Product Description
Michael Poole's wormholes constructed in the orbit of Jupiter had opened the galaxy to humankind. Then Poole tried looping a wormhole back on itself, tying a knot in space and ripping a hole in time.

It worked. Too well.

Poole was never seen again. Then from far in the future, from a time so distant that the stars themselves were dying embers, came an urgent SOS--and a promise. The universe was doomed, but humankind was not. Poole had stumbled upon an immense artifact, light-years across, fabricated from the very string of the cosmos.

The universe had a door. And it was open... ... Read more

Customer Reviews (50)

Large time scales in an epic story
I've read a number of reviews of this book speaking to Mr. Baxter's lack of character development and I must come to his defense.His books are not character centered in a traditional sense.Where he forgoes chasing a character's personal development with some clichéd epiphany or self realization somewhere mid-text; he chooses to focus on the science over the fiction.This is the essence of what is called "hard sci fi".The book covers millions of years and humanity itself becomes the character.It's a fun book with an ambitious timeline and my only wish was that it could have focused more on either the perspective of humanity or science.Occasionally it did seem to lack focus but the overall story makes for a fascinating read.

Way too hardcore
Way too hardcore scifi. Frank Herberts Dune chronicles is much better if you liked the sound of this storyline.

Need a degree to read
Baxter has several degrees, and to read his "hard SF" he expects you to have them also. So what you get is a sort of Introduction to Astrophysics 101. What is forgotten? Well, science fiction is a literary genre, not an academic one. Besides that many proposed ideas are right out there on the edge of plausibility in theoretical astrophysics, you guessed it....magic :) This is how one crosses over from sci-fi to Lord of the Ring...

Doodling at an entirely other order of energy levels
- David Brin writes wonderful ecological science fiction

- Asimov writes western philosophy and history in the far future and in the process gives us the laws of robotics

- Gregory Benford writes about the balance and resilience of life and weaves some wonderful tapestries set against the vast scale of our Galaxy and makes us as humanity feel smaller than a grain a sand and still imbues us with the sense that we should stand up and proudly press forward.

- Baxter goes beyond Benford and takes the entire known Universe from its inception to the end of time as his canvas - literally.Baxter takes the very fabric of space, the stuff the Einstein theorized about and what all the great scientists this then like Kip Thorn think about - you know superstring theory, relativity, causality, wormholes, the local cluster, the virgo supercluster, and beyond, to parallel universes and then weaves a convincing human drama against the grandest of scales.

RING is just one of Baxter's stories that are loosely (or perhaps not too loosely) tied together that tell the story of humanity set against the backdrop of a terrifyingly complex Universe.I won't spoil what the RING is or what kind of titanic struggles humanity is caught between.Just know that Baxter writes about the stuff that happened 0.00000000000001 seconds after the Universe is born to the far far future when proton decay finally takes hold -- its a story of this scale.

If you enjoy hard hard hard HARD science fiction, pick up Baxter - he is the acknowledged expert in this particular realm, you will not be dissapointed.

If you thought what I was typing above was Greek -- well you might not enjoy RING.

Hard sci-fi with a sweeping scope
I was browsing the sci-fi section in the local library and came across an old paperback with a familiar name on the spine: Stephen Baxter. I'm most familiar with Baxter's collaboration with the late Arthur C. Clarke on the Manifold trilogy, but have enjoyed a few of his solo works as well. This one looked to be a bit older (there was a quote on the cover from Clarke hailing Baxter as "a major new talent"), but I figured it was worth a try.

Ring finds humanity in the Third Millennium traveling through space, having learned some fantastic tricks of physics (including controlling wormholes that access the future) from alien races. Having also achieved "anti-senesence" technology (i.e. they can stop aging), a group of explorers decide to undertake a million-year trip at relativistic speeds, keeping a wormhole open the whole way so that they can communicate from the future back to the past.

What unfolds is a fascinating story of space and time, on a scale of megayears. Baxter is at his best when he's dealing with the hard science, describing the aging process of stars, but he holds his own, too, with the softer side - imagining what a hyperspace trip across the universe might feel like from the perspective of the solitary human piloting the ship, recognizing that even millions of years of "progress" won't change human nature.

If you're into hard sci-fi, Ring is worth picking up, a very enjoyable read. ... Read more

Product Description

"And everywhere the Humans went, they found life ..."

Vacuum Diagrams is a great introduction to Baxter for thoseunfamiliar with him and a good primer for the other "Xeelee Sequence"novels. If you already love Baxter or the other novels in thesequence, Vacuum Diagrams is certainly a safe bet. Besides, anybook that sends you scurrying quizzically after your college physicstext deserves a closer look. Check it out. --Paul Hughes ... Read more

Customer Reviews (29)

The ideas astound.
Seriously, I discovered Baxter a few short months ago and though I've been a fantasy buff forever, and loving Kurt Vonnegut and Philip K Dick, I never thought I could fall for a writer of hard sci-fi. Wow, was I ever wrong. After starting with Vacuum Diagrams and then moving on to Raft and Flux I am totally smitten, I don't want it to end. I wish he had written a hundred Xeelee novels. I went out and bought all 9 books concerning the Xeelee universe except for Timelike Infinity which you can't find for under 35 bucks, but that's ok because I think there's a four volume box set coming out in the spring. I keep going back and re-reading the stuff in this one and am saving Resplendent for the very last. The ideas are mind-blowing. At first I was like, how can an author have the audacity to hop along a 5 million-year timeline? Then I grabbed his 'Evolution' with it's 65 million-year timeline just on our own planet and the rest seems totally sane.
Maybe the coolest thing about the books to me is the lengths the human race go to in trying to defeat an enemy that isn't really their enemy but more of a conceit. It sort of parallels the Crusades in that way.
Anyway, I highly recommend this to anyone who is a lover of any fiction, speculative, fantasy, whatever, eat it up.

Not Free SF Reader
A collection of stories set in Baxter's 'Xeelee' future history, where humans get to fight multiple powerful alien races over short and vast distances, and likewise for timeframes.Starting around the year 3000, it ends way past the year 4000000.

The stories are broken up into several sections dealing with various different time periods and settings.

The average for this book is 3.39, contrast this with the later, and very similar in structure Resplendent, which averages 3.68.There's a linking narrative (which means a boatload of italics, which is incredibly annoying to read, as usual, when it is more than a few lines). A lot more average stories in this volume than the latter, but it will still be of interest for Xeelee and Baxter readers.

Vacuum Diagrams : The Sun-People - Stephen Baxter
Vacuum Diagrams : The Logic Pool - Stephen Baxter
Vacuum Diagrams : Gossamer - Stephen Baxter
Vacuum Diagrams : Cilia-of-Gold - Stephen Baxter
Vacuum Diagrams : Lieserl - Stephen Baxter
Vacuum Diagrams : Pilot - Stephen Baxter
Vacuum Diagrams : The Xeelee Flower - Stephen Baxter
Vacuum Diagrams : More Than Time or Distance - Stephen Baxter
Vacuum Diagrams : The Switch - Stephen Baxter
Vacuum Diagrams : Blue Shift - Stephen Baxter
Vacuum Diagrams : The Quagma Datum - Stephen Baxter
Vacuum Diagrams : Planck Zero - Stephen Baxter
Vacuum Diagrams : The Gödel Sunflowers - Stephen Baxter
Vacuum Diagrams : Vacuum Diagrams - Stephen Baxter
Vacuum Diagrams : Stowaway - Stephen Baxter
Vacuum Diagrams : The Tyranny of Heaven - Stephen Baxter
Vacuum Diagrams : Hero - Stephen Baxter
Vacuum Diagrams : Secret History - Stephen Baxter
Vacuum Diagrams : Shell - Stephen Baxter
Vacuum Diagrams : The Eighth Room - Stephen Baxter
Vacuum Diagrams : The Baryonic Lords - Stephen Baxter
Vacuum Diagrams : Eve - Stephen Baxter

"Cauchy was the ultimate goal. By dragging a wormhole portal around a circuit light years across, the GUTship Cauchy would establish a wormhole bridgenot across spacebut across fifteen centuries, to the future."

With sea-squirts.

3 out of 5


Surviving the Cull.

3 out of 5


Wormhole stuffup surfing webs.

4 out of 5


Mercurial alien life relationship.

4 out of 5


Force grown sungirl intelligence.

3.5 out of 5


Lunar escape, virtually, anyway.

4 out of 5


Need to nick some cool stuff. Easier if you do it without blowing up suns though.

3.5 out of 5


Zap gun quantum inseparability trick.

3.5 out of 5


Gravity nullification oops.

3 out of 5


"I squeezed minutely. The wings trembled and the pod jerked. Lipsey and his flitter disappeared. "Try to restrain your monkey impulse to meddle," said the Qax. "You've just traveled half a light second."

Xeelee ship jump jump jumpety jump a Great Attraction, until you have to run away.

Tricking your overlords into blowing up their own sun is pretty cool though.

4 out of 5


Su-su-Susyspace scars.

3.5 out of 5


Violating the Uncertainty Principles needs thinking through _carefully_.

3.5 out of 5


Snowflake Spline splitsville.

3.5 out of 5


Lump it quicksmart, quantum boy. No sugar coating.

3 out of 5


Need a Raft.

3 out of 5


"I have traveled here in an Exaltation of Arks. I have brought you good news of the Integrality"

3.5 out of 5


Super suit stealer spidered.

3.5 out of 5


Star dimming is for the birds, we are so out of here.

3.5 out of 5


Time to fly, but balloons not quite the tech for hyperspheres.

3 out of 5


Need a special exit from our pocket universe playpen.

3 out of 5


Quantum boy helps rump humans Ring in the new.

3.5 out of 5


Old relationship history.

3 out of 5





3.5 out of 5

dang fine
I place this one as middle of the pack Baxter.That makes it a very fine book.Whenever I read a Baxter book, my scientific background fills in a bit more.In the study of math and physics, some concepts are memorized equations and others are ideas expressed in mathematical language.As I understand more, I get to move things from the memorized box over to the idea box.Vacuum Diagrams helped quantum wave functions to finally click.

