Stephen Baxter: EVOLUTION

Evolution follows a fictional course of primate evolution up to and beyond the reign of humans. The novel focuses on moments of change and tension which lead to conditions necessary for the evolution of species. Those who can adapt and survive live on to bring about the next generation giving their lines a chance to transmit their kind into the future.

An interesting feature of the novel is that it also traces certain dead ends, even following some species which are trapped on the moving landmass of Antarctica where they will eventually die out as the climate gets colder and the ice caps overtake the continent. In this aspect, Baxter shows  courage for allowing his narrative to follow a meandering uncertain path that mimics, in a sense, the actual path of selection and speciation. In this respect, the work is enhanced by these strange dead ends, which in effect symbolize nothing, but you see the dire consequences both of choice and chance on the future of a species or group which can lead to extinction. You also get to see the pivotal moments as certain primates slowly pull themselves from the forest to become human and beyond. And at times you can feel how inconsequential and fleeting our shared moment of dominance is.


Change is the novel's recurrent theme, and in this I greatly admire the work, as Baxter dramatizes great moments of advancement which come about nearly accidentally or as the result of immense pressure which certainly makes it a great work of evolution fiction. The novel is also written well enough that you feel a sense of empathy for the different creatures and their merciless dilemmas without recourse to Walt Disney style sentimentalism or any overt ideological bent. Despite the fact that Evolution is not a conventional novel in any sense it is a book well worth reading.