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Summary: It had me going...at first. Six legged animals?
Review: It started off well. A new Europe to discover with wierd animals and plants developed along side of us but in a different zone. If they just continued to probe Europe and met up with another race it would have been more readable. The Sentience, ghosts, noospheres and all the mysto stuff didn't match the Indiana Jones beginning and quite honestly, lost me. I'm dumb and wanted more of a adventure novel. The idea that intellegence in the cosmos could replicate our world in a sphere as we believe God has, was a interesting twist but still too hard to swallow. Robert Wilson, the Bible beat you to it.
Rating: 
Summary: Not too good. Would not re-read.
Review: The story did not work for me. I could not "suspend disbelief" and really accept the fundemental premise of Europe being "replaced". The grand scale end-of-time thing seemed mismatched with the exploration story line.
Rating: 
Summary: Darwinian thoughts
Review: Not much for an author to add to Amazon's pages, but I'll set aside modesty for a moment and quote a couple of other media reviews:"...at once bizarre and familiar, poignantly vivid, eloquently told...a remarkable book, worthy of the highest honors in our field. Don't miss it." (Faren Miller, LOCUS) "Fine writing, ingenious plot, and humane character development make it a page-turner... In a genre that now seems to hold more trash than treasures, Wilson has created a gem." (Canada's national newspaper, the GLOBE AND MAIL.) (Flattering, but my own opinion is that current sf is on an upswing -- I've seen more treasures than trash lately.) "Even savvy readers...will be rocked by a twist of breathtakingly cosmic proportions... [Main character Guilford Law] becomes the focal point for a haunting tale of the enduring courage of the human spirit." (TORONTO STAR) I'm happy with the reception DARWINIA has received, and I was pleased to be able to meet some readers during the recent Rob Sawyer/Bob Wilson tour. The book I'm working on currently is called BIOS -- no pub date yet, but probably late 1999 depending on circumstances. Thanks, by the way, to those who took the time to comment on DARWINIA for Amazon -- even the critics. It's nice to be noticed.
Rating:
Summary: Extremely disappointing.
Review: I thought "Darwinia" was just plain awful. From the BookList reviews, cover painting, and jacket description, this novel purports to be something in the "Alternate History" vein. In fact, it is something completely different. Darwinia is a member of that most-hated sub-genre, the "it was all a dream" novel. About 1/3 of the way through the book, it is revealed that every character and every event you are ready is just a giant computer simulation. Nothing is "real", even in the fictional constraints of the novel's setting. Instantly, I ceased to care about what happened to anyone and anything in the story. Why should I? And without giving it away, I'll say that the ending was the worst, a sort of cyberpunk version of the end of "2001" done poorly. A friend of mine says that I missed "the point" of this novel. If by "point" he means strong characters, a tight plot, interesting speculation, and a good story told well, then I definitely did miss "the point".
Rating:
Summary: A very good but flawed novel.
Review: DARWINIA, is a parallel worlds novel with a twist. At the turn of the century, industrialized Europe is replaced with an alternate Europe that has not been civilized or inhabited. Guilford Law, who was 14 at the time of the transformation, enlists in an expedition to explore the continent eight years later. During the exploration, his party is attacked and all but two killed. Law discovers that superhuman godlike being are literally waging a war for the control of the universe and that he is an important cog in whether the earth will fall into the hands of the enemy. I have been a fan of Wilson's since I came across MEMORY WIRE over ten years ago. I have eargely awaited every novel he has written since. He has not written a bad book. Some are better than others. DARWINIA, sad to say is his weakest yet. What has alway set Wilson apart is his ability to write characters that we cared about. Plot was secondary. In the first half of DARWINIA, we are introduced to realistic, characters in beleveable situations. Wilson usually asks hard questions about the meaning of existence, what the moral and ethical ramifications to the readers are of his cararcters actions, and how flawed characters can reach transcendence. Like the great writers he often punctuates these questions with the emotional cost to his character. Instead of the question being a lecture we get a surprising emotional answer, often a very unexpected one In the first half of the book, Wilson does his normal, exceptional job of dilineating his characters. Unfortunately, the second half of the book seems much more plot driven. It is obvious that some charcters are introduced only to force the main character into some course of action. This give the second half of the book a 'B' movie or 40's pulp S.F. magazine feel that I am not used to with this author. The main weakness of this book is that it is too short. We do not know enough about the saviors or the villains. Since they play such a critical role in the story, the novel suffers. Wilson does ask some interesting questions and does have some emotional answers. He gives a feel for what it must be like for god to have become man and to die to save others. Unfortunately he does not do a good job of explaining what it means to be human. For newcomers to Wilson read it and hunt up more of his work though please be advised that all of what he has written is more like the first half of the book. For those of us who have read his works, I still recommend it. As I said before, Wilson has not written a bad book, This one is full of quirky ideas that will make you think.
Rating: 
Summary: A writer of superb vision and style.
Review: Robert Charles Wilson writes with a singular, idea -rich touch. In Darwinia, he has beautifully woven grand imagination with subtle (often poetic) sketches of human experience. For me, his mastery of craft is most wonderfully shown in the wide range of stylistic voices he uses to completely involve the reader. I was so taken with the book that immediately embarked on a hunt for his other novels. I was shocked to find each of his earlier works out of print. A writer of his talent is rare. I've just finished "The Harvest". Read it and any of his other work you can track down. More than just a great speculative fiction writer. Simply a great writer.
Rating: 
Summary: definately worth reading.
Review: Unlike some other readers, I thought the first half of the book was too slow. Many were the times in the begining I thought I just wouldnt finish it. But after the first half, oh boy, things get extremely interesting. This is truly a great piece of fiction, and is definately worth reading. Dont be let down by the first half, which might get confusing with too many characers, it gets very good.
Rating: 
Summary: A great idea poorly executed.
Review: The concept for the book is wonderful. I was truly excited over the prospect of reading it. The book let me down. The content is choked with cliches, very predictable from the mid-point on, and finishes in too big of a hurry. I did, however, like Wilson's techniqe for introducing new concepts -- sort of an inverse Socratic method, where the pupil (reader) is induced to ask his own questions which lead to later understanding. This could have been an outstanding book. But, it isn't.
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Summary: A unique and haunted world
Review: Though it starts as a sort of alternate-universe book, Darwinia eventually reveals itself as nothing of the kind. More I will not say - but I am greatly impressed with my fellow-Torontonian Wilson's ability to put together a story of cosmic scope and yet fill it with believable, haunted people, real even as they undergo the most unearthly experiences both in the outside world and in the depths of their own - or what seem to be their own - selves. An exciting, disturbing story, and a meditation on what is really important in life, or in death. As an author myself, I should only do so well!
Rating:
Summary: the 1st half was good, but the 2nd half was predicable
Review: Maybe I was looking for a lost world type of book. The 2nd half of the book reminded me of a B movie, you knew the end before you could begin. The 1st half was filled with great discriptions of an alternate world and all of the strange creatures that could live there
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