‘They did find footprints. And they weren’t human:’ The Doors of Eden by Adrian Tchaikovsky. A Review by Lucy Nield

‘They did find footprints. And they weren’t human.’

The Sideways Award Winner:

The Doors of Eden by Adrian Tchaikovsky. A Review by Lucy Nield @lucy_nield1

The Doors of Eden, is one of Adrian Tchaikovsky’s 2020 publications, alongside Firewalkers. As an admirer of Tchaikovsky’s previous novels such as Arthur C. Clarke winning Children of Time and internationally loved Dogs of War, I was excited to be submerged into another speculative world, with eager anticipation of what many legged creatures we may, or may not, meet.

I was not disappointed.

Whilst the Blurb might suggest a novel overwhelmed by conspiracy theories and cryptozoological mysteries, this text moves far beyond what you can possibly expect or imagine with the mention of ‘monster hunting’ as a starting point. I will be the first to admit that I lost touch with reality whilst reading. You do not feel a sense of existentialism with this text, more of an acceptance, that there could be something more. However tenuous, speculative, and out-right unbelievable the worlds of The Doors of Eden may be, you find yourself wanting.

Tchaikovsky begins the story with Mal and Lee, lovers and friends who have a longing to find mythical and unattainable creatures like the Lockness monster, but they accidentally stumble upon something more bizarre and unimaginable. Mal vanishes and Lee spends 4 years trying to imagine that what happened on Bodmin Moor was just that – imagined. Until Mal calls.

Tchaikovsky has the seamless ability to use intradiegetic narratives, jumping between characters, story lines and subplots as the chapters unfold. We learn about each character quickly, but in a manner that helps us to empathise, sympathise and connect with them, so the emotional bonds are built between the reader and the narrative. Your hand is held tightly to the pages and you do not want to put the book down until every word has been read and absorbed.

As well as Mal and Lee, we are offered the perspective of; MI5’s Julian Sabreur, who tries his best to keep up with the unbelievable creatures and other worlds he is presented with; Sabreurs analyst colleague Alison, who has help from an ancient ice-mind; Dr ‘Kay’ Khan, a theoretical physicist who understands that there are cracks between the parallel Earths; and University papers written by Ruth Emmerson, on ‘Other Edens; Speculative Evolution and intelligence,’ but how does Emmerson know about these ‘Other Edens?’ and how can she possibly speculate these creatures of Earths that surely do not exist…. Surely?

Whilst I expected manly legged creatures and giant sentient bugs (as I know of Tchaikovsky’s love for all things entomology), I was shocked by the introduction of birdmen, talking dinosaurs and the hordes of desperate giant weasel-rats trying to escape their Earth and infest another.

As always, Tchaikovsky pulls together a cocktail of subplots, emotional interruptions, and weird creatures into a terrific and addictive read. His character work is convincing as he shows not only their gallantry and wit, but also their flaws, insecurities, and emotions. His story lines feed each other hungrily and cause uncanny reactions in the reader, an ‘emotion that had no precise name but partook equally of fear, revulsion and existential dread,’[1] alongside feelings of joy and hope for the human-race. You can feel the anxieties of the future leaking through this text, of the world we live in and how humans have treated it. The offering of new and other Earths disrupts the usual narrative, and brings to the forefront a future that no-one, other than Tchaikovsky himself, could have ever imagined.

The Doors of Eden, is beautiful, terrifying and drowning in speculative theory I never knew existed (maybe it doesn’t… maybe only in the world of the Nissa and Dr Khans mind), I found myself shocked but not surprised, grief stricken but at peace, terrified but enthralled and excited by Tchiakovsky’s novel, and found myself wishing that I too could travel between Earths as a passenger inside a giant arthropod called Cam.

 

 

 

 

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[1] Adrian Tchaikovsky, The Doors of Eden (London; Pan Books, 2021) Page 387