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Le epopee spaziali, le opere che guardano a un futuro lontanissimo con la Terra ormai distrutta e l'umanità persa nello spazio, in lotta per la propria sopravvivenza durante archi di tempo lunghissimi, mi hanno sempre intimorito.

Perché solitamente il risultato o è un capolavoro, o è un mattone indigeribile farcito di filosofia, politica, psicologia e quanto altro, noioso e infinito.

Beh, questo libro ricade senza dubbio nella prima categoria. Ti cattura, ti costringe a procedere nella lettura, ti fa domandare di continuo quanto tempo passerà tra una parte e l'altra, quante generazioni saranno saltate, cosa sarà successo sul mondo di Kern e cosa sarà accaduto agli abitanti della Gilgamesh.

Perché si, la Terra alla fine ha alzato bandiera bianca di fronte alla stupidità umana, e ormai è stata avvelenata oltre il punto di non ritorno.
Fortunatamente però in passato l'umanità, all'apice del proprio splendore, aveva conquistato lo spazio e la genetica, iniziando missioni di terraformazione di molti lontani pianeti.
Su uno di questi, la dotteressa Kern aveva preparato anche un nanovirus in grado di far evolvere rapidamente delle scimmie accellerandone il naturale sviluppo, così da poter avere in breve tempo una nuova specie di umani, che avrebbero potuto accogliere coloni terrestri.
Poi le guerre, e sopratutto una sorta di guerra santa portata contro questi scienziati colpevoli di sovvertire l'ordine naturale delle cose, avevano rovinato tutto e precipitato l'umanità indietro di secoli. Fino alla sua fine.
O quasi.

Perché l'umanità è in qualche modo sopravvissuta, e ora i figli della vecchia umanità devono lottare per la sopravvivenza.
L'unico problema è che i figli sono due.

Il primo figlio è a bordo della nave stellare Gilgamesh, un'Arca contenente migliaia di umani in stasi, con un equipaggio pronto a essere risvegliato in caso di necessità, diretta verso mete lontane secoli, i sistemi dove un tempo gli antichi umani avevano preparato mondi dove spostarsi, prima che la guerra annientasse questi geniali scienziati.
Qui troviamo il comandante in capo, il capo della sicurezza, gli ingegnieri esperti di sistemi informatici, l'umanista esperto di antichi linguaggi e di storia antica. Tutti a lottare per salvare la propria specie e la propria storia, alla ricerca di un pianeta abitabile dove risvegliare il proprio "cargo".

Il secondo figlio invece è sul mondo della dottoressa Kern.
Che non ha mai potuto portare a termine il proprio esperimento a causa di un sabotaggio, con le scimmie morte prima di arrivare al suolo, ma col nanovirus efficacemente sparso sul pianeta.
Con un effetto imprevedibile, una volta entrato in circolo negli organismi che ha potuto trovare.
Ragni senzienti in grado di ricordare il passato dei propri antenati e di accumulare conoscenze, formiche che operano con una grande mente collettiva. Insetti evoluti in grado di elaborare operazioni matematiche e concetti complessi, ma anche di usare la chimica e la fisica.

E noi assistiamo prima alla morte della Terra, poi al viaggio della Gilgamesh e all'evoluzione della vita senziente sul mondo di Kern. Due figli della Terra, due specie totalmente differenti e incompatibili tra loro. Due forze destinate a incontrarsi, e a scontrarsi.

Scritto benissimo, mantiene sempre vivo l'interesse (da una parte abbiamo lo stupore per la civiltà dei ragni e per le loro conquiste, dall'altro l'empatia per gli esuli terrestri e per le sfide che si ritrovano a fronteggiare) ed è emozionante.
E in più, fino all'ultimo può finire in ogni modo.
Spettacolare.

