Darwin's Children

Abridged
Author: Greg Bear
Narrator: Jeff McCarthy
Genres: Science Fiction & Fantasy, Science Fiction, Fiction
Publisher: Random House (Audio)
Date: April 2003
Length: 6 hours
Ratings:
  • Book Rating: 3/5
Formats:
  • CD

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Overview

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.

Selected Reviews

A Little Weak

by Anonymous
  • Book Rating: 2/5

Somebody rushed the Abridger

by Anonymous
  • Book Rating: 4/5

More...

Read All 11

Reviews (11)

A Little Weak

Written by Anonymous on July 10th, 2008

  • Book Rating: 2/5

I thought this book was a little weak... I think the problem is that it is abridged. This doesn't allow for enough back-story of the characters and some of their "unique" abilities... And I was very disappointed by the ending.

Somebody rushed the Abridger

Written by Anonymous on September 13th, 2007

  • Book Rating: 4/5

Starts out great - fascinating story (if a bit heavy on the politics). But then someone must have started phoning the abridger and telling them to get a move on - the ending is confusing, rushed, and lacks the detail of the earlier chapters. Too bad. Very enjoyable and thought provoking otherwise.

Not His best

Written by Gene Sheppard from Marietta, GA on July 24th, 2007

  • Book Rating: 3/5

The topic is one of great interest currently. The book seemed to have been written under the pressure of a deadline. The characters were shallow and the topic was in your face as if the author was writing to 14 year olds who would not know the allegory. Much of the biological and medical terms should have been better explained. My view could have been influenced because it was abridged. Bear is a good hard SciFi writer.

It could have been more

Written by Anonymous on May 8th, 2007

  • Book Rating: 3/5

Maybe the full version carried more "umph"... but this one left some things on the table. The story line seemed thin, as if the author had taken good cliffnotes and filled them in (again... maybe only because it was abridged). Things kind of rolled very quickly, and the interplay between the characters and the interaction between the characters and their environment didn't always make sense or even begin to address some of the questions that REALLY come out toward the end of the tale. If you can find the unabridged version, I'd say it could probably be worth it.

Great narration

Written by Kathryn from Hold, ON on April 10th, 2006

  • Book Rating: 4/5

I hadn't read or heard the first book, Darwin's Radio, before listening to this one but it didn't matter. The story can stand alone. The narrator was terrific and enhanced my enjoyment of the plot. An unabridged version might have filled in a few gaps but the abridged version moved forward at a good clip. I am now a Greg Bear fan.

abridged is just not good enough!

Written by Gabi Hare on March 29th, 2006

  • Book Rating: 3/5

I wish I could have listened to the unabridged version, abridged is just not good enough, the book loses the authors special touch. It also would be good to listen or read the first book "Darwin's Radio" first, otherwise one can be quite lost in the first few chapters.

So so book.

Written by Walter Mallon on March 15th, 2006

  • Book Rating: 3/5

Though I finished this book, I often found myself day dreaming while listening to it. The story was a bit hard to follow (though that may be because it was abridged).

DARWIN'S CHILDREN

Written by Anonymous on June 2nd, 2005

  • Book Rating: 4/5

good book and well read. Made some interesting points and opened my mind to thoughts

Good Story..

Written by Dan Pressley from Fort Worth, TX on April 6th, 2005

  • Book Rating: 3/5

The premise of the story was good. The characters were only moderately developed. The story tended to jump abruptly and may have been from the way it was abridged. Things suddenly happened but there was no explanation for how the story got from point a to point b. It was an entertaining book but not the greatest I've experienced.

A terrific follow-up

Written by Anonymous from New Buffalo, MI on September 2nd, 2004

  • Book Rating: 4/5

This is a great follow-up to Greg's earlier novel, Darwin's Radio. Delving even further into the fictional effects of altered genetics, he still manages to keep it realistic...and addictive. Translates well to audio.

Selected Reviews

A Little Weak

by Anonymous
  • Book Rating: 2/5

Somebody rushed the Abridger

by Anonymous
  • Book Rating: 4/5

More...

Read All 11

Author Details

Author Details

Bear, Greg

"Greg Bear was born in San Diego, California, on August 20th, 1951, to Wilma M. and Dale F. Bear. His father was in the navy so as a child he had traveled extensively to Japan, the Philippines and Alaska, as well as touring various parts of the United States.

He completed his first short story at the age of 10 while living in Alaska. At age thirteen or fourteen he began to submit stories to magazines, and at fifteen he sold his first short short to Robert Lowndes' Famous Science Fiction magazine, but it didn't appear in print until he was sixteen years old. It took five years to sell his next story, but by the time he was twenty-three he was selling regularly. He completed his first novel when he was nineteen but it was not published until 13 years later (having been completely rewritten). He sold his first novel, Hegira, to Dell in 1979.
He is the author of over twenty-four books, which have been translated into seventeen languages.

He has been awarded two Hugos and four Nebulas for his fiction. He was called the ""best working writer of hard science fiction"" by The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Science Fiction. He is married to Astrid Anderson Bear. They are the parents of two children, Erik and Alexandra."