That's the wonder of Baxter's story telling.The narative brings life to the math.

As for the story, it is a collection of short stories bound together by a narative.The technique works amazingly well.It also gives a nice overview of where a lot of the other books sit in relation to the grand universal arc that runs through Baxter's books.

Having read so much Baxter, I didn't have the wide eyed wonder that my first encounter invoked.I did, however, enjoy it enough that I missed some new episodes of Stargate (atlantis and SG1)

A Journey Along the Broad Path of Time
cuum Diagrams throws us far into the vast expanse of space and time and won't let us return, though we shudder at the sheer enormity of its vision. It shows us this vision, the 4,000,000 year future of mankind, through short stories that are connected through a common narrator. Each one is exiting and awe-inspiring, taking us on journeys that show the advancement, and at times the degradation, of mankind.
As we sail these great seas of time we are witness to many events and great happenings, all of heart stopping importance. We watch the conquering of the solar system, made possible through the use of enormous wormholes, whipping us through the fabric of space-time at unheard of speeds. We stand alongside those who resist the Qax invasion and watch as they tragically fall. We gaze at the impossible craftsmanship of the Xelee, masters of the universe, and then turn in fear as their nightships descend upon our worlds with a calculated efficiency that man is powerless to stop. We ride along with the battle arks, massive ships the size of our moon, equipped with gigantic weapons of war and filled with enough warriors to invade a solar system. And then our eyes fall upon the heartbreaking beauty of the Xelee Ring. Fabricated from the very material of the cosmos itself, it stretches a hundred million miles in to the black oblivion, ripping galaxies apart and pulling them into its core. This is where the mystery lies, at that bright point where all the universe is headed. Why have the Xelee built this audacious construct? And what purpose does it have in man's future? Immerse yourself in this spell binding novel, and maybe you will find the answers.

Brilliant arc of future history
Difficult going at first with so many ideas and situations thrown at you that it seems a bit overwhelming. Stick with it, though. I finished this as I sat in the back of my truck on lunch break at a construction site and the words "wow" and "holy sh*t" came involunarily from my lips. The ten million year history is wrapped up in a sequence of stunning stories concerning the ultimate fate of humanity and the Universe, and it was a rush of sparking imagination with a wonderfully melancholy finish. I may have even wept. The scientific detail can get ridiculously esoteric at times, but the prose is solid as are the dialogue and characters. Excellent all around. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (30)

Caveman health problems
I enjoyed the first two books of the Manifold trilogy, but this one was horrid. There is more talk about various primate digestive problems than deep sci-fi or philosophical issues. Absolutely pointless.

Full of grand themes, but a disappointing end to the series
"Origin" is the third and final book in Stephen Baxter's Manifold sequence, exploring the conundrum known as the Fermi Paradox: if alien intelligences do exist, why don't we see evidence of them all around us? As in the first two books in the series - "Time" and "Space" - it follows the experiences of Reid Malenfant, a washout NASA astronaut, and his wife, Emma Stoney.

When a mysterious blue portal appears in the sky over Africa, it sweeps people from the Earth - including Emma - before abruptly vanishing. At the same time the moon is replaced in the sky by the Red Moon, and Malenfant, convinced that this is where his wife has been taken, lobbies NASA for a one-shot mission to bring her back, and to explore this strange new world. What he and Emma are surprised to discover is that the Red Moon is home to all manner of hominids - proto-humans from Earth's past, some of which were thought to have been extinct for millions of years. But who or what gathered them in this one place, and how?

While the book begins dramatically, it quickly becomes clear that this instalment lacks the vision and imagination of either "Time" or "Space", or even of the related short story collection, "Phase Space". Much attention is devoted to the viewpoints of the hominids themselves, but since these tend to revolve around the basic activities of survival, there is little to hold the reader's attention, and these sections soon prove tiresome. As a result the narrative progresses slowly, and with little sense of direction. Far more interesting is the story of the technologically superior super-beings known as the Daemons, by means of which Baxter explores how humans might have evolved under different circumstances.

Compared to the first two books, which by their nature allowed Baxter to roam free through space and explore many different environments, "Origin" feels rather claustrophobic, limited to the single setting of the Red Moon and a relatively small cast of characters. As for the final conclusion - the long-awaited resolution to the Fermi Paradox - this feels much like a rehash of themes explored in the earlier two volumes. It is clear that there are big ideas at the centre of the book trying to express themselves: ideas regarding the origin of our own species, the concept of human nature and the question of what makes us different from the animals, and (above all) the role of contingency in the universe. Perhaps a bigger stage was all that was needed.

Entertaining but ultimately disappointing, "Origin" is perhaps the weakest of the Manifold series. To his credit, however, Baxter has never been one to shy away from the big questions, and just as in "Time" and "Space", he continues in this novel to push the boundaries of science fiction and what it can do. Thus even if the final product doesn't quite come off, there is nevertheless much to be admired in his attempt.

Disgusting
The story is imaginative and well written. There are too many unnecessarily disgusting and violent scenes. After the third graphic and explicit baby-murder I just couldn't read any more.

Typical Stephen Baxter
Another good book in the loose trilogy of the manifold series.This one investigates associations between different levels of humanity on the rungs of evolution. As if they could somehow interact between the ages with some interesting manifestations developed to make points.
Right up there, almost, with Evolution, which is my favorite for his science, what if style, while of course Titan showcases his ability to create characters to bleed over. I haven't read all of his books, something that I'm remedying presently, but one of my top 10 authors since the release of Titan.
heartedly recommended with no real reservations.

Of the origins
Manifold is a series of three books. They're not a sequence, actually, as they describe parallel universes. The main character are the same, but the world they live in is different. Origin presents us a world where the good old Moon is replaced by a large red moon. As it happens, the main character, Reid Malenfant, loses his wife Emma on the new moon and has to rescue her.

Emma finds the new moon inhabited by various hominid species. Baxter offers us an interesting view to the life of different hominids, with a point of view of the hominids themselves and humans living with them. It's interesting, but it can also get slightly tedious - this is one long-winded book, with a plot that's a framework for all sorts of neat stuff Baxter wants to present.

But it works, for me at least, because even though I began reading book with some doubts, I soon got sucked into the events. It gets quite interesting and Baxter has some pretty wild ideas there. This book isn't for everybody (that is easy to see from the Amazon reviews, many of which give just one or two stars), but if you enjoyed the other Manifold books, this one is worth reading. ... Read more

Product Description
RESPLENDENT is a collection of stories that encompasses mankind's epic fight for survival against the Xeelee, a narrative of how man will change and evolve over our epic journey out into the universe. These tales will encompass the rise of sub-molecular empires in the first nanoseconds after the Big Bang to mankind's final transformation. Full of cutting-edge science, descriptions of time and space on a mind-boggling scale and memorable, all-too-human characters. It is both the capstone to one of the most significant series in the history of SF and a remarkable achievement in its own right. This is a mature and uniquely talented writer at the height of his powers. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Not quite as good as Vacuum Diagrams...
I was so looking forward to reading this after reading all the other Baxter Xeelee books, and I purposely saved it since Vacuum Diagrams was my favorite and the first one I read. I still haven't read Timelike Infinity but it's on the way in the Xeelee omnibus I ordered. Anyway, even though most of the stories weren't up to the level of the VD ones they are still far superior to most Sci Fi writers today. 'In the Un-Black' may be the most awesome story Baxter has ever written, quite a morality tale, it didn't leave me for days. Think of the way 'Cilia of Gold' hit you at the end of that story and then make it human. Something like that. Still, even though it wasn't another 'Vacuum Diagrams' and some of the stories seem written just to fill in some history, I love it.

Not Free SF Reader
Baxter's 'Xeelee' Future History includes a lot of the future, with the timeline in the back of the book going from 2000 odd to the year 1,000,000.Therefore, a related series of stories seems to be a pretty good way to approach it.There are novels in this sequence, too, and he lists those, but I haven't read any.This seems to work pretty well, given an average of 3.68.Not a bad story to be found.

Each story has a small italicised after piece, narrated by an 'immortal' that is able to surreptitiously live through all these events, with a sneaky plan for the finale.

A 4.25 kind of book.


Qax quisling longevity memory.

4 out of 5


Coalition collaboration issues.

4 out of 5


Who is scared of who, why?

3 out of 5


Immortality decision.

3.5 out of 5


Snowball joyride first contact.

3.5 out of 5


Pocket universe execution escape refusal.

4 out of 5


Human expansion is slowed by a race of aliens, causing economic problems when the advanced alien technology is able to monkey with the laws of physics.

A not too bright teenager makes it out of the wreckage of a ship and from inside an enemy fortress with the help of the rest of his crew, with some valuable intel.

4 out of 5


Noir throwback time kill mission.

4 out of 5


Hunting party disagreement drop deal.

4 out of 5


Star wrapping investigation.

3.5 out of 5


Spline herd death takeover trip.

4 out of 5




4.5 out of 5

BIG Baxter fan
The previous three books in the "Children of Destiny" series were all structured so that they told the story along two different timelines, switching back and forth between them. Resplendant doesn't so much follow that format, and follows a seemingly linear timeline, albeit on a literally stellar scale.

Resplendent is essentially a collection of short stories, filling in the back story from before the setting of book two "Exultant" to after the end of the events outlined in Book Three "Transcendent". So while it is a very engrossing read, many of the themes and ideas are familier from the previous books. ... Read more

Product Description
There is a secret passage through time

...and it leads all the way to the end of Eternity. But the journey has a terrible cost. It alters not only the future but he "present" in which we live.

