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Galaxias
What would happen to the world if the sun went out?
New epic sci-fi from Stephen Baxter, the award-winning author whose credits include co-authorship of the Long Earth series with Terry Pratchett.
By the middle of the 21st century, humanity has managed to overcome a series of catastrophic events and maintain some sense of stability. Space exploration has begun again. Science has led the way.
But then one day, the sun goes out. Solar panels are useless, and the world begins to freeze
Earth begins to fall out of its orbit.
The end is nigh.
Someone has sent us a sign.
New epic sci-fi from Stephen Baxter, the award-winning author whose credits include co-authorship of the Long Earth series with Terry Pratchett.
By the middle of the 21st century, humanity has managed to overcome a series of catastrophic events and maintain some sense of stability. Space exploration has begun again. Science has led the way.
But then one day, the sun goes out. Solar panels are useless, and the world begins to freeze
Earth begins to fall out of its orbit.
The end is nigh.
Someone has sent us a sign.
544 pages, Paperback
First published September 2, 2021
193 people are currently reading
804 people want to read
About the author
Stephen Baxter
403 books2,592 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 146 reviews
October 30, 2021
Not that great, the book is all tell and little show. Characters sit around in endless meetings while the story passes them by. Matters aren't helped by an undeserved dollop of smug post-Brexit British exceptionalism.
March 29, 2023
Even a favourite author is allowed to write a real clunker now and again.
November 19, 2021
Nice idea, the Sun vanishing. Starts off OK.
But boy, does it ever bog down. Chapter after chapter of nothing happening, except the same uninteresting, essentially indistinguishable characters in endless meetings or ... I don't know, traveling to another meeting.
Couldn't finish it. I'll never know its contribution to the hackneyed Fermi Paradox trope. And I'm OK with that.
But boy, does it ever bog down. Chapter after chapter of nothing happening, except the same uninteresting, essentially indistinguishable characters in endless meetings or ... I don't know, traveling to another meeting.
Couldn't finish it. I'll never know its contribution to the hackneyed Fermi Paradox trope. And I'm OK with that.
November 22, 2021
Galaxias is a novel with a lot of energy that keeps one turning pages until the end - there is a cool epilogue but I really liked the actual end of the novel as it encapsulates the mixture of hope and tragedy of the main characters and it really humanizes powerfully an otherwise fairly hard-sf tale.
The theme of the true universe revealing itself only when/if humanity leaves the Solar System which is implicit here is one that the author has used a few times in his oeuvre and I always found it very interesting
Galaxias combines serious hard sf (learning all wants to know about the Sun that is currently known/speculated plus a lot of other stuff that the reader finds out alongside the main characters and while some of it may seem really far fetched, the bibliography at the end shows that it has been definitely considered previously), medium-term world-building (by 2057 Alaska is the economic and political center of the (rump) USA as is Newcastle of the English federation, though King George VII -presumably the current 8-year-old prince - is still king of independent Scotland too though not of Wales and that is before of the Blink of the blurb which of course alters even more significantly the world and its geopolitical structure as again we discover alongside the main characters) and storyline through the eyes of three characters (a politician aide, an astronomer and an astronaut, all former college buddies that have been close), works very well, while the second half adds a powerful element to the first part which is more of a disaster like storyline as of course, we know pretty much from the beginning.
Highly recommended and a top 10 novel for me in 2021
The theme of the true universe revealing itself only when/if humanity leaves the Solar System which is implicit here is one that the author has used a few times in his oeuvre and I always found it very interesting
Galaxias combines serious hard sf (learning all wants to know about the Sun that is currently known/speculated plus a lot of other stuff that the reader finds out alongside the main characters and while some of it may seem really far fetched, the bibliography at the end shows that it has been definitely considered previously), medium-term world-building (by 2057 Alaska is the economic and political center of the (rump) USA as is Newcastle of the English federation, though King George VII -presumably the current 8-year-old prince - is still king of independent Scotland too though not of Wales and that is before of the Blink of the blurb which of course alters even more significantly the world and its geopolitical structure as again we discover alongside the main characters) and storyline through the eyes of three characters (a politician aide, an astronomer and an astronaut, all former college buddies that have been close), works very well, while the second half adds a powerful element to the first part which is more of a disaster like storyline as of course, we know pretty much from the beginning.
