In the Garden of Iden

A Novel of the Company, Book 1

By: Kage Baker

Narrated by: Janan Raouf

The first novel of Kage Baker’s critically acclaimed, much-loved series, the Company, introduces us to a world where the future of commerce is the past.

In the 24th century, the Company preserves works of art and extinct forms of life (for profit of course). It recruits orphans from the past, renders them all but immortal, and trains them to serve the Company, Dr. Zeus, Inc. One of these is Mendoza, the botanist. She is sent to Elizabethan England to collect samples from the garden of Sir Walter Iden. But while there, she meets Nicholas Harpole, with whom she falls in love. And that love sounds great bells of change which will echo down the centuries, and through the succeeding novels of the Company.

Breathtakingly detailed and written with great aplomb, In the Garden of Iden is a contemporary classic of the science-fiction genre.

©1997 Kage Baker (P)2011 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“Fasten your seat belt—you’re in for a wild ride.” (Gardner Dozois, editor of The Year’s Best Science Fiction)

“Easily on a level with Le Guin’s or Resnick’s first novels.” ( New York Review of Science Fiction)

“Clever…[with] a generous dollop of antic wit.” ( San Francisco Chronicle)

Didn't think I would like this but did, then not

I didn't think I was going to like this book and put off listening to it for a while after purchasing it. Turns out I enjoyed it a lot, until it turned into a romance novel.

***Mild Spoiler alert ***

The sci-fi premise of the story is great and I really enjoyed that part of the book so for the first third or so of the book I found it entertaining. The second two thirds of the book are mostly a historical fiction romance novel however, and though it was interesting for while it quickly became tiresome. I was hoping the story would move on from the love interest to something else, but it didn't until the last few minutes.

The lead in for a second book seems to have some promise as long as it doesn't follow the same trajectory of our heroine falling madly in forbidden love.

packed with creativity

a lot more than I anticipated, even when going into it on a friend's recommendation. not sure if it's for everybody, but I certainly got plenty out of it

Too much historical romance (:

I was intrigued by the sci fi premise of the book about time travelers going back in history to save plants/animals/ art etc that would otherwise become extinct or lost. The time travel backdrop is interesting and I liked the characters, but it basically turned into a historical romance with heavy religious undertones. I’m not interested in reading about the Spanish Inquisition and religious torture and murder. The majority of the book turned into a historical romance without the sci fi that made me choose to listen in the first place. I kept listening hoping it would get better but the end was a real downer. Overall I was disappointed as it was not what I hoped for. I’m not a fan of historical romance and didn’t expect this book to turn into that kind of story. I can see other reviewers had the same impression and I wish I had paid attention to them and skipped this book!

Entertaining, and wonderfully read

The narrator was superb, she really brought the story alive. The premise is interesting, and I would love to see how the rest of the tale goes. Unfortunately audible doesn't have the rest of the books.

Much promise, no delivery

I expected a lot from this book when the immortal time travelers were described—statted out, if you will—but there was no delivery. The characters spent the whole book hiding in a house instead of doing cool immortal time traveler stuff. The performance was good, except for a few too-quiet and too-loud moments, and the dialog is funny; the performer is really good at expressing emotion. Baker is good at switching between modernized badinage and old-timey thys and thous.