I don't read a great deal of sci-fi, so I didn't have much to compare this with. Overall I enjoyed the story, but I did struggle to make it to the end. At times slightly hard to follow, it's clear that a lot of work had gone in to the writing. There were a large range of characters, all of whom were interesting in their own special ways.

The different worlds and their evolution were interesting, and I loved that concept. There were some really fascinating ideas about how life could have evolved differently. It was all very well crafted and well thought out. Overall definitely an interesting read, and I can imagine it would certainly appeal to sci-fi fans.

Tchaikovsky's plotlines are always so original, and this was no different. Excellent writing, characters, and the world built around it. The queer rep was perfect, really touching.
I loved it.

Thanks a lot to NG and the publisher for this copy.

Much though I tried to like this book, it just didn't gel with me.

Mal and Lee are girlfriends, exploring the wilds of Dartmoor when they are attacked by mysterious otherworldly creatures and Mal goes missing. Fast forward four years later, and Mal and Lee are fighting for survival of the universe, against a variety of bizarre creatures.

I kept forgetting what the point of the story was, and despite persevering didn't find the ending very rewarding at all.

I have never read Andrew Tchailovsky before and was looking forward to reading a new-to-me sci-fi author, But I am sorry to say that I just couldn't get into this book at all. The two main characters just didn't hit it off with me and I struggled to connect with them or the storyline. It must be me as the auhor is very popular and receives great reviews. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review and e-ARC of this title.

Absolutely terrific .. I've always meant to read Tchaikosky so jumped at chance .. he's a superb writer creating character and story lines aptly, with ease and economy but I am moved by the two women deeply in love and that passion driving the probing into ancient life emerging now from concealment. Utterly plausible it makes pre life development on track parallel to human life credible and fascinating. The denouement is breathtaking.

The Doors of Eden is a smart, slick sci-fi thriller exploring parallel worlds, evolution and human history in an unusual new way. The books start from the perspective of Lee and Amal, two Cryptid hunters who are dedicated to chronicling some of the world’s more unusual goings on. When they go to explore reports of ‘birdmen’ near a local spot stone circle called the Six Brothers, the pair are thrust into a tale beyond even their wild imaginations. What follows is an intricate, epic exploration of what the Earth could look like if the evolutionary scales had been tipped ever so slightly in another direction, and the varying ways that humanity would react to the knowledge that we’re not alone.

To many degrees, what I loved the most about this book was the exciting sense of exploration and discovery. The parallel worlds are all incredibly well formed and there’s just enough science involved for these to feel very authentic. My absolute highlights of the book were the entries, dotted throughout, describing other worlds, how they diverge from ours and the end result of each. I’d love a spin-off which just explores tons more of these parallel worlds.

Overall, this is a very thorough, well-paced read that fluctuates between clever world building and action-packed sequences to good effect. The characters are strong and largely well formed, though maybe a slight streamlining of the cast might have made it easier to invest in them more powerfully. Nonetheless, it’s very well crafted sci-fi combining great plot and adventure with a perfect veneer or science to make it all seem authentic. Highly recommended.

Disclaimer: received from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

So basically what we have here is a story that starts out with an intrepid monster-hunting couple who stumble upon something not quite what they thought that inevitably ends up into a misadventure and a missing persons case. Fast forward from that and we are thrown into the 'present day' where the story picks up on several threads that converge eventually into a multiverse-spanning plot that manages to tapestry in elements of evolution, the space-time continuum, "time" travel (of a sort), portals (so many portals), parallel universes, quantum physics, "other" civilisations & on top of that have the government, MI6, a secret multinational conglomerate and just a couple of people trying to wrangle some normal relationship time into the mix of things... well, I think that's just the tip of the iceberg right there for you.

So, yes, another awesome read by Tchaikovsky for me! This is only the third Tchaikovsky book I've read (all of them from Netgalley too) and I can still say that I haven't read a Tchaikovsky I didn't like & enjoy. I do have the first two Shadow of the Apt books and Guns of Dawn on my shelf somewhere - not prepared to commit to the series as of yet but I may try to pick up Guns of Dawn later on (yes, sometimes I think I love talking about my TBR more than I do trying to whittle it down).

Anyhow - definitely recommend you give this title a whirl if you like science fiction in any form at all!

Pros: multiverse shenanigans, characters I care about, fish world hive mind network, British propriety, a lot of varied interesting non-human characters
Cons: one element of the ending (but that's a personal quirk I think), waiting on a sequel

This was also a buddy-read with @nils.reviewsit - thanks for the buddy read Nils!

