Eden by Tim Lebbon
Titan Books. 2020
ISBN-13: 978-1789092936
Available: Paperback, Kindle edition, audiobook.
Lebbon’s back to nature horror again, which is where he shines the brightest. His novels The Silence to The Nature of Balance, set the bar for subsequent titles as Scott Smith’s The Ruins and the movie A Quiet Place. Lebbon’s skill at turning the natural world on its ear and creating believable, unique adversaries from both animal and plant kingdoms is unsurpassed.
Eden will undoubtedly draws comparisons to Jeff Vandermeer’s Annihilation, but Lebbon’s tale veers into thriller territory rather than the straight out weird of Vandermeer’s world (althoughthat’s a stellar read itself). The pacing of the story is akin to the best thrill rides, replete with rocket-fast action scenes, balanced with smooth exposition that avoids the trap of miring the reader in information dumps.
In Lebbon’s near future, the world has become almost unlivable due to pollution and climate change. Sounds familiar, in our age of disgusting deregulation of environmental laws and reckless destruction of pristine lands. Lebbon never preaches but doesn’t have to– anyone living through today’s world and its frightening descent into chaos will likely be chilled by the “news” clips preceding each chapter that describe life in the “Virgin Zones.” These zones were set up in thirteen areas across the world to jumpstart nature and give environments human-free time to develop.
Of course, men are never smart enough to follow directions.
These clips often feature the “guards” of each zone, the Zeds, a force to prohibit intruders that bring to mind ICE and border patrols here in the states, and these set up the tone for each scene.
Thrill-seekers Dylan and his daughter Jenn, along with his team, enter Eden, the oldest, most pristine, and dangerous of the zones, to race through it. Jenn also has another motive– to find her mother, Kat, who abandoned the family years ago and entered the zone with her own team, which Dylan and Jenn quickly learned was ill-fated.
The search also expands as the characters seek a legendary Ghost Orchid, which is reported to have miraculous healing properties. When they find a corpse that is growing within a tree and through it, the dread and tension become as thick as the humidity of the jungle. Lebbon creates a world both claustrophobic and horrific, almost as if Clive Barker set out to rewrite the book of Genesis.
When follows is a discovery of creatures that grew unencumbered by human involvement, possibly to halt it from tainting this new world. These new organisms will do whatever possible to keep their home free from the infection of humans.
Dylan and Jenn’s journey is a thrilling one that incorporates the best elements of suspense, horror, and science fiction and surpasses the high expectations set by previous efforts.
Lebbon’s recent foray into thrillers and his Relics trilogy are on display here with stellar description and characterization that elevates it in a gorgeously painted world– with teeth. This could be our future. Highly recommended reading.
Reviewed by David Simms
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