| Evolution begins 65 Million Years ago when the comet which ended the reign of the dinosaurs on Earth was as bright in the sky as the sun. Baxter shows us the “lifestyle” of some of the late Cretaceous reptiles & birds from the “point of view” of the first primates—mousy little fur balls which hid from the thunder lizards by burrowing underground in the forests. Baxter names each animal we encounter—again, as the primates would see them—to give us a sense of the primates' existence and “state of mind”—as simple as some of those early minds were. This interesting technique allows the reader to partly identify with what occurs to these creatures on their road to modernity. We experience what it means to be human by what it meant to be each of these creatures in an ever changing environment.
In essence, Evolution is a story of existence, adaptation, survival and extinction. By the time we get to what we may call modern humanity—around the time of the fall of the Roman Empire—we see how humanity's potential to become more than “just another animal fighting for survival” lies in our ability to cooperate and inhibit our more competitive, territorial and destructive natures. As humans fill the ecosystem like swarms of insects—something Baxter points out drove us away from our primate origins and into a much too complex existence—there needs to be created a new way of living, for the ways of old have depleted the earth's resources, severely altered the atmosphere, polluted the land and water, and sent to their extinction hundreds and thousands of species of animal. Baxter spends very little time in the present and near future, a time when Earth finally fights back against the human “virus” and humanity collapses upon, and in spite of itself. The concluding chapters take us 50 to 500 million years into the future to where we learn what life post-humanity might be like. Humans themselves, that is the descendents of the few survivors of the 21st Century, have de-evolved as survival becomes more important than the Big Brained lofty goals and achievements of their ancestors. Indeed, post-humanity primates live in a much healthier ecosystem. | ||
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Plot & Themes Tone of book - depressing/sad FANTASY or SCIENCE FICTION? - science fiction story Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book Cultural problems, alien culture Yes Descript. of chases or violence - 10 % planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 20 % Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 30 % Descript. of society, phenomena (tech), places - 40 % Intense exploration of society's culture? Yes Main Character Identity: - animal Main Adversary Identity: - none Setting Terrain Writing Style Accounts of torture and death? - moderately detailed references to deaths scientific jargon? (SF only) - some scientific explanation Sex in book? Yes How much dialogue? - significantly more descript than dialog |
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