The Millennium Library had a book sale and individual books were $2.50 but a bag of books was $5.00. What amount do you think I picked?

An online friend mentioned that one of her favourite SF writers was Canadian Robert Charles Wilson. I was chagrined that I had not read any of his works and, judging by this book, that is a major hole in my reading life. This book was nominated for the Hugo Award in 1999 and I don't think it is any discredit that it didn't win because the winner that year was Connie Willis' To Say Nothing of the Dog. (As an aside, Robert Sawyer also had a book on the shortlist that year, Factoring Humanity, so it was a good year for Canadian SF.) Wilson has won a Hugo Award for the book Spin and since that book is one the CBC list of 100 Novels that Make You Proud to be Canadian I think I will have to read it soon.

In the alternate history described in this book March of 1912 saw a catastrophic change to Europe. In one night everyone who lived there disappeared and the flora and fauna changed dramatically. The new Europe was christened Darwinia as an homage to Charles Darwin who probably would have wanted to examine the beasts and birds of the new continent. The transformation was hailed by many as a miracle from God and ushered in a new wave of religious fervour in the rest of the world. It also created upheaval in the world's finances. People were thrown out of work and stock markets crashed. Guilford Law was fourteen years old and living in Boston when the world changed. Eight years later, with a wife and young daughter, he joined a scientific expedition led by Preston Finch to explore the interior of the continent. Guilford was a photographer, not a scientist, but he was anxious to see what they could discover. His wife, Caroline, and his daughter, Lilly, were going to stay in London with relatives while the expedition ventured up the river that used to be the Rhine as far as a steamer could take them. After that they would go overland as far as the Alps. Tom Compton who had lived and explored in and around the Rhine for years would guide the expedition. They were well equipped but perhaps not really ready to face the dangers of the "New World" which included men who prayed on unsuspecting travellers. A few members of the team were lost before they even reached the Alps. In the mountains they discovered what appeared to be the ruins of a city but one that did not seem to be built by humans. Guilford and a few others explored it and while they were away from camp it was attacked. Only Guilford, Preston Finch and Tom Compton survived but winter arrived and they had to stay in the mountains. The expedition was given up for lost and Caroline believed Guilford was dead. Yet Guilford lived on, recovered from illnesses and injuries that most men would succumb to. He had disturbing dreams of being a soldier in a field of mud. Then the soldier appeared in his waking life and told him something incredible. Read the book to find out what that was and what happened to Guilford.

Wilson reveals the mechanics of the plot in tiny bits. That was probably wise; if he had started out with the full-fledged explanation at the beginning it would have seemed too improbable. This way the reader's understanding built up incrementally and going from one step to another did not seem improbable.

I left this book on a bench along the trail that runs along the river. When we returned from our stroll it was already gone. This release is for the 2017 Canada Days release challenge which runs for 2 weeks around July 1st and seeks to distribute Canadian writing throughout the world.

When you find a BookCrossing book it is yours to do with what you like. You can read it and keep it or pass it on or if you don't think it is your kind of book pass it on to someone who might like it or release it in a spot for someone else to find like you just did. Whatever you choose it would be great if you could write a short note letting us know what new adventures the book is on.