Dark Eden. Sounds biblical.
It does. And it is, in a sense. Thematically, there’s a lot here related to Genesis and Exodus, and possibly also other parts of the Bible my hasn’t-done-RE-for-years brain is no longer aware of.
OK, so what’s it about?
We start off in a collective called Family. They’re called that because that’s what they are – a few generations ago, a man and a woman were marooned on a planet they called Eden.
Of course they did.
What else? Originally, there were five of them, but three left to try and get back to Earth. The remaining two waited for their return and rescue, and in the meantime they had children. Their children had children. And the Family grew. The original two are long dead, but Family has now grown to over 500 people, still waiting for the Three Companions to return.
Wait. Wait wait wait. Their children had children. With who?
Each other.
Ew.
How did you think it worked with Adam and Eve? Anyhow, this inbreeding has had consequences. Some Family members are hair-lipped or club-footed, and it’s causing mental problems too. No-one’s had a new idea for ages.
Sounds like a scenario ripe for a shake-up.
Indeed. Family’s not in a good way. The valley they live in is running out of food, and they refuse to move because if they do Earth won’t find them. And when the story starts, we find John Redlantern, one of the few still capable of considering the new, determined to do something about it.
And does he?
Oh yes. His actions lead to exile, and the Family’s first murder.
Going a bit Cain and Abel.
Yep. And in that light it’s hard not to see the parallels between this story and some familiar biblical episodes. The Family worship old stories and seek salvation from on high, while John leads his band of disciples through the wilderness to the promised land.
Hm. So, English dissertation aside, was it a good story?
Um. Kind of.
…what?
Well, it’s complicated. I basically read this by accident. It was on a 99p promotion and I recognised the author from some cool short stories in Interzone. And compared to his shorts, this didn’t really measure up. The setting is incredibly well-realised, and the world is original. This isn’t just a dark Eden in the sense of the myth’s flip side, it’s also literally dark. There is no sun. The planet is habitable thanks to geothermal trees and bioluminescent life. The planet is believable, alien and threatening. Family’s society is also well-built. Their language isn’t quite the same as ours but you can see the roots of the slang, and you get a full picture of their social structure without the novel ever descending into some kind of hypothetical sociology treatise.
But? There’s clearly a but.
But… the characters. John isn’t the traditional messiah, he’s flawed and complex. And we can see this from his actions, but every other character feels the need to tell us. A lot. And the voices are just too similar. The book is structured as a multiple-first-person, with the chapter headings saying who is currently the I. It’s a neat trick that lets us see the same event from multiple sides. But I found myself constantly referring back to the chapter head to see who I was following. Every character’s voice, be they male or female, young or old, is the same.
Maybe it’s intentional, since it’s a closed and closely related society.
Maybe it is. Doesn’t mean it’s a good idea. There’s also some struggling with tone – as the book progresses, Family shifts from a peaceful matriarchal society to a more violent patriarchal one. It feels like the author’s trying to make a feminist point, but that’s somewhat undermined by making it clear beforehand that while there are female leaders, most women in Family are passive baby factories.
Sounds dodgy.
Little bit. Thing is, despite all that, I really did manage to read the whole thing by accident. I meant to read a few chapters and found myself devouring it in a day. Despite not caring overmuch for the characters, I did care what happened. And while I guessed the ending, it was still satisfying and affecting when it came.
So… yay or nay?
Yay for the world building. It’s really a fantastic alien world, and as a read I found it fairly enjoyable quick sci-fi. It just feels like it could have been – and wanted to be – so much more, and it’s a shame it didn’t get there.
And if I do want to try it out?
It’s on Amazon here, though it’s unlikely to still be 99p.
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