Mother of Eden - (Dark Eden) by Chris Beckett (Paperback)

About the Book

"Civilization has come to the alien, sunless planet its inhabitants call Eden. Just a generation ago, the planet's five hundred inhabitants huddled together in the light and warmth of the forest's lanterntrees, afraid to venture out into the cold darkness around them. Now, humanity has spread across Eden and two kingdoms have emerged. Both are sustained by violence and dominated by men--and both claim to be the favored children of Gela, the woman who came to Eden long ago on a boat that could cross the stars and became the mother of them all"--Page 4 of cover.

Book Synopsis

"We speak of a mother's love, but we forget her power."
Civilization has come to the alien, sunless planet its inhabitants call Eden.

Just a few generations ago, the planet's five hundred inhabitants huddled together in the light and warmth of the Forest's lantern trees, afraid to venture out into the cold darkness around them.

Now, humanity has spread across Eden, and two kingdoms have emerged. Both are sustained by violence and dominated by men - and both claim to be the favored children of Gela, the woman who came to Eden long ago on a boat that could cross the stars, and became the mother of them all.
When young Starlight Brooking meets a handsome and powerful man from across Worldpool, she believes he will offer an outlet for her ambition and energy. But she has no inkling that she will become a stand-in for Gela herself, and wear Gela's fabled ring on her own finger--or that in this role, powerful and powerless all at once, she will try to change the course of Eden's history.

Review Quotes

Praise for Chris Beckett's Dark Eden:

"Poetic...Beckett renders the terror of the darkness beyond the forests with a riveting deftness that evokes all primordial fears of the unknown...There's plenty here to intrigue and entrance." -New York Times Book Review

"A linguistic and imaginative tour de force." --The Guardian (UK)

"Captivating and haunting...human plight and alien planet are both superbly evoked." --Daily Mail(UK)

"A stunning novel and a beautiful evocation of a truly alien world." --Sunday Times

"Pure astonishment and pleasure, a storytelling ride full of brio and wonder." --Locus

"Dazzlingly inventive... superbly well paced and well written... packed with ideas." --Reader's Digest

"Brilliantly imaginative...a superb entertainment, a happy combination of speculative and literary fiction. Not to be missed." -Booklist (starred)

"A fantastic novel...Beckett has created a bizarre world of astounding imaginative vision, grounded by fundamental human conflicts." -Shelf Awareness

"Riveting...a keenly imagined vision of the interaction between human nature and a truly alien world." -BookPage

About the Author

Chris Beckett is a university lecturer living in Cambridge, England. His short stories have appeared in such publications as Interzone and Asimov's Science Fiction and in numerous "year's best" anthologies.