Kaye Lang had played a primary role in the identification of the virus and the discovery of the shedding mechanism. Mitch Rafelson had made the archaeological discovery that SHEVA had been active in ancient times, producing Homo sapiens sapiens from Homo sapiens neandertalis. Their work brought them together and resulted in Kaye becoming pregnant with Stella, a SHEVA child. When public reaction became hostile to these children, Mark, Kaye and Stella went underground like many other families with SHEVA children. Others, however, turned over their SHEVA children to the care of EMAC, who put them in special "schools". One such "school" was attacked and the children slaughtered by nearby residents, so the other schools were fortified to protect the children.

Mark Augustine was the former director of EMAC, but has been re-assigned after the slaughter and is now the director of all federally operated SHEVA "schools". The incidence has haunted his conscience, for he was one of the politicians that had fanned the flames of fear and so has to share the blame for the deaths.

Christopher Dicken is still a virus hunter for the CDC, but now he walks with a limp and has only has one eye due to a bomb planted in the White House by a fanatic. He regularly visits Mrs. Carla Rhine, whose body produces mutated, and often deadly, viruses as the result of an interaction of SHEVA with her pig kidney transplant, and who is now held in maximum isolation. Dicken is ordered by HHS to meet with his former boss, Mark Augustine, to consult on a new virus which is killing SHEVA children.

Normally, SHEVA children are very healthy and are never infected by normal childhood illnesses; consequently, some state-controlled SHEVA "schools" have had most of their medical supplies transferred to other agencies. Now the children are becoming sick and some have died in various "schools" across the country. At the Joseph Goldberger School in Ohio, many of the staff have fled, the National Guard has encircled the grounds and are keeping the public out, hundreds of children are dead, and the medical supplies are scant. Augustine and Dicken go to the school and try to organize the remaining staff and students to provide essential support. Augustine has arranged for more medical supplies from federal sources, but the state is trying to block delivery. The school does have a fully equipped virological research lab, so Dicken starts taking samples and running tests.

In the meantime, Stella has run away from home. She is convinced that her parents don't understand her, but that other SHEVA children will. Unfortunately, she encounters a bounty hunter, who locks her up with several other SHEVA children, one of whom is sick and later dies. Kaye and Mitch track down the bounty hunter and call the state troopers with a kidnapping charge. The troopers arrive just before the EMAC team that has come to retrieve the children. Mitch and Kaye are allowed to take Stella home with them, but the other children are taken by EMAC.

Since Stella has caused them to blow their cover, the family flees yet again. However, Stella becomes sick on the journey and they have to call a doctor to treat her. When the doctor examines Stella, he forgets to deactivate his automatic upload to the medical authorities, EMAC discovers their whereabouts, and the family has to escape once more.

This novel continues the story of a new species of humanity that is being persecuted by a very frightened population. Since the SHEVA children have readily discernible differences from Homo sapiens sapiens, they become the victims of casual discrimination and abuse. Moreover, there are also groups trying to implement a "final solution".

Nonetheless, the SHEVA children do have some friends, both underground and public. The story describes several efforts to support and protect the children. On the other hand, the hostile groups have begun to implement measures that are abhorrent to most citizens and Augustine, in particular, is waiting to bring these practices to public attention.

This novel also adds a theological component. Kaye begins to have periodic epiphanies and MRI tests indicate that a portion of her brain related to suckling in infants has been activated. Kaye never receives verbal input from the Caller, but does receive strong emotional input. Moreover, the Caller never influences Kaye's decisions, but is always supportive. Frankly, I get the impression that the Caller is a group mind of galactic or larger scope and that it promotes maximum diversity through free will. Trust the author to insert a few speculations about the endpoint of evolution.

Highly recommended for Bear fans and anyone else who enjoys tales of medical and anthropological research in a SF setting.


A spark missing   April 6, 2003
 15 out of 15 found this review helpful

I'd enjoyed Greg Bear's fisrt novel in this series, Darwin's Radio, tremendously - evolution, physical anthropology and neaderthals, with a new race of humans being born. What's not to like?

