Dark Eden

A Novel

By: Chris Beckett

Narrated by: Various

On the alien, sunless planet they call Eden, the 532 members of the Family shelter beneath the light and warmth of the Forest’s lantern trees. Beyond the Forest lie the mountains of the Snowy Dark and a cold so bitter and a night so profound that no man has ever crossed it.

The Oldest among the Family recount legends of a world where light came from the sky, where men and women made boats that could cross the stars. These ships brought us here, the Oldest say—and the Family must only wait for the travelers to return.

But young John Redlantern will break the laws of Eden, shatter the Family and change history. He will abandon the old ways, venture into the Dark…and discover the truth about their world.

Already remarkably acclaimed in the UK, Dark Eden is science fiction as literature; part parable, part powerful coming-of-age story, set in a truly original alien world of dark, sinister beauty--rendered in prose that is at once strikingly simple and stunningly inventive.

Reader List:
"John Redlantern" Read by Matthew Frow
“Tina Spiketree” Read by Jayne Entwistle
“Sue Redlantern” Read by Ione Butler
“Gerry Redlantern” Read by Robert Hook
“Gela Brooklyn” Read by Heather Wilds
“Mitch London” Read by Nicholas Guy Smith
“Carolyn Brooklyn” Read by Hannah Curtis
“Jeff Redlantern” Read by Bruce Mann

Critic reviews

Winner of the 2013 Arthur C Clarke Award for the Best Science Fiction Novel of the Year

“Poetic . . . Beckett renders the terror of the darkness beyond the forests with a riveting deftness that evokes all primordial fears of the unknown. . . . There’s plenty here to intrigue and entrance.”—The New York Times Book Review

“Dazzlingly inventive . . . superbly well paced and well written . . . packed with ideas.”—Reader’s Digest

“Brilliantly imaginative . . . a superb entertainment, a happy combination of speculative and literary fiction. Not to be missed.”—Booklist (starred)

“A fantastic novel . . . Beckett has created a bizarre world of astounding imaginative vision, grounded by fundamental human conflicts.”—Shelf Awareness

“Riveting . . . a keenly imagined vision of the interaction between human nature and a truly alien world.”—BookPage

I hated this book at first!

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

It's just below Patrick Rothfuss' Kingkiller Chronicles

Which scene was your favorite?

I don't want to giveaway anything!

Any additional comments?

I hated the pronunciation of the words in the beginning but I'm so glad I stuck with it. Once you get used to the pronunciation it's not as annoying. Really well told. I really liked that there were so many actors.

Good, very unique, but sometimes boring

Overall I enjoyed this book. It was one of the most creative and imaginative stories I've listened to in a long time... but at the same time, oddly enough, I found it a bit boring at times. I found that the description of Eden was the most unique part (and I would LOVE to see this as a movie) - it reminded me a little bit of Dr. Seuss.

Not a 5 star book

What did you love best about Dark Eden?

The concept of the book is very interesting. Without giving any spoilers, I must say that it raised some questions about human personality and human society.

What does the narrators bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The variety of narrators for each chapter was a very pleasant experience

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

Yes and no. It failed to grab me in the beginning, bu towards the last 8 chapters or so that changed dramatically.

Any additional comments?

The ending was awful, I expected some more development.

great idea, poor execution

I enjoyed the story, after I struggled through a good bit of it to actually hear it. the double use of words to imply emphasis was just annoying and redundant. as if over 150 years people forgot the word "so" or "really"? oral history and tradition were the only things guiding them. I get that. but they couldn't properly pronounce radio and vehicle and electricity? like really???? I also thought the dialect was a bit much, as if trying to mix NYC accents with London accents because of the origin of the parents... not every word applied and I think that was my problem with it. also this is not a book for children- the constant "slipping". the almost rape scene? give me a break. I enjoyed the world the author created though, even though the story was predictable and hard to get through. could have used a lot more "show" and a lot less "tell". also, the characters were essentially omnipotent when told from their perspective which I thought was overdone. overall, I'd say to skip it.

pay close attention at the beginning

the story is great, but listening at the beginning you have to pay closer attention to catch on to the vernacular. out really makes the story.