This book is really close to a 5-star for me. The first 60% of the book definitely was. As usual, I loved the world building and wasn't sure about how the author chose to wrap things up. Charlie Newell inherits his uncle's farm after graduating high school, and discovers a portal to another version of Earth, one where it seems like humans have never evolved. He recruits his friends to explore the world and make themselves rich while learning more about it. At the same time, Charlie is very careful not to expose the world to outsiders, having a healthy fear of what the government would do if they discovered it.It just so happens that Charlie is a pilot, and so after selling a few extinct pigeons to raise some cash (really!) he sets out to explore the new world via airplane. He sets up a base on the other side, the "wild side." I loved the meticulous planning that went into setting up bases and reaching his destination (gold-filled rivers of Colorado) through a series of steps. But of course, something this good can't stay a secret forever, and once they are discovered, things get crazy quickly. Overall a really good book, with a great first half and solid wrap-up, even if it couldn't sustain greatness the whole way through.
Interesting hard SF. Main character is 18yo when the book starts, and almost all of the book takes place while he is still 18yo. Possibly suitable for YA, but not for juveniles (underage drinking, implied sex).The story reminded me of older hard SF books from the 40s and 50s. The protagonist is super competent. He doesn't pull scientific new inventions out of his hat by dint of hard work and super intelligence, but he does have a very wide range of skills. While any one skill is believable in an 18yo (even aviation) it's pushing the envelope to have so many different skills at so young an age, even if he was an Eagle scout. What made it even more interesting for me personally is that a lot of the action takes place near Bryan, Texas. That's next door to College Station, Texas and I lived in that town for two years when I was a kid, leaving when I was about 12 yo.
What do You think about Wildside (1997)?
One of my favorite books of all time! What if a zoo got a hold of an extinct species? Where did it come from? What would they do with it?The kids keep a good balance between conservation and profit-making, all through Charlie's uncle's barn-door portal to an uninhabited version of earth.I've heard of some authors updating their 80's/90's set books for modern times, but I think this story would be absolutely destroyed by genetic preservation corporations and government black ops...I love this book so much that I don't want a movie made out of it, even if they didn't modernize it. Another book that I've worn the cover off at least one copy.
—Jennifer
I was surprised by this book. When I first started reading the book, I was getting some creep-vibes from the main character. I was certain he was setting his friends up so that he could kill them and wear their skin (or something,) but as you relax into the book, you realise that the guy is just a normal kid. Well, "normal" if you count being particularly savvy and always having an alternate plan ready as normal.The kid, Charlie, finds himself with access to an alternate world where many of the speices never went extinct. He starts finding ways to use these resources to fund himself and his friends. Along the way, the characters struggle with the ethics of what they are doing, and in case you think that might be a boring read, they're also chased by a shadowy government group. Because, well, it IS a Steven Gould book, after all.
—Jenn Myers
Eighteen year old Charlie Newell’s uncle has left him his ranch-- and the door in the barn that leads to an alternate reality where man never evolved. Charlie and his friends use their knowledge very cleverly to make themselves rich, and experience adventures and learn about themselves, as well as a nature that lives in our world only in their imaginations. Interesting premise, but the story is so politically correct as to promote casual acceptance of premarital sex and the outing of one of the main characters as a homosexual
—Sandra Strange
