Daughter of Is : a science fiction epic

by Michael Davidson, Carlos Ochagavia

For six days the mighty generators of the Prometheus had discharged their bolts of lightning through the primitive atmosphere of Orion III-Eleven, now renamed the planet Mazda.

But this time life would take a far different course than it had on Earth. Where it would end, not even these humans about to play God could guess…

Genres: Science Fiction

Paperback

Published January 1, 1978

About the author

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There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name

Reviews

[Raymond Elmo · Rating 3 out of 5]

The difference between science-fiction and fantasy is not lasers instead of wands, programmers substituted for wizards, alien reptiles instead of dragons. A TRUE sci-fi book has a requirement fantasy may skip: the plot must contain a thought-experiment. A sci-fi writer says 'Suppose a race of humans shifted gender each season; how would that effect their social structure?' or 'if an alien race evolved as a hive, would they recognize individual humans as more than drones?' or 'if I keep cloning myself making small changes, is that evolution or corruption?'*

'Daughter of Is' supposes a crew of gifted humans that say 'Bye, Earth', and seek out an empty planet far from our benighted system. There they begin the formation of life at the sub-cellular level, checking in every few million years (they FTL so that for them it's the next day).

Guiding evolution, they achieve (with a few deluge-reboots) an intelligent human-like race. And now to guide! Resting in their Olympus ship above their very own creation, approving, disapproving, and arguing the path of a proper new humanity. They are the gods; and down there on the new earth, the people look up and offer their prayers, hopes and questions.

But at some point... it almost seems like there is another god stepping in. Maybe the one that gets a capital 'G'.

A theme very similar to Wolfe's 'Book of the Long Sun', when Silk becomes aware of The Outsider. Not so ambitiously told, nor reaching the height of Wolfe's prose. But: a book worthy of thought, for the experiment proposed.
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*The Left Hand of Darkness, Ender's Game, Fifth Head of Cerberus

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

The philosophy behind the book is quite interesting, if you’re into Christian ethics and philosophy. The whole premise of Man exploring the cosmos and then creating life in our own image isn’t new. However, the question of Original Sin and The Fall is prevalent and can’t be forgotten. The book proposes a future where those aspects have been forgotten or denied and that Man can make a Good race, a race without sin, possible through science.
It’s a slower moving novel where time elapses by the millennia for the new race of beings and so because of that, we don’t latch onto any one character outside of the original humans. Of them, we still don’t get a huge connection.
Well written? Yes.
Interesting? Yes.
Would read again? Maybe.

[Ky · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is not a proper review because I barely remember what happened in the book. This review only a note to myself so I can remember why it's in my read books. There's some to-do about evolving sapient beings who have chlorophyll rather than hemoglobin in their blood cells.