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Creation Node
In the year 2255, of all the sentient beings in her universe, it was a woman named Salma, twenty years old, who was the first fully to see the object called Planet Nine. See with her own eyes, albeit moderated by her ship's instruments. If not to recognize what it was, not yet.
Not that the object turned out to be a planet, or the 'ninth' of anything. Briefly thought to be a black hole, it suddenly changes, expands and sends a message. There is something waiting on its service. Something not quite human.
As the ramifications of this event spread across the fracturing elements of humanity, it is clear that the small crew on the spot are at the centre of the most dramatic discovery in history. But theirs is not the only inexplicable event happening - impossibly, at exactly the same moment, a quasar appeared twenty-five thousand light years away, and now is heating up the solar system.
If the enigma of the creation node is not solved quickly, there may be no one left to investigate it . . .
Unabridged Audiobook (13 hours and 32 minutes)
Categories: Science Fiction & Fantasy
Not that the object turned out to be a planet, or the 'ninth' of anything. Briefly thought to be a black hole, it suddenly changes, expands and sends a message. There is something waiting on its service. Something not quite human.
As the ramifications of this event spread across the fracturing elements of humanity, it is clear that the small crew on the spot are at the centre of the most dramatic discovery in history. But theirs is not the only inexplicable event happening - impossibly, at exactly the same moment, a quasar appeared twenty-five thousand light years away, and now is heating up the solar system.
If the enigma of the creation node is not solved quickly, there may be no one left to investigate it . . .
Unabridged Audiobook (13 hours and 32 minutes)
Categories: Science Fiction & Fantasy
Audiobook
First published September 21, 2023
70 people are currently reading
544 people want to read
About the author
Stephen Baxter
403 books2,608 followersStephen Baxter is a trained engineer with degrees from Cambridge (mathematics) and Southampton Universities (doctorate in aeroengineering research). Baxter is the winner of the British Science Fiction Award and the Locus Award, as well as being a nominee for an Arthur C. Clarke Award, most recently for Manifold: Time. His novel Voyage won the Sidewise Award for Best Alternate History Novel of the Year; he also won the John W. Campbell Award and the Philip K. Dick Award for his novel The Time Ships. He is currently working on his next novel, a collaboration with Sir Arthur C. Clarke. Mr. Baxter lives in Prestwood, England.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews
May 24, 2024
With the appearance of so many new authors, it is nice to see how a veteran like Stephen Baxter is still in good shape.
A novel based on scientific rigor but at the same time offering a generous dose of sense of wonder. Good characters and good intrigue. With the development of the plot I have been able to verify that the author has not lost his sting. The argument? What would happen if the hypothetical ninth planet that no one finds in our solar system was actually a black hole the size of a soccer ball? (but three masses of planet Earth).
A recommendable science fiction novel.
A novel based on scientific rigor but at the same time offering a generous dose of sense of wonder. Good characters and good intrigue. With the development of the plot I have been able to verify that the author has not lost his sting. The argument? What would happen if the hypothetical ninth planet that no one finds in our solar system was actually a black hole the size of a soccer ball? (but three masses of planet Earth).
A recommendable science fiction novel.
May 7, 2024
‘He’s right. One link. If it’s all word of mouth, all these mysteries can be – debunked. But not if there’s one person left in this whole damn universe who knew Feathers. One person who travelled to these other realms, or claimed they did. One witness who saw – what was it Matthew said? – the powers of heaven? Saw those powers exercised at first-hand. Who touched Feathers. Who spoke to her. Who heard the trumpet …’
Baxter is very much hit-or-miss. Here he knocks it out of the park. One of his best ever, IMHO. Full review to follow.
Baxter is very much hit-or-miss. Here he knocks it out of the park. One of his best ever, IMHO. Full review to follow.
October 21, 2023
After quite a bit of highbrow literary sci-fi, it’s time for some “real” science fiction: Take starships, space colonies, astronauts, and throw in aliens for good measure. Creation Node, a just published novel by Stephen Baxter has it all.
It’s been a while since Pluto has been stripped of its designation as a planet but the search for planet nine continues and a few years ago scientists first hypothesized that planet nine might not be a planet after all, but a so-called primordial black hole - a black hole not created during the death of a star but as a leftover directly from the big bang. Stephen Baxter uses that hypothesis as the starting point for his latest space adventure.
It is the year 2255 and a group of six conservers, one of the three factions of humanity besides those following earth’s government as earth is recovering from the disastrous effects of climate change and moon colonists trying to gain economic independence from earth, have completed a decades-long trip through the solar system to arrive in an area of space where they are expecting to find planet nine - the first people this far away from earth. Where the moon colonists are depicted as ruthless capitalists and the earth government is just that - a well-meaning but scheming government, the conservers are presented as a group formed as a result of earth’s climate crisis in the 21st century and following an ethos of minimal waste and damage, including in their space missions.
As the conservers aboard the Shadow approach the expected location of planet nine, they discover that the gravitational effects of planet nine - rather than coming from an actual planet - are caused by a tiny primordial black hole. More importantly: That black hole appears to be leaking information and seems to be inviting communication.
Startled by this discovery, a new space race begins with all factions of humanity trying to send expeditions to join the Shadow crew at its position to further explore this anomaly and we follow a group of diverse protagonists over a ten-year journey to meet up with the original Shadow crew. There is a lot of political scheming in this part of the book and we get a good view of some of the technological marvels of 23rd century space technology: Helium 3 mining on the moon and on Saturn, space elevators, space ships, and outposts deep in the solar system.
At the same time, it becomes obvious that bigger forces are at play at the edge of the solar system: Timed perfectly with the arrival at the black hole, a quasar lights up a the center of the Milky Way - or more precisely, a quasar has lit up 25,000 years ago and becomes visible in the solar system (threatening to restart global warming on earth) just as the crew of the Shadow makes contact with the black hole. A first indication that the crew are dealing with something far more powerful than just an ordinary black hole.
Baxter takes his time to expose the reader to some of the ideas that come fully to light in the last third of the book when a human delegation makes closer contact with the entity behind the black hole. Typical for many of Baxter’s books, Creation Node again ties a personal story of exploration to big ideas about the nature of the universe itself, forcing a small group of explorers to take a far reaching decision.
Baxter has written another gripping story here. As in some of his other books, the characterization of his cast can be a bit flat and stereotypical at times: Politicians are scheming, spaceship commanders are battle-hardened heros, and for a story spanning (initially) over a decade, there is very little character development. That said, Baxter knows how to craft a real page-turner that keeps the reader hooked from the first page to the last.
If you have read other books by Stephen Baxter, you will find some common themes: The multiverse, the evolution of the universe and the very distant future of space are themes Baxter has explored before, but he brings all of these ideas together in one fine package in Creation Node.
If you are looking for deep characters, this book is probably not worth your time. But if you want a good space adventure around some big ideas you will likely go through the over 400 pages of the book in no time. Well worth a read.
Read more reviews at my sci-fi substack.
It’s been a while since Pluto has been stripped of its designation as a planet but the search for planet nine continues and a few years ago scientists first hypothesized that planet nine might not be a planet after all, but a so-called primordial black hole - a black hole not created during the death of a star but as a leftover directly from the big bang. Stephen Baxter uses that hypothesis as the starting point for his latest space adventure.
It is the year 2255 and a group of six conservers, one of the three factions of humanity besides those following earth’s government as earth is recovering from the disastrous effects of climate change and moon colonists trying to gain economic independence from earth, have completed a decades-long trip through the solar system to arrive in an area of space where they are expecting to find planet nine - the first people this far away from earth. Where the moon colonists are depicted as ruthless capitalists and the earth government is just that - a well-meaning but scheming government, the conservers are presented as a group formed as a result of earth’s climate crisis in the 21st century and following an ethos of minimal waste and damage, including in their space missions.
As the conservers aboard the Shadow approach the expected location of planet nine, they discover that the gravitational effects of planet nine - rather than coming from an actual planet - are caused by a tiny primordial black hole. More importantly: That black hole appears to be leaking information and seems to be inviting communication.
Startled by this discovery, a new space race begins with all factions of humanity trying to send expeditions to join the Shadow crew at its position to further explore this anomaly and we follow a group of diverse protagonists over a ten-year journey to meet up with the original Shadow crew. There is a lot of political scheming in this part of the book and we get a good view of some of the technological marvels of 23rd century space technology: Helium 3 mining on the moon and on Saturn, space elevators, space ships, and outposts deep in the solar system.
At the same time, it becomes obvious that bigger forces are at play at the edge of the solar system: Timed perfectly with the arrival at the black hole, a quasar lights up a the center of the Milky Way - or more precisely, a quasar has lit up 25,000 years ago and becomes visible in the solar system (threatening to restart global warming on earth) just as the crew of the Shadow makes contact with the black hole. A first indication that the crew are dealing with something far more powerful than just an ordinary black hole.
Baxter takes his time to expose the reader to some of the ideas that come fully to light in the last third of the book when a human delegation makes closer contact with the entity behind the black hole. Typical for many of Baxter’s books, Creation Node again ties a personal story of exploration to big ideas about the nature of the universe itself, forcing a small group of explorers to take a far reaching decision.
Baxter has written another gripping story here. As in some of his other books, the characterization of his cast can be a bit flat and stereotypical at times: Politicians are scheming, spaceship commanders are battle-hardened heros, and for a story spanning (initially) over a decade, there is very little character development. That said, Baxter knows how to craft a real page-turner that keeps the reader hooked from the first page to the last.
If you have read other books by Stephen Baxter, you will find some common themes: The multiverse, the evolution of the universe and the very distant future of space are themes Baxter has explored before, but he brings all of these ideas together in one fine package in Creation Node.
If you are looking for deep characters, this book is probably not worth your time. But if you want a good space adventure around some big ideas you will likely go through the over 400 pages of the book in no time. Well worth a read.
Read more reviews at my sci-fi substack.
March 11, 2025
Der neue Baxter ist für mich ein natürlicher Lesebefehl und ich habe es nicht bereut.
Der Roman enthält diesmal keine allzu langen und tiefgreifenden Expositionen, Abschweifungen und Erklärungen, sondern die Handlung beginnt geradlinig, ist spannend auf gewohnt hohem Niveau. Natürlich geht es, wie eigentlich fast immer bei Baxter um das Leben, das Universum und Allem, vom Urknall bis zum bitteren Ende, sowie Multiversen und sogar den zeitlosen, unsterblichen und (fast) allmächtigen Schöpfer höchstpersönlich - drunter macht er es ja nicht...
