--- product_id: 9092333 title: "Darwinia: A Novel of a Very Different Twentieth Century Paperback – September 4, 2007" brand: "robert charles wilson" price: "170.33 DT" currency: TND in_stock: true reviews_count: 7 url: https://www.desertcart.tn/products/9092333-darwinia-a-novel-of-a-very-different-twentieth-century-paperback store_origin: TN region: Tunisia --- # Darwinia: A Novel of a Very Different Twentieth Century Paperback – September 4, 2007 **Brand:** robert charles wilson **Price:** 170.33 DT **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** Darwinia: A Novel of a Very Different Twentieth Century Paperback – September 4, 2007 by robert charles wilson - **How much does it cost?** 170.33 DT with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.tn](https://www.desertcart.tn/products/9092333-darwinia-a-novel-of-a-very-different-twentieth-century-paperback) ## Best For - robert charles wilson enthusiasts ## Why This Product - Trusted robert charles wilson brand quality - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description Full description not available ## Images ![Darwinia: A Novel of a Very Different Twentieth Century Paperback – September 4, 2007 - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51Omd9Z5PoL.jpg) ![Darwinia: A Novel of a Very Different Twentieth Century Paperback – September 4, 2007 - Image 2](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41TsNYIEavL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Kind of steampunk meets The Omen *by T***D on Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on March 2, 2012* I enjoyed Wilson's " Spin " and " Blind Lake " sufficiently to buy "Darwinia" without diving into any reviews, and I was not disappointed.Told with a fine ear for dialogue, "Darwinia: A Novel of a Very Different Twentieth Century", starts off with the feel of a solid science based novel, but subtly segues into something altogether darker and mysterious.So we get an alternative universe story, but one that lies somewhere close to our own, such that events for our timeline (WWI for example) fold over as ghosts in the Darwinia universe. Our very reluctant hero, Guilford Law, becomes embroiled in events way beyond the mortal ken as his lust for exploration pulls him out of reach of his wife and child, and ultimately it seems, Humanity itself, even as his reluctance to embrace his destiny builds up an emotional dissonance within him.Some reviewers have noted that the novel is 'spoiled' around the halfway point when Wilson lets us readers share the secret of Darwinia, but keeps it from the characters.I did not feel that myself, and Wilson is hardly the first author to convey information to the reader that the protagonists do not have. In this case, knowing the secret did not spoil the narrative flow; if anything, I was anticipating how it would be resolved even more so.Interestingly, even though I read "Darwinia" a decade after it was written, the physics still stack up, which was reassuring. It says a lot about this being a character driven story, rather than purely science driven, for that to occur. And if including a multiverse makes this speculative fiction, Wilson goes way beyond that in his explanation (and motivation) for Law's journey through - and beyond - life.The establishment chapters of this book are steampunk-ish, with a nascent Western industrial technology platform completely undermined by the sudden replacement of Europe by Darwinia. The second part of the book still spills over into what most would term the supernatural, which through the addition of the multiverse is perhaps better described as supra-natural.Ultimately, the plot was not totally convincing to me, but Wilson gets four stars for creating and sustaining a credible assortment of characters - and continents - that made the book compelling to the end. ### ⭐⭐⭐ Disappointing RCW *by N***M on Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on October 9, 2019* It pains me to write a negative review on a Robert Charles Wilson book, as he is one of my favorite SF writers. Especially so when considering SF writers alive & publishing today. But this one really doesn't meet his usual standard (though to be fair it was written before his best-known works). My specific thoughts are as follows.A) It isn't really science fiction. There is a SF veneer laid over it, but this is mostly a work of horror. I read horror so that is OK - but I think this book is a little timid at embracing the horror story at its core. It could also be read as epic fantasy, the whole battle-of-good-and-evil blah blah. I don't usually find that type of story very interesting. Good & evil are a lot more nuanced than typically seen in this sort of novel.B) Like all horror it works best when the monsters are left in the shadows or just hinted at, we're left guessing "is that real? did that just happen?". That means that the first part of the book works a lot better than the later parts of the book.C) I think this book works best as an adventure story, which applies to about the first third of the book. I was loving it at that point. But once that initial adventure sequence was over, it went downhill very fast for me.D) The galactic entity business (the SF veneer put on the book) is IMO just silly. Doesn't work for me.E) The part of RCW's work that I like the best is that he takes very ordinary, well-fleshed out people and puts them into extremely trippy situations. Well in this book we have the trippy situations, to be sure - but the compelling characters are missing. Some of the secondary characters are stick figures and there is too little character development for the main characters. I just don't "get" them in any sense at all. There are nods here and there to not being fully human - and I'll buy that, they don't seem fully human to me.I'm not sorry that I read the book but if I had to recommend a RCW book to somebody (and I do, and frequently!) I'd put this one at the bottom of the list. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ A E Van Vogt for the 21st century *by I***S on Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on June 13, 2010* If that means nothing to you, let me explain. Van Vogt was part of the Golden Age of Science Fiction, a term that tends to refer to the 1940's and 1950's which was essentially a period in which modern SF as we know it was born. Writers who emerged then include the greats such as Asimov, Heinlein, and Sturgeon. And A E Van Vogt. Van Vogt was known for his mind-boggling concepts and galaxy-spanning stories and this is where Wilson resembles him. Except that Wilson writes very well, has characters who act like believable human beings, and his stories make sense.Start to read Darwinia and you think: aha! this is a parallel world novel. When actually it's nothing so simple and what it's actually about is one of those mind-boggling concepts which, unlike old VV, makes sense and really does boggle the mind. This is the third novel of Wilson's I've read and I have three more on a table next to me. While they do vary in degrees of satisfaction, I've enjoyed every one and eagerly anticipate the next book of his I'm going to read.Mr Wilson, you're terrific. --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.tn/products/9092333-darwinia-a-novel-of-a-very-different-twentieth-century-paperback](https://www.desertcart.tn/products/9092333-darwinia-a-novel-of-a-very-different-twentieth-century-paperback) --- *Product available on Desertcart Tunisia* *Store origin: TN* *Last updated: 2026-09-03*