Evolution

by Charles Eades

Reared in a laboratory and given extraordinary powers, three animals escape into the wild: a fire breathing dog, a mind reading raven and a cat who can change his size and shape. Gifted with unusual intelligence alongside their abilities, the three try to understand why they were made like this, and to this end they travel to the big city to seek answers. But their creators are still out there, and the animals find themselves hunted by a powerful opponent who will stop at nothing to recapture them.

214 pages, Paperback

Published September 13, 2016

About the author

Charles Eades is a writer and film maker based in Scotland. He has written plays, novels and short stories and has directed over 20 independent films. His theatre work has been produced in London, Edinburgh and Liverpool and his plays for schools have been performed around the world. He is also a dog lover and sings in a community choir.

Reviews

[Sam - Spines in a Line · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to the author for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! You can find all my reviews (and extra bookish goodies) on my blog at https://spinesinaline.wordpress.com

Pleasantly surprised by this one :) I first thought of Homeward Bound when I saw the cover (you can see it on the Amazon page) but this one has a thriller/sci-fi aspect that takes this far beyond a young audience. These animals have supernatural abilities as a result of various lab experiments and have now broken out into the world.

I’m not usually into sci-fi but the plot intrigued me and I wanted to check it out. It does get pretty dark and there’s lots of death, a bit too violent for my tastes, but there are strong messages moving through the book at the same time, providing lots of food for thought.

I know with a fire-breathing dog this next part will sound crazy, but I was struck by how realistic the story felt. Yes, the abilities were wildly inventive and I don’t expect any of this to actually take place (at least not any time soon) but the way the story progressed and the actions the characters took felt believable. I don’t want to go into details because that’ll spoil too much but it felt like it really embraced the sci-fi genre while still existing within the real world, which I guess the best sci-fi does!

I had a bit of difficulty with the main human character as she seemed much older than her years. I understand that with all the chaos that occurs in this book she would need to mature much faster than normal but it still felt awkward with how young she is. Plus there are several uncomfortable sexual connotations that are just not appropriate with a 13-year-old, and I could definitely do without those. The animals are all developed really well though. I was impressed that the grumpy, violent animal of the pack was female – I feel even in animal form that’s usually reserved for a male. I really liked all the animals and their different personalities, even if many of them are dangerous killers!

Like most sci-fi books, this one also has a deeper meaning at its core. It ties in with the title and brings into discussion who should benefit from evolution, what its purpose is, and is it possible to control? Sometimes these themes can read as preachy but in this book it flowed well with the action of the story. There are differing perspectives provided and ultimately it’s up to the reader to decide who is right. But the best books are those that leave you with a question or two at the end!

[Aly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was odd for me but interesting. I think it was a good idea to give animals supernatural powers. It worked ok for me. I guess maybe I was hoping for more but this book was ok for me. * I received this book from the author---this is my honest review)