Die Geschichte ähnelt in seinem Worldbuilding nach meinem Geschmack ähnlich wie in der Romanserie „The Expanse“, einige Jahre in der Zukunft; Die Menschheit hat das Sonnensystem erkundet und teilweise kolonisiert und hat sich in drei Gesellschaftsschichten gespalten: Da ist die Erde, die die Resourcen des Sonnensystem ausbeutet, da sind die Mondbewohner, die exzessiv den Mond ausbeuten und mit den Bodenschätzen, speziell Helium-3 mit der Erde handelt und Stickstoff und andere Waren kauft, die auf dem Mond nicht vorhanden sind, von denen die Mondbewohner jedoch existenziell abhängig sind. Und da gibt es die „Bewahrer“, die strikt gegen die Ausbeutung und die Kolonisation der Welten des Sonnensystems sind.
Etwa 700 AE (etwa 4 Lichttage) von den Sonne entfernt befindet sich der mysteriöse Planet 9, von dem niemand weiß, um was es sich genau handelt. Ist es eine Supererde oder sogar um ein Black Hole.?
Das Raumschiff "SCHATTEN" der Bewahrer erreicht diesen Ort und macht unglaubliche Entdeckungen. Das wollen sich die Mondkolonisten und die Menschen der Erde nicht entgehen lassen und schicken ebenfalls Raumschiffe los. Gleichzeitig leuchtet ein Quasar im Milchstraßenzentrum auf und bedroht durch seine Licht- und Wärmestrahlung die Erde. Hängen beide Ereignisse zusammen? Werden alle Menschen zusammenfinden, um gemeinsam das Rätsel zu lösen?
Es entwickelt sich eine kreative Handlung, die sich nicht nur um die Entdeckung selbst dreht, sondern auch aktuelle Lebensfragen aufwirft und diskutiert. Die Charaktere sind gut gezeichnet (insbesondere die hilflose Außerirdische Federlein) und sind nicht zu einseitig beschrieben, sie entwickeln sich im Laufe der Geschichte im Rahmen ihrer Anlagen. In diesem Sinne habe ich das Buch sehr gern und mit Freude gelesen. Es blieb auch immer spannend, wie es nun ausgehen würde.
Auch die kosmologischen Spekulationen zum Ende des Romans haben mir sehr gefallen und mich auch zum Nachdenken angeregt, hier zeigt Baxter seine großen Stärken, mit dem er sein großes physikalisches Wissen allgemeinverständlich darlegt, besonders seine kosmologischen Spekulationen haben es mir angetan, nicht nur für kosmologisch und philosophisch geneigte Leser ungemein spannend !
Ich kann nachvollziehen, dass einige Leser den Roman aus genau diesen Gründen (die ich sehr mag) eher langweilig finden, aber ich finde, dass der Roman eine gute Mischung aus Tatsachen und Fiktion ist, da Baxter vorhandene Theorien verwendet, um vorherzusagen, wie das Leben der Menschheit in der Zukunft sein könnte. Es gibt viele Beispiele in dem Buch, von den Solarsegeln der SCHATTEN bis zur unterlunarischen Kolonie auf dem Mond bis hin zu den Umweltauswirkungen der langfristigen globalen Erwärmung auf der Erde. Zwischen den Momenten der Handlung befinden sich lange Analyseabschnitte, die Baxter durch seine Charaktere untersuchen lässt, wie sich das Leben auf anderen Planeten entwickelt haben könnte und was die Existenz von Federlein für die Menschheit bedeuten könnte…
Wie viele anderen Werke von Stephen Baxter ein pures Lesevergnügen…
Der Roman enthält diesmal keine allzu langen und tiefgreifenden Expositionen, Abschweifungen und Erklärungen, sondern die Handlung beginnt geradlinig, ist spannend auf gewohnt hohem Niveau. Natürlich geht es, wie eigentlich fast immer bei Baxter um das Leben, das Universum und Allem, vom Urknall bis zum bitteren Ende, sowie Multiversen und sogar den zeitlosen, unsterblichen und (fast) allmächtigen Schöpfer höchstpersönlich - drunter macht er es ja nicht...
Die Geschichte ähnelt in seinem Worldbuilding nach meinem Geschmack ähnlich wie in der Romanserie „The Expanse“, einige Jahre in der Zukunft; Die Menschheit hat das Sonnensystem erkundet und teilweise kolonisiert und hat sich in drei Gesellschaftsschichten gespalten: Da ist die Erde, die die Resourcen des Sonnensystem ausbeutet, da sind die Mondbewohner, die exzessiv den Mond ausbeuten und mit den Bodenschätzen, speziell Helium-3 mit der Erde handelt und Stickstoff und andere Waren kauft, die auf dem Mond nicht vorhanden sind, von denen die Mondbewohner jedoch existenziell abhängig sind. Und da gibt es die „Bewahrer“, die strikt gegen die Ausbeutung und die Kolonisation der Welten des Sonnensystems sind.
Etwa 700 AE (etwa 4 Lichttage) von den Sonne entfernt befindet sich der mysteriöse Planet 9, von dem niemand weiß, um was es sich genau handelt. Ist es eine Supererde oder sogar um ein Black Hole.?
Das Raumschiff "SCHATTEN" der Bewahrer erreicht diesen Ort und macht unglaubliche Entdeckungen. Das wollen sich die Mondkolonisten und die Menschen der Erde nicht entgehen lassen und schicken ebenfalls Raumschiffe los. Gleichzeitig leuchtet ein Quasar im Milchstraßenzentrum auf und bedroht durch seine Licht- und Wärmestrahlung die Erde. Hängen beide Ereignisse zusammen? Werden alle Menschen zusammenfinden, um gemeinsam das Rätsel zu lösen?
Es entwickelt sich eine kreative Handlung, die sich nicht nur um die Entdeckung selbst dreht, sondern auch aktuelle Lebensfragen aufwirft und diskutiert. Die Charaktere sind gut gezeichnet (insbesondere die hilflose Außerirdische Federlein) und sind nicht zu einseitig beschrieben, sie entwickeln sich im Laufe der Geschichte im Rahmen ihrer Anlagen. In diesem Sinne habe ich das Buch sehr gern und mit Freude gelesen. Es blieb auch immer spannend, wie es nun ausgehen würde.
Auch die kosmologischen Spekulationen zum Ende des Romans haben mir sehr gefallen und mich auch zum Nachdenken angeregt, hier zeigt Baxter seine großen Stärken, mit dem er sein großes physikalisches Wissen allgemeinverständlich darlegt, besonders seine kosmologischen Spekulationen haben es mir angetan, nicht nur für kosmologisch und philosophisch geneigte Leser ungemein spannend !
Ich kann nachvollziehen, dass einige Leser den Roman aus genau diesen Gründen (die ich sehr mag) eher langweilig finden, aber ich finde, dass der Roman eine gute Mischung aus Tatsachen und Fiktion ist, da Baxter vorhandene Theorien verwendet, um vorherzusagen, wie das Leben der Menschheit in der Zukunft sein könnte. Es gibt viele Beispiele in dem Buch, von den Solarsegeln der SCHATTEN bis zur unterlunarischen Kolonie auf dem Mond bis hin zu den Umweltauswirkungen der langfristigen globalen Erwärmung auf der Erde. Zwischen den Momenten der Handlung befinden sich lange Analyseabschnitte, die Baxter durch seine Charaktere untersuchen lässt, wie sich das Leben auf anderen Planeten entwickelt haben könnte und was die Existenz von Federlein für die Menschheit bedeuten könnte…
Wie viele anderen Werke von Stephen Baxter ein pures Lesevergnügen…
December 8, 2024
Banger. Starts off at an absolute breakneck pace, slows down dramatically through the middle, then rushes crazily towards the ending. The story beats remind me strongly of Interstellar with the same level of philosophical musing on higher dimensions that movie had.
You will have to research some terms while reading, since the book tries to present advanced astronomy to a regular audience. That, and the inconsistent pace of the book are the only negatives.
The book spectacularly juggles a wide array of characters and gives us reasons to care about so many of them. 3-D characters with complex emotions and goals are so common in this book, which is testament to Baxter’s skill as an author. A lot of emotional moments with these characters are attempted, and most land.
A must read for any astronomy nerd, strongly recommended for any sci-fi fan or a fan of Baxter’s work.
You will have to research some terms while reading, since the book tries to present advanced astronomy to a regular audience. That, and the inconsistent pace of the book are the only negatives.
The book spectacularly juggles a wide array of characters and gives us reasons to care about so many of them. 3-D characters with complex emotions and goals are so common in this book, which is testament to Baxter’s skill as an author. A lot of emotional moments with these characters are attempted, and most land.
A must read for any astronomy nerd, strongly recommended for any sci-fi fan or a fan of Baxter’s work.
December 1, 2023
Very nearly a ten out of ten for me, best read I've had in eons. A real range turner with scientific concepts easy to follow without too much scfi speak. Black holes in space that start communicating, spaceships what's not to like. I'd highly recommend this and I've read a lot of sci-fi. Would like to see a follow on story in this Universe if Mr Baxter is reading. I'll be hunting through his back catalogue now 👍
March 10, 2025
Baxter ist ein hervorragender Erzähler, leider aber auch Mathematiker. Wenn der Erzähler gewinnt sind seine Romane ein Aushängeschild für die Science Fiktion. Wenn der Mathematiker gewinnt wird's unerträglich langweilig. 3:0 für den Mathematiker...
May 26, 2024
9- 4,5 stars or thereabout - this despite the almost incessant infodumping going on and the mega-scale conclusions only tangentially having to do with the small scale conflicts taking up most of the book (well, there are thematic parallels of course). Fans of Baxter know what to expect going in to his novels. Kosmological speculation barely hidden behind a SF/action-plot with characters that mostly serve to discuss matters among themselves. Here Baxter plays with some especially large idea's, ranging from planet 9 and primordial black holes at the start to Boltzmann brains and steady state universes at the end (taking on convergent evolution almost as a side note). The kosmological speculation almost reaches the largest scale Baxter has ever attempted, and that's saying something. However, in a novel like 'Time Ships' he had characters and technology that could transverse large swaths of time and observe/take part in large scale events. This story takes place closer in our future, when we can only reach the outer parts of our solar system, a journey taking up years up to decades.
Characters come from three fractions: the pragmatic Earth government, trying to build up society after the climate disasters of our century, the Conservers at the edge of the solar system trying not to disturb anything, and the Lunar consortium: kapitalists hoping to use the resources of the solar system for profit. They all want to be present at the location of planet 9, where strange things are happening, including a possible revelation from outside of our plane of reality, and where a world- and even galaxy threatening event may possibly be thwarted. Even though the novel starts with explanations from the start, Baxter creates pretty lively characters, that felt more real to me than some in his other novels (here there's no 'Reid Malenfant'-like uber competent man as the main point of view). The alien Feathers was also well realised. I liked them, even if they felt to no really weigh up against the large scale elements of the plot.
