by the dark side of the Anunnaki, which includes a loss of individuality, minimal emotion, “a policy of compulsory euthanasia at 840 years,” and a pernicious slow dementia known as “Quantum Psychosis.” Zadie finds herself abandoned by her dementia\u002Dstricken hosts in one of the prehistoric zoos. Noordermeer’s impressive debut is mind\u002Dexpanding anthropological SF that conveys wisdom and persuasive arguments via an Alice\u002Din\u002DAwe\u002Dand\u002DWonder\u002DLand setup and such dubious conceits as talking abominable snowmen. The science (more genetics and sociobiology than physics) is not too intimidating, the issues carry weight without relying on cackling techno\u002Dtyrants or villainous robots, and the characters are appealing, even those whose personalities have all but thinned to biological\u002Dcomputer level. While a long stretch of the narrative involves a series of lab\u002Dbound experiments (but what experiments!), the author manages to keep things moving forward. The conceit of a modern researcher set amid primordial beings should appeal to fans of Michael Bishop’s No Enemy but Time (1982)."⭐ 4.5/5(41)