8 persone l'hanno trovato utile

A fascinating concept, brilliant premises and surprisingly satisfying ending

Michela

Recensito in Italia il 31 luglio 2019

** spoiler alert ** A long novel that tells two connected stories in alternating chapters, developing on different places during a long time, the result of two very different attempted solutions to the huge problem of the survival of humanity after Earth has become inhospitable. As generations pass, one story is set on a faraway green planet, where insects and other animals are the recipients of an evolution-triggering virus meant to target a colony of primates that never reached the planet. The experiment is guarded through the centuries by the scientist who designed it, and is weirdly successful in creating an intelligent and quickly evolving species of spiders, from whose point of view half of the novel is narrated. As they build a civilisation and learn to cohabit the planet with other evolving animals, they end up as a remarkable challenge for the showdown with the other group of main characters. The other half of the novel is narrated from the point of view of a "classicist", a man travelling on a spaceship that left generations after the first catastrophic event on Earth, and whose aim is to find a new planet for its passengers to settle and thus ensure the survival of humanity. He is asleep for most of the way, like most of the ship "cargo", and is taken out of hybernation only at salient moments of the journey, as generations of ship crew grow old and new ones are born. Through unluck, misguided decisions and internal fights, they end up with no choice but to land on the same green planet where the civilisation of spiders lives. A fascinating concept, brilliant premises and surprisingly satisfying ending, but lots of parts in the middle are too long, making it a slow and sometimes heavy reading.

Very nice example of hard science fiction

Andrea

Recensito in Italia il 10 febbraio 2018

This is the first book I read of this author and I've liked it very much.
The story is based on very good ideas and is quite well developed in all its aspects, the language (as far as I can tell, English is not my mother tongue) is rich and pleasant.
The book is well balanced, one never has the impression that the author is trying to write more than needed.
I recommend it definitely to anybody loving hard science fiction, but I think it can be interesting for a wider public.

2 persone l'hanno trovato utile

Janeway

affascinante

Recensito in Italia il 5 marzo 2018

Per una persona che ha paura dei ragni come me quando l'autore ha cominciato a descriverli nei particolari mi sono detta: ah siamo a posto, ora avrò gli incubi. Ma il libro era scritto talmente bene, e le premesse così affascinanti, che ho continuato, e sono stata ben contenta di averlo fatto. Parlando di ragni e formiche, oltre che di essere umani e delle loro debolezze, l'autore riesce a tenerci incollati al libro, con molte sorprese e un finale davvero inaspettato. consigliatissimo

Una persona l'ha trovato utile

Mike Colombo

Interesting

Recensito in Italia il 24 febbraio 2018

A well-written science fiction novel spanning thousands of years with ever-changing characters but still adding up to a moralistic but, alas, simplistic ending.
The story is very detailed and the author appears to know his scientific facts very well. I do however think that he overdid himself with the quantity of details on the "spiders" which caused the storyline to be a bit too long, drawn-out and boring at times, at least for me.
As I stated in the title, "interesting" but not really enough to merit a five-star rating.

2 persone l'hanno trovato utile

Fresh SF story with a new point of view on what is alien and aliens motivations

Marcello Morchio

Recensito in Italia il 3 maggio 2021

Very interesting story, where the evolution of an alien intelligence goes side by side with the human quest for a new home-planet until the unavoidable clash.
One of the more original stories I read since years.

Recensito in Italia il 14 agosto 2017

Well written and backed by plausibile scientific knowledge, it is a book that makes you reflect on the essence of humanity: we are curious, capable of both improvement and destruction. We are resilient to the extent that the moments of crises,instead of crushing us, spur us to go on, discover new things, overcome problems, find new solutions. This is what we are....

2 persone l'hanno trovato utile

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Le recensioni migliori da altri paesi

Paola Marcela Garcia Quintanilla

Buen producto

Recensito in Messico il 5 gennaio 2024

Excelente libro

Rodolfo

Satisfação total desde a compra até o recebimento!

Recensito in Brasile il 21 maggio 2023

Ainda não li o livro por causa de outras leituras que estou fazendo no momento.