But those are the main event in a Baxter novel. Deep time, kosmological speculation, the largest scale possible. I was made to think by the ideas he put forth. And thinking about those I came to some interesting ideas of my own (that did nothing to influence my rating!)
Baxter, like some other hard Sf-authors, writes from a materialist viewpoint, taking on an oppositional model of the relationship between science and religion. In this novel religion has a large part to play. It starts with the word 'creation' in the title, and a large decision at the end is taken after someone quotes several passages from the bible to warn others of the consequences of not acting. Baxter supposes that religion woud lose in importance after the climate disasters (because it would be clear God did not play a role in those). But here he's wrong, as climate disasters have a religious component. In most religions, at least in Christianity as in Judaism, mankind is called to take on a role as stewards of creation, taking care of the world and its inhabitants. Climate change is a sign of humanity not fulfilling its part, and the disasters can be seen as the 'punishment' for not caring for the earth that is entrusted to our care. I think religion has a role to play in coming out at the other side and my easily gain in importance.
And Baxter, despite continuing to argue for an oppositional model of science vs religions, strengthened (maybe unwillingly) my belief that science and religion can function together pretty well. In this novel he deals with arguments of believers about the low probability of life emerging by accident in the universe, and the low probability of intelligence emerging. And to answer this he has to propose countless universes arising from the quantum foam and even god-like beings appearing spontaneously and then interfering in human society. And if he proposes a way a truly eternal, universe, continually being created out of the quantum foam, could exist - then why not believe an eternal God could exist as well? If ockham's razor still functions as a valid argument, I think God to be a more believable explanation that parallel universes, or at least - asking the same amount of faith. I do not believe the existence of God can be scientifically proven or disproven, but neither can the existence of parallel universes. Also, the oppositional model of science and religion is played out, I think, and other approaches would feel more fresh - at least to me.
Characters come from three fractions: the pragmatic Earth government, trying to build up society after the climate disasters of our century, the Conservers at the edge of the solar system trying not to disturb anything, and the Lunar consortium: kapitalists hoping to use the resources of the solar system for profit. They all want to be present at the location of planet 9, where strange things are happening, including a possible revelation from outside of our plane of reality, and where a world- and even galaxy threatening event may possibly be thwarted. Even though the novel starts with explanations from the start, Baxter creates pretty lively characters, that felt more real to me than some in his other novels (here there's no 'Reid Malenfant'-like uber competent man as the main point of view). The alien Feathers was also well realised. I liked them, even if they felt to no really weigh up against the large scale elements of the plot.
But those are the main event in a Baxter novel. Deep time, kosmological speculation, the largest scale possible. I was made to think by the ideas he put forth. And thinking about those I came to some interesting ideas of my own (that did nothing to influence my rating!)
Baxter, like some other hard Sf-authors, writes from a materialist viewpoint, taking on an oppositional model of the relationship between science and religion. In this novel religion has a large part to play. It starts with the word 'creation' in the title, and a large decision at the end is taken after someone quotes several passages from the bible to warn others of the consequences of not acting. Baxter supposes that religion woud lose in importance after the climate disasters (because it would be clear God did not play a role in those). But here he's wrong, as climate disasters have a religious component. In most religions, at least in Christianity as in Judaism, mankind is called to take on a role as stewards of creation, taking care of the world and its inhabitants. Climate change is a sign of humanity not fulfilling its part, and the disasters can be seen as the 'punishment' for not caring for the earth that is entrusted to our care. I think religion has a role to play in coming out at the other side and my easily gain in importance.
And Baxter, despite continuing to argue for an oppositional model of science vs religions, strengthened (maybe unwillingly) my belief that science and religion can function together pretty well. In this novel he deals with arguments of believers about the low probability of life emerging by accident in the universe, and the low probability of intelligence emerging. And to answer this he has to propose countless universes arising from the quantum foam and even god-like beings appearing spontaneously and then interfering in human society. And if he proposes a way a truly eternal, universe, continually being created out of the quantum foam, could exist - then why not believe an eternal God could exist as well? If ockham's razor still functions as a valid argument, I think God to be a more believable explanation that parallel universes, or at least - asking the same amount of faith. I do not believe the existence of God can be scientifically proven or disproven, but neither can the existence of parallel universes. Also, the oppositional model of science and religion is played out, I think, and other approaches would feel more fresh - at least to me.
March 1, 2025
Stephen Baxter gehört zu jenen Autoren, die die Science-Fiction-Literatur mit einer Fülle kühner Ideen bereichern. In "Die Wiege der Schöpfung" entwirft er erneut eine gewaltige Vision des Universums, in der sich die Menschheit auf eine kosmische Bühne wagt, die sich ihrem Verständnis entzieht. Das Buch beginnt im Jahr 2255, in einer Zukunft, die von den Folgen des Klimawandels geprägt ist und in der sich die Menschheit in verschiedene Fraktionen aufgeteilt hat: die umsichtigen "Bewahrer", die kapitalistischen Mondkolonisten und die pragmatische Erdregierung. Eine Expedition entdeckt am Rand des Sonnensystems ein Schwarzes Loch, das nicht nur existiert, sondern auch aktiv mit seiner Umgebung zu kommunizieren scheint. Damit beginnt ein Wettlauf um das Verständnis dieser Entität und um die Deutung einer kosmischen Koinzidenz: zeitgleich erreicht ein gewaltiger Quasar-Ausbruch die Erde und könnte unvorhersehbare Konsequenzen haben.
Wie immer bei Baxter steht nicht das individuelle Schicksal im Mittelpunkt, sondern die großen Fragen der Existenz. Charaktere wie die junge Entdeckerin Salma oder das vogelartige Alien "Federlein" fungieren weniger als echte Persönlichkeiten mit innerer Tiefe denn als Sprachrohre für wissenschaftliche Theorien und metaphysische Überlegungen. Es mangelt nicht an faszinierenden Konzepten: Multiversen, Boltzmann-Gehirne, kosmische Evolution – all das breitet Baxter mit dem Enthusiasmus eines Physikers aus, der die Grenzen unseres Verstehens ausloten will. Dabei schlägt die Faszination für diese Theorien in ausufernde Infodumps um, die der Spannung nicht immer guttun. Und wie schon oft in Baxters Werk bleibt der menschliche Aspekt eher schemenhaft. Wer nach psychologischer Tiefe sucht, wird sich mit der kühlen Distanz des Romans schwertun.
Ein weiteres Problem ist das erzählerische Tempo. Der erste Teil fesselt mit seiner Entdeckung und dem sich anbahnenden Wettlauf, doch sobald die interplanetaren Missionen in Richtung des Schwarzen Lochs aufbrechen, zieht sich das Geschehen. Die Realität interstellarer Reisen bringt mit sich, dass sich die Handlung über Jahrzehnte erstreckt, und auch wenn dies physikalisch korrekt sein mag, so leidet doch die Dynamik der Erzählung erheblich. Erst im letzten Drittel erreicht der Roman wieder jene Größe, für die Baxter bekannt ist, und wagt sich in die Gefilde der transzendenten Spekulationen. Der große Showdown führt die Thematik auf eine nahezu religiöse Ebene und entlarvt einmal mehr, dass Baxters Weltbild vielleicht doch nicht so strikt materialistisch ist, wie es zunächst scheint.
Letztlich ist "Die Wiege der Schöpfung" ein Buch für jene Leser, die sich mit astrophysikalischen Hypothesen, kosmischer Evolution und den ultimativen Fragen der Menschheit auseinandersetzen wollen. Wer eine fesselnde Erzählung mit emotionalen Charakteren und psychologischer Tiefe sucht, könnte an den technischen Exkursen verzweifeln. Aber wer bereit ist, sich von Baxters gewaltigen Visionen herausfordern zu lassen, wird in diesem Roman eine intellektuelle Reise durch Raum und Zeit unternehmen, die in der heutigen Science-Fiction nur wenige Autoren so kühn zu Papier bringen.
Wie immer bei Baxter steht nicht das individuelle Schicksal im Mittelpunkt, sondern die großen Fragen der Existenz. Charaktere wie die junge Entdeckerin Salma oder das vogelartige Alien "Federlein" fungieren weniger als echte Persönlichkeiten mit innerer Tiefe denn als Sprachrohre für wissenschaftliche Theorien und metaphysische Überlegungen. Es mangelt nicht an faszinierenden Konzepten: Multiversen, Boltzmann-Gehirne, kosmische Evolution – all das breitet Baxter mit dem Enthusiasmus eines Physikers aus, der die Grenzen unseres Verstehens ausloten will. Dabei schlägt die Faszination für diese Theorien in ausufernde Infodumps um, die der Spannung nicht immer guttun. Und wie schon oft in Baxters Werk bleibt der menschliche Aspekt eher schemenhaft. Wer nach psychologischer Tiefe sucht, wird sich mit der kühlen Distanz des Romans schwertun.
Ein weiteres Problem ist das erzählerische Tempo. Der erste Teil fesselt mit seiner Entdeckung und dem sich anbahnenden Wettlauf, doch sobald die interplanetaren Missionen in Richtung des Schwarzen Lochs aufbrechen, zieht sich das Geschehen. Die Realität interstellarer Reisen bringt mit sich, dass sich die Handlung über Jahrzehnte erstreckt, und auch wenn dies physikalisch korrekt sein mag, so leidet doch die Dynamik der Erzählung erheblich. Erst im letzten Drittel erreicht der Roman wieder jene Größe, für die Baxter bekannt ist, und wagt sich in die Gefilde der transzendenten Spekulationen. Der große Showdown führt die Thematik auf eine nahezu religiöse Ebene und entlarvt einmal mehr, dass Baxters Weltbild vielleicht doch nicht so strikt materialistisch ist, wie es zunächst scheint.
Letztlich ist "Die Wiege der Schöpfung" ein Buch für jene Leser, die sich mit astrophysikalischen Hypothesen, kosmischer Evolution und den ultimativen Fragen der Menschheit auseinandersetzen wollen. Wer eine fesselnde Erzählung mit emotionalen Charakteren und psychologischer Tiefe sucht, könnte an den technischen Exkursen verzweifeln. Aber wer bereit ist, sich von Baxters gewaltigen Visionen herausfordern zu lassen, wird in diesem Roman eine intellektuelle Reise durch Raum und Zeit unternehmen, die in der heutigen Science-Fiction nur wenige Autoren so kühn zu Papier bringen.
