The Doors Of Eden by Adrian Tchaikovsky

A sweeping speculative novel that imagines a multiverse of Earths where evolution took radically different paths, producing a variety of intelligences; when humans discover portals between these worlds, encounters with alternative sentient species spark political intrigue, ethical dilemmas and violent collisions of culture. Told through multiple viewpoints and timelines, the story explores how intelligence, empire and survival shape behavior across species, asking whether curiosity and communication can overcome the instincts of domination, extinction and fear that follow contact between profoundly different minds.

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