Darwin's Children Greg Bear 9780007132386 [USED COPY]

Evolution is no longer just a theory - and nature is more of a bitch goddess than a kindly mother - in this tense science thriller from the author of the Nebula Award-winning Darwin's Radio

Stella Nova is one of the 'virus children', a generation of genetically enhanced babies born a dozen years before to mothers infected with the SHEVA virus.

In fact, the children represent the next great evolutionary leap and a new species of human, Homo sapiens novus, but this is officially denied. They're gentle, charming and persuasive, possessed of remarkable traits. Nevertheless, they are locked up in special schools, quarantined from society, feared and reviled.

'Survival of the fittest' takes on a new dimension as the children reach puberty. Stella is one of the first to find herself attracted to another 'virus child', but the authorities are watching and waiting for the opportunity to strike the next blow in their escalating war to preserve 'humankind' at any cost.

Greg Bear was born in 1951 and published his first short story sixteen years later. His first novel was published in 1979, and his most famous novels, Blood Music and Eon, emerged during the eighties and have now become established classics.

'A gripping evolutionary thriller that combines cutting-edge science with a compelling storyline. It's a novel that stretches the envelope of known science - which is exactly what science fiction should do' P.D. Smith Guardian

'Bear's ability to tell a good story is surpassed only by his enthusasiam for the advancing edge of molecular biology ... he might just be anticipating the next giant leap in our understanding of evolution and ourselves' Nature

'GREG BEAR develops his characters extremely well, and there is plenty of action, too, in Darwin's Children ... Bear is very good at blending hard science, politics and fiction, and this is one of his strongest novels yet. Convincing, and at times depressing, it tackles the difficult question of whether a government gripped by prejudice and fear can be prevented from wiping out its perceived enemies' New Scientist