Evolution, by Stephen Baxter (some spoilers)

[BRT]

Has anyone else read this book?

Not explicitly alternate history, but this book traces the history of the primates (in 'Walking with Dinosaurs' like chapters) and the evolution of humans, adding some some speculative stories that could be turned into AH (but then again could've really happened) - ie highly intelligent dinosaurs, giant 'air whales' with 30 metre wingspans, and late surviving (only 10 million years ago) dinosaurs in Antarctica.

Later in the book, the chapters speculate on the future evolution of 'humans'. The defining moment is in the year 2031, by which time people hadn't learnt their lessons and are still heavily depleting earth's resources. That year, the Rabaul volcano (in the Pacific) explodes on a massive scale (much bigger than Pinatubo, but not as big as some prehistoric eruptions). It's the last straw - world civilisation then free-falls into anarchy. 1000 years later, the only humans left (apart from a gruoup of cryogenically frozen soldiers that have thawed out) are bands of naked hunters who have lost the ability to speak.

[Psychomeltdown]

I liked it, but then the representation of the neanderthals put me off of it. come one, Cro Mags using Cavemen as dog sleds? Kinda stupid on that bit. But overall the whole story was pretty cool.

[Flocculencio]

I liked it a lot.

My dad who's a Michner fan liked it too.

I considered the Neanderthal herd-beasts on par with the sky-whales as literary conceits.

[Superdude]

Evolution does not exist.





All animals alive today are animals that Chuck Norris allowed to live.

[Flocculencio]

Originally Posted by Superdude

All animals alive today are animals that Chuck Norris allowed to live.

All glory be to Chuck Norris and the Mighty Fist of Chuck Norris.

[Faeelin]

Originally Posted by BRT

apart from a gruoup of cryogenically frozen soldiers that have thawed out) are bands of naked hunters who have lost the ability to speak.

Why would they lose the ability to speak? And why didn't the astronauts just reproduce?

[Scarecrow]

Originally Posted by Faeelin

Why would they lose the ability to speak? And why didn't the astronauts just reproduce?

because there was one woman to the five men. i am a big Baxter fan, and though this was a pretty good book, but i prefer the Xeelee and Malifant sequences...

[Hendryk]

Originally Posted by Faeelin

Why would they lose the ability to speak? And why didn't the astronauts just reproduce?

Perhaps they were stuck with 10 men to 1 woman, and ended up killing each other?

[Faeelin]

Originally Posted by Hendryk

Perhaps they were stuck with 10 men to 1 woman, and ended up killing each other?

This explains why the astronauts didn't reproduce, I guess. But why the loss of speech?

[Faeelin]

Originally Posted by Scarecrow

i prefer the Xeelee and Malifant sequences...

The Xelee didn't impress me, actually.

"The mighty all powerful race, which is so strong that there are entire civilizations that live off of their garbage, is doing something which will effect us billions of years in the future. What should we do?"

"War!"

[Scarecrow]

Originally Posted by Faeelin

The Xelee didn't impress me, actually.

"The mighty all powerful race, which is so strong that there are entire civilizations that live off of their garbage, is doing something which will effect us billions of years in the future. What should we do?"

"War!"

well why not? at that stage humanity had been under the heel of the Qax, and someone else, so from a historical perspective...

btw, have you read the Destinies children triolgy? got the latest (transendent) last week, thought it was ok, tad implausable about giving up cars etc...

[Max Sinister]

Still pretty strange that the humans try to fight the Xeelee again and again, even after they lose for the x-th time. It seems as if the humans of the future will be more stupid than in medieval times. Baxter has some great ideas, but his history isn't that great, and the characters aren't very interesting, whether human or not.

[Faeelin]

Originally Posted by Scarecrow

well why not? at that stage humanity had been under the heel of the Qax, and someone else, so from a historical perspective...

the xelee are far more powerful than either of the species that occupied Earth. We're fighting them why, again?

I mean, who's to say where humans would be in a billion years, anyway?

[Scarecrow]

Originally Posted by Faeelin

the xelee are far more powerful than either of the species that occupied Earth. We're fighting them why, again?

I mean, who's to say where humans would be in a billion years, anyway?

i believe the war was continued because they didnt/couldnt do anything to stop thier involvement. its convered in the second destinies child book anyway.

but i liked Raft the best

[sbegin]

I liked Evolution; the tale about the intelligent dinos could be made into great AH.

[Yossarian]

I enjoyed Evolution, but I thought that people losing speech was unrealistic. There's no situation where not being able to talk would really have any advantage.

[BRT]

It was suggested in the chapter that the humans that survived the chaos of the mid 21st Century were abandoned feral 'sewer' children who had learnt to survive away from adults by fending for themselves.