First finished: 16may2020
Source: Netgalley, ty homies!

THE DOORS OF EDEN is one of those books that I think I'd enjoy more if I was used to the genre and style. It's about evolution and parallel universes and the end of time, and feels like a very intelligent book that knows it (while skirting the obnoxiously clever territory) - but it's just a bit too hard to follow once it dives into the cleverer parts of the story. Most of these issues only come up in the final third.

For the first two thirds of the book, it's a vast thriller-cum-sci-fi full of parallel worlds and shady organisations trying to either exploit or protect the parallel worlds. This is interspersed with a history of the parallel worlds, and how minute changes led to the evolution of strange and wondrous creations. It's really engaging watching the mystery play out, and all the characters caught up in the web of parallel worlds.

It doesn't really say there are parallel worlds for ages, trusting the reader to put it together or remember the blurb, which was nice. The characters were just too shell-shocked, or dancing around the edge of things to say it at first, so the absence of anything helps build up their shock without losing the audience.

Then we hit the final third, when the world starts dying (or rather, people come to the understanding that it is), and I started to get lost. There's a section full of multiple timelines which was so confusing, as scenes played out several times, and it took a while to get the explanation of what was happening. From there, I wasn't sure how they actually succeed.

A really good story starting with cryptid hunting in this world to the vast scope of parallel worlds/universes. I loved the little soliloquys into the different evolutionary journeys. I found the story well written and had a good solid start, middle and most importantly end, so it works as a stand alone novel. There was a broad spectrum of characters which were mostly developed well. I would recommend this book.

This is the second book by Adrian that I've read, the first being Walking to Aldebaran. Both are well written, with strong plotting, but this one would be my least favourite. The Doors of Eden took a long time to not go very far. The cat & mouse chasing, well, rats & trolls, could've been slimmed down, extra chapters didn't add to the story.

The biggest issue for me was the characterisations. With such a large PoV cast, half a dozen or so, it's hard to get attached to any of the characters. The story begins with Mal, who could've led the story, but by the time weaker characters diluted her presence, that emotional involvement in their plights dissipated.

A solid 4*, an interesting story, but the execution could've been better.

This book is at its heart is a great story, a wonderful balance of hard Sci fi with warmth and humour. It reminds me of Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy and the television show Sliders, with all the possibilities of other earth's and the direction evolution could take. The author mixes some serious science with a delicious turn of phrase 'conversational flatulence' and 'murder ostrich' stand out in the memory.
The interludes between chapters are fascinating and I could have read them all day.
The pacing is frenetic and doesn't slow at all, the ending I thought was well managed, when I considered it was going to cop out, it pulled all the threads together. I have the feeling some authors would have wrung a trilogy out of the subject. It was great that the story was self contained however the that being said I would absolutely read more in this world (worlds I guess).

ARC from Netgalley

'You ever get the feeling there are cracks in the world?"

The plot line was very developed and intricate, with deep exploration into other worlds and what comes from them. Explores evolution and what could have happened if earths had grown from others earths over time, and what creatures inhabited them. Getting between these worlds, there are cracks in the fabric of the world, which gives me heavy doctor who vibes.

the begging was slow to begin with for myself, as there were heavy sections on evolution. however, I found it so interesting, and about halfway through, the pacing really picked up.

My thanks to Netgalley for an advanced copy for a fair review.
Adrian Tchaikovsky is a new author to me but one I think that will be taking up a lot of space on my bookshelves.
The Doors of Eden takes another look at the world of dimensions and adds to it the taste of a thriller, dodgy dealings buy the ober-rich and the natural unfairness of life.
The protagonists are well characterised, and none are perfect, at least not perfect in the eyes of the reader.
I thoroughly recommend this book as I haven't been so intrigued since I read Cloud Atlas by David Mitchel.
It gets 4 1/2 stars from - I only dock it one-half star because at times I felt the author had hit a plateau and had trouble moving on.
Definitely one to read.

I looked forward to reading this book and thought the premise was promising. Unfortunately found after a while I was losing interest and finding the parallel universe just not well placed within the story. I really struggled with so many different view points, I don’t normally but I did find some of the main characters bland and not enough depth to engage in their story.

Very few books have rattled around my brain for months after reading them in the way that Adrian's 'Children of Time' did, since I read that, but 'The Doors of Eden' is one of them. Even a couple of days after finishing it, I'm still trying to process all the thoughts I had while reading it.

