Product Description

In 1912 the world changes overnight. Europe and all its inhabitants disappear, replaced by a primeval continent which becomes known as Darwinia: a strange land in which evolution has followed a different path. To some this event is an act of divine retribution; to others it is an opportunity to carve out a new empire. Leaving a USA now ruled by religious fundamentalists, young photographer Guilford Law joins an expedition to Darwinia, a mission of discovery which uncovers extraordinary revelations about the whole nature of the universe.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #674343 in Books
• Published on: 2007-09-04
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 320 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
In 1912, the entire population of Europe disappeared; all over the rest of the world, there were lights in the sky and the telegraph wires went silent. And suddenly from Britain to Siberia, from Sweden to Spain, there was a jungle full of strange monsters, fur-bearing snakes and lost cities--the continent they call Darwinia. In America, religious fundamentalists came to power claiming that this was God's punishment for the heresies of Darwin; an expedition sets out into the heart of the lost continent. And people are haunted by dreams of a war that never was ... If this were all that were going on, Robert Charles Wilson's novel would be audacious and intellectually thrilling enough, but there is more besides, lots more. At an early stage, we realise that the expedition has its enemies--a conspiracy of the deadly and immortal. And neither the conspiracy, nor the world of the Darwinia miracle, is exactly what they seem. Full of speculations about Deep History, the nature of reality and the plan to escape the end of Time, this starts as SF adventure story and becomes remarkably more; over several books, Wilson has quietly built himself a reputation of promise, and now entirely delivers. --Roz Kaveney

About the Author
SALES POINTS * First UK publication for a multi-award-winning author * 'Darwinia is a remarkable book, worthy of the highest honours ... Don't miss it' -- Locus * 'Rich, lucid and literate' -- Publishers Weekly

Customer Reviews

surprises
This is a much better, and better organised, book than other reviews suggest. It may look, at the start, as if it's a Victorian pastiche fantasy involving the sudden replacement of an entire continent with new fauna/flora, suggesting a novel explanation for fossil evidence of earlier seemingly alien systems (not necessarily a theistic explanation). The real explanation, signalled early on, is a lot spookier and provoking. It wouldn't be fair to say what it is - but maybe a glance at http://www.simulation-argument.com/ would help (or worry) once you've read the book! The author doesn't 'lose his way', and his characterization adds interest to what is already a good myth.

An excellent book cut off in its prime.
A fascinating premise to this book applied a little heavy handedly. The metaphysical side of the book should have been broken in more gently and the use at the end of "60 years later" in a book mostly set in the 1920s strikes me as an author who's lost his way during the writing and wants to tie things up.

That negativity aside it was quite a good read.

A great idea, squandered among homages
The fantastic premise of this novel - fantastic in both senses - is what keeps you reading. It also helps you to forgive the shallowness of the characters, and the squeezing of so many sci-fi homages into one little book - which starts off a little like John Wyndham, turns into a gung-ho exploration story a la Jules Verne, and suddenly leaps into Olaf Stapledon-style metaspace, with strong undertones of Philip K Dick. And at times he does write a little like the late Fanny Cradock. By the end of the thing, you're up a gum tree down a creek without a paddle, and you've lost your favourite hat. But I can't deny I found it entertaining enough to comment on.