Rating: 
Summary: 5 stars for scientists, 4 stars for most of the rest!
Review: Wow! What a story! It starts out somewhat slowly, almost in fits and starts, but once you get past about page 75 it's a real page turner -- the character development picks up, and, one by one, the threads of the story start to come together.So, what do a mummified Neanderthal family found in an ice cave, massacred villagers in Asian Georgia, and modern molecular biologists, virologists, and anthropologists have in common? Read and find out! As a biologist, I routinely read science based fiction, as well as non-fiction work, including books on interactions between evolution and development (e.g., "Wonderful Life" by Gould, "The Shape of Life" by Raff, "Extinction" by Raup, "Shapes of Time" by McNamara, etc.). While my training made it possible for me to completely enjoy the possibilities offered in "Darwin's Radio", I can see how many non-scientists reading this book could become lost, confused, or put off by the frequent introduction and use of a wide variety of scientific theories and jargon (though I must admit that the author did a grand job of introducing scientific content without requiring the reader to jump directly into the deep end.) I appreciated the author's delving into the politics, as well as the science, that often accompany situations like the one presented in this book. So, how far should we push and support current paradigms? That's a question that pops out of this book. If you enjoyed books like "Carriers", "White Plague", or "Hot Zone", then you will probably like this one too. The only reason I did not award 5 stars for this book is that many readers may be put off by the mass of technical scientific information presented. For me it was a definite 5-star offering, but probably 4 stars for the more general readership. I hope these thoughts were helpful to you. Alan Holyoak, Dept of Biology, Manchester College
Rating: 
Summary: Mostly worth it
Review: This is an ambitious book. The premise is interesting: an ancient virus reappears in the modern world, causing major social and political upheaval. But is it a virus, or is it a code for a new kind of evolution? The Bad Scientists--complacent, arrogant, interested in political gain--think it's a virus and urge martial law and quarantines. The Good Scientists--the underdogs--think otherwise. Who do you think is right? Of course you know who is right. This book is Science Fiction, literally: there are lots of detailed scenes of scientists at work discussing details, and the book almost lost me early on. Part of the problem is that as you listen to scientists go on and on about chromosomes and retroviruses, you have to patiently wait while they try to figure out what you already know. But Bear makes this a little bit more than a "good scientist vs. bad scientist" story. The book gets a lot more interesting when the author turns it into a different, more personal, kind of story and focuses on his main characters, who I liked. And even though you pretty much know what is going to happen in concept, I thought the payoff was fascinating. This is a good read in and of itself, but it's also unsatisfying in a way. You wade through a lot to find out that this book turns out to be mostly a prelude to what is probably a more interesting story about the evolution of humanity and the social implications it would cause. The ending leaves us wide open for a sequel that I would love to read.
Rating:
Summary: Stellar! Well, almost.
Review: It's an enjoyable read, but the science is definitely rubbery. Only humans have these evolutionary retroviruses? Wouldn't that provide absolute proof of the non-existence of God? And the governments ponderous handling of the situation is stereotypical at best, conspiracy-fantasy at worst. Still, who doesn't love a story about government going medieval? The fuzzy science is okay, but the characters are not. The main characters have no chemistry; they just see each other and instantly are in love so deep one is willing to toss her career. The handsome, rugged, and misunderstood genius and the equally brilliant and beautiful genius risk all for love, and to get in on the ground floor of the next human species. Azimov could get away with this, its trite now. It is also painfully obvious that they are only here as a means to an end - Stella. Toward the end of the book they are more prop than character. And the supporting cast is dropped halfway through the book. It makes sense for the story, but was unsatisfying. I hope they pick up with some of them in the next book. Stella is great; I think Bear nailed her childlike nature and different-ness. Still it's a good, if not great, book. I will read "Darwin's Children". If the goal of an author is to make you want to read more of their work, this one is a success.
Rating: 
Summary: Crossover success for Greg Bear?
Review: Greg Bear's latest novel offers readers an exciting glimpse into the mind of one of the great writers in modern science fiction. It also promises to expose his work to a new audience that would not normally involve itself in the genre. Combining great speculative science with enjoyable characters and a tense, but wonderfully human plot, a story of the possibilities locked within DNA, and the social upheaval that it could bring, I found it an enveloping novel that consumed my attention from the moment I started reading. Greg Bear has been entertaining me for years and I have followed every release with anticipation. He has the ability to bend the mind into seeing and understanding new worlds while still maintaining the readers emotional involvement with the people that live in them, from "Blood Music" to "EON" and "Queen of Angels" , Greg Bear has managed to create worlds that defy, yet he never lets the reader become overwhelmed by the science and unfamiliarity within. This is a great novel that hopefully will become a landmark for Bear and win him many new readers.
