In the Garden of Iden

by Kage Baker

Book Overview

This is the first novel in what has become one of the most popular series in contemporary SF, now back in print from Tor. 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. One of these is Mendoza the botanist. She is sent to Elizabethan England to collect samples from the garden of...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0765314576
• ISBN13: 9780765314574
• Release Date: December 2005
• Publisher: St. Martins Press-3PL
• Length: 336 Pages
• Weight: 0.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.1" x 8.1"

Customer Reviews

Blood Mary and the romantic problems she causes

In the Garden of Iden is Kage Baker's debut novel of "The Company." It's a science fiction novel set in the 1550s, during the reign in Britain of Queen Mary. Baker's fluid style is a joy to read and her transformation from "modern" English to Renaissance and back to modern is wonderful. This is a marvelous debut and I can't wait to read more in the series.I've loved Kage Baker's work ever since I read her stories in the various Year's Best Fantasy books, and I was eager to dive into a novel written by her. It was definitely worth the wait. Her prose style is wonderful and she seamlessly changes dialogue depending on who's talking, thus giving us the dialect of the time alongside the modern phrasings of a group of cyborgs honed by time travelers. I'm not expert enough to tell whether or not she gets the Renaissance dialogue right, but she certainly makes it feel right. It really makes you feel like you are there listening.Another thing Baker avoids, for the most part, is making the romance cloying. While there were a few times where Mendoza and Nicholas became annoyingly written, most of the time this was turned on its head by a choice comment from Joseph (the leader of the expedition and Mendoza's recruiter) or something else happening. She doesn't overwrite the romance scenes and she deftly "fades to black" when the sex scenes are about to start. Thus, while the novel definitely has some adult themes, there are no actual scenes that should keep kids away from the book. Instead, she writes two adults who love each other deeply but know that there are some serious potential problems that might get in the way of that love.The concept of the Company is very interesting. Time travel and cyborg technology have been invented, so what they do is send operatives back in time to recruit local people, train them in secret facilities (bringing them up to modern standards), turn them into immortal cyborgs, and allow them to do the job of preserving things. They take samples of various things that will become extinct, hide them away for a thousand years, and then "discover" them again in the present. One of Baker's most inspired creations is a radio that broadcasts at a frequency that humans can't hear, and which operatives can listen to and find out what is going on locally. Thus, there is a news story about the reintroduction of Papal law in the British parliament, along with commentary similar to a CNN broadcast. It was very innovative.Baker also does a credible job with the characters. All of the operatives (there are four) in the house are interestingly written and have some sort of way to keep them straight. Nefer is stuck in limbo while she's waiting for an assignment in northern England, and she's also the resident animal expert. Thus, she has an affinity for them and takes umbrage at what she sees as the torturing of a goat (the owner tried to graft a horn on its forehead and called it a unicorn). Joseph has the worn feel of a man

A masterful first novel.

Kage Baker brings a number of strengths to the genre with her first in what could be a very promising series of time travel/ historical/ futuristic science fiction and fantasy. The premise is no more flawed than any other time travel fantasy, and the application offers many opportunities for storytelling. In this first story, Baker really brings it all together: the characters are compelling, the situations believable, the scenes tautly drawn, the drama is high, the narrative is relentless. Once I started this book I could not put it down. Perhaps best of all, the picture of the dark before the dawn of the Elizabethan era is exquisitely drawn. Baker has excellent command of the language (both contemporary and Elizabethan), and her take on the events at that time in history is fascinating.

A fresh interesting book

Mendoza is a 4 year girl being destined to die at the hands of the Spanish Inquisition until she's rescued by an operative of Dr. Zeus Inc. This is a company from the 24th century that founded a school in Neolithic times to create immortals to serve their needs throughout history. Mendoza is made immortal through bionics, etc, educated, and sent off on her first mission to England, which happens to be enduring the reign of Bloody Mary. Time travel and immortality are concepts seen a lot in SF, and don't often hold my interest any more unless the writer is really talented. I think Kage Baker is really talented. The premise for this story could have easily lead to a space opera, Buck Rogers in the 16th Century. Instead Baker makes it personal, getting into the head of this young woman who has been saved from the Inquisition and made immortal. We see her misplaced arrogance at her own perfection, and we see how and why that arrogance crumbles. We also have the pleasure of being slowly exposed to this wonderfully developed society of immortals that Mendoza belongs to. Their culture results in a lot of the book's humor. I can't think of a better compliment than to say after I read this, I immediately went out and bought the next books.

Witty, Touching and Intriguing

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Ms. Baker is an excellent writer, who managed to bring Elizabethan England with its religious schisms and plotting to vivid life, yet integrate the science fiction aspect of the time travelling cyborgs seamlessly into the plot. Mendoza was a fascinating character, as was Nicholas. I can't recommend this book highly enough - I just ran out and bought "Sky Coyote" in hardback and will be turning the ringer off on my phone tonight...

Witty, engaging, well-plotted time travel yarn

Kage Baker's first novel concerns a company that controls access to both time travel and immortality, and whose immortal employees labor ceaselessly to find and save lost artistic, literary, biological and other treasures of the past. The plot of this book revolves around the protagonist's effort to gather samples from a garden of unique plants during the brief reign of Mary Queen of Scots. Baker writes in a clear, accessible style and her characters are well developed and memorable. For a debut, this is a remarkable performance that already ranks among the best of the time-travel and alternate-universe novels, such as Poul Anderson's "Guardians of Time" or Ward Moore's "Bring the Jubilee." Baker's narrative holds the reader's attention, and makes the book both educational and entertaining. The background setting she has worked out should be good for many more novels, and I look forward to them.