Highly recommended and a top 10 novel for me in 2021
October 29, 2022
Galaxias starts out quite strong, with a gripping event and the subsequent rush as the characters try to understand what the hell happened. It's all downhill from there though... The middle part is essentially 3-400 pages of telling instead of showing, pure speculation, and assumptions based on assumptions. This then culminates into a truly moronic final part, in which characters and overarching groups make ridiculous, stupid decisions based on not much of anything at all. By and large the book is boring, ungrounded, and leaves so much potential unexploited. Some sciency parts are quite interesting, and again the beginning is quite good, but that comes nowhere near to making up for the rest of the book.
November 28, 2021
A novel about someone who attends loads of meetings, makes no obvious contribution, and could have skipped all of them and the outcome would have been the same.
There are also a couple of spaceship related industrial accidents where a few people get killed. The safety review meetings would have been interesting I guess, but they were not covered. Perhaps they will be in a future novel.
I forced myself to read this to the end just to find out if it would improve. But it didn't. The final epilogue? What was that all about?
There are also a couple of spaceship related industrial accidents where a few people get killed. The safety review meetings would have been interesting I guess, but they were not covered. Perhaps they will be in a future novel.
I forced myself to read this to the end just to find out if it would improve. But it didn't. The final epilogue? What was that all about?
November 13, 2021
I’m a big fan of Stephen Baxter’s stories. They do come in different types, though.
It’s difficult to pin down exactly what I like. Is it that sometimes they’re far future epics covering thousands of years (see the Xeelee series). Or is it that he brings epic disasters down to the human scale – Flood/Ark, Moonseed? Is it his take on alternative history – Voyage, Anti-Ice, the Weaver series, for example? Or is it that he takes on the big science ideas – exoplanets (Proxima/Ultima), evolution (Evolution, Mammoth), and quantum universes (the Manifold series) and adapts them to tell tales?
As I read more and more I am beginning to think that it is perhaps his style – that British sensibility, that idea of playing things down, diffused with a British sense of deprecating humour. Like Arthur C Clarke before him, he often sees things with an observer’s eye, describing world changing events through individuals, and makes wry commentary upon it, whilst at the same time believing that in the end good will out.
After his last books dealt with moving planets (see the World Engines series) this time around we’re on similar epic ground. And we start with a great idea to grab your attention – what would happen in the near future if not planets, but the Sun disappeared?
The first part of this book shows us this through three friends who are in very different occupations. Tash Brand is a British Government advisor, working for Minister for Science Fred Bowles. Mel Kapur is an astronomer floating around the globe on the airship Skythrust Two (fans of the 1960’s television series Thunderbirds may recognise this!), working for the Astronomer Royal, Charlie Marlowe. Whu Zhi is a gifted scientist onboard the Lodestone space station, whose husband Jim Boyd is an astronaut returning back from a manned mission to Mars. Much of the book therefore is about watching these social, economic and global changes through our lead characters.
The book begins in 2057 when the Sun suddenly disappears, with no warning or preamble. As you might expect, there is chaos and confusion as a result. Luckily, things return to something-like-normal after a day, but the whole world and even the Solar system are physically affected. The Moon shifts, satellites and spaceships lose their way and planets alter their orbits with no effect from the Sun on them.
There are social and economic consequences too in a world that has already changed from what we know. It is quite chilling to see current themes as a backdrop to this event and how they might reappear in the future – COVID outbreaks, mass migration and climate change, for example. In Britain, as with much of the world, flooding is common - the British government is located to Newcastle from an engulfed London, for example. Much of the book is focussed on Tash, but this also brings in the impact of the unprecedented event on her friends as they all struggle to make sense of what has happened.
The event becomes known as “The Blink” and because the Sun has returned does not seem to have been a natural occurrence. The source of the Blink is named Galaxias, to which a message seems to have been sent from the Moon as the Blink happened, something which raises the bigger questions – who/what was it that caused this to happen? Who/what was the message sent to? Will the Blink happen again?