July 27, 2025
Sehr langatmig und mir zu philosophisch. Der wissenschaftliche Kontext macht einen immer demütig und immer wieder: es gibt nur eine Erde.
March 15, 2025
And so the next of Stephen Baxter's new books that I read ends surprisingly unspectacularly, soberly and even a little perplexed and dissatisfied. Unfortunately, despite its big ideas and promising opening chapters, Creation Node does not live up to The Thousand Earths, which I read a few months ago and which made me value Baxter's work. However, the idea alone kept me reading and the novel does have its strengths and page-turners, still, something is missing.
To the story: The year is 2255 AD and humanity has spread throughout our solar system. It is divided into three factions: the United Earth, which has recovered from the effects of the climate crisis and established itself as the key power in the galaxy. They mine the outer planets and the asteroid belt for the resources, mostly minerals and gases (helium-3 especially), needed for space travel. Then there is the capitalist system of the Lunar Consortium, which tries to mine as many resources as possible and is seen as the main counterpart to Earth, started as a rebellion and is now on the verge of becoming more influential in the system. The more interesting and unique group are the Conservatives, who want to live as sustainably as possible, like a future Green Party. The latter group sent a spaceship to the outer edge of the solar system decades ago, and the novel begins with their approach to the mysterious Planet Nine, which at first glance appears to be a black hole. The crew are more or less the main protagonists, especially the young Salma, who was born on the spaceship and turns out to play an important role, not only for the mission, but also for humanity in general. From there the journey begins and, as usual with Baxter, it has the potential to change the course of humanity, for better or for worse. They may have opened Pandora’s box…
Creation Node is my third book by Baxter, and I already know that he seems to focus on nothing but species-altering plots that deal with decades, infinity, the distant future of life itself, and powers far beyond the simple mind of a normal human being. This is fascinating and kept me reading through the whole book. The beginning is very promising as this Planet Nine turns out to be not a planet, nor a Black Hole, but a first contact with an entity impossible to characterise, out of the reach of mankind and still deciding about the fate of the Solar System. The revelation at about two thirds of the book are definitely also strong elements, classic Baxter style and worth highlighting.
What I disliked about this book, and this is quite different from The Thousand Earths, is the characterisation of the protagonists, and also the incoherent storytelling, which sometimes took me out of the story for no good reason. A few examples: The subplot about the legendary space pilot who is in a gay relationship with another pilot is very useless and is never picked up or explained. I was hoping for some kind of revenge plot to emerge from this development, but I just don't see the point of including these things. It is never properly resolved, but more or less fades away. At other points in the book, characters introduce themselves again or seem not to know each other, even though they have already spoken for a whole chapter in earlier parts. This makes no sense. As someone who enjoys personal development, perhaps of the coming-of-age variety, throughout the story, as Priest, for example, is a master at, this is quite odd. Baxter concentrates on the science and the consequences of humanity's contact with this mysterious being, but forgets to develop the characters. There is only one exception, namely Salma and her important first contact on Planet Nine, which is told with more energy and consistency.
After the climax two-thirds of the way through, when humanity is confronted with this creature, the book ends rather underwhelmingly, almost a little too distantly, which left me not entirely satisfied. Creation Node had the potential to be a very strong first contact novel that could decide the fate of humanity for better or worse, but due to the lack of strong characters, it remains just a book of good ideas, which might captivate a physicist as it contains fascinating thought experiments about multiverses, but most likely will not capture the joy of reading in all parts.
To the story: The year is 2255 AD and humanity has spread throughout our solar system. It is divided into three factions: the United Earth, which has recovered from the effects of the climate crisis and established itself as the key power in the galaxy. They mine the outer planets and the asteroid belt for the resources, mostly minerals and gases (helium-3 especially), needed for space travel. Then there is the capitalist system of the Lunar Consortium, which tries to mine as many resources as possible and is seen as the main counterpart to Earth, started as a rebellion and is now on the verge of becoming more influential in the system. The more interesting and unique group are the Conservatives, who want to live as sustainably as possible, like a future Green Party. The latter group sent a spaceship to the outer edge of the solar system decades ago, and the novel begins with their approach to the mysterious Planet Nine, which at first glance appears to be a black hole. The crew are more or less the main protagonists, especially the young Salma, who was born on the spaceship and turns out to play an important role, not only for the mission, but also for humanity in general. From there the journey begins and, as usual with Baxter, it has the potential to change the course of humanity, for better or for worse. They may have opened Pandora’s box…
Creation Node is my third book by Baxter, and I already know that he seems to focus on nothing but species-altering plots that deal with decades, infinity, the distant future of life itself, and powers far beyond the simple mind of a normal human being. This is fascinating and kept me reading through the whole book. The beginning is very promising as this Planet Nine turns out to be not a planet, nor a Black Hole, but a first contact with an entity impossible to characterise, out of the reach of mankind and still deciding about the fate of the Solar System. The revelation at about two thirds of the book are definitely also strong elements, classic Baxter style and worth highlighting.
What I disliked about this book, and this is quite different from The Thousand Earths, is the characterisation of the protagonists, and also the incoherent storytelling, which sometimes took me out of the story for no good reason. A few examples: The subplot about the legendary space pilot who is in a gay relationship with another pilot is very useless and is never picked up or explained. I was hoping for some kind of revenge plot to emerge from this development, but I just don't see the point of including these things. It is never properly resolved, but more or less fades away. At other points in the book, characters introduce themselves again or seem not to know each other, even though they have already spoken for a whole chapter in earlier parts. This makes no sense. As someone who enjoys personal development, perhaps of the coming-of-age variety, throughout the story, as Priest, for example, is a master at, this is quite odd. Baxter concentrates on the science and the consequences of humanity's contact with this mysterious being, but forgets to develop the characters. There is only one exception, namely Salma and her important first contact on Planet Nine, which is told with more energy and consistency.
After the climax two-thirds of the way through, when humanity is confronted with this creature, the book ends rather underwhelmingly, almost a little too distantly, which left me not entirely satisfied. Creation Node had the potential to be a very strong first contact novel that could decide the fate of humanity for better or worse, but due to the lack of strong characters, it remains just a book of good ideas, which might captivate a physicist as it contains fascinating thought experiments about multiverses, but most likely will not capture the joy of reading in all parts.
August 5, 2025
Rarely have I ever read a book that had such a good premise and yet was so boring to get through.
This book should have it all: a futuristic human society split into multiple fractions that fight each other, a mysterious new planet that yearns to be explored, an alien that is unreasonably adorable, god-like creatures watching, many female protagonists…and yet it all falls short as the author tries and succeeds to make this novel into a (pseudo) science book instead.
The characters are all incredibly one-dimensional, the plot is practically non-existent and Baxter's way of writing is a true horror to read: when he doesn’t write about some super specific scientific thesis for dozens of pages on end, he repeats the same things over and over as if to make sure that even the dumbest reader will have understand this one very important fact that will definitely make an impact later on (spoiler alert, nothing makes an impact and everything just kind of fizzles out).
I give him points for being very knowledgeable concerning the mathematics and science, but overall this was more boring to read than my anatomy book - just no fun and no excitement at all.
If you are a huge fan of scientific concepts that may someday be reality (most likely not) and you also want to read about those concepts in excruciating detail while the plot totally drags and has a hundred loose ends, this is the book for you. Otherwise, please just spare yourself the frustration.
This book should have it all: a futuristic human society split into multiple fractions that fight each other, a mysterious new planet that yearns to be explored, an alien that is unreasonably adorable, god-like creatures watching, many female protagonists…and yet it all falls short as the author tries and succeeds to make this novel into a (pseudo) science book instead.
The characters are all incredibly one-dimensional, the plot is practically non-existent and Baxter's way of writing is a true horror to read: when he doesn’t write about some super specific scientific thesis for dozens of pages on end, he repeats the same things over and over as if to make sure that even the dumbest reader will have understand this one very important fact that will definitely make an impact later on (spoiler alert, nothing makes an impact and everything just kind of fizzles out).
I give him points for being very knowledgeable concerning the mathematics and science, but overall this was more boring to read than my anatomy book - just no fun and no excitement at all.
If you are a huge fan of scientific concepts that may someday be reality (most likely not) and you also want to read about those concepts in excruciating detail while the plot totally drags and has a hundred loose ends, this is the book for you. Otherwise, please just spare yourself the frustration.
June 23, 2025
2.5
I chuckled nearing the end of this book when one of the protagonists says to the alien contact “Show, don’t tell – that’s your principle, yes?”, because this book is sooooo much tell.
Some of the ideas were certainly interesting, but it was too much like a textbook, rather than a novel. Flat characters, decisions and behaviour that made no sense, and heavy-handed foreshadowing that ultimately was of little consequence.
I chuckled nearing the end of this book when one of the protagonists says to the alien contact “Show, don’t tell – that’s your principle, yes?”, because this book is sooooo much tell.
Some of the ideas were certainly interesting, but it was too much like a textbook, rather than a novel. Flat characters, decisions and behaviour that made no sense, and heavy-handed foreshadowing that ultimately was of little consequence.
September 30, 2023
Stephen Baxter is an SF author who is pretty much known for using big ideas in his science fiction. Colliding galaxies, megaplanets, solar extinction, deep space and time, he’s dealt with major scientific discoveries and ideas for decades.
Creation Node is another Baxter science fiction novel that is strong on 'the big idea'. Set initially in 2255, the story deals with the discovery of “Planet Nine”, although it seems that it isn’t really a planet – it seems to be a black hole hidden away in the outer reaches of our solar system.
Although suspected to be there for a long while, Planet Nine’s actual visual discovery leads to further revelations - that someone or something is trying to use Planet Nine to communicate with us. Or is it Planet Nine itself, when a new sentient being appears?
The impact of this discovery is keenly felt by the crew of the spaceship who found it. The person who discovered it, twenty year-old Salma, feels the pressure most. They are clearly on the cusp of something new to humanity, something revolutionary and history-making.
Much of the first part of the book is about how the crew of six deal with this, and what Earth makes of this revelation. The response is then a race to get to the Shadow, Selma’s spaceship, out at the edge of the solar system an Planet Nine which has become something new.
A number of different parties are involved. The Luna Consortium, which to me felt like the logical development of Heinlein’s ideas of entrepreneurial capitalism in space, are keen to use this development as a means of expanding their resources away from Earth and secure a future profit.
On Earth we have the Conservers, a political party of significance after the climate collapse in the 21st century. Their rules are that non-renewables are an anathema, they ensure that any change happens with a minimum of damage – that we recycle and reuse materials as much as possible. It’s the ultimate in upcycling, a social issue given political power.