On the one hand, it has a series of alternate histories of Earth, each with a different species emerging as the dominant lifeform evolving sentience, technologies and (in many cases) ultimately the seeds of their doom. And yes, one of those histories involves spiders – fans of 'Children of Time' may want to leap out of their seats cheering when they reach that section. I certainly felt like that.

But that's just part of the book, interspersed between the main story, which starts in what *could* be a conventional spy thriller, before branching out into Weird Stuff, and ultimately (and beautifully) intersecting with those alternate histories, which turn out to be parallel universes (and thus Earths) that are in danger of collapsing into one another.

I loved it. From the different beings thrown together (humans, neanderthals – but evolved much further than in our reality – weaselly rat-like things, giant floating space woodlouse-like things...) to the relationships between the humans (particularly the romantic relationships) it had me rapt throughout.

My head does start to spin and occasionally hurt a bit when thinking about parallel universes and their implications, but that side of things never felt overwhelming in this book. I'm going to be thinking about it for a while yet, I think. It's well worth the headache!

Thanks to the publisher for sending me an advance reader copy (ARC) of this book, in exchange for an honest review.

I'll start with saying Tchaikovsky is fast becoming one of my favourite SF writers. Dogs of War and Children of Time are very different and astonishingly brilliant works from him.

Unfortunately, The Doors of Eden didn't quite do it for me. Let's say it's my problem, not his.

It begins with a simple enough premise - girlfriends Lee and Mallory are out on the moors one day when 'something' happens and Mal vanishes into nothing.

Then the story becomes more complex. Years pass, and then a government physicist is attacked, secret services start looking into things - and is that Mal, too, back from the missing? It soon becomes clear that there are cracks between multiple universes, or parallel Earths, and something is trying to get through. But what, and why?

With the introduction of all these layers of story, characters and interludes that explain these other Earths, I lost the urge to push forward and keep reading. The book was long, and I am lazy! I kept putting it down so I could escape to easier reads for a little while and then return.

So by the end of the book, I wasn't super attached to any of the characters or their stories. The worldbuilding is deep and amazing, but it didn't for whatever reason pull me in. I battled to the end but it was tough.

A shame because the author is a fantastic writer and I wonder if others will enjoy it far more.

Adrian Tchaikovsky books have been on my TBR list for some time and thanks to #NetGalley I have been able to start my reading journey with the ARC #TheDoorsofEden. @aptshadow @panmacmillan @torbook
Mel and Lee hunt down cryptids - mythical creatures which may just be real. On their last hunt together on Bodmin moor they find more than either of them had bargained for...
This is a novel with a very different take on the Alternate Earth trope. Usually we see alternate/parallel human earths however in this book we see alternate evolutionary divergence - different paths which may lead to trilobites to succeed and maybe even cats!
There are six main human protagonists, Lee, Mal, Alison, Julian, Kay and Rove whose stories are skillfully interwoven. I am not normally a fan of books which have multiple POVs, however I found all the characters engaging so I wasn't tempted to skip to a favourite characters story line.
A book of two halves with the first half bringing our leads together with the need to save the Universe with the second half delving into the actual saving. For me the message was that science alone doesn't always hold the answers and sometimes you need to do a 360 on your view to find a solution.
Would recommend and will definitely be reading more by this author. All views are my own.

Mal and Lee go looking for the unknown on Bodmin Moor but Mal goes missing. Four years later Lee gets a message from Mal and sees her at the scene of an attack on a top scientist (who happens to be transexual). Lee is abducted by agents of an evil crime lord. Mal rescues her by slipping into a parallel world - it emerges that there are many of these, all supporting different dominant life forms, from algae through trilobites, dinosaurs and rats. The system of parallel worlds is becoming unstable and may fall apart, can our top scientist cooperate with those from the other worlds to avert disaster? An exciting tale but a bit too obviously woke for me, will appeal to millenials who like their fiction diverse.

I really really REALLY enjoyed this book. Want what I expected and it was excellent. Since reading this I've been reading all of the author's back catalogue and am looking forward to whatever he does next.

NetGalley ARC

This was a perfect lockdown read, just the right amount of humour and hope, complicated enough to distract from reality and not too complicated.

I enjoyed the gentle streak of Douglas Adams type humour and the characters were relatable (bar the tycoon dude). The alternate worlds were fascinating and the one with cats is all too believable.

I liked the range of characters, it was inclusive without feeling too box ticky. The conclusion was satisfying and far too subtle for anyone to take offense. It felt good to read a criticism of all the things that are wrong in British politics at the moment, without being preached at and with a good dollop of hope for the future.