I’ve said before that Stephen writes like Arthur C Clarke, something I hope he sees as a compliment. You know – lots of big ideas, a rather down-played British sensibility, and even wry humour. Whilst the characters are often identifiable, they are usually at the mercy of the cool concepts and brilliant ideas. Much of that is true and holds up here too. However, the big difference here is that I think that where Clarke would see alien contact as an opportunity, a chance for uplift, here Stephen looks at a slightly different view – what if Earth has just been noticed by something out there? And what if it is not friendly?
In the middle of the novel the book’s solution to this first meeting of alien intelligence is more proactive – space entrepreneur Serena Jones sets up a mission to go and see what’s out there. Some think that this might be just drawing further attention to the planet, others that we have been set a challenge that aliens are expecting us to rise to, and international conflict occurs as a result, again something which Tash and her friends are witness to.
The world begins a new Space Race, with the Western World developing the Pioneer 4 to go out and possibly meet the alien and the Chinese doing their own thing. The situation is complicated by the fact that Whu Zhi’s mother is working for the Chinese government whilst Whu Zhi himself is part of Serena Jones’s team. The impact of this on these friends is noticeable. Their relationships change as a result of these interplanetary events and throughout there is an uncertainty that we do not know which is the best approach.
But what is most important is that the books posits a belief in Science to work out solutions and answers. It is Science that helps us develop solutions to cope with a new reality. Even the politicians seem to be trying to do their best for their people rather than just themselves, and their ability to listen and take on board the scientist’s advice is pleasantly refreshing, throwing into sharp contrast the events of recent years.
As we get to the end of the story, the science shows us solutions to the origin, source and purpose of Galaxia are revealed. It is here that Baxter shows us the grandiose nature of his tale by suggesting BIG ideas set over millions of years. I must admit that at this point they sounded a little bit out-there to me, but as ever the Afterword shows that they are based on solid research and scientific proposals. I must say though that Stephen cannot be accused of thinking small here.
And that is for me the attraction of such a story. Stephen juxtaposes these big interplanetary events with the concerns of a relatively small group of people. Such a dramatic range shows us as readers the extrapolation of these ideas that might otherwise be too big to contemplate and how they can affect people like you or me. It also works by showing us the future consequences of human actions, whether it be climate change, population growth or space travel.
In summary then, this combination of big ideas and small-scale effects in a possible future landscape is a winning one. Combining the world-disaster elements of books like Moonseed with the cosmic ideas of the Xeelee series, Galaxias shows us that epic Science Fiction still casts a dramatic spell over us and that Stephen can tell an exciting tale on an ambitious scale through the eyes of individuals. I enjoyed it enormously and feel that this is one of Stephen’s better novels of late.
It’s difficult to pin down exactly what I like. Is it that sometimes they’re far future epics covering thousands of years (see the Xeelee series). Or is it that he brings epic disasters down to the human scale – Flood/Ark, Moonseed? Is it his take on alternative history – Voyage, Anti-Ice, the Weaver series, for example? Or is it that he takes on the big science ideas – exoplanets (Proxima/Ultima), evolution (Evolution, Mammoth), and quantum universes (the Manifold series) and adapts them to tell tales?
As I read more and more I am beginning to think that it is perhaps his style – that British sensibility, that idea of playing things down, diffused with a British sense of deprecating humour. Like Arthur C Clarke before him, he often sees things with an observer’s eye, describing world changing events through individuals, and makes wry commentary upon it, whilst at the same time believing that in the end good will out.
After his last books dealt with moving planets (see the World Engines series) this time around we’re on similar epic ground. And we start with a great idea to grab your attention – what would happen in the near future if not planets, but the Sun disappeared?
The first part of this book shows us this through three friends who are in very different occupations. Tash Brand is a British Government advisor, working for Minister for Science Fred Bowles. Mel Kapur is an astronomer floating around the globe on the airship Skythrust Two (fans of the 1960’s television series Thunderbirds may recognise this!), working for the Astronomer Royal, Charlie Marlowe. Whu Zhi is a gifted scientist onboard the Lodestone space station, whose husband Jim Boyd is an astronaut returning back from a manned mission to Mars. Much of the book therefore is about watching these social, economic and global changes through our lead characters.