In Darwin's Children, the first generation of new humans are growing up, and there's enormous government tension engendered by their presence, the fear of them as a contagious virus that needs to be contained, etc. (In the real world, I suspect the response to 'new' humans would be far more savage and deadly, but perhaps the author didn't want to go there.)

Mitch and Kay, and their new human daughter Stella, are key protagonists in this novel, but not the only players: every chapter in the book switches - irritatingly - from one character point of view to another.

As is so often the case with science fiction, the science becomes the protagonist, with the human characters often little more than mouthpieces for lengthy disserations on various scientifica topics - in this book for example, evolutonary and viral biology (though Bear provides a glossary at the back for the jargon-challenged).

I suppose this would have all been fine, except nothing really happens in Darwin's Children. There are tensions. Stella grows up. Mitch and Kay have relationship issues. There's a very touching archaeological find of mixed races buried in 30,000 years of old lava (CAN two races of humanoids work together???). Oh, and Kay has an epiphany - which is all very interesting - but ultimately has little bearing on either the story or the development of Kay's character.

In short, after rushing out to buy the book in hardcover, I was left feeling flat. Perhaps this was a book Bear didn't want to write anyway - but his publisher made him....


The Death Throes of a Formerly Healthy Career   September 13, 2004
 11 out of 13 found this review helpful

Prior to 1997, Greg Bear had written some of the best big-concept hard sci-fi in the genre. For some reason, after the publication of Slant, he decided he was through with sci-fi, and went on to write more accessible works. And accessible this is! Once you get past the concept that there exists a group of mutant children who talk to each other with their freckles, you've got a run-of-the-mill medical mystery clearly aimed at mass-market acceptance.

Regardless of what you think of Mr. Bear's career direction (i.e., striving to become the next Michael Creighton or Robin Cook), Darwin's Children has a large number of faults with the prose itself.

First off, the book is just flat-out boring. There are no new or interesting ideas presented above what was introduced in Darwin's Radio. Likewise, the book's few major events could have been compressed into a volume about one-third the size. However, plenty of space is given over to turgid descriptions of people's outfits and clumsy inner monologues. There is a limit to how many times you can read "They've taken my child!" before the intended effect wears off.

What's worse is that the book devotes entire chapters to politics and political wrangling. If reading about testifying in front of congressional subcommittees sounds exciting, this might be the book for you.

On the other hand, characterization is kept to a minimum. Almost all the characters in the book are wooden, and by the end of the novel you're left with - at best - apathy towards them. However, one protagonist (Kaye) is such a selfish princess that you'll wish you could reach through page and slap some sense into her.

Perhaps the book's biggest flaw is the injection of religion / mysticism into the storyline. It would appear that Mr. Bear has "found God" - or at least had some profound religious experience in real life - and wants to make sure you know it. The "can't we all just get along" ending is also rather heavy-handed and serves as a perfect anticlimax to this sad volume.

Do yourself a favor, and pick up a copy of Wil McCarthy's excellent "Lost in Transmission" for some great ideas and fresh storytelling. Or go back and read "Eon" or "Anvil of Stars" again - reading Darwin's Children will only serve to disappoint.


More human than DARWIN'S RADIO   April 27, 2003
 10 out of 15 found this review helpful

First, I do urge you to read DARWIN'S RADIO first, although I feel this is the better novel of the two. However, it is necessary to know the background of the earlier book to thoroughly enjoy the second.

One difficulty I did have with both books is the multitude of characters. So many are introduced and so few really have any importance to the story. This however, is a minor flaw.

While there is a lot of biological background explored in this book, it's easier to take and intrudes less into the plot than it did in the first. More emphasis is given to the human characters, especially the daughter who naturally is a focal point of interest.

The mother becomes more fleshed out also. Her "epiphany" adds interest. The first book stressed her atheism, and therefore, her experience is very interesting, and does have its effect on the character and, in turn, her effect on the plotline. The author deals with this subject in an objective manner so that the reader can accept it as something that does happen to some people or reject it as overactive imagination.

All in all, the two books together comprise one of the better science fiction works.