Eden

Last Updated on December 20, 2022 by ThoughtsStained

So, econ-thriller’s are not exactly my thing, necessarily. Or, at least, not a genre I typically pick up. Yet the cover for Eden by Tim Lebbon ensnared me, so I couldn’t resist giving this one a try. And I’m quite surprised that I found myself quite fascinated by it!

An ARC copy was given to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!

Table of Contents

Book Info

Publication Info

Content Warnings

From the bestselling author of The Silence comes a brand-new supernatural eco thriller. In large areas of the planet, nature is no longer humanity’s friend…

In a time of global warming and spiraling damage to the environment, the Virgin Zones were established to help combat the change. Abandoned by humanity and given back to nature, these vast areas in a dozen remote locations across the planet were intended to become the lungs of the world.

But there are always those drawn to such places. Extreme sports enthusiasts and adventure racing teams target the dangerous, sometimes deadly zones for illicit races. Only the hardiest and most experienced dare undertake these expeditions. When one such team enters the oldest Zone, Eden, they aren’t prepared for what confronts them. Nature has returned to Eden in an elemental, primeval way. And here, nature is no longer humanity’s friend.

On the Page

Referenced

Minor

Content warnings are written up by me, unless specified. Subject to being an incomplete list, though guided by referencing this list and trying to highlight as many as I can identify.

Book Depository

IndieBound

Raven Bookstore

Review

Likes

The premise. If you know me, you know I don’t usually read thriller/horror. It freaks me out too much. However, the fact that this is an ecological thriller really intrigued me and that ending up paying off, as it was my favorite aspect of this book. It’s very heavily influenced by and talking about climate change. Here, nature fights back and honestly? I was cheering for it.
The thriller-elements. While I usually hate it, this was really well written and definitely freaked me out multiple times. Yet, I also flew through this because I wanted to see how nature became what it was and if our characters would survive or not.
Format. I really enjoyed the trio of POVs we were offered–between Jenn, Dylan and Kat. They all made sense and helped amp up the tension. I also really enjoyed the inclusion of the snippets of information before each chapter. It added a depth that I appreciated.

Dislikes

The balance between character sub-threads and main thriller narrative. I really enjoyed that there was more to the book that just one narrative plot of survival. However, I did find that the balance between each character’s subplot was off with the narratives of figuring out what is happening in Eden and survive. Especially towards the end, the character sub-threads felt distracting and slowed the pace down.
Ending. Though I didn’t mind how the book ended, I was disappointed with how quick the ending was. It felt super rushed and then gave no inclination of what happens after, which kinda made the inclusion of those sub-threads feel…pointless?

Rating

I really enjoyed this, even despite the things I wasn’t a huge fan of. It was also a hard read because of the reality of climate change, which you couldn’t ignore with that being the central plot here. I thought it was a very solid thriller. Thanks Titan Books for the ARC!

A custom artowrk signature that reads, "Onward to Adventure, Nicole" with a feathered quill and inkpot bordering it.