A century after the publication of H. G. Wells' immortal The Time Machine, Stephen Baxter, today's most acclaimed new "hard SF" author, and the acknowledged Clarke, returns to the distant conflict between the Eloi and the Morlocks in a story that is at once an exciting expansion, and a radical departure based on the astonishing new understandings of quantum physics.Amazon.com Review
What if the time machine from H.G. Wells'classic novel of the same name had fallen into government hands?That's the question that led Stephen Baxter to create this modern-daysequel, which combines a basic Wellsian premise with a Baxteresqueuniverse-spanning epic.The Time Traveller, driven by his failure tosave Weena from the Morlocks, sets off again for the future. But thistime the future has changed, altered by the very tale of theTraveller's previous journey. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (91)

Not the fun sequel I hoped for
Stephen Baxter's The Time Ships is the official sequel to H.G. Wells' The Time Machine. There have actually been many unofficial sequels by different authors before it. Anyway, I only recommend Stephen Baxter's writing if you feel that Arthur C. Clarke's stuff is a little too lively and humorous (I do like Clarke though). In other words, The Time Machine is way, way too long (544 pages but it feels like 900) and monstrously dry. It starts out okay, with the Time Traveller going into an alternate future in which the Morlocks have developed space-faring technology and made peace with the Eloi. Unfortunately, from there he keeps traveling into increasingly abstract and uninteresting scenarios. Despite being a modern novel with greatly increased length compared to the original book, Baxter's sequel doesn't develop the Time Traveler much as a character. It's hard to care about him because he has no personality beyond observing and analyzing everything around him. The end, which involves a time-traveling paradox, was a huge letdown. I'm disappointed that this is likely the only official sequel The Time Machine will ever get.

There and back and there again
It is a good sign for a book you ve just read to make a mental note to read other works by the same author. Furthermore, it is a good sign for a book of 620 pages to feel like 300. And definitely, it is a very good sign for a book to be honorably mentioned by Arthur C. Clarke Himself.

What I find paradoxical in time paradoxes books is the limit of their scope. Many of them are too earthy, or too humble, which is very strange, given the fact that time travel is for science fiction what a 147 is for snooker.

But this is not the case with the Time Ships. Mr Baxter decided to take Wells' Time Traveler to such vast extremes that the reader almost literally feels the pressure of the millions and billions of years on his chest.

Furthermore: the descriptions of the different eras are astounding and vivid, ranging from beautifully imagined Dyson Spheres in the Forward Time to shockingly disturbing alternative realities of a never ending 1st World War (so shockingly disturbing exactly because they could have been real).

I should not forget to add my honorable mention for the Time Traveler's companion, so remote from the human race, but at the same time so human, that somehow you find yourself actually caring about his one, good eye.

All in all, this is a fine book, definitely deserving to be in the pantheon of time travel masterpieces. 5 stars.

Strong Pros with some cons
Many of the other reviewers have summerized the story, so I won't repeat that. I'll just throw in a couple other things to consider.

On the plus side, I've got to hand it to the author when it comes to creativity. The depth of his imagination appears to know no bounds. He created strong characters and even created new species that were amazingly well thought out and defined. The story was also incredibly well thought out, tremendously original and unbelievably expansive. If you want to read something you haven't seen before, here it is.

On the other hand, I found the book uneven. There were parts of the story where I couldn't put the book down, and parts that were so dull I could skim pages at a time without missing a thing (at least that's how it felt to me). The description of scientific detail was so in depth that he lost me a lot.(Just so you know who's saying this, I'm a college grad with master's level courses behind me. My career is not scientifically oriented.) Also the details of the time/alternative realities the main character found himself in were so in depth that I zoned out for pages. Still, the parts that were good for me were very, very good.

As a person who believes in God I'd like to add that there are points in this book where atheism is practically preached. The premise of this story includes a belief in evolution. Yet ultimately in the story there's recognition of some type of creator. I saw one reviewer label it the "human mind", but I don't think this is what the author meant. Perhaps I'm incorrect about this, but regardless of what the author thought this creator was, the way he revealed this creator and the nature of "reality" in the story helped me perceive the infinite and amazing nature of God.

So although it's not really at the top of my list, I would recommend this book if you've got some time. I've read most other books out there that have time travel as a premise, and there are others I enjoyed far more than this, but it was still a worthwhile read.

A Good Solid Sci-Fi Adventure, Period.
I wouldn't go so far as to say this is a must read.In fact, I'm not even going to pass this book on to friends.I'll head back to the resale shop tomorrow and trade it in for something else, a space opera most likely.Having said that, if anyone expresses an interest in time travel, I'll offer up Time Ships as a possible read.

The story hits on several aspects of time travel.Many of them you've already touched on in other sci-fi novels.Baxter does a pretty good job with the science.You get to travel back and forth through linear time.However, with each change in direction, the story tangents onto a new version of history. Each version of history is one of an infinte number in the Multiplicity.

PLOT SPOILERS...

The story stops at 7 or 8 major places in history.We start in 1891, but quickly travel to 500,000 A.D, or thereabouts.This first far future stop is my favorite.Descendants of man are extremely advanced.Baxter, as with any good sci-fi novelist, mixes in a fair amount of philosophy.War, religion, birth & genetics, yada yada.

Then, we escape back to 1891, only we take with us a stowaway, a Morlock, descendant of man.We are quickly captured by British comrades from the future and carried forward to 1935, or thereabouts.Only, this is a different 1935 than ours.Humanity is in the midst of an eternal war. (World War I never ended.)

We again escape this madness.Again, with the Morlock.And head back 50 million years into time.People come to rescue us, but we all get stuck.Thank God (is there one?) the Morlock is a genius from the future.He builds a contraption to get us out of here and back to 1891.(I was glad about this.This trip to dinasaur land was a snoozer in my opinion.)

This new 1891, however is deadly.No atmosphere.No life.Mankind's descendants are more like machines.As, different from man as man is from an amoeba.From here we head back to the beginning of time.Yes, before the earth existed.

...END OF PLOT SPOILERS.

I enjoyed Time Ships.

Character Development...B

Plot...B

Science... B+

Philosophy... B+

World Building A+ in Far Future, C in 1935, C+ in Prehistoria.

Enjoyable, but Weighty, Return of Wells' Time Traveler
Stephen Baxter's Time Ships is a sequel to HG Wells' classic The Time Machine. Where Wells was crisp, haunting and poignant, Baxter is deep and broad and offers his usual blend of hard core scifi philosophy and science.

Time Ships picks up where The Time Machine left off. The Time Traveler (TTT), after getting nothing more than a tepid response to his story of his first trip to the future, rushed headlong back into the future to find and rescue his Eloi friend Weena. Instead of returning to fix the wrongs of his previous time travel experiences, TTT finds himself in a different future, somehow caused by his initial trip. In this new trip, Earth is not the same as expected, and an evolutionarily different kind ofMorlock has emerged from a subterra-bound existence to live on the dark side of a gigantic shell around the sun. On this new world, TTT meets his Morlock guide, Nebogipfel.

While Nebogipfel initially pushes the boundaries of what TTT has come to understand about Morlocks, he ulitmately pushes TTT in his overall understandings of science, the human condition, evolution and time travel.

Nebogipfel identifies a "multiplicity of histories", essentially identifying that there exist multiple disconnected but somewhat parallel threads of history. TTT traveled along one thread in his first trip, and leaped to a different thread his second time. Each of TTT's and Nebogipfel's subsequent trips explores a different thread of history. These trips include a journey to TTT's younger self in London which opens a vast exploration of causality and inherent contradictions and supposed impossibilities introduced by time travel.

Their journeys include a jaunt into WWI-era London, in which we find the war effort spending significant resources to develop Time Travel into a serious competitive advantage of the Germans. From there we jump to a version of the Paleocene era, which ultimately becomes inhabited by a small group of a-bomb survivors who launch humanity down a new evolutionary path. Ultimately, we travel to the origins of the Universe...

Baxter's writings are filled with time travel and it's related philosophies and science. Evolutionary themes are of also great importance in his stories. I'm a big fan of these themes, and while discussions of time travel take up a lot of space in Time Ships, Baxter only scratches the surface of of his opportunity to address evolution impacted by a multiplicity of histories.

Through the first third of the book, I was thinking that Time Ships was a 4-star rating. But most of the final third of the book was dragged down by the weight of time travel theory interplay between TTT and Nebogipfel until the final chapter when TTT was led back on his originial track to find Weena. Baxter nails H.G. Well's tone for the TTT and I can't help but enjoy Baxter's thoroughly explored what-happened-next to Well's characters and themes.

The book, overall, is enjoyable. But readers should be prepared to explore the depths of time travel theory while exploring the what-ifs of Well's original classic. ... Read more

Product Description
Sir Arthur C. Clarke is a living legend, a writer whose name has been synonymous with science fiction for more than fifty years. An indomitable believer in human and scientific potential, Clarke is a genuine visionary. If Clarke has an heir among today’s science fiction writers, it is award-winning author Stephen Baxter. In each of his acclaimed novels, Baxter has demonstrated dazzling gifts of imagination and intellect, along with a rare ability to bring the most cerebral science dramatically to life. Now these two champions of humanism and scientific speculation have combined their talents in a novel sure to be one of the most talked-about of the year, a 2001 for the new millennium.

TIME’S EYE

For eons, Earth has been under observation by the Firstborn, beings almost as old as the universe itself. The Firstborn are unknown to humankind— until they act. In an instant, Earth is carved up and reassembled like a huge jigsaw puzzle. Suddenly the planet and every living thing on it no longer exist in a single timeline. Instead, the world becomes a patchwork of eras, from prehistory to 2037, each with its own indigenous inhabitants.

Scattered across the planet are floating silver orbs impervious to all weapons and impossible to communicate with. Are these technologically advanced devices responsible for creating and sustaining the rifts in time? Are they cameras through which inscrutable alien eyes are watching? Or are they something stranger and more terrifying still?

The answer may lie in the ancient city of Babylon, where two groups of refugees from 2037—three cosmonauts returning to Earth from the International Space Station, and three United Nations peacekeepers on a mission in Afghanistan—have detected radio signals: the only such signals on the planet, apart from their own. The peacekeepers find allies in nineteenth-century British troops and in the armies of Alexander the Great. The astronauts, crash-landed in the steppes of Asia, join forces with the Mongol horde led by Genghis Khan. The two sides set out for Babylon, each determined to win the race for knowledge . . . and the power that lies within.

Yet the real power is beyond human control, perhaps even human understanding. As two great armies face off before the gates of Babylon, it watches, waiting. . . .


