Awards
2000 Nebula Award winner
2000 Hugo Award nominee
Synopses & Reviews
Ancient diseases encoded in the DNA of humans wait like sleeping dragons to wake and infect again or so molecular biologist Kaye Lang believes. And now it looks as if her controversial theory is in fact chilling reality. For Christopher Dicken, a "virus hunter" at the Epidemic Intelligence Service, has pursued an elusive flu-like disease that strikes down expectant mothers and their offspring. Then a major discovery high in the Alps the preserved bodies of a prehistoric family reveals a shocking link: something that has slept in our genes for millions of years is waking up.
Now, as the outbreak of this terrifying disease threatens to become a deadly epidemic, Dicken and Lang must race against time to assemble the pieces of a puzzle only they are equipped to solve an evolutionary puzzle that will determine the future of the human race...if a future exists at all.
Review
"[R]iveting....Centered on well-developed, highly believable figures who are working scientists and full-fledged human beings, this fine novel is sure to please anyone who appreciates literate, state-of-the-art SF." Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)
Review
"Absorbing and ingenious, but despite Bear's helpful afterword and glossary you'll need to be biologically literate to follow the argument." Kirkus Reviews
Review
"[O]ne of the most intelligent and original thrillers of recent years....[A]ll this is worked out with the kind of inevitability of a good scientific investigation..." Gary K. Wolfe, Locus
Review
"Darwin's Radio is far superior to other recent thrillers on similar themes...not only because Bear creates fuller, more realistic characters and situations, but also because Bear understands the science behind his ideas more deeply." Robert Killheffer, Fantasy & Science Fiction Magazine
Review
"Darwin's Radio scores a high rating on the thrill monitor." Birmingham Post (England)
Synopsis
"Virus hunter" Christopher Dicken is a man on a mission, following a trail of rumors, government cover-ups, and dead bodies around the globe in search of a mysterious disease that strikes only pregnant women and invariably results in miscarriage.
About the Author
Greg Bear is the author of twenty-four books, which have been translated into a dozen languages. He has been awarded two Hugos and four Nebulas for his fiction. He was called the "best working writer of hard science fiction" by The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Science Fiction. He lives in Lynwood, Washington.