Thirdly, there’s a World Government, something that writers like Arthur C Clarke felt strongly about. (It was also nice to recognise other Clarkean ideas too - space elevators, solar system Grand Tours, solar sails and even 2001-like transcendence.)
We now find that perhaps even greater hands are at work here, for as Salma’s discovery is announced, a quasar appears twenty-five thousand light years away from Earth. Is this chance, or are the two events connected? The race is on to understand and cope with these events – especially as the quasar is heating up the solar system, with potentially extinction-level consequences. From the Moon, the Lunar Corporation sends the Aquila (possibly a nice nod to Gerry Anderson’s Space 1999). From Earth a cruiser spaceship, the Cronus, is quickly converted to reach the Shadow as soon as possible.
This all sounds quite exciting, and it is to a degree. The issue is that such a journey at its fastest will take eleven years to get there. Thus once the spaceships are underway, and with the crew of the Shadow told to do nothing but observe in the meantime, there’s a part in the middle of the book where everything slows down. Even with cryosleep, it’s pretty dull. The reality of the situation diffuses the excitement and tension built up to this point as the discovery is made, then (almost) nothing happens.
Unusually for me, I must admit that I struggled a little with the beginning of the story, as it took me a little while to engage with the characters – detractors of Baxter’s work may feel justified again with the thin characterisation. Of the characters, I found the most interesting to be the birdlike alien on Planet Nine, named by the humans as Feathers. Despite the large birdlike creature’s limited capacity to communicate, Baxter does well to create a creature worthy of compassion that is quite endearing, even though it rather made me think of a black-feathered version of Sesame Street’s Big Bird, or even Stanley Weinbaum’s Tweel from A Martian Odyssey.
After this slow yet relentless buildup, it is in the last section of the story that Baxter’s big ideas develop fully. The result is perhaps Baxter’s biggest, most audacious plot to date. Without giving too much away, it involves the death and creation of multiple universes over billions of years, and humanity’s possible involvement in such things – as well as Feathers. This is Baxter at his biggest, widest scale, which given his previous record for big ideas is pretty impressive. The conclusion makes the slog to get there worth it.
Personally, I’m still not sure why I struggled with parts of this one. Was it “the big science”? There were some pretty hefty ideas of science in there, talk of steady state cosmology, multiverses, Olbers’ Paradox, and Stephen Hawking’s ideas that were quite dense, even when the characters broke them down for me. Were the ideas just too big for me to comprehend? Possibly. This may be one of the first times in a science fiction book where the science defeated me as a non-scientist, but this has never been an issue in the past for me.
Nevertheless, there’s a lot to like in Creation Node, and I appreciated the hugeness of it all, which kept me thinking long after I’d finished the book. I can’t say that Stephen skimps on the big science-fictional ideas. But in the end, this was one I got to like rather than love. Regular fans of his work may love it – I’m not sure what others will think.
Creation Node is another Baxter science fiction novel that is strong on 'the big idea'. Set initially in 2255, the story deals with the discovery of “Planet Nine”, although it seems that it isn’t really a planet – it seems to be a black hole hidden away in the outer reaches of our solar system.
Although suspected to be there for a long while, Planet Nine’s actual visual discovery leads to further revelations - that someone or something is trying to use Planet Nine to communicate with us. Or is it Planet Nine itself, when a new sentient being appears?
The impact of this discovery is keenly felt by the crew of the spaceship who found it. The person who discovered it, twenty year-old Salma, feels the pressure most. They are clearly on the cusp of something new to humanity, something revolutionary and history-making.
Much of the first part of the book is about how the crew of six deal with this, and what Earth makes of this revelation. The response is then a race to get to the Shadow, Selma’s spaceship, out at the edge of the solar system an Planet Nine which has become something new.
A number of different parties are involved. The Luna Consortium, which to me felt like the logical development of Heinlein’s ideas of entrepreneurial capitalism in space, are keen to use this development as a means of expanding their resources away from Earth and secure a future profit.
On Earth we have the Conservers, a political party of significance after the climate collapse in the 21st century. Their rules are that non-renewables are an anathema, they ensure that any change happens with a minimum of damage – that we recycle and reuse materials as much as possible. It’s the ultimate in upcycling, a social issue given political power.
Thirdly, there’s a World Government, something that writers like Arthur C Clarke felt strongly about. (It was also nice to recognise other Clarkean ideas too - space elevators, solar system Grand Tours, solar sails and even 2001-like transcendence.)
We now find that perhaps even greater hands are at work here, for as Salma’s discovery is announced, a quasar appears twenty-five thousand light years away from Earth. Is this chance, or are the two events connected? The race is on to understand and cope with these events – especially as the quasar is heating up the solar system, with potentially extinction-level consequences. From the Moon, the Lunar Corporation sends the Aquila (possibly a nice nod to Gerry Anderson’s Space 1999). From Earth a cruiser spaceship, the Cronus, is quickly converted to reach the Shadow as soon as possible.
This all sounds quite exciting, and it is to a degree. The issue is that such a journey at its fastest will take eleven years to get there. Thus once the spaceships are underway, and with the crew of the Shadow told to do nothing but observe in the meantime, there’s a part in the middle of the book where everything slows down. Even with cryosleep, it’s pretty dull. The reality of the situation diffuses the excitement and tension built up to this point as the discovery is made, then (almost) nothing happens.
Unusually for me, I must admit that I struggled a little with the beginning of the story, as it took me a little while to engage with the characters – detractors of Baxter’s work may feel justified again with the thin characterisation. Of the characters, I found the most interesting to be the birdlike alien on Planet Nine, named by the humans as Feathers. Despite the large birdlike creature’s limited capacity to communicate, Baxter does well to create a creature worthy of compassion that is quite endearing, even though it rather made me think of a black-feathered version of Sesame Street’s Big Bird, or even Stanley Weinbaum’s Tweel from A Martian Odyssey.
After this slow yet relentless buildup, it is in the last section of the story that Baxter’s big ideas develop fully. The result is perhaps Baxter’s biggest, most audacious plot to date. Without giving too much away, it involves the death and creation of multiple universes over billions of years, and humanity’s possible involvement in such things – as well as Feathers. This is Baxter at his biggest, widest scale, which given his previous record for big ideas is pretty impressive. The conclusion makes the slog to get there worth it.
Personally, I’m still not sure why I struggled with parts of this one. Was it “the big science”? There were some pretty hefty ideas of science in there, talk of steady state cosmology, multiverses, Olbers’ Paradox, and Stephen Hawking’s ideas that were quite dense, even when the characters broke them down for me. Were the ideas just too big for me to comprehend? Possibly. This may be one of the first times in a science fiction book where the science defeated me as a non-scientist, but this has never been an issue in the past for me.
Nevertheless, there’s a lot to like in Creation Node, and I appreciated the hugeness of it all, which kept me thinking long after I’d finished the book. I can’t say that Stephen skimps on the big science-fictional ideas. But in the end, this was one I got to like rather than love. Regular fans of his work may love it – I’m not sure what others will think.
December 4, 2023
Stephen Baxter draws on a lot of speculation about planet 9 and the primordial black hole of which mankind knows and how that might tie-in with proof of the existence of parallel universes and possiby even god-like aliens that developed in other universes. The plot of this story is excellent and asks a lot of interesting questions and comes up with possible answers to some of the mysteries of life, the universes and what might be the nature of black holes. Really enjoyed this novel.
May 1, 2024
Baxter is together with Hamilton and Reynolds my 3 house goods of superb writers of mind blowing science fiction.
That said, Creation node is a deep disappointment and lack tremendously in the one aspect that is the most important to me.
Regardless of the overall high tech described in scifi, which you in most cases just have to accept as probable or likely given that tech evolves, the narrative has to be equaly likely or "rational", for lack of a better word.
Here, a planet (nine) is flown to by faction of the human civilization that rely entirely on renewable sources after a climate Armageddon mentioned but not described in detail in the book. Planet nine is located way out in the Oort cloud and it has taken decades to flyto it by a propulsion via solar sails catching the solar wind.
Upon arrival planet nine is both found to be a black hole but also echoes a communication response that can only be deemed as coming from an intelligence. When a shuttle is sent from the main ship settled at a safe distance, the surface conforms to a landable surface with a sarcophagus like object seen on it. The shuttle lands, open the object and see a humanoid, but with birdlike features, lying inside. They bring the creature back to the ship and calls it "feathers" due to the featherlike coating of the body.
It is soon discovered that at the exact moment that the sarcophagus like object was open, our solar system was hit by an increase in radiadion that seem to originate from the center of the milky way. In short, the milky way is now a Quasar like galaxy spewing excess radiation in a direction precisely aimed to include our solar system. Of course this raises question about time discrepancies since that radiation must have started some 25000 years ago, since the solar system is roughly 25000 light years from the center of our galaxy. Thus implicating that someone or something must have known exactly when the sarcophagus would open...25000 years ago.
There is not only the mystery of the time traveling aspect of this event but also that the additional radiation energy received in the solar system will lead to a devastating climate collaps on earth.
The detection of planet nine, the intelligence behind the communication response from it and of course "Feathers" is communicated back to earth.
Within 6 months from the described events a ship is initially sent to Saturn where the ship will be retrofitted with a much more efficient fusion drive and then continue to planet nine.
The trip to Saturn take 6 years and the trip out to planet nine from Saturn another 4 years. On the ship there are high ranking members from the different Human factions together with a scientific representation (1 scientific advisor to the earth president). Since the journey take 10 years many choose to use hibernation caskets, including the scientific advisor.
The journey itself is not described in many pages in the book and even less what is going on in the solar system and out at planet nine with Feathers. Thus, the 10 years goes fast and the narrative sort of re-starts when to ship and additional "important" people arrive.
And here is where I left the book.
What now initiates is a discussion about origin and meaning of Feathers and a discussion about the origin, meaning and consequences of the Quasar radiation reaching the solar system.
It's like that discussion has been mothballed for 10 years and actively been forbidden to initiate until the larger ship arrived at planet nine. Which is both ridiculous and deeply deeply unrealistic.
The questions and issues brought up at planet nine after 10 years is mind gobbling to take in why those issues weren't or hadn't been adreesed within 1hour after Feathers detection and the additional Quasar radiation.
You kind of get feeling that one or two of the editors might have had the same thought intervention because Baxter seemingly tries to retroactively cover this severe inconsistency but that battle is already lost due to the nature of the issues that are discussed....after 10 years. Many issues would more likely have popped up in any decent scientist within 10 seconds from the point of all facts coming together.
