Darwin’s Radio

by Greg Bear

The human race is on the verge of it’s next big jump in evolution, but we don’t know it. Biologist Kaye Lange predicted years ago that dormant bits of DNA might get turned on, and suddenly finds that she’s the world’s expert on the outbreak of illnesses and spontaneous abortions that have gripped the world. Christopher Dicken of the CDC is also investigating the epidemics, but finds that the cause that he and Dr. Lang propose is not politically acceptable. They race to find definate proof of the cause.

I quite liked the first two-thirds of this novel where Bear describes the outbreaks of illness, the response of the public and policymakers, and the search by Lang, Dicken and others for the cause and cure. However, the last third of the book the quality of story and plot seemed to break down. Here the plot is more character-driven than proceedure-driven, and the writing just wasn’t as engaging.