Content levels
Trigger warnings
Positive tags
Protagonist archetypes
Tropes
Themes
Synopsis
A crew of six crash-land on Eden, fourth planet from another sun. They set forth into a strange world that grows ever stranger. The sun is not completely circular. The desert ground is soft, spongy, it exudes acrid vapors. Thickets of plants are shaped like hanging spiders; trees, violet and blue, breathe noisily; flower petals lift into the air like a flock of startled pigeons. The men come to a wall that moves in rhythmic waves; they enter an automated factory where mysterious objects are created, destroyed, and created again in a meaningless cycle. They meet an inhabitant of Eden, a large, humped, pearl-colored, naked torso from which protrudes another, smaller torso with a child's head and two small arms -- a "doubler," they call him. One doubler leads to another, to whole communities, to a world of flying saucers and genetic engineering. And everywhere, death. Swollen bodies in ditches and in wells, a beehive structure filled with clusters of glass eggs -- a skeleton within each egg.
Is Eden appropriate for my child?
Suitable for most readers 16 and up.
A philosophical science fiction novel with disturbing imagery (bizarre alien physiology, death, genetic experiments) and mature themes about encountering a truly alien civilization. No sexual content or profanity, but the body horror and existential bleakness make it unsuitable for younger readers.
What to know going in
This book has moderate violence, no sexual content, and clean language. Content notes include death, mass death, and body horror.
Who'll love this
Teen readers interested in cerebral, philosophical science fiction will find this a challenging and thought-provoking exploration of truly alien life.