From the Hardcover edition.Amazon.com Review
Sir Arthur C. Clarke may be the greatest science fiction writer in the world; certainly, he's the best-known, not least because he wrote the novel and coauthored the screenplay of 2001: A Space Odyssey. He's also the only SF writer to be nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize or to be knighted by Her Majesty Elizabeth II. This god of SF has twice collaborated with one of the best SF writers to emerge in the 1990s, Stephen Baxter, winner of the British SF Award, the Locus Award, and the Philip K. Dick Award. Their first collaboration is the novel The Light of Other Days. Their second is the novel Time's Eye: Book One of a Time Odyssey.

As the subtitle indicates, Time's Eye is the first book of a series intended to do for time what 2001 did for space. Does Time's Eye succeed in this goal? No. In 2001, humanity discovers a mysterious monolith on the moon, triggering a signal that astronauts pursue to one of the moons of Jupiter. In Time's Eye, mysterious satellites appear all around the Earth and scramble time, bringing together an ape-woman; twenty-first-century soldiers and astronauts; nineteenth-century British and Indian soldiers; and the armies of Genghis Khan and Alexander the Great. The characters march around in search of other survivors, then clash in epic battle. It's not until the end that the novel returns to the mystery of the tiny, eye-like satellites (and doesn't solve it). In other words, the plot of Time's Eye is a nearly 300-page digression, and 2001 fans expecting exploration of the scientific enigma and examinationof the meaning of existence will be disappointed. However, fans of rousing and well-written transtemporal adventure in the tradition of S.M. Stirling's novel Island in the Sea of Time will enjoy Time's Eye. --Cynthia Ward ... Read more

Customer Reviews (62)

Not Clarke's best, but worth a read
I'm not sure how I managed to miss Clarke's (and co-author Stephen Baxter's) Time's Eye trilogy when it first appeared, but somehow it slipped in under my radar. So while browsing in the Kindle store I was excited to find Time's Eye.

Alas, that excitment didn't last long. As the first book in the trilogy, Time's Eye doesn't have much to recommend it except for die-hard Clarke fans. After a promising start in which small reflective "eyes" begin appearing all over the globe, Earth is seemingly chopped up into sections and reassembled. The sections are from differing time lines ranging from the prehistoric to the 21st century. Three U.N. peacekeepers are suddenly thrown into 19th century Afghanistan where they join up with British and Indian soldiers battling the Pashtuns. This group, in turn, joins with Alexander the Great's army. Three other 21st century travelers are returning from a mission aboard the Mir space station and end up in the nomadic army of Genghis Khan. Using patched-together technology, the groups detect a radio signal in the ancient city of Babylon. Thus the stage is set as both armies rush toward Babylon.

There's spectacle, action, clashing swords, betrayal, and all the things one would expect to find in a story that pits Alexander the Great and Genghis Khan. But if you're expecting challenging sci-fi ... eh, not so much. It seems like Time's Eye has little purpose besides setting up the next novel in the series. The book's not a bad read, but it's just never gets around to answering any of the questions it poses. Granted, I know the second and third novels will answer questions ... but it seems so much of the first book is about mechanically moving characters into position for the next book that in the end the first book comes across as pretty hollow. I'll stick with reading the rest of the story, but I hope the rest of the series will be more thought-provoking than Time's Eye.

Very satisfying!
This was a great book!It had great characters, a fascinating plot, and ended in a very satisfying way in which most of the plot lines were nicely tied up....with a few left open for the sequel.

A Fun Romp, Rather Than a Revelation
Time's Eye, published in 2005, is the product of a fun collaboration between Arthur C. Clarke (no introduction needed) and Stephen Baxter, a very accomplished SF writer in his own right.The result is an entertaining, but not awe-inspiring, romp through time.A good beach, airplane, or vacation read, it lacks the depth and ability to awe that made the strains of Thus Spake Zarathustra seem perfectly appropriate in the film version of 2001: A Space Odyssey.

The Clarke/Baxter team will likely not disappoint those who find sci-fi a staple, but nor will it move any reader into the "this book changed my life" territory.Even in his late 80's, Clarke's writing still shows his hallmark inquisitiveness and creativity.Clarke was an excellent futurist, proposing a satellite based communication system based on geostationary orbits ten years before Sputnik was launched (even today geostationary orbits are sometimes referred to as "Clarke orbits").The effects of his fine mind permeate this book.Clarke/Baxter spin the tale of a time dysjunction, with a new planet being patched together with segments of Earth that have been biopsied from different eras.Thrown together are humans with advanced technology, Mongol warriors, Macedonians under Alexander the Great, and even a Lucy-like protohuman.Great fun results when armies clash, intrigues unfold, romances blossom. All of which is presided over by the brooding presence of silvery spheres that are impervious to earthly laws of physics.

Should you add this book to your TBR (to be read) pile?Hmmm.Be aware that it is book one of a trilogy, and that it has a typical cliffhanger ending to hook you into the sequel, Sunstorm.Read Time's Eye, and you've had the bread and soup, but the main meal awaits.I cheated:I listened to the audiobook version (courtesy of my local public library) while bike-commuting, and enjoyed it.Would I put it in the queue of books on my night stand or in my Kindle?Nope.Is it good enough for me to listen to Part 2 and Part 3 while I pedal through Central Oregon.You betcha!

Latter-Day Masterpiece
As a long-time Arthur C. Clarke buff and fan of The Light of Other Days, his first Stephen Baxter collaboration, I had high hopes for Time's Eye and was not disappointed. It came out in 2003, when Clarke turned eighty-six - an age when most artists have long since ceased to make quality work. He may have needed a collaborator, but Baxter is ideal - the writer probably most in his style today. Together they made the best entry in Clarke's canon since 1987's 2061:Odyssey Three or even 1982's 2010:Odyssey Two. It is nothing less than one of the greatest science fiction novels of the last few decades and one of Clarke's ten best - high praise indeed. One should of course read Clarke's classic masterpieces first, but this is well above most of what he put out after the 1980s and a boon for his many fans - an unexpected latter-day jewel in his incomparable crown and another co-triumph for Baxter, one of SF's most talented current writers.

As the Time Odyssey subtitle suggests, the novel has crossovers with the famous Space Odyssey books, which will attract and delight their millions of fans. It is not a sequel - is indeed not even set in the same universe -, but there are several similarities and a good number of references. Such a thing is always risky - not only almost always failures but often veering near self-parody. The authors admirably manage to make it interesting and entertaining; the parallels seem respectful and worthwhile rather than rehashed material from (an admittedly legendary) has-been. The prime similarity is the large role of The Firstborn, the mysterious forces behind many Space Odyssey events. Long-time fans will be glad to see them as they are one of SF's most intriguing creations and can probably never be overused. Their role here is similar, and they maintain the mysterious allure that makes them so fascinating. The chief difference is that, where their Space Odyssey purpose is initially benign and later at least neutral, here it is deliberately hostile. As the title hints, they deal now in time rather than space, and the famous monolith is replaced by the titular Eye - another puzzling and utterly absorbing creation.

It cannot be overemphasized that Time's does not recycle the Space Odyssey books; it is vigorously fresh and original - a vivid independent creation that deserves to stand near those eternal masterpieces. Its main charm is that, like those books at their best and all Clarke at his height, the sheer imaginative reach is astounding and utterly absorbing - mind-bending, thought-provoking, and simply fascinating. I will not give away details because constant surprises are the chief joy of reading the book. Suffice it to say that Clarke's unmatched imagination - doubtless with significant Baxter assistance - is in full swing. The grand, sweeping story is masterfully plotted and deftly executed, keeping us in constant wonder and suspense and never ceasing entertain. A wealth of historical references is put to great use, actually becoming integral to the story and not used as mere window dressing as so often in SF time stories. The time element itself is also put to excellent use; time travel and its variants are of course SF clichés, but this manages to exploit a new angle, adding significantly to the subgenre.

Characterization is also very strong. Clarke has always been criticized here, and Baxter may have helped significantly; Time's in any case has one of the most interesting and varied casts of any Clarke book. The characters are far from the cardboard cutouts so unfortunately common in SF; we are deeply engrossed in their actions and truly feel for them in a way very rare in the genre. Their interactions and conflicts are also unusually engaging.

Time's main strength, though, is common to all of Clarke's best work - its mind-expanding panorama of intensely imaginative wonder. It can be easily appreciated on a very simple level as a truly cosmic adventure, but deeper themes resonate. Classic Clarke themes like the universe's vast scale, its endless possibilities, and its essential mystery, especially as related to the possibility of life and its implications for our place in the overall scheme, are brilliantly and vividly dramatized. It had been a long time since a Clarke work engaged these perennial themes so overtly and strongly, and seeing it again was a great joy. To make things even better, the vibrantly descriptive, highly poetic prose characteristic of Clarke at his best is here as it had not been in so long that many despaired of its return. Simply put, this belongs in or near Clarke's top tier, which is all that need be said.

As so often with Clarke, the ending is a cliffhanger, and many important threads are left dangling; there are indeed more questions than answers. The series continued in two more books that answered most of these, and anyone who reads this will of course want to read them, but it is important to be warned that they are far less good. The next book, Sunstorm, is a major disappointment - perhaps Clarke's worst. Firstborn, the third, is much better but well below Time's. Clarke completists will of course want them, and Firstborn is worthy and the series itself worthwhile, but Time's is his last great work. It later became clear that Time's was the last book he was able to work on significantly, which explains the drastic quality drop. Fans can only be glad that three more books (partly) flowed from his unmatched pen, but this is in many ways his last hurrah. We must be grateful considering his age when he worked on it and the many great works he had already given, but there is of course a certain sadness in it. It is very hard not to lament, but we must remember Clarke's essential optimism and cherish Time's as the last true monument from what may be SF's premier writer. There will never be another Clarke, and Time's will remain valuable in addition to its great inherent worth as a powerfully stirring reminder of just how great he was. It is essential for all his fans - and, indeed, anyone even remotely interested in SF.