In summary, rather well first half of the book but as a reader, with at least some scientific background, you start to ask yourself the very same questions immediately that it is more and more apparent that you would need to wait "10 years" to get answers.
DNF at p. 317 of 436 pages...
That said, Creation node is a deep disappointment and lack tremendously in the one aspect that is the most important to me.
Regardless of the overall high tech described in scifi, which you in most cases just have to accept as probable or likely given that tech evolves, the narrative has to be equaly likely or "rational", for lack of a better word.
Here, a planet (nine) is flown to by faction of the human civilization that rely entirely on renewable sources after a climate Armageddon mentioned but not described in detail in the book. Planet nine is located way out in the Oort cloud and it has taken decades to flyto it by a propulsion via solar sails catching the solar wind.
Upon arrival planet nine is both found to be a black hole but also echoes a communication response that can only be deemed as coming from an intelligence. When a shuttle is sent from the main ship settled at a safe distance, the surface conforms to a landable surface with a sarcophagus like object seen on it. The shuttle lands, open the object and see a humanoid, but with birdlike features, lying inside. They bring the creature back to the ship and calls it "feathers" due to the featherlike coating of the body.
It is soon discovered that at the exact moment that the sarcophagus like object was open, our solar system was hit by an increase in radiadion that seem to originate from the center of the milky way. In short, the milky way is now a Quasar like galaxy spewing excess radiation in a direction precisely aimed to include our solar system. Of course this raises question about time discrepancies since that radiation must have started some 25000 years ago, since the solar system is roughly 25000 light years from the center of our galaxy. Thus implicating that someone or something must have known exactly when the sarcophagus would open...25000 years ago.
There is not only the mystery of the time traveling aspect of this event but also that the additional radiation energy received in the solar system will lead to a devastating climate collaps on earth.
The detection of planet nine, the intelligence behind the communication response from it and of course "Feathers" is communicated back to earth.
Within 6 months from the described events a ship is initially sent to Saturn where the ship will be retrofitted with a much more efficient fusion drive and then continue to planet nine.
The trip to Saturn take 6 years and the trip out to planet nine from Saturn another 4 years. On the ship there are high ranking members from the different Human factions together with a scientific representation (1 scientific advisor to the earth president). Since the journey take 10 years many choose to use hibernation caskets, including the scientific advisor.
The journey itself is not described in many pages in the book and even less what is going on in the solar system and out at planet nine with Feathers. Thus, the 10 years goes fast and the narrative sort of re-starts when to ship and additional "important" people arrive.
And here is where I left the book.
What now initiates is a discussion about origin and meaning of Feathers and a discussion about the origin, meaning and consequences of the Quasar radiation reaching the solar system.
It's like that discussion has been mothballed for 10 years and actively been forbidden to initiate until the larger ship arrived at planet nine. Which is both ridiculous and deeply deeply unrealistic.
The questions and issues brought up at planet nine after 10 years is mind gobbling to take in why those issues weren't or hadn't been adreesed within 1hour after Feathers detection and the additional Quasar radiation.
You kind of get feeling that one or two of the editors might have had the same thought intervention because Baxter seemingly tries to retroactively cover this severe inconsistency but that battle is already lost due to the nature of the issues that are discussed....after 10 years. Many issues would more likely have popped up in any decent scientist within 10 seconds from the point of all facts coming together.
In summary, rather well first half of the book but as a reader, with at least some scientific background, you start to ask yourself the very same questions immediately that it is more and more apparent that you would need to wait "10 years" to get answers.
DNF at p. 317 of 436 pages...
May 16, 2024
In 2255 humanity has recovered from the ravages of climate change on Earth and extended into the Solar System. Earth is dominant, with a stranglehold on the Lunar Consortium’s expansionary plans and its helium-3 extraction exports via control of the supply of nitrogen needed as a buffer gas. However, schemes are in hand for Earth to mine the gas giants for helium-3 to fuel a nuclear fusion engine which will cut journey times across the Solar System from decades to years. A third group called Conservers does not wish to deplete the Solar System’s resources but has sent out the Shadow, a ship powered by solar sails, to the Oort Cloud to investigate the possibility of Planet Nine orbiting there.
Planet Nine, as found, could fall into the venerable SF category of Big Dumb Object, except it’s not big – it’s an apparent black hole, ten times Earth-mass – and it’s not dumb. Salma, a teenager born on the voyage, discovers its Hawking radiation harbours patterns. It is sending out a message. As soon as the Shadow’s crew echoes the signal back, the Hawking radiation changes form and the galaxy’s central core simultaneously turns red from a quasar emanation. As coincidences go this would be an almighty one but how could a signal sent in the here and now cause an event to have occurred thousands of years ago so many light years away? The quasar’s red light bathes the whole Solar System and starts to increase the temperatures of every orbiting body within it, slowly but inexorably. This, however, is a challenge which is nothing but background for most of the book.
Standing off some distance away, the Shadow’s crew then sends the second pattern back to the object. It expands immediately to a larger size and forms a surface with one Earth standard gravity. And on that surface lies a cylindrical container. The three crew members sent down to the surface find it has an alien inside, an alien which resembles a bird but with human resemblances. This is swiftly dubbed Feathers. Creation Node is not just a BDO novel, then, but also a first contact one. Communication with Feathers is almost impossible except by gesture so who, or what, she is, is a mystery. Both the Earth authorities and the Lunar Consortium decide it is imperative to send missions to Shadow’s location as soon as possible.
A lot of the earlier part of the book (sometimes spoiled by information dumping of the ‘she knew’ variety and intermittent references to several of the characters wearing black pendants; a decorative choice never fully explained) is taken up with Earth’s preparations of its fusion powered ship, Cronus, to launch from Saturn orbit and the Lunar Consortium’s unannounced mission to join it. This is something of a drag on the ongoing story in the Oort cloud (albeit with a set piece collision in space to be described.) We could charitably interpret this longueur as Baxter trying to convey the time scale involved. Even with the new drive the joint mission to the changed black hole takes eleven years.
The climax of the novel is almost literally (but not quite, since Baxter tips us the wink to its existence in earlier short chapters) a deus ex machina, the manifestation of a creature with god-like powers which can move both itself and our humans between universes and across space and time. Both Planet Nine and the quasar are under its control, the details of which I’ll leave to the reader to discover. It presents a dilemma to the humans at the site, though.
Baxter’s immersion in SF shines through, Creation Node contains more than a few nods to Arthur C Clarke - sunjammers, space elevators, an enigmatic object that eventually provides a path to elsewhere in the universe – to please longstanding SF buffs. Its invocations of other universes and the vastness of time tickle the sense of wonder but the humans its tale is fashioned around are not its primary focus. Ideas are the thing here. This is good old SF for the good old SF reader.
Planet Nine, as found, could fall into the venerable SF category of Big Dumb Object, except it’s not big – it’s an apparent black hole, ten times Earth-mass – and it’s not dumb. Salma, a teenager born on the voyage, discovers its Hawking radiation harbours patterns. It is sending out a message. As soon as the Shadow’s crew echoes the signal back, the Hawking radiation changes form and the galaxy’s central core simultaneously turns red from a quasar emanation. As coincidences go this would be an almighty one but how could a signal sent in the here and now cause an event to have occurred thousands of years ago so many light years away? The quasar’s red light bathes the whole Solar System and starts to increase the temperatures of every orbiting body within it, slowly but inexorably. This, however, is a challenge which is nothing but background for most of the book.
Standing off some distance away, the Shadow’s crew then sends the second pattern back to the object. It expands immediately to a larger size and forms a surface with one Earth standard gravity. And on that surface lies a cylindrical container. The three crew members sent down to the surface find it has an alien inside, an alien which resembles a bird but with human resemblances. This is swiftly dubbed Feathers. Creation Node is not just a BDO novel, then, but also a first contact one. Communication with Feathers is almost impossible except by gesture so who, or what, she is, is a mystery. Both the Earth authorities and the Lunar Consortium decide it is imperative to send missions to Shadow’s location as soon as possible.
A lot of the earlier part of the book (sometimes spoiled by information dumping of the ‘she knew’ variety and intermittent references to several of the characters wearing black pendants; a decorative choice never fully explained) is taken up with Earth’s preparations of its fusion powered ship, Cronus, to launch from Saturn orbit and the Lunar Consortium’s unannounced mission to join it. This is something of a drag on the ongoing story in the Oort cloud (albeit with a set piece collision in space to be described.) We could charitably interpret this longueur as Baxter trying to convey the time scale involved. Even with the new drive the joint mission to the changed black hole takes eleven years.
The climax of the novel is almost literally (but not quite, since Baxter tips us the wink to its existence in earlier short chapters) a deus ex machina, the manifestation of a creature with god-like powers which can move both itself and our humans between universes and across space and time. Both Planet Nine and the quasar are under its control, the details of which I’ll leave to the reader to discover. It presents a dilemma to the humans at the site, though.
Baxter’s immersion in SF shines through, Creation Node contains more than a few nods to Arthur C Clarke - sunjammers, space elevators, an enigmatic object that eventually provides a path to elsewhere in the universe – to please longstanding SF buffs. Its invocations of other universes and the vastness of time tickle the sense of wonder but the humans its tale is fashioned around are not its primary focus. Ideas are the thing here. This is good old SF for the good old SF reader.
November 29, 2023
Oh my god, what a stupid fucking book.
Mr. Baxter has a lot of science stuff to explain to us. But he doesn't want to sound boring, so he doesn't tell it to our faces. No, he puts two of his characters into a strange place, and then one explains the creation of the universe, the mechanics of black holes and the cooling of planetary cores to the other. And this is the whole book. When a character is not engaged in such a dialogue, they don't exist, they have no depth.
He introduces us to some characters and then they disappear.
For example there's this pair of pilots, married and they are competing on who gets to fly the big spaceship. One of them, I'll tell you this much. So the other finds another project for himself and when they meet up at Saturn... nothing. Absolutely nothing, not one word.
The theory explanation is irritating all along the book, but at the end it takes on ridiculous proportions: they meet a godlike entity, who says something like: "the multiverse is big". And what do they do? What? They start explaining to each other how the multiverse works: "imagine the universe is a sheet of paper...".
Then a few people decide to send this godlike creature to hell but they don't ask it to help humanity who is struggling with the usual human stuff (resources, factions, etc). No. They just treat it like shit, refuse its offer and that's that.
Also: when humans discover a strange artifact entering the solar system, they think: hmm, we should check it out. So they do nothing, except one faction: the conservers, who don't like to spend resources, Not just earth resources, but they won't touch fuel coming from the sun or any planet. And they take - I kid you not - 40 years to get out there at the periphery of our system. 40 years, because they only use solar sails. And when they flush the toilet, they feel shame for wasting resources.
