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Liked It1 of 1 members found this review helpful “An intelligent time-travel novel. Baker plays with the past - and the future - in a coherent manner, and there are dark undertomes to the altruistic mission. It's not quite perfect, in that the sheer alienness of the past doesn't quite come across, so it feels more about a story of the...” see full review » see other reviews » |
Didn’t Like It1 of 1 members found this review helpful “You got to remember that this is essentially a romance story. not a whole lot of history or science fiction to it. |
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“My first encounter with Kage Baker was a short story in the anthology Wizards: Tales from the Masters of Modern Fantasy. Her contribution was the highlight of that collection for me, a brightly polished gem of a story small in scope and warmly, wonderfully knowing. On the strength of that story alone I decided I would love the author.
PhoenixFalls wrote this review yesterday. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
This was my first novel by Baker and her first novel as well, and if it was not quite as brightly polished as the short story (which was, after all, written a decade later) it still maintained all the wit, warmth and wisdom.
The premise has rightfully drawn comparisons to Connie Willis' Doomsday Book and To Say Nothing of the Dog. The first chapter, which works as a sort of prologue, introducing The Company and its operatives, is a delight. I especially like the idea that time travel was invented as a byproduct of their invention of immortality, to test whether or not the process worked. But regular SF readers be warned: the first chapter is the only major SF world-building that occurs in this novel. I suspect there is more in later books in the series, but the focus of this novel is much smaller: it is a romance and a coming-of-age story set against the backdrop of Queen Mary's marriage to Prince Philip of Spain and the subsequent Marian Persecutions in England.
There is very little to like about the young Company agent Mendoza. She is spunky, clearly, but also despises humanity and is supremely self-centered. She is, in short, a teenager. Smartly, the Mendoza that narrates the story is much older and wiser, and even if her wry, sardonic tone isn't groundbreaking, it is still very effective. Needless to say, the story Mendoza relates is the story of how she lost that self-centeredness and fell in love with one of the despised humans.
All of those elements, would fit nicely in a Connie Willis novel, and the story moves with ease between the lighthearted tone of To Say Nothing of the Dog and the darker, richer tone of The Doomsday Book. The love interest, Nicholas Harpole, however, would have absolutely no place in a Connie Willis novel -- he is cast from a mold that reminded me very strongly of Father Ignatius in Louisa May Alcott's A Long Fatal Love Chase. Harpole is a martyr, a soldier of god, and he aches to save his beloved's immortal soul -- little knowing her immortal body has already been bought and paid for by The Company. While I share Joseph's evaluation of Harpole far more than Mendoza's, the couple's plight delivers excellent narrative tension, matched nicely by the increasingly grim news reports the Company agents listen to on their subvocal radio. I spent the entire second half of the novel waiting for the guillotine to fall, and when it did I read breathlessly through to the end.
Ultimately, while In the Garden of Iden was not as good as either Connie Willis novel I mentioned, it showed great promise as the start of a series. I'll admit that I cheated and looked at the descriptions of the other books, so I know a bit of where the series is going -- it looks like there will be quite a bit more world-building in later novels, for instance -- but I think even if I did not know that, and if I hadn't loved that short story so much, on the strength of this novel Kage Baker would still have made my "buy immediately" list. Absolutely recommended.”
0 of 1 members found this review helpful“Just as much fun as the last time! Time travel, scifi, romance, philosophy/religion - lots of fun. And the adventure continues with Sky Coyote, set in Santa Cruz CA around the time of Spanish exploration.”
Michele R wrote this review Thursday, June 11 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
0 of 1 members found this review helpful“I loved the start of the book, but the middle was seriously lagging. I haven't picked it back up to finish it yet, don't know if I ever will.”
Kat wrote this review Friday, August 8 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
0 of 1 members found this review helpful“Young Adult meets Historical Romance meets SF. Very good stuff.”
Wingborn wrote this review Tuesday, June 17 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No1 of 1 members found this review helpful“An intelligent time-travel novel. Baker plays with the past - and the future - in a coherent manner, and there are dark undertomes to the altruistic mission. It's not quite perfect, in that the sheer alienness of the past doesn't quite come across, so it feels more about a story of the immortals hidden among us than truly about the past... but maybe that's just my prejudices; no-one else really gets it right either.”
Mrraow wrote this review Friday, June 6 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
0 of 1 members found this review helpful“This book starts out great, describing the Company, time travel and immortality and then goes downhill from there. I am not sorry that I read it, but I wont be reading the other books in this series.”
gita e wrote this review Wednesday, May 14 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No0 of 1 members found this review helpful“The Company series by Kage Baker is among my very favorites. When a new one comes out I buy it in hardcover, that's how much I love them! This book is the essential introduction to the world Baker creates in the series. I encourage those who gave this a pass to look at the sequels. They create an interesting world, and are also funny as hell. ”
hopems wrote this review Thursday, January 10 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
0 of 1 members found this review helpful“I picked up this book because of some recommendations from friends on Shelfari. I was greatly disappointed!
Katamaster wrote this review Thursday, January 3 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
This book starts out so well, describing the Company, time travel and immortality and then goes to Spain in the 1500's where a little girl (Mendoza) is rescued from the Inquisition and put in a "special program" with other children. They are trained and receive a number of surgeries that transform them into Cyborgs. The book then goes downhill from there as Mendoza is sent on her task to work in 1500's England during the end of Queen "Bloody" Mary's reign. From there it is painfully dull and very difficult to finish.
What also made this book difficult was that the vast infrastructure that was set up underground in the 1500's is very unbelievable. This book is definately not on my recommended list!”
0 of 1 members found this review helpful“I really enjoy the Company Series, but I am the only one I know who has read them. When I try to talk about them, people give me a funny look. This is the first book in the series. Some of the later ones are even better.”
BookSnake wrote this review Friday, December 7 2007. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