Thumbs up on very good Sci Fi/Alternate Historical Fiction
I thoroughly enjoyed Time's Eye - it's got action, science, and solidly developed characters. It's also got an ancient history battle royale between Alexander the Great and his army vs. Genghis Khan and his Mongolian hoard.

Time's Eye is the first in Stephen Baxter and Arthur C. Clarke's Time Odyssey series which takes place in the same universe as Clarke's 2001 stories. Inexplicably (at least initially), Earth is sliced up and stitched back together creating a mish-mash of timeframes. This scenario creates the opportunity for Baxter and Clarke to position a Genghis-Alexander battle for control over the new Earth (dubbed "Mir" by the remnant individuals from the 21st century). The story is broad in scope, with multiple story lines intersecting, connecting and culminating in a satisfying conclusion. While the ending isn't quite a cliff-hanger, it certainly sets up book 2 nicely.

Time's Eye has the requisite amount of hard science and pseudo-scientific - and sometimes atheistic - philosophical musings. These are the elements that Baxter and Clarke fans anticipate in their works. The philosophical vignettes are tightly written, and rarely feel forced or out of context with the rest of the story. I was thankful that there wasn't too much rumination on the structure and specifics of time-travel.

The characters are solidly drawn and the authors were able to make the "real" characters like Alexander the Great, some of Alexander's cohorts, and Rudyard Kipling (who gets caught in the time shifts), believable and relatively cliché-free.

In addition to the science fiction standbys of time travel and "those-that-watch-us-from-above", the book contains solid historical fiction elements, specifically when dealing with Alexander and the Mongols. The authors take time to detail their histories, battle strategy and tactics of each set of warriors. There are also shades of Baxter's Evolution while writing on the early hominids that get caught up in the time shifts.

Overall, I strongly recommend this sci-fi / alternative historical fiction from two of the best in the business.
... Read more

Product Description
An anthology of science fiction short stories by some of today's top authors to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the science fiction film classic Forbidden Planet. Filled to the brim with provocative tales of worlds where humans were never meant to go. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

christmas present
This was from my husband's wish list. He could not find this book in any of the local stores. He was very pleased to get it for christmas.

excellenthomage to the landmark science fiction movie Forbidden Planet
Paying homage to the landmark science fiction movie Forbidden Planet on the fiftieth anniversary of its release, these twelve tales focus on humans visiting other worlds or dimensions where they are unwelcome and unwanted.Each tales is fun to follow as humans bravely go where they should not.The original movie is loosely based on Shakespeare's The Tempest so the twist of using King Lear (Jay Lake's "Lehr, Rex") is a fascinating spin; others are just as good as mechanical sidekicks like Robert the Robot (see "Forebearing Planet" by Michael Moorcock) and "The Singularity Needs Women" by Paul Di Filippo are fun twists from the film.The remaining tales, all new, are quality contributions that make for a fine collection.In addition to a dozen terrific entries, Ray Bradbury in the Introduction provides two shockers about the movie and Stephen Baxter in the Afterward analyzes the impact on his work.This is an excellent short story collection that reverently salutes a movie that many Trekkies know that Kirk and company should journey where no one did before except Forbidden Planet.

Harriet Klausner
... Read more

Product Description
From Stephen Baxter, one of today's most acclaimed writers of science fiction and fantasy, comes this unforgettable saga of life and loss in the grand tradition of Watership Down.

For fifty thousand springs, Silverhair and her kind, the last of the woolly mammoths, have lived in a remote tundra, rimmed by ice and sea and mountain. Soon to be a mother, Silverhair looks to the future with hope. But even as her life begins, the world she loves is ending. A new menace, more vicious than any enemy, is descending upon the snowlands -- a two-legged creature that kills for joy. Desperate to save their kind, Silverhair and the matriarch, Owlheart, must travel across the glacial torrents, beyond the saw-toothed mountains. There they will seek help from the distant cousins who found their destiny in the sea, and from an enemy -- an ice-faced menace known as...the Lost.

Customer Reviews (11)

Upset
I am seriously upset with this product, i specifically wanted to not get this item but instead i got charges 400% the price then it had stated!!!!!!

really fast
this book arrived really quickly and in great shape and was a joy to read

Mammoths alive and kicking
A small group of mammoths is alive and well in remote Siberia in our times. Stephen Baxter tells us how they live in a world that's changing from what they know in their sagas and legends. Their enemy is, of course, the Lost Ones, as the mammoths call us humans.

Baxter's written better books, and this is no Watership Down (or Empire of the Ants, which is my favourite animal book). It's not bad, though, and the mammoths seem pretty well researched, at least they're somewhat inhuman. They have their own culture, quite different from us humans.

Since the book was so fast and easy to read, I'm going to continue to the next part of the trilogy - after all, the book gets some pretty strange ideas in the end. In any case, I can't really recommend Silverhair unless you're really into mammoths or books starring animals in general. However, there's lots of violence and cruelty towards animals in this book, so the most sensitive animal lovers, stay away! (Review based on the Finnish translation.)

Disturbing to Normal Human Beings
I was drawn to this book because I wanted to read a good story about mammoths. After reading this book, I am still waiting to read a GOOD story about mammoths.

This was book should be declared an "unimaginable atrocity" by the UN for its disgusting and pointless portrayal of animal abuse. Where is the ASPCA? Any plot was completely drowned out by the awful violence. I can't recommend this book to anyone!

Okay, but sort of depressing.
This was an okay book, but the whole auora of the story was a little depressing. The whole book your there watching these mammoths who are the last of there kind and don't know it. It doesn't feel good to watch almost every single charecter in the story die. There was just somethingwrong with this book, the fact that there is no happiness in it. But, it was interesting to see the world from the point of view of a mammoth with the IQ of a chicken. This book had something wrong with it, i dont know what but this book needs some work. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

An alternative history that reads lke a factual account
On the twenty-fifth anniversary of Neil Armstrong's historic moonwalk, former astronaut Jim Lovell discussed NASA's overall decline since that time.Bemoaning America's lack of support for continued manned space exploration, he said, "It's like Columbus discovering the New World and nobody bothering to follow up."Until now, those of us who agreed with that sentiment have had to be content with the space shuttle program.With the publication of Stephen Baxter's Voyage, however, we can get a taste of what might have been.

In Baxter's alternate history, John F. Kennedy survives Oswald's assassination attempt.Crippled by the shooting, Kennedy remains a popular advocate of the space program.Due in large part to Kennedy's unwavering support for space exploration, America continues on past the moon and sets its sights on Mars.

Voyage tells the story of this heroic effort. Alternating between an account of the first flight to Mars in 1985 and the back story of this historic event, the book provides a compelling, gripping account of America's journey to the red planet, one that will keep even the most jaded reader turning pages.

Baxter's alternative history of the space program reads like a factual account, containing just enough cultural touchstones to make it familiar to those of us who lived during that time.Similar to James Michener 's Space and Tom Wolfe's The Right Stuff, the reader is immersed in the lore of the space program.Baxter provides insights into the people, politics, and scientific achievements involved, chronicling the triumph and tragedy involved in putting an astronaut on Mars.Highly recommended. ... Read more

Product Description
Even as a young calf, Longtusk understood the hardships the few remaining of his ancient kind had encountered when the glaciers retreated and grassy forests stole over the vast tundra the herds called home. Worst of all was when the Fireheads came -- cruel, two-legged beasts who kill for pleasure. At a tender age, Longtusk became their prisoner -- hobbled, abused, and stripped of his freedom. But through toil and terror, Longtusk never forgot his Clan -- and he learned crucial, intimate knowledge of the Fireheads' ways, though at a terrible price. Now the time is rapidly approaching when he will have to clash with those who seek to destroy every living trace of his proud breed. And Longtusk must not shun the twisted path in front of him or what he is destined to become: the greatest hero of them all.

Customer Reviews (5)

Of mammoths and men
Second part of the Mammoth trilogy isn't a huge improvement from the first. This time it's a look at prehistoric times, when mammoths roamed the Earth in larger numbers. Longtusk, the legendary mammoth mentioned in the first part of the trilogy, is still young and adventurous.

He is captured by Fireheads, humans, and put to work along almost domesticated mastodonts. He learns the ways of the Fireheads and what danger they pose to the mammoths. Is he able to escape and save his family from this new danger?

The best thing about this book is definitely its length - if it wasn't such a small book, I probably wouldn't have bothered to read it. If you really loved the first part and want to read more about mammoths and don't mind more violence and not-that-interesting mammoth characters, go ahead, but others might just as well skip this one. (Review based on the Finnish translation.)

Very Good
This book was equally, if not better than it`s prequel.After reading the first, I wasn`t to sure about reading the second after the first left me feelingpretty depressed, though I did it anyway and was greatly rewarded with a more upbeat book, compared to the first. Longtusk is better probably because of the less violence and a more descriptive plotline. The info on how the Mammoths live was riveting as washow they desribed the Neanderthals and early Homo-Sapiens.It was a great read.I eagerly await the third arriving.

Sweeping, grand...
As good as Watership Down, Shardik or The Plague Dogs in detailed and accurate research on the part of the author, coupled with believable, fascinating, and often glorious storytelling.

This is the sequel to Silverhair, and in my opinion, excells it, though the first book it wonderful enough.

none
Baxter has written a magnificent and majestic tale of myth, legend, adventure, danger, and the fight for survival with memorable characters, accurate setting and detail, intrigue and wonder. A 'Watership Down' of the Ice Age... Gary S. Potter Author/Poet

Fascinating
In 16,000 BC, the world is in flux as species struggle for supremacy while the ice retreats. Woolly mammoths remain gentle giants working together in clans. The mammoths share a language that enables them to communicate with one another. They understand who is friend and who is the enemy and work for a common cause as their environment changes making survival the ultimate goal.

Like most males his age, Longtusk believes he will do great things. He ignores his clan's leadership, both the matriarchal and male elders. He begins his quest for greatness, but barely survives a deadly fire. Separated from his mates, Longtusk, joins a tribe of Neanderthals, but they fall prey to the dangerously clever human Fireheads. Now a prisoner, Longtusk becomes a slave working next to other domesticated animals. As Longtusk laments his fate, his "people" are in deep trouble from a changing ecosystem and the cunning Fireheads.

