all aspects of society to represent a multi-faceted world where each person has a value, and he does it without ramming down your throat that Mal and Lee are lesbians, or that Kay is a transgender woman. These are just parts of their character, not their whole. Nor does he shy away from showing the prejudice that person might face because of that aspect of their character. It would have been easy to write each character as accepting of Kay, but that wouldn’t have been realistic. The harshness of Kay’s reality, the blatant, as well as the subtle, prejudice she faces draws us to her, keeping us turning the page. Her strength in the face of all the adversity she faces makes her one of the most memorable characters I have come across.
This is a thought-provoking story and another masterpiece from Tchaikovsky making him one of my go-to authors. Highly recommended.

The best kind of science fiction novels are the ones that are filled with a chaotic sort of mindfuckery. Yes, the science still has to seem at least believable (granted here it sort of just managed it for me), but the chaos and the mindfuckery are just right to suck you in.

And that’s what this book did so well for me.

The Doors of Eden is a kind of “what if evolution happened differently, so you have a million parallel universes and different timelines” book. It follows three (or four, sometimes) interlinked threads of the same plot, shadowing Lee, Dr. Khan, Julian Saveur/Alison Matchell, and Lucas most prominently. Each of them is somehow tied into a universe-ending event, although they do not know it. Meanwhile, creatures from a different timeline are doing their best to stop it.

One thing I really liked about this book was that the science part of the science fiction was a lot of it biology. A lot of the hard sci fi books I’ve read, and seemingly the primary science when talking of hard sci fi, involve physics, so, while this did also include that, it was great to see other sciences get their go (now I’m just waiting for more hard psychology science fiction…).

It’s also, despite that, not a slow book. I took a few chapters to get into the writing style but, once I did, I read the 600 pages in a few hours, it was that good. It slowed a little at the end, though, just when I thought it needed to pick up most, which is why I ended up giving it 4-stars rather than anything higher. (But then there’s also a bit with a bunch of alternate endings which I found really cool and probably got me back more into it.)

I think the one thing I’d say though is that, while I liked the inclusion of a trans character and two lesbian characters, the way the trans character was sometimes treated by other characters, namely misgendering (accidentally by the character, but that’s still a choice the author has made) and deadnaming (yes to show the evil guy is evil, but also. Not really necessary), just felt pointless. Those parts could have been taken out and the book would not have changed one bit.

Overall, though, I really enjoyed this one. It was my first book by this author, but on the balance of things, I don’t think it’ll be my last.

Well, 2020 - whatever else - is turning out too be a cracker of a year for books. And for me, The Doors of Eden is one of its highlights so far.

How to describe it, though? Especially without strewing spoilers around? That's a very hard problem...

The Doors of Eden is a wonderful, classic, classy, piece of SFF, spinning its readers' heads with a host of parallel Earths in each of which evolution has proceeded differently. They're introduced by a scholarly writer, Professor Ruth Emerson of the University of California, whose opus, Other Edens: Speculative Evolution and Intelligence is frequently quoted. As Other Edens makes clear, this isn't just about minor changes to the timeline where things are a little different, it's about the points where different history gave us vastly different sentient life. The speculation supporting this is compelling, from the closer timelines - an Earth where Neanderthals survived but we didn't - to those rather different. An Earth overcrowded by hundreds of billions of rat/ weasel creatures. Worlds of intelligent fish or sentient silverfish or horseshoe crabs.

The Doors of Eden is also a compelling, believable and slick thriller, with plenty of intrigue and peril, initially following the attempts of an MI5 team comprising Julian Sabreur ('no young Sean Connery or even Roger Moore') and his analyst Alison Mitchell ('Matchbox') to foil an attempt by far Right thugs on the life of an ex GCHQ scientist, Dr Kay Amal Khan. We're soon in a world of hoodlums, shady "security" companies, well-connected financiers milking Government contracts. We may not be quite sure what's going on, but it's clear, in this part of the narrative, who's on the side of the devils: watch out for how they talk about Dr Khan, who's a transwoman - the villains reliably refer to her as "he" and there's a moment where this causes them enough operational confusion that she slips past their watchers. Dr Khan herself is a bit of a wildcard: one of the foremost world experts on... something, potentially available to either side as an asset but to what exact purpose?

The existence of these other Earths begins to be revealed when two young women, Lee (Lisa Pryor, short for Lisa Chandrapraisar) and Mal (short for Elsinore Mallory 'because she came from a particular social stratum where that was perfectly acceptable. However, she never forgave them for it') stumble into trouble on Dartmoor. Four years on from that terrifying event, Lee finds herself caught up in the machinations between MI5 and its opponents (there are several factions). The story of Lee and Mal is at one level a romance - we see Lee's sense of loss and confusion. Tchaikovsky is really, really good on the psychological impact on her of what happened: the pain, anger and guilt. The whole setup may be fantastical, but her reactions are deeply, convincingly real and they drive what she does through the book, for good and ill. (For that matter he's also really good on the little details of their relationship before The Thing that Happened, the ways they work each other out, understand each other, fox their families about what's really going on between. The way that Lee, missing Mal, was 'terrified that Mal would suddenly remember she was white and posh').

There is another romance here too, between Alison and Julian. Kind of: I wasn't actually clear whether it went anywhere, partly due to lots of that old-fashioned British reserve keeping them apart (though again, that seems to make things even more real). It's also partly due to the structure that Tchaikovsky adopts, one where there's a capability to see alternate outcomes so that words like "real" become moot. And partly, it's a delicacy to the writing which leaves us to imagine a lot - in the same way for example that detail of that Dartmoor episode, past a certain point, is left hazy. Far from diminishing the horror, this, combined with the car crash that Lee has made of her life only heightens the sense of terror and mystery.

What else does Tchaikovsky do well here?

How long have you got?

What about the way he vividly depicts his different societies - variously composed of birdlike creatures, rat-weasels, Neanderthals and many others. They all feel real, based on the real circumstances that gave rise to them, with communications, technology and culture (with the rat-weasels for example, status is all about claiming space in their crowded world, whether through bulky clothing or overpowering colognes).

What about the deft interweaving of the different strands of story - many of them seemingly contradictory (but you're in safe hands here, just go with the story)?

Or the shady, only hinted at, nexus of IT, quantum mechanics and Very Hard Maths that underlies events?

Or that certain type of privileged, entitled person, who, confronted with the very Apocalypse itself, plans primarily to make themselves some gain at everyone else's expense. (A repellent characters done very well, this one).

I'd have to say though that for me, the aspect of this book I found most beguiling was the sheer mastery and even beauty of the prose. There are so many examples I could quote. It's smart ('she had borrowed hope at a ruinous interest rate'), often funny, sharply observed. It's never less than engaging, frequently compelling and, in some moments, simply brilliant. There are allusions to classic SF (motes in a god's eye, the stars beginning to go out, an on-point Doctor Who reference to The Girl who Stayed and The Girl Who Came Back) and a general sense of playing with genre, trying on metaphors from role playing games, films ('It's a million to one long shot, and only these two desperate lesbians can save the world') and meme, a book that injects a sense of fun even into the darkest moments ('not that you ever need an excuse to slap a fascist').

This is a book to immerse oneself in, to live and breathe, not just to read.

It's one I'd strongly recommend.

Something about this title kept me at a distance. I adored the concept and was fascinated by the explanation of the multiple worlds, but the break-neck speed kept me from fully bonding with the characters or giving me a deep understanding of all that occurred.