Otherlands by Thomas Halliday

This review is for Otherlands: A World in the Making by Thomas Halliday. Halliday is a Scottish paleobiologist based at Birmingham University and this beautifully written book is a masterpiece that I was honoured to be able to review.

This is a natural history book with a twist - it is about the flora, fauna and landscapes of the Earth as they were millions of years ago. It begins in Alaska, 20,000 years ago, then each chapter goes further back in time until chapter 16, when we find ourselves in Australia, 550 million years ago; a time before Orion and Polaris, a time when the land was barren of life, yet a time when the sea became oxygenated and multicellular life began to form.

A truly fascinating book, it is written in the present tense to give events more immediacy, with references to evidence found in the fossil record scattered casually throughout. It does not read like an academic text; in fact, the language is very easy to understand and is perfect for anyone who does not have any previous knowledge of paleobiology. Even for people well-versed in the topic, I suspect there is something new to be learned from this deeply researched book.

Landscapes and life are vividly described, enabling the reader to picture the world as it was so long ago. Even though each chapter is accompanied by one map and one beautifully rendered illustration, I personally would have liked many more illustrations, to complement the descriptions given in the book.

Although this book is an accessible, entertaining read, it is incredibly rich with detail meaning it is not a book to try and read in one sitting. But if you love reading natural history books and fancy something a little different, I heartily recommend this unique look at how life was once on Earth.

With thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Press UK for an advance copy of this book. All opinions in this review are my own.

Verdict: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