Fiction 20 Sep 2004 12:41 pm
Teranesia
Teranesia
Greg Egan
As I mentioned previously, Greg Egan is a very imaginative writer. This book begins with a couple of scientists moving to a remote Indonesian island (with their two kids) to study a surprising new species of butterfly. This insect seems to have evolved radical changes, compared to all its relatives and, in fact, to most other living organisms. And it seems to have done it very quickly.
Prabir, our main character and the couple’s older son, names the island “Teranesia” (from the Greek, island of monsters). The name is not an allusion to the butterflies, but to the several fantastic monsters that, in his imagination, populate the island.
After they’ve spent a few years in the island, a tragedy ends their research and causes the kids to leave the place. Twenty years later, new species of other animals (such as cockatoos, frogs and other insects) begin to appear in south-east Asian markets, and stir the scientific community (at this point, completely unaware of the research done two decades earlier). Madhusree, Prabir’s younger sister, now a scientist herself, joins an expedition that heads to Indonesia to study these mutations. And Prabir feels compelled to go after her.
Apart from maybe the last five pages, this is a very good book. It’s “hard” sci-fi, but not as hard as other books Egan has written; perhaps biology is not entirely his field (he seems more comfortable talking about physics). I enjoyed the book, but thought that the ending was a bit of a let-down. Still, it’s entertaining, and if you liked any of his other books, you should enjoy this one as well.