LONGTUSK, the second tale in the "Mammoth" trilogy, is an exciting prehistoric science fiction novel in which Stephen Baxter provides human traits to the mammoths. The story line never slows down as a different world comes to life even as the realization creeps into the minds of the mammoths and Neanderthals that the Fireheads are gaining control. Though some major subplots seem identical to the first novel (see SILVERHAIR), fans of the sub-genre will enjoy the novel and its Wooley hero.

Harriet Klausner ... Read more

Product Description
Feeling secure in our everyday here-and-now? Then let Stephen Baxter reveal to you disturbing traces of other worlds: traces of other pasts, other presents, other futures. Here are vestiges of civilizations lost, long-gone, footprints of passing life-forms, visions of histories that differ from our own, some in small ways, some through a fundamental difference in physical laws. Here are twenty-one extraordinary stories from the best science fiction writer of his generation. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

"not my cup of tea" collection of short stories
My first Baxter book was Ring, which is a hard sci-fi book with lots of fulfilling tech talk and alien technology. From that, I expected mopre hard sci-fi from the fine book by the fine author. Mmm, too bad.

My expectation were met with 3 or 4 stories. The other 10 were disappointing in the sense that the writing strayed from the hard sci-fi I was expecting. A number of these stories were related to historical impossibilities of past cultures visiting space (19th century England and 1040s Nazis for example). These stories rarely held my attention and I stuggled to read through it just to continue on to the next story.

Two of the stories were about some lifeform which lives underwater and is vaguely human-like... anyway, it lost me and proceeded to bore me as well.

The 3 or 4 gems were good enough to keep the book on my shelf, but it was sad that they were collected with other such boring stories.

A good introduction to a Great witer
I had just about given up on contemporary science fiction. Then i picked up "traces". Stephen Baxter offers hard science fiction with excellent characterization. I haven't read any missteps in his work, although his sense of narrative is more experimental than some readers may accept.

A Superior but still Mixed Bag of Stephen Baxter Stories
In collected stories, there is always the risk of getting nuggets of iron pyrite in with true treasures. Rarely does a collection have a complete slate of hits without a miss.Even the best author can have a few lesserlights mixed in with the best.

Stephen Baxter's collection Traces showsthis maxim quite well.Unlike the thematic Vacumn Diagrams, its a prettydiverse collection, including probably the best story of the lot, theimaginative "Moon Six".The titular story, on the other hand, isa forgettable tale at best.In between range stories of various strengthsand weakness, ranging on sf treatments of subjects from Verne toGagarin.

American fans of Stephen Baxter like myself will appreciatehaving the collection, but this is definitely not the place to start withhis work if you are new to his brand of idea bursting stories. ... Read more

Product Description
The Firstborn–the mysterious race of aliens who first became known to science fiction fans as the builders of the iconic black monolith in 2001: A Space Odyssey–have inhabited legendary master of science fiction Sir Arthur C. Clarke’s writing for decades. With Time’s Eye and Sunstorm, the first two books in their acclaimed Time Odyssey series, Clarke and his brilliant co-author Stephen Baxter imagined a near-future in which the Firstborn seek to stop the advance of human civilization by employing a technology indistinguishable from magic.

Their first act was the Discontinuity, in which Earth was carved into sections from different eras of history, restitched into a patchwork world, and renamed Mir. Mir’s inhabitants included such notables as Alexander the Great, Genghis Khan, and United Nations peacekeeper Bisesa Dutt. For reasons unknown to her, Bisesa entered into communication with an alien artifact of inscrutable purpose and godlike power–a power that eventually returned her to Earth. There, she played an instrumental role in humanity’s race against time to stop a doomsday event: a massive solar storm triggered by the alien Firstborn designed to eradicate all life from the planet. That fate was averted at an inconceivable price. Now, twenty-seven years later, the Firstborn are back.

This time, they are pulling no punches: They have sent a “quantum bomb.” Speeding toward Earth, it is a device that human scientists can barely comprehend, that cannot be stopped or destroyed–and one that will obliterate Earth.

Bisesa’s desperate quest for answers sends her first to Mars and then to Mir, which is itself threatened with extinction. The end seems inevitable. But as shocking new insights emerge into the nature of the Firstborn and their chilling plans for mankind, an unexpected ally appears from light-years away.


From the Hardcover edition. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (21)

The best book in this series!
Firstborn is actually the last book in the Clarke/Baxter Time's Eye series picking up where Time's Eye and Sunstorm left off.

It's 2070 and the Earth faces its latest challenge from the Firstborn.They have sent a Q bomb capable of altering time and space itself to absorb species they consider a threat to cosmic order.

The reason they did this is because the Firstborn are ancient race (according to Clarke, they evolved with the "first stars" billions of years ago).Being old, they want to live forever or at least as close to forever as they can.

Because the universe ultimately has only a discrete amount of energy the Firstborn seek to eliminate species that they believe have the propensity to exhaust this energy.

In Time's Eye we watched as our main heroine Beisa Dutt was transported to an alternate Earth where slices of the planet were carved from different time periods in the past two million years.In this way, she was witness to a great conflict between Ghengis Khan and Alexander the Great played out under the watchful "eyes" of the Firstborn.

The "eyes" were extra dimension spheres located throughout the planet so that the Firstborn could witness the permutations of pitting so many from so many different time periods essentially against each other.

In this way, Time's Eye kind of borrowed from that great old sci fy standard, The Arena, except that all the competitors were human...albeit from different historical time periods.

In Sunstorm, Dutt was sent back to then present day Earth (circa 2040) to watch as mankind readied itself for a great sunstorm (hence the title) caused by the agency of the Firstborn.

This writer's impressions of both works can already be found in different installments on this website by accessing the book(s) in question.

Here, as indicated, we're farther forward in history and to surmount the challenge of the Q bomb will take the united cooperation of both then contemporary humans as well as those residing on humanity's sister world.

For my money, this is the best book in the series for its integration of the best parts of its earlier predecessor works.If you liked the alternate history stuff, you got it.If you liked the cutting edge science well then you got that too. As an extra added bonus you even got some great character development thrown in.

In fact, I believe this series is the best sci fy series since the original Foundation trilogy by Isaac Asimov.And unlike Foundation, where essentially there was only one "cool" idea (psychohistory or the concept that human history could actually be predicted), this book has many great ideas:

NONLOCALITY:Here, Clarke uses nonlocality as his vehicle for creating alternate universes.Not surprising, he's as short on details as Creighton's Timeline would be.But still he provides at least serviceable demonstrations for what he's talking about.

HUMANS IN SPACE:This book paints an excellent picture of human life in space based a contemporary understanding of some of the relevant issues.I especially liked little details like where the Martian born human children were actually morphologically different from their parents as would actually be the case in such a situation.

FUTURE TECHNOLOGY:Clarke, not surprisingly, is really good at the space stuff.I say not surprsingly because Clarke was the guy who back in the 1950s originally suggested putting satellites in geosynchronous orbit.Here, he's especially strong at describing solar sails and other space age technology.

I did find myself however noticing that Clarke failed to pick up any of the predictions made by Ray Kurzweil that "other" futurist.I wondered whether it was because Clarke wasn't familiar with them (something I highly doubt) or whether Clarke is simply less willing to make predictions relating to areas where his personal understanding of the subject material is less (which I consider more likely).

There seems to be no doubt that many readers are not as excited about this series as I am.But I would suggest at least checking out one of these books and deciding for yourself.

Who knows?You may agree with me and yourself highly recommend this book.

should have stopped when he was ahead
Not Clarke's best work by far. All his familiar concepts and themes are there, but this is an endless travel report more than a SF novel. There is nothing new here we haven't had in much better, much earlier Clarke novels.

Worthy End to a Respectable Series
Arthur C. Clarke and Stephen Baxter's Time's Eye, the first book in the series that Firstborn concludes, is one of the greatest recent science fiction novels. However, its sequel, Sunstorm, was extremely disappointing. Fans thus did not know what to expect from Firstborn, but the news is thankfully positive; though significantly below Time's, it is far above Sunstorm - a small latter-day triumph for Clarke, who turned ninety the month it was published. Anyone who liked Time's will certainly like it, and those scared by Sunstorm need not fear. One should certainly read Clarke's classic works before coming to the series, but Firstborn reassuringly ends it on a relatively high note and is fairly strong in itself.

Everything that made Sunstorm weak is essentially corrected. Though not as mesmerizingly inventive as Time's, much less classic Clarke, the plot is very intriguing. In great contrast to Sunstorm, the central danger is fascinating; its inner workings and dangers are compellingly described, and solutions are worked out plausibly and excitingly. Clarke works are rich in potentially Apocalyptic disasters, but this is one of the most mind-bendingly inventive. Again in contrast to Sunstorm, the path to stopping it is absorbingly unpredictable - well thought out and effectively executed.

Other plot elements are also engaging. We finally see the resolution of threads left dangling in Time's, and Sunstorm's meager developments are finalized. The authors weave in historical elements interestingly and successfully, and the future extrapolations intrigue. As usual with Clarke, particularly in late years, there is a wealth of references to his ideas and past works:space elevators, solar racing, the Space Odyssey series, etc. This will of course be of great interest to the many Clarke buffs, especially as it is far more natural and seamless than in Sunstorm.

Characterization is also greatly improved over Sunstorm, though again not as strong as in Time's. I still find Myra annoying, but most major characters are sympathetic or at least palatable, and the interpersonal drama is far more moving and engrossing. The Firstborn themselves are of course ever fascinating, mesmerizing and beguiling readers since their first appearance in 2001:A Space Odyssey nearly forty years before this book. We learn a little more about them here, though the authors are of course careful not to remove all the mystery.