The book begins in 2057 when the Sun suddenly disappears, with no warning or preamble. As you might expect, there is chaos and confusion as a result. Luckily, things return to something-like-normal after a day, but the whole world and even the Solar system are physically affected. The Moon shifts, satellites and spaceships lose their way and planets alter their orbits with no effect from the Sun on them.
There are social and economic consequences too in a world that has already changed from what we know. It is quite chilling to see current themes as a backdrop to this event and how they might reappear in the future – COVID outbreaks, mass migration and climate change, for example. In Britain, as with much of the world, flooding is common - the British government is located to Newcastle from an engulfed London, for example. Much of the book is focussed on Tash, but this also brings in the impact of the unprecedented event on her friends as they all struggle to make sense of what has happened.
The event becomes known as “The Blink” and because the Sun has returned does not seem to have been a natural occurrence. The source of the Blink is named Galaxias, to which a message seems to have been sent from the Moon as the Blink happened, something which raises the bigger questions – who/what was it that caused this to happen? Who/what was the message sent to? Will the Blink happen again?
I’ve said before that Stephen writes like Arthur C Clarke, something I hope he sees as a compliment. You know – lots of big ideas, a rather down-played British sensibility, and even wry humour. Whilst the characters are often identifiable, they are usually at the mercy of the cool concepts and brilliant ideas. Much of that is true and holds up here too. However, the big difference here is that I think that where Clarke would see alien contact as an opportunity, a chance for uplift, here Stephen looks at a slightly different view – what if Earth has just been noticed by something out there? And what if it is not friendly?
In the middle of the novel the book’s solution to this first meeting of alien intelligence is more proactive – space entrepreneur Serena Jones sets up a mission to go and see what’s out there. Some think that this might be just drawing further attention to the planet, others that we have been set a challenge that aliens are expecting us to rise to, and international conflict occurs as a result, again something which Tash and her friends are witness to.
The world begins a new Space Race, with the Western World developing the Pioneer 4 to go out and possibly meet the alien and the Chinese doing their own thing. The situation is complicated by the fact that Whu Zhi’s mother is working for the Chinese government whilst Whu Zhi himself is part of Serena Jones’s team. The impact of this on these friends is noticeable. Their relationships change as a result of these interplanetary events and throughout there is an uncertainty that we do not know which is the best approach.
But what is most important is that the books posits a belief in Science to work out solutions and answers. It is Science that helps us develop solutions to cope with a new reality. Even the politicians seem to be trying to do their best for their people rather than just themselves, and their ability to listen and take on board the scientist’s advice is pleasantly refreshing, throwing into sharp contrast the events of recent years.
As we get to the end of the story, the science shows us solutions to the origin, source and purpose of Galaxia are revealed. It is here that Baxter shows us the grandiose nature of his tale by suggesting BIG ideas set over millions of years. I must admit that at this point they sounded a little bit out-there to me, but as ever the Afterword shows that they are based on solid research and scientific proposals. I must say though that Stephen cannot be accused of thinking small here.
And that is for me the attraction of such a story. Stephen juxtaposes these big interplanetary events with the concerns of a relatively small group of people. Such a dramatic range shows us as readers the extrapolation of these ideas that might otherwise be too big to contemplate and how they can affect people like you or me. It also works by showing us the future consequences of human actions, whether it be climate change, population growth or space travel.
In summary then, this combination of big ideas and small-scale effects in a possible future landscape is a winning one. Combining the world-disaster elements of books like Moonseed with the cosmic ideas of the Xeelee series, Galaxias shows us that epic Science Fiction still casts a dramatic spell over us and that Stephen can tell an exciting tale on an ambitious scale through the eyes of individuals. I enjoyed it enormously and feel that this is one of Stephen’s better novels of late.
November 6, 2021
In short....boring and silly.
Starts off OK, the sun disappears!
But...