There's some politicking, which I like especially when there are some smart moves by an individual to promote their faction or something. None of this here. Just fucking around and not achieving anything.
There's nothing here for sci-fi lovers. No gadgets, no special engines to propel the ships, no weird creatures, no interesting effects of technology on societies. No. This is for science lovers who like to have a pretty lady explain the science fun facts instead of an encyclopedia. Same text, different format.
What the fuck??
I'm done with this guy.
Mr. Baxter has a lot of science stuff to explain to us. But he doesn't want to sound boring, so he doesn't tell it to our faces. No, he puts two of his characters into a strange place, and then one explains the creation of the universe, the mechanics of black holes and the cooling of planetary cores to the other. And this is the whole book. When a character is not engaged in such a dialogue, they don't exist, they have no depth.
He introduces us to some characters and then they disappear.
For example there's this pair of pilots, married and they are competing on who gets to fly the big spaceship. One of them, I'll tell you this much. So the other finds another project for himself and when they meet up at Saturn... nothing. Absolutely nothing, not one word.
The theory explanation is irritating all along the book, but at the end it takes on ridiculous proportions: they meet a godlike entity, who says something like: "the multiverse is big". And what do they do? What? They start explaining to each other how the multiverse works: "imagine the universe is a sheet of paper...".
Then a few people decide to send this godlike creature to hell but they don't ask it to help humanity who is struggling with the usual human stuff (resources, factions, etc). No. They just treat it like shit, refuse its offer and that's that.
Also: when humans discover a strange artifact entering the solar system, they think: hmm, we should check it out. So they do nothing, except one faction: the conservers, who don't like to spend resources, Not just earth resources, but they won't touch fuel coming from the sun or any planet. And they take - I kid you not - 40 years to get out there at the periphery of our system. 40 years, because they only use solar sails. And when they flush the toilet, they feel shame for wasting resources.
There's some politicking, which I like especially when there are some smart moves by an individual to promote their faction or something. None of this here. Just fucking around and not achieving anything.
There's nothing here for sci-fi lovers. No gadgets, no special engines to propel the ships, no weird creatures, no interesting effects of technology on societies. No. This is for science lovers who like to have a pretty lady explain the science fun facts instead of an encyclopedia. Same text, different format.
What the fuck??
I'm done with this guy.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 19, 2025
Stephen Baxter gehört völlig zurecht zu den gefeiertsten SciFi Autoren der heutigen Zeit (und immer noch irgendwie zu meinen persönlichen Idolen), vor allem weil er mit jedem Buch NOCH unvorstellbarere Szenarien aus dem Hut zaubert und sich dabei nicht von solchen Kleinigkeiten wie den Grenzen von Universen oder der Physik aufhalten lässt. Trotzdem muss ich sagen, dass ich nicht mehr ganz so viel Spaß an seinen Büchern haben kann wie früher, da inzwischen die Überzeugung, dass es wirklich nur die Menschheit zwischen den Sternen gibt und deren Materialismus bis in alle Ewigkeit die einzig beständige Triebkraft bleiben wird, in jedem neuen Roman Thema Nr. 1 ist. Das sorgt (auch wenn es realistisch sein mag) für eine eher düstere Grundstimmung, sodass ich den enthusiastischen Forscherdrang und die lustigen Ideen für fremdes Leben wie z.B. in "Proxima" bisweilen sehr vermisse.
Jetzt konkret zu diesem Roman. Vorab: Da ich durch das offene Ende des Vorgängers "Die Tausend Erden" und die ähnliche Umschlaggestaltung überzeugt war, hier einen Folgeband in der Hand zu halten, worin die Geschichten irgendwie zusammenfinden, war ich erstmal sehr verwirrt. Aber das liegt wohl an mir und der Präsentation des Verlags. :D
Die Geschichte an sich ist spannend, durch Zeitsprünge geschickt über Jahrzehnte ausgedehnt und wie gewohnt gut wissenschaftlich unterfüttert. Wobei ich sagen muss, dass Baxter Physik und Philosophie früher besser in die Handlung seiner Bücher eingebaut hat, hier haben die teils seitenlangen wissenschaftlichen Diskussionen die Story etwas ausgebremst, auch wenn sie interessant waren. Von den Figuren waren nur wenige sympathisch, aber trotzdem war es aufregend, ihre Entwicklung zu beobachten und sich auf das kosmische Finale einzulassen, das unweigerlich kommen und die Vorstellungskraft maximal ausreizen musste. Insgesamt also trotz kleinen Kritikpunkten immer noch ein tolle Story vom unbesiegbaren Meister der Hard SciFi.
Jetzt konkret zu diesem Roman. Vorab: Da ich durch das offene Ende des Vorgängers "Die Tausend Erden" und die ähnliche Umschlaggestaltung überzeugt war, hier einen Folgeband in der Hand zu halten, worin die Geschichten irgendwie zusammenfinden, war ich erstmal sehr verwirrt. Aber das liegt wohl an mir und der Präsentation des Verlags. :D
Die Geschichte an sich ist spannend, durch Zeitsprünge geschickt über Jahrzehnte ausgedehnt und wie gewohnt gut wissenschaftlich unterfüttert. Wobei ich sagen muss, dass Baxter Physik und Philosophie früher besser in die Handlung seiner Bücher eingebaut hat, hier haben die teils seitenlangen wissenschaftlichen Diskussionen die Story etwas ausgebremst, auch wenn sie interessant waren. Von den Figuren waren nur wenige sympathisch, aber trotzdem war es aufregend, ihre Entwicklung zu beobachten und sich auf das kosmische Finale einzulassen, das unweigerlich kommen und die Vorstellungskraft maximal ausreizen musste. Insgesamt also trotz kleinen Kritikpunkten immer noch ein tolle Story vom unbesiegbaren Meister der Hard SciFi.
May 30, 2025
My first Stephen Baxter book and likely my last as an avid science fiction reader. The concept of this book is what drew me to it, but the execution left me cringing constantly and laughing at the climax.
I will concede it is an interesting and grand concept. The interplay of known scientific theories or principles but done in a way which keeps you guessing as to how it will be morphed into something new or undiscovered.
Throughout the book however, I was persistently disappointed. The characters are written very one-dimensionally and their motivations are constantly explicitly verbalised throughout the book e.g. “Oh you [insert faction here]s are always [insert stereotypical motivation here]” she scowled.
There’s also unfortunately extremely explicit Chekov’s guns throughout the book to the point where it becomes extremely predictable e.g. how many times did a character subconsciously finger those amulets??
Chapter endings are constantly littered with very low-effort cliffhangers of “and that would’ve happened… if it weren’t for [insert foreshadowing of next chapter]”. It was constant and tiring.
Finally despite having great scientific concepts, the exposition of these concepts was often over the top to the point of patronising. An expanding universe is touted as one of the some grand revelation to the characters at the climax of the book and Earth’s leading science adviser before passing out in a fit of conceptual awe thinks it’s impossible because of an old paradox from 1823?? As if that hadn’t been already explained away by expansion amongst other things which we’ve known for a long time. I get the need for exposition of concepts to new science fiction readers but things like this just made me laugh when they’re at the climax of the book.
Overall disappointed and hesitant to read another piece of work even if the concepts sound interesting.
I will concede it is an interesting and grand concept. The interplay of known scientific theories or principles but done in a way which keeps you guessing as to how it will be morphed into something new or undiscovered.
Throughout the book however, I was persistently disappointed. The characters are written very one-dimensionally and their motivations are constantly explicitly verbalised throughout the book e.g. “Oh you [insert faction here]s are always [insert stereotypical motivation here]” she scowled.
There’s also unfortunately extremely explicit Chekov’s guns throughout the book to the point where it becomes extremely predictable e.g. how many times did a character subconsciously finger those amulets??
Chapter endings are constantly littered with very low-effort cliffhangers of “and that would’ve happened… if it weren’t for [insert foreshadowing of next chapter]”. It was constant and tiring.
Finally despite having great scientific concepts, the exposition of these concepts was often over the top to the point of patronising. An expanding universe is touted as one of the some grand revelation to the characters at the climax of the book and Earth’s leading science adviser before passing out in a fit of conceptual awe thinks it’s impossible because of an old paradox from 1823?? As if that hadn’t been already explained away by expansion amongst other things which we’ve known for a long time. I get the need for exposition of concepts to new science fiction readers but things like this just made me laugh when they’re at the climax of the book.
Overall disappointed and hesitant to read another piece of work even if the concepts sound interesting.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 23, 2025
Stephen Baxter has remained a highlight of all SF for me. This newest book is no less outstanding than the rest.
While it isn't of the Xeelee sequence nor of the strange-yet-wonderful Time or Space companion alternate future histories, this one, like those, remains grounded in real science--while showing an appropriately wonderful sense of awe and scope that remains, at least to my widely-read SF sensibilities, the pinnacle of the best of speculative fiction.
The grand WHAT IF story is still alive and well in Baxter's hands.
This one begins with an exploration team heading toward the Oort cloud to visit the proposed 9th planet--which happens to be a singularity. From there, we get a nicely unique first contact story that is both fresh and truly refreshing. There are no space opera battles. Empathy and intelligence are the main movers. And yet, the sense of awe and discovery never lessens or gets dull.
The only concern I may have had about the novel was the disquieting focus on contemplation at the very end, but it's not a big concern. It's QUITE in line with the rest of the novel--and unusual enough in the SF field to warrant an appreciative mention.
Yes, we can be heroic, do the right thing--and yet still be utter fools.
Recommended.
My synesthesia tastes humus and pita bread with a perfect, comforting cup of Earl Grey. I feel tweed on my jacket.
Personal note:
If anyone reading my reviews might be interested in reading my own SF, I'm going to be open to requests. Just direct message me in goodreads or email me on my site. I'd love to get some eyes on my novels.
Arctunn.com
While it isn't of the Xeelee sequence nor of the strange-yet-wonderful Time or Space companion alternate future histories, this one, like those, remains grounded in real science--while showing an appropriately wonderful sense of awe and scope that remains, at least to my widely-read SF sensibilities, the pinnacle of the best of speculative fiction.
The grand WHAT IF story is still alive and well in Baxter's hands.
This one begins with an exploration team heading toward the Oort cloud to visit the proposed 9th planet--which happens to be a singularity. From there, we get a nicely unique first contact story that is both fresh and truly refreshing. There are no space opera battles. Empathy and intelligence are the main movers. And yet, the sense of awe and discovery never lessens or gets dull.