This brings up an important point - this would not be a Clarke book if everything were tightly wrapped up. He long ago learned that an essential condition of SF greatness is alluring wide-openness. Our minds often fill in blanks more vividly and forcefully than minute description could do, luring us in and provoking thought. This makes works stay with us long after reading whereas we may well have pushed them out of mind if they ended with a conventional ribbon and bow. Firstborn is another entry in this grand tradition, conveying classic Clarke themes like the universe's vast reach, its limitless possibilities, and its endless capacity for surprise - not least in regard to life. Humanity's place in the cosmos is again put in perspective, and a variety of philosophical and other issues of importance are memorably dramatized. The writing also has an occasionally dazzling poetic turn, though certainly not on Clarke's highest level, and is notably tight and concise.

Also, as so often with Clarke, the end is a cliffhanger. This will dismay some, as Firstborn is the close of a series, but such open-endedness is a Clarke trademark for better or worse. 2001, which was supposed to be a standalone work, after all ended thus. Even those who can usually roll with such things may think this simply goes too far, and it is definitely frustrating to a certain extent. However, the authors surely thought it necessary to leave the great question unresolved; they after all know humanity's future no better than anyone and likely did not feel safe in assuming. Human arrogance coupled with inevitable ignorance is after all one of the series' themes - and one of Clarke's generally -, and the book arguably could hardly have ended otherwise. Clarke's diehard optimism and faith in human progress, coupled with his many other books' endings, strongly suggest humanity will triumph, but this remains to be seen. Firstborn was advertised as the concluding volume, but the door was certainly left open for at least one more book. However, Clarke's death surely put an end to the possibility, so we must take the ending on its own terms. The series probably could have ended better, and Clarke certainly has superior endings, but I prefer this to something overly pat like 3001.

All told, though far from Clarke's best, Firstborn is a worthy latter-day novel and a fairly effective end to a respectable series - a worthwhile coda to an unmatched career.

A Vehicle for Pet Ideas
And these pet ideas are the only things that make this book worth reading, bringing what could have been a promising series to its sadly weak conclusion. 19 years after the events of "Sunstorm," Bisesa Dutt is retrieved from hibernation by her daughter, now a grown woman with issues, who has thrown in with a nebulous "spacer" organization whose designs on Bisesa Dutt are never quite clear. Dutt's daughter doesn't know what they're after either, yet she goes along with it anyway. ???? (this is a sentence) Next they are on a space elevator, one of Clarke's grand ideas from yesteryear brought back to overwhelming life during a three-week-long journey into space in which Bisesa shares close confines with her daughter and a spacer. Why are they on this journey? The spacer won't say, yet Bisesa, the hard-charging heroine, agrees to the trip anyway--as uncomfortable and odiferous as it becomes--without explanation. ????(another sentence) During their journey, however, the space elevator is described in detail down to the width of its carbon nanotubes.

Next they are on a light ship bound for Mars, in another long journey. Why? The spacer won't say. Yet Bisesa continues to go along with it. ???? (you see the pattern) Along the way, the light ship is described down to its movable cabin walls--you could practically use this novel to build your own.

Now they're on Mars fleeing the authorities. Why? Still don't know, but the reader gets a description of Mars akin to Kim Stanley Robinson.

No need to go on, just continue with this theme to the conclusion of the book, which is as enigmatic and incomprehensible as 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Not up to Clarke's HIGH standards
I've read at least nine Arthur C. Clarke novels because I genuinely love his writing.And I actually had a very good time reading this trilogy despite my following complaints.That being said, I threw this book down when I finished because I could not believe I was left with how it ended!After the first two very engaging books that give a realistic perspective of the future, comment on our world politics, and develop appealing characters, Firstborn seems to just race to the end without resolving everything (and the resolutions that we DO get are kind of expected).

Another BIG problem I have with this book (spoiler alert), is that there is a monolith on the cover...and NO monolith makes an appearance in the book.As someone who lost his sci-fi virginity to 2001, I was VERY disappointed here.If someone knows why the monolith was on the cover, please tell me.

I'd say read this if you began the trilogy, and I recommend you read the trilogy because the pros of the first two books seriously outweigh the cons of this one, but just don't expect the kind of ending this trilogy deserves ... Read more

Product Description
Star Humans are microscopic, but their hopes and fears, and loves, are not. And the future of humans everywhere, on Earth and among the stars, depends on their courage in the face of attack by the mighty Xeelee, owners of the Universe.

A novel of the Xeelee Sequence from the acknowledged heir to the visionary legacy of Clarke and Wells, heralding a new Golden Age in science fiction. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

enjoyable hard scifi
hard scifi with a great story as a framework. another good novel of the xeelee sequence.

white hot
Flux was my first foray into hard sci-fi, and it was not what I expected. I had tried to read a few others in the genre, but was turned off by the textbook-like narratives and lifeless characters, but Baxter does a great job of combining the science behind the lives he has created within a solar body with the humanity of a race of intelligent beings clinging to the layers of their world. I can honestly say that I was captivated by this story, and enjoyed it thoroughly.

Strengths far outweigh weaknesses- terrific science
The review by Christopher is articulate and accurate regarding the imperfect story in Flux.However the environment and senario are so wonderfully drawn and described that weaknesses in the story are a minor distraction in the work of the facinating author.

Baxter has vision, but it's blurred
This is the second Baxter book I've read (after VACUUM DIAGRAMS), and like the first it's a mix of brilliance and disappointment.

Baxter unquestionably has the wildest hard-physics imagination in the business.The world depicted in FLUX is a staggering conceptual achievement, taking the amazing concept of neutron-star life first suggested by Frank Drake and developed by Robert L. Forward in DRAGON'S EGG & STARQUAKE and going one step further, creating an ecosystem within the neutron-superfluid mantle of the star and exploring its whole geography from crust to core.The biology, locomotion and senses of the inhabitants are well worked out.

But Baxter's imagination tends to outrace even him.In both his books I've read, there have been major flaws in logic, points on which he failed to think his ideas through.Here, for story convenience, he asserts that the nuclear-size humanoids' life and thought processes happen at normal human speed.Readers of Forward will see the absurdity of this.The nucleonic processes on which this life is based are a million times faster than chemistry, because the particles are so much closer together.Even if it were possible to slow these people's life cycles so much in proportion to the underlying processes, they'd be agonizingly slower than the native organisms around them, living on a slower timescale than even the plants.There are other moments of shortsightedness; sometimes he describes them in humanlike ways incompatible with the anatomy and physics he's defined.(How could Dura have "slick palms" when they don't perspire?)

When the reason for these micro-humans' creation is finally revealed, it doesn't make sense.It would've been more logical to build mindless robots for the task, and ones better-designed to fit the environment.The creators' choice to make them almost exactly human down to the same impractical anatomy and the same emotions and aspirations shows a sentimentalism fiercely incompatible with the project's goals.

Baxter also gets confused about the scale of his trademark structure, Bolder's Ring.In VACUUM DIAGRAMS he said it was millions of light-years across -- yet described an attack on its rim affecting its center instantaneously, and described a distant observer seeing the battle across its whole width in real time. And here, he describes it appearing tiny from a distance of mere thousands of light-years.Baxter seems to have trouble realizing the physical and temporal scope of his own creations.His imagination is bigger than his judgment.

Baxter's a far better writer than Forward, but as in Forward's books, the plot is basically an excuse for illustrating the environment and physics.His characters have a modicum of emotion and personality, unlike Forward's, but are sometimes superficially drawn and hard to get a handle on.The one sexual interlude is painfully awkward and gratuitous from a character standpoint, serving only to illustrate the mechanics of the act for this species.(And let's not go into Baxter's seeming obsession with bodily functions.He could've chosen a more pleasant term for biological jet-propulsion.)

Amid the superlatively exotic setting, the society is relentlessly ordinary and unimaginative.The sociological storyline replays the mythology of countless British WWII films (and American films about Britain, such as MRS. MINIVER) -- a stratified society is torn apart by disaster and becomes united, promising to rebuild as an egalitarian utopia.It's tacked on quite awkwardly here. Overall, Baxter pulls the reader in two different directions -- in the environment and physics he strives for unimagined wonders, but for the people and society he pulls against that and forces them to be as mundane and familiar as possible.

FLUX portrays the most extraordinarily alien, yet credibly developed, physical environment I have ever seen in SF.But this just throws the book's flaws and its ordinary storytelling into sharp relief.And Baxter's failure to think through all the ramifications of his own ideas, and the huge logic gaffes that result, are a continual frustration.

Never Loses Sight of the Human Element
Stephen Baxter is practically the hardest of Hard SF writers around. `Flux' is another volume in his sprawling Xeelee Sequence of novels and short stories. The Xeelee Sequence doesn't have to be read in any particular order as the stories told span a timeline of tens of billions of years. Readers can dip in and out of the novels and collected short stories at any point.

`Flux' tells the story of Dura, one of a microscopic species of human who live in the mantle of a star. Hers is a feudal society with strict stratification of the different classes. Verbal history tells of a once more technological society now lost after the Core Wars.Sounds preposterous, I know, but Baxter's greatest strength is that, despite the heavy duty science in his works, he never loses sight of the human element. His story of Dura, an upfluxer and her adventures in Parz City and beyond, is so engaging that the reader can forget that the technicalities of the story and enjoy the adventure.

Through a series of good, bad and dumb luck, Dura finds herself at the center of an expedition that is the only hope of saving the Human Beings in her particular star. Through her tribes legends of the Xeelee she is able to engineer a meeting with a Colonist - a denizen of the core of the star, a downloaded copy of the original humans to seed the star with Dura's people - and formulate a plan that will save all the species of humanity from destruction. And consequently re-engineer a fairer and more just way of life.

It's hard to find Science Fiction these days that actually has some science in it. Baxter is at the forefront of the rebirth of Hard SF. Do yourself a favor and read one of his books. I guarantee you it won't be the last. ... Read more

Product Description
Stephen Baxter’s gripping page-turners are feats of bold speculation and big ideas that, for all their time-and-space-spanning grandeur, remain firmly rooted in scientific fact and cutting-edge theory. Now Baxter is back with the final volume in his monumental Destiny’s Children trilogy, a tour de force in which parallel stories unfold–and then meet as humanity stands poised on the brink of divine providence . . . or extinction.