Rating:
Summary: Darwin's Radio
Review: "Darwin's Radio" is one of the best hard science fiction novels of recent years, and I don't say that lightly. Not only does it clearly and concisely explain a bold scientific conjecture, but it also does so in an unexpectedly timely manner. The idea at the center of the story is a genetic structure called a retrovirus that was incorporated into mammalian DNA millions of years back. When examples of retroviruses start appearing and affecting people around the world, causing numerous miscarriages, authorities react by treating it as a disease. However, a trio of scientists believe that this actually marks the next stage in human evolution, and that similar retroviruses were responsible for evolutionary events in the past. The books follows these three as they search for proof of their theory and attempt to explain some startling facets of the emerging virus. What I particularly enjoyed about this book was how it incorporated the current public attitude towards genetics and biotechnology. We live at a time when there's still a lot of public misunderstanding about medicine and genetics, politicians frequently abuse that misunderstanding, and standards for scientific journalism in the mainstream media are shockingly low. Bear incorporates these facts into his story. There are brief but effective passages designed to show public reaction to the growing epidemic and the scientific community's initial inability to stop it. And there is discussion of how ordinary people are affected by the events described. It is these passages, more than anything else, that make this novel so frighteningly realistic. Some reviewers have complained about the quality of characterization in "Darwin's Radio". This, of course, is a dilemma that all authors of hard SF face. If too much space is devoted to the scientific aspects of the story, then the literary aspects must suffer. I personally don't think that characterization was a major problem in this book. The major characters all have believable and dynamic personalities. There are a few inner monologues that sound a bit cliched and sloppy, but in the grand scheme of things that shouldn't prevent you from enjoying the book as a whole.
Rating:
Summary: Don't know much biology, but I do know I love (this book)
Review: I used to try to convince myself that I was smart enough to read Greg Bear's books AND completely understand them. I was, of course, 16, so I knew everything. I decided I didn't like his books because they were so 'depressing'. Suuuurrreee they were depressing - they were far more of a blow to my ego (as I have come to realize now). Unfortunately, all hard Sci-fi that I read over the next year or so got tarred by that brush and to this day I've avoided it, avoiding most Sci-fi in the process. Now that I'm 33, and am amply aware that I don't know everything, I only paused briefly before picking up Darwin's Radio. (Actually, I grabbed it off the shelf and was reading the description on the back before I even saw the author - I regularly judge books by their covers, you see, and I liked the title and color of this one.) When I saw the author, I put it back, recalling my teenage distaste for his books. I told my husband that I didn't like his end of the world books and that I sure wasn't going to get *that* book, but when we went to check out, I had it in my hand.
I've just finished it. I didn't understand some of it, but my feeble brain managed to grasp most of it. Tenuously, but there was a grasp all the same. I had to think about some of what I was reading, really think on it, and it's been a very long time since I've read a book that did that. It felt good, as crazy as that sounds, and I'm looking forward to thinking more in the coming year. For anyone who stays away from hard sci-fi yet reads Robin Cook novels, pick this up. My only regret was that I didn't read the short biological primer at the back of the book and I didn't make use of the glossary. (note to self: always look at the back of the book before reading.) I plan on buying Darwin's Children tomorrow, and revisiting all the books I tried to read when I was 16. Why am I so happy? Because I found another genre to read! And there are TONS of books in that genre that I have never read before! Woohoo!!!
