{5\/5} “There were places you did not go casually that could transform you or vanish you away. There were valleys where monsters might brush your elbow, from the other side of a divide incomprehensible to the human mind. There were clawed tracks that led off in directions they had no name for, into impossible distances as though whole worlds were held within the cracks of a cliff.”<\/p>\n
The Doors of Eden<\/strong> by Adrian Tchaikovsky, published in 2020<\/p>\n Lee and Mal are on the hunt for monsters. When they see a half bird-half human creature in a video, they track down the farm where the video was taken. When they reach it, the farmer is nowhere to be seen — but there are some suspiciously slaughtered sheep. When they go looking for the farmer, hey find some standing stones — and a portal to another Earth where evolution took a different path.<\/p>\n This is one of the best novels ever written. Fans of Baxter’s Evolution<\/strong> and Sawyer’s Hominids<\/strong> will find delights on every page.<\/p>\n It combines biological science fiction with the fantasy of a portal on our Earth that leads to another Earth — to form something new. Not only is it a gripping story, it’s full of stunning speculation.<\/p>\n