No entanto, deixo registrada a minha satisfação quanto à entrega (do pedido cuja chegada levou 10 dias) e com o estado do produto, que veio muito bem embalado e sem partes amassadas.

Espero que minha leitura e estudos com a língua inglesa possam ser beneficiados com essa história envolvente e cheia de aventuras! Recomendo a todos que estão interessados!

2 persone l'hanno trovato utile

Gavin Gifford

Fantastic Book!

Recensito negli Stati Uniti il 16 gennaio 2023

If we encountered intelligent life on another planet, would we even be able to recognize it as such?

This question is really the driving force of the book.

This book explores a lot of big ideas and concepts, but that question is the one that is at the center of it all.
The book follows two story threads that happen over the course of thousands of years; a dying race floating through space, trying to find a new home, and another race rising into intelligence on a planet that was not originally meant for them. It tells this millennia spanning story through a series of connected vignettes that time jump with almost every chapter.

If you're looking for a very character driven story, this is not the book for you. The characters are well done, but they are not necessarily what the book is about. This book is about bigger things, things that can only be explored over the course of vast amounts of time.
And it is masterfully written. The prose was a little heavy for me at first, but a few chapters in I was hooked, and already beginning to love the prose.
This is definitely the kind of book that will leave you severely disappointed if you go in with the wrong expectations as to what kind of book it's going to be. If you're going into it expecting some big space opera full of interesting and very compelling characters, you will be disappointed.

Judging this book according to what kind of book it's meant to be, I would say it succeeds on almost every level. SPOILERS: it got me to see a race of spiders as more than "the other" for goodness sake!
And society and technological development of the spiders was extremely well executed, as well as very imaginative yet grounded in complete believability -- a hard balance to maintain.
It's a bit long, but I believe that length is very necessary for properly telling the story and exploring those concepts that it puts forth.

Overall, I would highly recommend this book to anyone who loves great sci-fi that spans huge lengths of time and is very much about exploring certain questions, not necessarily about a group of characters doing stuff.

6 persone l'hanno trovato utile

arun p.

Worth to read even if you are not into Sci-Fi or just want to test the waters

Recensito in India il 10 aprile 2024

I love techno thrillers and historical fiction and I just wanted to try science fiction cause i loved science fiction movies as a kid. I found a lot of science fiction to be dated, so after a long search ( It was recommended on the internet) I found this book read its blurb and then bought it.
This book is as contemporary as it gets and it is as scientific fiction as it can get and yet does not feel like science fantasy ( fantasy is not my cup of tea or coffee or juice).
The story that the author says and the world he builds is actually mind boggling, imaginative, informative and most importantly interesting and entertaining ( that's why i read books)
Its like chaos theory, its like Jurassic park ( the book not the movie , not that i don't like the movie) where the author sets the pieces /characters and they just react in a chaotic and wonderful way, this book has it all, in fact the chaotic actions begin much earlier the Jurassic park.
the characters mentioned in the book have been well written and each have their motives, strengths, weakness and oversight.
Even if you are not into sci fi, you can read it as a simulation of what will probable happen if two species ( one human and another spider based) both having sixth sense and both having developed civilization independently on different planets and how they would perceive each other and try to understand each other. the development of a spider society to a civilizational level is also described, their culture , their language , their mode of communication is all wonderfully described and is completely believable.
the climax is also unexpected , i don't know how they will take the second part ( its a trilogy, by the way) but i will read it soon

Zybura

Whacky premise well executed - fun read

Recensito in Germania il 11 gennaio 2024

I liked the evolutionary perspective and the kind of drama that ensues in different stages of societal development. That the characters kind of ‘repeat’ (different individuals are being given the same names in different historical moments, because they stand in for certain traits) worked well for me.

I also read the second and third part of the series and the first is by far the best of them. The second part is okay, but the third part is disappointing (see separate review). Children of Time can easily stand on its own, so if you are hesitant to commit to the series I would still recommend reading just this one.