Gripping story set in a beautiful unusual world.

What did you like most about Dark Eden?

On surface level - a thrilling story told in a beautiful and imaginative way. Going deeper, it says so much about life and human character, the structure of society, history... I love a story that makes me think!

What other book might you compare Dark Eden to, and why?

Dark Eden is hard to compare - if you love science fiction, you will find links to so many books, yet nothing quite like it.

Which character – as performed by Oliver Hembrough and Jessica Martin – was your favourite?

I love how all characters are so transcendent - they all change, cross boundaries, rise and fall, play heroes and villains. It so profoundly reflects the nature of being human, the way people never stay the same, they get wiser, make mistakes, become kind, lose hope, ever-changing. A nice change from the flat characters of countless novels.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I earned a gold all-nighter badge from Audible listening to this! Therefore, you can imagine how hooked I was.

Any additional comments?

Loved it! And don't listen to any comments that complain of the abrupt ending - the ending is perfectly placed and timed. There was no more to tell.

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11 people found this helpful

A good book, and well prersented

Any additional comments?

This takes a while to get where it is going, but worth a listen to on long dog walks...

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4 people found this helpful

Imaginative and out of this world

I loved the descriptions of a very alien world. It sounds stunning, I would love to see this on film. I admired the main character for his cleverness but was frustrated by his occasional impulsiveness, but then he is only 20 wombs (15 years) old at the start. The village mentality adds a lot of tension and I was genuinely nervous when the young hero makes his first big move, awaiting cries of "heretic" from "family!"

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1 person found this helpful

Very well put together and enjoyable!

Would you consider the audio edition of Dark Eden to be better than the print version?

I think the readers performances added an extra dimension to an already good experience!

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

The story flowed very well and held my interest constantly. Definitely a book I could listen to in one sitting.

Any additional comments?

This story is an excellent example of a well balanced book. It combines an interesting concept and situation in a not to unlikely future with excellent characters, well paced storyline and good plot.
I was very pleasantly surprise with this book!

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7 people found this helpful

A good story with a very abrupt ending

Where does Dark Eden rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This is a very interesting story told in a very accessible way. Though it is in essence a science fiction story, because of the way that it is told and that it doesn't in any way focus too heavily upon fantasy or science it is quite accessible. Indeed it is told on an alien world, though it is quite easy to overlook that fact since it focuses 80% of the attention upon the characters and their exchanges and interactions.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Dark Eden?

That would be difficult to say without betraying a rather huge twist in the story.

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

The performance is very clear and easy to listen to, though there are some occasions where it comes across a little bit too clearly and almost feels as though it is a children's book that is being read. Though otherwise the narration was quite good.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

As aforementioned, that would be difficult to say without giving away big parts of the storyline.

Any additional comments?

Though this was a very enjoyable audio-book and the story and characters were all very good, the ending was quite terribly abrupt, to the point that I had to double check that there was not still another chapter to play or another part of the book to download. It seemed almost as though it finished mid-sentence, and you are left with many questions that can never be answered.

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4 people found this helpful

Good story, awesome narrators

I really liked this and would like to listen to the rest of the series at some point. Futuristic future but with a bit of a primitive stone age go back to basics feel to it.

Only thing I wasn’t so keen on with the repetitive language as at times it done my head in a bit “way way” “long long” “dark dark” grrrr, but I could see where they were going with it so had to just go with it.

Some of the primitive descriptive language was actually quite appealing and worked really well at helping you visualising this strange new world “flutterbys” & ”slinkers”.

In a way the characters had pretty primitive behaviour. It was nice for someone to break the mould and want more form their basic life of doing things that was because they always had been.

I think Oliver is fast becoming one of my favourite narrators to listen to, he adds depth to any character he’d representing. Jessica wasn’t bad either

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Excellent sci fi

If you’re looking to get into science fiction, but aren’t too sure where to start, Dark Eden is a fascinating entry for new comers. Dealing with the themes of what civilisation might be like on another planet, waiting to be rescued for generations, traditions being defied and the subsequent breakdown of carefully maintained family ties. It’s very much on the social spectrum of science fiction, rather than technology based, so I feel it makes it quite accessible for people who might be unfamiliar with the genre. Great first book for the trilogy, you will definitely want to know what happens next.

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Dystopian Future

The idea of a new society evolving on a new planet is an interesting one and the way they interact & grow with each other is good. I did find the writing a little more for kids those. It’s OK.

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an imaginative survival story set on an alien planet

totally binge worthy sci fi. loved every minute of it
I just wish they didn't make such annoying sound effects.. as someone that falls asleep to audiobooks the creepy sounds of the trees and annoying sounds of drums and horns really messed with my sleep!!

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Everything I look for in Science Fiction

With shades of Lord of the Flies, Animal Farm and Pitch Black. It covers human culture, sexuality and belief systems.

Chris Beckett used his background in social work to create an immensely interesting culture on a totally original sci-fi world.

It's well narrated, well written with a fantastic concept at its heart.

In short, it's everything I look for in science fiction.

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12 people found this helpful