The only concern I may have had about the novel was the disquieting focus on contemplation at the very end, but it's not a big concern. It's QUITE in line with the rest of the novel--and unusual enough in the SF field to warrant an appreciative mention.
Yes, we can be heroic, do the right thing--and yet still be utter fools.
Recommended.
My synesthesia tastes humus and pita bread with a perfect, comforting cup of Earl Grey. I feel tweed on my jacket.
Personal note:
If anyone reading my reviews might be interested in reading my own SF, I'm going to be open to requests. Just direct message me in goodreads or email me on my site. I'd love to get some eyes on my novels.
Arctunn.com
March 2, 2025
Ich lese nur ganz selten Sience Fiction und bin daher nicht in der Lage, all die wissenschaftlichen und astrophysikalischen Inhalte in diesem Buch einzuschätzen.
Ich bin mehr oder weniger per Zufall über den Roman gestolpert und habe begonnen mich in die ersten Kapitel hineinzulesen und war sofort gefesselt. Auf Grund seiner wissenschaftlichen Inhalte sowie der enthaltenen Astrophysik und Raumfahrttechnologie, war das Buch eine absolute Herausforderung, und ich musste viele Begrifflichkeiten nachschlagen, wie z.B. was überhaupt ein primordiales schwarzes Loch ist. Das Lesen dieses Buches hat sicherlich meinen Horizont erweitert, was wohl ein gutes Ergebnis für einen Sience Fiction Roman ist.
Aber es war die Geschichte, die mich gefesselt und bis zum Ende nicht mehr los gelassen hat, und das es dieses Mal überwiegend das weibliche Geschlecht war, das die Geschicke der Menschheit lenkte.
Die Geschichte beginnt in einer nicht allzu fernen Zukunft im Jahr 2255 und die Erde erholt sich gerade langsam von der Klimakatastrophe des 21. Jahrhunderts. Der Mond ist besiedelt und wird, wegen seiner, auch für die Erde wichtigen, Rohstoffe ausgebeutet. Eine dritte Gruppe, die Bewahrer, hält sich vornehmlich in eigenen Siedlungen im Weltraum auf und versucht die Rohstoffe des Sonnensystems zu bewahren und deren Ausbeutung zu verhindern. Ein Raumschiff der Gruppe der Bewahrer ist vor 35 Jahren aufgebrochen um den ominösen neunten Planeten in der Oortschen Wolke, ganz am Rande des Sonnensystems zu finden. Und als ihnen das tatsächlich gelingt, verändert sich alles....
Ich bin mehr oder weniger per Zufall über den Roman gestolpert und habe begonnen mich in die ersten Kapitel hineinzulesen und war sofort gefesselt. Auf Grund seiner wissenschaftlichen Inhalte sowie der enthaltenen Astrophysik und Raumfahrttechnologie, war das Buch eine absolute Herausforderung, und ich musste viele Begrifflichkeiten nachschlagen, wie z.B. was überhaupt ein primordiales schwarzes Loch ist. Das Lesen dieses Buches hat sicherlich meinen Horizont erweitert, was wohl ein gutes Ergebnis für einen Sience Fiction Roman ist.
Aber es war die Geschichte, die mich gefesselt und bis zum Ende nicht mehr los gelassen hat, und das es dieses Mal überwiegend das weibliche Geschlecht war, das die Geschicke der Menschheit lenkte.
Die Geschichte beginnt in einer nicht allzu fernen Zukunft im Jahr 2255 und die Erde erholt sich gerade langsam von der Klimakatastrophe des 21. Jahrhunderts. Der Mond ist besiedelt und wird, wegen seiner, auch für die Erde wichtigen, Rohstoffe ausgebeutet. Eine dritte Gruppe, die Bewahrer, hält sich vornehmlich in eigenen Siedlungen im Weltraum auf und versucht die Rohstoffe des Sonnensystems zu bewahren und deren Ausbeutung zu verhindern. Ein Raumschiff der Gruppe der Bewahrer ist vor 35 Jahren aufgebrochen um den ominösen neunten Planeten in der Oortschen Wolke, ganz am Rande des Sonnensystems zu finden. Und als ihnen das tatsächlich gelingt, verändert sich alles....
October 10, 2025
In the year 2255, of all the sentient beings in her universe, it was a woman named Salma, twenty years old, who was the first fully to see the object called Planet Nine. See with her own eyes, albeit moderated by her ship's instruments. If not to recognise what it was, not yet.
Not that the object turned out to be a planet, or the 'ninth' of anything. Briefly thought to be a black hole, it suddenly changes, expands and sends a message. There is something waiting on its service. Something not quite human.
As the ramifications of this event spread across the fracturing elements of humanity, it is clear that the small crew on the spot are at the centre of the most dramatic discovery in history. But theirs is not the only inexplicable event happening - impossibly, at exactly the same moment, a quasar appeared twenty-five thousand light years away, and now is heating up the solar system.
If the enigma of the creation node is not solved quickly, there may be no one left to investigate it . . .
Not that the object turned out to be a planet, or the 'ninth' of anything. Briefly thought to be a black hole, it suddenly changes, expands and sends a message. There is something waiting on its service. Something not quite human.
As the ramifications of this event spread across the fracturing elements of humanity, it is clear that the small crew on the spot are at the centre of the most dramatic discovery in history. But theirs is not the only inexplicable event happening - impossibly, at exactly the same moment, a quasar appeared twenty-five thousand light years away, and now is heating up the solar system.
If the enigma of the creation node is not solved quickly, there may be no one left to investigate it . . .
October 15, 2024
I absolutely loved this novel, one of the better Stephen Baxter books I have read in recent years. Was it due to the multiple female protagonists and less "old grumpy white men" that his stories tend to feature? More than possible, Baxter has definitely ticked a few diversity boxes in this book - most likely consciously??
Protagonists aside, the far-reaching astronomical science did not disappoint, the story progressed quickly at around the 40% mark (lots of world and faction-building background necessary). I feel like there were even parallels with Becky Chambers's brand of cosy sci-fi appeared in parts here.
This book will stick with me for a while, and I felt more than satisfied with the ending(s). Reading time well spent!
Protagonists aside, the far-reaching astronomical science did not disappoint, the story progressed quickly at around the 40% mark (lots of world and faction-building background necessary). I feel like there were even parallels with Becky Chambers's brand of cosy sci-fi appeared in parts here.
This book will stick with me for a while, and I felt more than satisfied with the ending(s). Reading time well spent!
March 28, 2025
Not Stephen Baxter's best book. He can write an excellent story, but he also writes some turgid novels. This is one of the latter. As usual tory his author there are plenty of unresolved plot points. I can forgive that if the characterisation is good or the novel has a decent plot. This one has neither. Characters are very one dimensional and undeveloped. and the plot is secondary to the (albeit excellent) science. However, if I'd wanted a science textbook I'd have bought one (I realise that most of the science is science fiction, but it is well developed). I've read quite a few of Baxter's books and it's always a toss-up what you're going to get. As a novel, this one was a huge disappointment.
May 1, 2025
Whilst I read a lot of science, I tend not to read a lot of science fiction, but I enjoyed the Creation Node. There is sufficient reality supporting the story to keep me interested. Based around three broad groups, each with their own view of how the world and solar system should be exploited, one group sets out to explore an anomaly in the far reaches of the solar system. The time frame to reach so far out gives an opportunity to explore the three groups with their disparate views and, of course, the natural behaviour of humans to extend disagreement into more direct action. Once at the anomaly, the intrepid group trigger a reaction and a meeting with a life form, and from this point, the author explores other aspects of human behaviour ....you will have to read it to find out what!
June 19, 2025
This is a long book which ends up being pretty plot light. The start is a physics textbook which went way over my head. The middle 200 ish pages is people slow travelling to get where the initial action kicks off. I get the attempt at authenticity but in a book which starts with an alien human bird and ends with a conversation with universe god, believability is already stretched a bit. Just insinuate we managed to figure out fast space travel and be done with it. I was mostly bored reading this unfortunately. There would be pops of interest; I enjoyed the scenes with the Shadow crew and Feathers but they were few and far between.
There's just a lot of characters who don't really get fleshed out and therefore I did not care about them. And the same discussion on repeat about what to do with bird ET.
Also constant fondling of 'obvious plot point' necklaces by multiple characters.
Glad to have finished it.
There's just a lot of characters who don't really get fleshed out and therefore I did not care about them. And the same discussion on repeat about what to do with bird ET.
Also constant fondling of 'obvious plot point' necklaces by multiple characters.
Glad to have finished it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 30, 2023
Stephen Baxter’s Creation Node begins with one of the best first-contact stories I have read in a long time. In 2255, the Shadow, with its crew of six, is exploring the Oort Cloud. Salma, 20, born on the ship that has been in space for 35 years, is the first to detect a small black hole in the Oort Cloud with a message encoded in its Hawking radiation. After that, the weirdness starts in earnest. When an answering message appears at the center of the Milky Way, the speed of light be damned, the black hole transforms itself into an airless planetoid with Earth-normal gravity. We are invited to explore. If you like big-idea, cosmological sci-fi, Baxter has your fix.
June 16, 2024
Apparently, It's the author's job to be repetitive. His job. His job. Repetitiveness is his job!
Using a phrase, then using the exact same one in the same context not even a page later. And then again. It's quite amazing. I don't recall Baxter being nearly that bad in his other books.
I loved the whole Xeelee sequence, but his recent stuff has really been not great. And this one is an example of everything that's going wrong. Dumbing down, masses of exposition, repeating obvious things over and over, and quite tropey. I just can't. There's probably a good story in there, but it needs a ruthless editor to cut away half of it.
25% of the way through and I'm done.
Using a phrase, then using the exact same one in the same context not even a page later. And then again. It's quite amazing. I don't recall Baxter being nearly that bad in his other books.
I loved the whole Xeelee sequence, but his recent stuff has really been not great. And this one is an example of everything that's going wrong. Dumbing down, masses of exposition, repeating obvious things over and over, and quite tropey. I just can't. There's probably a good story in there, but it needs a ruthless editor to cut away half of it.
25% of the way through and I'm done.
September 19, 2025
As expected from Stephen Baxter, this novel deals with huge issues, both scientifically and politically. The science is breath-taking and takes the reader away to the ninth 'planet' and beyond. The politics and social comments are more subtle, and generally played down in the interests of a good story. I expected more arguments and discussion setting out the basic background, but maybe this wouldn't have fitted into a novel of this type. I was also a little let down by the ending, as in my mind, I was building up a more satisfying conclusion, which is still possible in this universe, but left unsaid. All in all a great read!
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