DESTINY’S CHILDREN
TRANSCENDENT

It is the year 2047, and nuclear engineer Michael Poole is still in the throes of grief. His beloved wife, Morag, died seventeen years ago, along with their second child. Yet Michael is haunted by more than just the memory of Morag. On a beach in Miami, he sees his dead wife. But she vanishes as suddenly as she appears, leaving no clue as to her mysterious purpose.

Alia was born on a starship, fifteen thousand light years from Earth, five hundred thousand years after the death of Michael Poole. Yet she knows him intimately. In this distant future, when humanity has diversified as a species and spread across the galaxy, every person is entrusted with the duty of Witnessing the life of one man, woman, or child from the past, recovered by means of a technology able to traverse time itself. Alia’s subject is Michael Poole.

When his surviving, estranged son is injured, Michael tries to reconnect with him–and to stave off a looming catastrophe. Vast reservoirs of toxic gases lie buried beneath the poles, trapped in crystals of ice. Now that ice is melting. Once it goes, the poisons released will threaten all life on Earth. A bold solution is within reach, if only Michael can convince a doubting world. Yet as Morag’s ghostly visitations continue, Michael begins to doubt his own sanity.

In the future, Alia is chosen to become a Transcendent, an undying member of the group mind that is shepherding humanity toward an evolutionary apotheosis. The Witnessings are an integral part of their design, for only by redeeming the pain of every human who has lived and died can true Transcendence be achieved. Yet Alia discovers a dark side to the Transcendents’ plans, a vein of madness that may lead to an unthinkable renunciation.

Somehow, Michael Poole holds the fate of the future in his hands. Now, to save that future, Alia must undertake a desperate journey into the past. . . .


From the Hardcover edition. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (19)

propaganda fiction
The entire book flips back and forth from telling a story to preaching about man destroying the world and global warming.

It's really Transcendant if you can skip the environmental hooey
I really liked Transcendent, even though I am as anti-environmentalist as anyone can be.I think a lot of the negativ reviewers were put off by (admittedly) ridiculous environmental disasters, but I thought it was kind of cute (in a silly way).Here we are 500,000 years in the future.Mankind is about to "transcend" into a god, and Baxter is crying that the old people in Florida have to sandbag their homes.You can almost imagine Baxter was really making fun of the global warming fearmongers (although I doubt he was).Anyway, I thought the universe he created and the concepts he explored greatly outweighted any minor worries with the earthbound components of the story.

Stephen Baxter - Transcendent
I haven't read this yet, but the book arrived in good condition and was exactly as described.I look forward to reading it as I have enjoyed other works by Mr. Baxter.

Very disappointing
Global warming soapbox masquerading as science fiction. Like one of the previous reviewers said this guy used to be one of my favourite authors. This whole Destiny's Children series has been a waste of time for me

What is this crap?
I have completely turned 180 degrees from being a fan of Baxtor to absolutely loathing the garbage he's been writing in recent years. He had a good run early on, but has totally lost touch with his base. I loved Ring, The Time Ships, Flux, all the way up to Vacuum Diagrams, which seems to have been a turning point in his career--for the worst. This novel, like all of his recent work, suffers from very weak character development, a highly suspect series of plots. In his early stories, the pathetic character development was entirely excusable because his science was rock solid and exciting! I loved his Xeelee stories and the whole dark matter creatures were very engaging. But lately, he's focused too much on personal interests that are completely non-interesting to this reader. His attitude is that of an informed and wizened academic, but he comes across in fictional form as foolishly optimistic that his ridiculous themes are believable. ... Read more

Product Description

3000 A.D. Years ago, humans colonized Mars, bringing with them specimens of long-extinct Earth life for regeneration on this new frontier. But humankind has disappeared, and the animals have been left behind to fend for themselves. Icebones, daughter of Silverhair, had been the only adult mammoth taken to Mars. As such, she is now the only one of her kind who carries the accumulated knowledge of mammoth history, and it is up to her to teach her fellow mammoths how to survive -- and thrive -- without their human keepers.

Customer Reviews (2)

Mammoths on Mars
Icebones ends the Mammoth trilogy quite far from the other books. Icebones is the calf of Silverhair, the main mammoth from the first book and thus born in our time. However, when the book starts, he finds himself in Mars some thousands years from now. It's strange and doesn't get much explanations until much later.

It's another survival story in changing environment, like the other books in the trilogy. This time it's Mars that's been warm and pleasant after human terraforming, but since humans are gone, it's getting colder again, too cold for mammoths. It takes a huge journey across the planet to survive and Icebones has to lead a group of mammoths who don't like it.

There's adventure, there's some quite beautiful scenery, there's strange creatures and envinronmental threats and mammoths struggling to overcome them - if you enjoyed the first two books, you'll like this as well, but skipping this is not a huge loss. Icebones makes a rather nice heroine, though. Still, Baxter has written better books than the Mammoth trilogy. (Review based on the Finnish translation.)

strong epic morality tale
In the year 3000 at least earth time, Icebones awakens from an extended suspended animation to realize she is not on her native planet anymore, but instead is at the top of Olympus Mons, the highest known mountain in the solar system.Even stranger is the behavior of the herd of her kin, woolly mammoths.They complain of starvation, but have no concept of feeding themselves.Instead they had been spoiled from when their former masters, the earthly humanoids, took care of them.Now the humans have deserted their pets on Mars.

Icebones realizes she is different from the other members of her species.The human scientists regenerated them all but she was born in a more natural manner enabling her to understand mammoth history, legend, tradition, and most importantly how to survive in the wild.Against some opposition, she becomes the leader and begins the journey across the planet where food and water might exist so that the species can live.

ICEBONES, the concluding novel of Stephen Baxter's imaginative personification of Woolly Mammoths, is an engaging science fiction tale that readers will enjoy.The story line requires a stretch to accept yet the audience will want to read this novel in one sitting.Fans will appreciate Icebones, a heroine who recognizes her responsibility to guide the unruly herd to the promised land and does not shirk away from doing the right thing though that would be easier on her.This is a strong epic morality tale that holds up with its two predecessors quite nicely to provide an entertaining insightful trilogy.

Harriet Klausner ... Read more

Product Description
The Boskone 41 GoH book contains 18 stories, 5 essays, and an afterword. Introduction by John G. Cramer & Kathryn Cramer, ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Excellent value and service
Although my expectations were high for this product the seller exceeded them to my great satisfaction.I appreciate his fast service and impeccable quality.

Excellent variety of stories
Here is a group of previously published stories and essays from Baxter, who is best known as a Hard SF writer (science fiction that emphasizes the science).

There is a story about early humans dinosaur hunting. There is a tale of an actual incident in the life of H.G. Wells (before he became "H.G. Wells, Famous Person"). Included are a trio of related fantasy stories. A couple of alternate history tales are included about Great Britain's entry into the Space Race, stories that do not end well for Britain. Puck, from "A Midsummer's Night Dream" by Shakespeare, becomes a detective. There is a Victorian-style science fiction story with a rather self-explanatory title, "The Ant-Men of Tibet."

How can a home-made spaceship, that is propelled by doing strange things with gravity, fall approximately 10 feet, and the person inside be crushed to death, as if he had fallen from a much greater height? Sherlock Holmes and H.G. Wells are on the case. Of course, there are a couple of Hard SF stories, for which Baxter is best known. Also in this book are several essays, on topics like sports in science fiction, and the changing treatment of Mars and the Moon by science fiction writers.

This collection is really good. For those who like to read a variety of stories, or don't want to wade through a novel full of science, this book is very much worth reading.

... Read more

Product Description
This volume is produced from digital images created through the University of Michigan University Library's large-scale digitization efforts. The Library seeks to preserve the intellectual content of items in a manner that facilitates and promotes a variety of uses. The digital reformatting process results in an electronic version of the original text that can be both accessed online and used to create new print copies. The Library also understands and values the usefulness of print and makes reprints available to the public whenever possible. This book and hundreds of thousands of others can be found in the HathiTrust, an archive of the digitized collections of many great research libraries. For access to the University of Michigan Library's digital collections, please see http://www.lib.umich.edu and for information about the HathiTrust, please visit http://www.hathitrust.org ... Read more

Product Description
'If they existed, they would be here' ENRICO FERMI. In the second volume in Stephen Baxter's epic Manifold Series Reid Malenfant inhabits the universe Malenfant kick-started in TIME ('science fiction at its best' FHM) -- and 'they' are here.When Nemoto, a Japanese researcher on the Moon, discovers evidence of extraterrestrial intelligence in the solar system, the Fermi Paradox provokes both Malenfant and Nemoto to question why now? Because, suddenly, there are signs of intelligent life in deep space in all directions. Deeper layers of Fermi's paradox unravel as robot-like aliens, the Gaijin, seem to be e-mailing themselves from star to star, and wherever telescopes point, far away, other alien races are destroying worlds! ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (2)

The Future and Beyond
One issue that I grapple with frequently is the difference between "art" and "illustration". In the world of fine art illustrators are generally looked on as an inferior breed by the critics. In his introduction to "Hardyware" David A. Hardy expresses his reproof at modern art's derision of anything beautiful or representational.

This got me thinking. If SF art is "mere illustration" as anart critic would say, what about all those historical paintings of heaven and hell, the last judgement and armageddon? Critics seem to love those.

But I digress. SF art does have its place, and it plays an important role. The main body of "Hardyware" gives us a glimpse of the possibilties that await us in the future. If things turn out properly and we don't destroy ourselves, our descendents will become great builders with the potential to conquer the stars. Most of the artwork in this collection is done in gouache and acrylic, although more recently the artist has turned to digital media.

We see visions of the past as well as the future. One of my favourite pieces is a scene from "The War of the Worlds". I remember seeing that image on acover jacket when I was 12, although I didn't know who the artist was back then. The image of a dinosaur looking up at a descending asteroid is hauntingly grim.

I often think SF artists are underrated. Though they are often proved wrong, their visions provide a valuable contribution to the development of our civilization, giving inspiration to those who have the ability to make fantasy a reality.

Great Book!
This super book contains well over a hundred examples of the work of perhaps our best living space artist, along with a fascinating text full of insights into his thinking and his modus operandi. ... Read more