It's also boring, the Uk govt sit around having meetings after the sun vanishes. Noting terribly drastic happens to the planet as a result even, well some minor things....it was just ridiculous.
Starts off OK, the sun disappears!
But...
It's also boring, the Uk govt sit around having meetings after the sun vanishes. Noting terribly drastic happens to the planet as a result even, well some minor things....it was just ridiculous.
April 16, 2022
8+ Even though I do not think Stephen Baxter is technically not the best SF-author around, I still read his books when they come out. Because he lags begind some of his colleagues, even in the hard SF field (Tchaikovsky, Reynolds, Hamilton et al), on aspects like depth of characters and prose, he still manages to outdo them on the aspect of thorough scientific speculation. He has a background in science and bases his scenario's on far out but still plausible concepts of theoretical physics, astrophysics or evolution. Based on this he manages to build fascination extrapolations, often dealing with deep time, the evolution of the universe, the fate of galaxies and time and space themselves. His books sometimes read as treatises on speculative scientific idea's and seem te serve as vessels to communicate his idea's. His characters in them often are not the ones driving the story, but serve to observe and comment on what's happening and be influenced by the machinery of the universe unfolding of its own outside of their control. This does not make for very pro-active characters or people questioning their own observations. His prose is also subordinate to his speculation, and not a goal in itself.
The same goes for this novel. He has three college friends who call themselves 'The In-Jokes' positioned at several places well suited to observe the fall out of a global disaster. First over a period of a day, then over a period of year, and finally over a decade. Their friendship is believable and their personal struggles and growth is interesting, but ultimately it doesn't drive the plot. The characters will not be what the reader remembers of this book. They also are not that important to the author, I think.
What the reader will remember is the scientific 'what if' underneath it all. And it's a whopper, and to me worth the price of admission. This is what I read Baxter for! His last duology felt like he was retreading old ground, but here is a truly new idea in his repertoire. One day in 2057 mankind has come out of the climate troubles, but then is confronted by a disaster of a different kind. During a solar eclipse, the sun disappears from the solar system. For 24 hours the earth is dark. Not only do temperatures plummet, but the earth and other planets drift from their orbits ... This disaster has short term and long term consequences that are explored in the novel, not only their effects on the mantle of the earth, but also on religion and politics. But also it is clear that the disappearance of the sun is caused by an alien intelligence. One that has reached the Kardashev III level of civilisaton. And one that is solitary - one creature managing the resource of the galaxy. How is mankind to respond? America and China have different idea's ...
I was in thrall with the idea's here (for example 'negative matter' (not anti-matter')) and the fate of the planet Mercury. It was awe inspiring in all the right ways. A true sense of wonder, and inspiring my own imagination. Also this is a SF novel of our age, as pandemics and their consequences feature also (someone notices something is going on when two characters shake hands - something that is not usual anymore).
So, for fans of the hard SF of Stephen Baxter absolutely recommended. You will find some new idea's of his that are awe inspiring. But for readers new to SF, or more interested in characters and prose, this is not a good starting point to start exploring the genre ...
The same goes for this novel. He has three college friends who call themselves 'The In-Jokes' positioned at several places well suited to observe the fall out of a global disaster. First over a period of a day, then over a period of year, and finally over a decade. Their friendship is believable and their personal struggles and growth is interesting, but ultimately it doesn't drive the plot. The characters will not be what the reader remembers of this book. They also are not that important to the author, I think.
What the reader will remember is the scientific 'what if' underneath it all. And it's a whopper, and to me worth the price of admission. This is what I read Baxter for! His last duology felt like he was retreading old ground, but here is a truly new idea in his repertoire. One day in 2057 mankind has come out of the climate troubles, but then is confronted by a disaster of a different kind. During a solar eclipse, the sun disappears from the solar system. For 24 hours the earth is dark. Not only do temperatures plummet, but the earth and other planets drift from their orbits ... This disaster has short term and long term consequences that are explored in the novel, not only their effects on the mantle of the earth, but also on religion and politics. But also it is clear that the disappearance of the sun is caused by an alien intelligence. One that has reached the Kardashev III level of civilisaton. And one that is solitary - one creature managing the resource of the galaxy. How is mankind to respond? America and China have different idea's ...
