Review of Darwin’s Radio by Greg Bear

Evolution has been a controversial idea in many circles since Charles Darwin published it. Science Fiction authors have used it to tell interesting stories about human destiny. Recently, author Greg Bear has added his ideas on evolution to tell a compelling story in Darwin’s Radio. Mr. Bear uses some ideas in genetic biology and evolution to create an intriguing book with a suspenseful plot, realistic characters and controversial themes.

It begins with a mountain climbing scene. Mitch climbs with companions to a cave in the Alps where the frozen remains of a Neanderthal family are discovered. An avalanche nearly destroys him and the evidence. In the Republic of Georgia, Kaye , an American scientist, is asked to examine a mass grave of victims; they were pregnant women. Meanwhile, a strange virus is causing women to miscarry their pregnancies throughout the world. These three items are part of the suspenseful plot of Darwin’s Radio. Mr. Bear layers each new scene so that it moves along swiftly in an ever more complex plot. This compels readers to stay interested in the scientific pursuit of a cure for the mysterious virus.

Realistic characters keeps the plot in motion. Kaye is an intelligent woman scientist that has an idea of what the plague is that is sweeping the world. She has to deal with a troubled husband, paranoid bureaucrats and greedy pharmaceutical companies in order to find the truth. Mitch is a failed anthropologist who seeks the truth of his discovery in surreptitious ways. Eventually he comes together with Kaye to find a viable solution. They work with Christopher Dicken, a man working for the Center for Disease Control who searches for the sources of diseases like a detective. He is a driven man that believes in caution. These three and other supporting characters help to give meaning to the book’s themes.

The main theme is intriguing and controversial. Mr. Bear takes the fascinating idea of retroviruses in our junk DNA and pushes the edge with the idea. A mysterious plague is causing spontaneous miscarriages in women all over the world. After, the women become pregnant and give birth to different children. This puts great strain on society worldwide. Women are being killed. The U.S. government takes drastic measures to control the growing unraveling of society. The author explores how the birth of a new type of human can affect the ideas of religion and science. Readers are presented with a very realistic setting of what might happen in such a situation.

Darwin’s Radio by Greg Bear is an entertaining book on the theme of evolution. The author takes an intriguing science idea and creates a book with a suspenseful plot, realistic characters and controversial themes. He creates a possible real scenario of how we would treat a new species of human that might threaten our survival. This book is followed by the sequel Darwin’s Children.