Rating:
Summary: Close, but not quite great
Review: Human DNA appears to have a large amount of "junk" material (introns) that doesn't appear to do anything. Greg Bear (and some evolutionary biologists) suggests that at least some of the junk is actually a code for evolution. Others suggest that they are simply old viruses that humans defeated by absorbing them. This book tells the story of how some of these intron sections come to life. Is it an evolutionary change? Is it an old retrovirus coming back to life? This story is one of scientific debate and politics interwoven, two camps develop, arguing over the virus vs. evolution question. Throw in a pinch of religious debate, and you've got the making of a top-notch scientific thriller. The first half of the book doesn't disappoint - it's a page turner as the "virus" appears to be spreading uncontrollably, causing an alarming number of miscarriages. The government of the U.S. evokes martial law in all but name to try to clamp down on the disease, which naturally causes civil unrest and domestic violence. As the scientists scramble to understand what is going on, a split occurs, especially after evidence is found of a subspeciation event in the distant past - a family of mumified neanderthals (homo sapiens neanderthalis) with an offspring that was apparently a modern human (homo sapiens sapiens). Unfortunately, the narration runs out of steam in the latter half of the book, as we wait around with the characters to see if any infected mothers can give birth to viable offspring, and if such children are a new subspecies. By the time the last 100 pages roll around, we've already figured out what's going to happen, and there are few surprises. Scientifically, I enjoyed the book emmensely. A little knowledge of biochemistry helps, but there is a primer at the back and a glossary of scientific terms for those that have never learned much biochem. Unfortunately, most characters in the book are two dimensional. For example, all evolutionary biologists believe in the classic Darwinian (i.e. slow and constant) evolution instead of punctuated evolution (characterised by no change followed by a period of rapid development); I've never met a modern researcher that believes in classic evolution - it seems like all the scientists in this book are living in the 1950's! And, as is usual in science fiction, Christians are classified solely as evangenical bible-thumping creationists who hate science, and all other religions are ignored; again, the majority of Christians accept evolution (albeit controlled by God), but few science fiction writers seem to realise this. Greg Bear is obviously not one of them. Thus, while I enjoyed the book on a scientific level and found the first half to be exciting, on the whole it's only worth 3 stars.
Rating:
Summary: An engrossing and intelligent story
Review: Greg Bear's Darwin's Radio is a deeply satisfying plunge into science, politics and the politics of science. The story, based on speculative extrapolations from what we know of current microbiology and the mystery surrounding much of what constitutes the human genome, presents us with a hypothetical situation in which the most basic aspects of human sexual and social life are threatened by our own genetic code responding to a hostile environment. An evolutionary leap to a new type of creature - and a new mechanism for conception and birth - frightens both the scientific community (unwilling to give up decades old views of how evolution occurs) and the body politic, leading to social disruption and 'science' conducted in 'bad faith' directed by administrators more concerned for their position and agency's funding than in truth. This is a novel that challenges the reader's attention and understanding. Many characters and numerous different threads of the plot are presented impressionistically until the full nature of the story emerges. Once the reader is fully into the flow, events happen quickly and the stakes are raised with every new insight. It is hard to put the book down. This is a book that just begs for a sequel. The ending, which I found to be both exciting and uplifting, leaves the reader wanting more, as if the novel up to that point had been a foreward for a much larger and more speculative story. What happens to Stella Nova (and the others of her kind)? What is their impact on the world? Can the NIH and CDC get out from under the false direction of partisan politics and make a stand for what science, rather than political expedience, dictates? The reader will be left to ponder these questions, whether Bear ever chooses to deal with them in another book or not, because by the end of the story one is too much involved with these isssues to just let them fade away. Not only that, but one won't be able to think about 'scientific' agencies that are connected to the government in the same way again. The book is an eye opener in many ways, and a brain teaser as well. Just a fabulous book.
Rating:
Summary: Great, great idea but a little bad in the execution
Review: Why you should read this: If you like virus thrillers like Preston's The Hot Zone or Crichton's The Andromeda Strain then you will really like this book. It's a very quick read and a very intriguing one for educated readers who have at least a passing understanding in human evolution. An excellent choice for any holiday. READ MORE AT INCHOATUS.COM
Rating:
Summary: Excellent hard-core scifi!
Review: Having loved scifi when young, I've become jaded over the years with the gendre. I guess it's because I love science, and so much of scifi strays pretty far from science and into fantasy (it's hard to enjoy a novel when you're rolling your eyes!)
Darwin's Radio brings back my old fondness of scifi: the science is plausible, the main characters have real virtues & vices, and there's plenty of little twists to keep it interesting. Yes, many of the peripheral characters are 2 dimensional, and the story does drag a bit toward the end.
As an adult working in science, it's way cool to read a ripping good yarn which relates to my every day world--topics & research that I always read about, but is rarely appreciated outside of work.
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