Book Review - THE DOORS OF EDEN by Adrian Tchaikovsky

(Title: The Doors Of Eden / Author: Adrian Tchaikovsky / Publisher: Tor / Publication Date: May 28, 2020)

Adrian Tchaikovsky has always been one of my "must read" authors.  Part of the reason why is that he is so incredibly adept at creating magnificent and compelling stories across multiple genres.  Over the years he has written some excellent science-fiction, space opera, as well as epic fantasy.  If you get a chance to check out some of his previous works, you will see exactly what I'm talking about.

I had no idea that Adrian had a brand new book coming out this Spring (May 28th to be precise) until it showed up one day on my doorstep.  Thank you to publisher Tor for graciously sending me a copy of his latest, THE DOORS OF EDEN.  As soon as I saw the stunning cover and read the summary on the back, I just couldn't wait to dig in.

THE DOORS OF EDEN begins as partners and best friends Lee and Mal are embarking on a bit of a road trip adventure to Bodmin Moor.  You see the two, besides being very much in love, are are also very much cryptid enthusiasts and have been interested in legendary monsters like Nessie, Bigfoot, Yeti, etc... for as long as they can remember.  One day while looking at some online cryptid videos, they come across one showing a farm not too far from their home.  As the video is about to cut out, a creature appears in the background for just a few seconds.  The image is somewhat difficult to make out and could very likely be a hoax, but it is so haunting and nags at them enough that they eventually decide to pay a visit to Bodmin Moor to see for themselves. 

Something terrifying happens though when they investigate the farm and Mal inexplicably vanishes into thin air.  There is no body found.  It's as if she was there one second and gone the next.  Lee struggles to understand exactly what happened on that night and after four years go by with no answers or clues as to Mal's whereabouts, she gives up any hope of ever seeing her again.  That is until Mal calls her one day.  Could it really be her after all these years?  Or is it just a prankster playing some sick joke on Lee?  It really sounds like Mal though, but that can't be possible.  Can it?

Coupled with the story of Lee and Mal is that of MI5 government employee Julian Sabreur, former army grunt Lucas May, and physicist Kay Amal Khan.  They have been aware for years of something otherworldly happening on the Moors as well as other locations around England.  They believe that they may have discovered a crack in this world that allows people to travel to a parallel Earth where hideous monsters live.  The problem is these cracks can also allow those monsters access to our world too.  As these cracks keep getting bigger and greater in number the race to discover how to close them, if that is even possible, could ultimately determine the fate of humanity.

Wow, was that a thrill ride that kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time that I was reading it.  It is kind of difficult to pinpoint what genre this book falls into.  It's also what I loved about it quite frankly.  Part science-fiction novel, part portal fiction, part bio-thriller, part mystery, all combining to make one heck of an epic story in the end.  It delivers on every front.  This was so refreshing and came at exactly the right time for me as I have been reading a lot of standard fantasy and SF lately.  But THE DOORS OF EDEN simply defies convention as Adrian Tchaikovsky once again proves that he can't be pigeon-holed into any one genre category.  

Being a bit of a cryptid fan myself, this book was the best of both worlds for me as it scratched that itch as well as gave me a fascinating SFF story to digest as well.  The characters are so well done and each has their own motivation (some not exactly ethical) for discovering what happened on that fateful night on Bodmin Moor.  This book is also creepy as hell in certain parts and it kept me completely engaged as I couldn't believe what I was reading sometimes.  In my opinion this is one of the more brilliantly inventive SFF books to come along in a long time.  It reminded me of some of my favorite Neal Stephenson books, but unlike Neal's novels, Adrian Tchaikovsky really knows how to ramp up the tension and always delivers a stunning conclusion that satisfies.

Be forewarned that there are a lot of big ideas within these pages and at times things can get pretty involved.  So you very much have to pay attention to every detail as the story unfolds.  Another thing I should mention is that there are some brief interludes that appear every few chapters.  These interludes explain the biological evolution and history of a mysterious race of creature spanning thousands of years. This has an essential bearing on the story so you definitely do not want to skim through these.  I just can't say enough about how awesome this book was and I hope that everyone decides to check out THE DOORS OF EDEN by Adrian Tchaikovsky.  It is a wild journey that I highly recommend to everyone who loves a phenomenal story that you can really sink your teeth into.

(My Rating: 9.5/10)