I was in thrall with the idea's here (for example 'negative matter' (not anti-matter')) and the fate of the planet Mercury. It was awe inspiring in all the right ways. A true sense of wonder, and inspiring my own imagination. Also this is a SF novel of our age, as pandemics and their consequences feature also (someone notices something is going on when two characters shake hands - something that is not usual anymore).
So, for fans of the hard SF of Stephen Baxter absolutely recommended. You will find some new idea's of his that are awe inspiring. But for readers new to SF, or more interested in characters and prose, this is not a good starting point to start exploring the genre ...
July 18, 2024
Wow, that was a missed opportunity for a good book. But let's start with the beginning. Galaxias deals with the idea of an alien being, which removes the sun. The book starts really good and is written in the first, let's say a hundred, pages very grippingly. But then it begins to repeat. The Characters have one meeting after another. There isn't a really plot anymore and this is really annoying. There were times, when I was wondering, if there is a story at all. But all in all, I think it is okay. (And the third star is only because the idea of the book is good.). But okay is not good. So, if you have patience and like the idea of the book, then I would recommend it to you. Otherwise, leave it. For me it's definitely not a reread worth. Sorry Galaxias.
February 12, 2023
4.7| Als lebenslanger Baxter-Fan sehe ich natürlich alles, wie auch dieses Buch, durch eine Baxter-Brille heraus. "Galaxias" ist für den gewöhnlichen Hard Science Fan jedoch insofern gewöhnungsbedürftig, weil er neben der Haupthandlung (die Sonne verschwindet für einen Tag und löst durch das Fehlen des Sonnenlichts und ihrer Gravitation eine lang-andauernde Störung im Sonnensystem aus) noch viele Nebenaspekte transportiert, gesellschaftlicher, sozialer und politischer Art. Mir jedoch hat dies ausgesprochen gefallen, denn Baxter erweist sich hier auch als Erzähler, neben seinen physikalischen und kosmologischen Kenntnissen, auch als spannenden Weber von spekulativen gesellschaftlichen Entwicklungen. Mit wurde auf keiner Seite Langweilig. Sehr schön empfand ich die drei Hauptprotagonisten des Roman, ehemalige Studienkollegen (alle mit einem astronomischen Hintergrund), die sich selbst "Insiderwitz" nennen. Interessant auch die politische Situation in England, China und den USA, nach den Pandemien und dem Klimawandel zu Anfang der 30er Jahre (Der Roman beginnt im Jahre 2057, als die Sonne durch eine KIII-Intelligenz verschwindet und einen Tag später zurückkehrt).
Über die genauen Gründe, die die Superintelligenz "Galaxias" (so wird diese hypotethische Macht bezeichnet) zu diesem Tun anregt, ist nichts genaues bekannt, aber es wird kräftig spekuliert. Doch die Auswirkungen sind vielfältig und hochspannend mit düsteren Vorassagen. Ich war und bin begeistert, kann aber nicht sagen, ob das so umfangreich geteilt wird...
Über die genauen Gründe, die die Superintelligenz "Galaxias" (so wird diese hypotethische Macht bezeichnet) zu diesem Tun anregt, ist nichts genaues bekannt, aber es wird kräftig spekuliert. Doch die Auswirkungen sind vielfältig und hochspannend mit düsteren Vorassagen. Ich war und bin begeistert, kann aber nicht sagen, ob das so umfangreich geteilt wird...
January 4, 2023
Rounding up from 1.5 stars rather than down to 1 star based solely on some lingering holiday cheer, but ooof, this book has now sufficently killed THAT right off. Galaxias starts off with some interesting ideas and suppositions about climate change, extraterrestrial intelligence, space exploration, international politics and the human psychology that goes along with all of that, but then immediately devolves into SO. MUCH. TALKING. that I quickly stopped caring. Characters are all basically interchangeable...like I literally couldn't keep two of the main characters straight and it didn't matter AT ALL...plus Galaxias itself turns out to be a pretty big nothing burger and I found the overall writing style to be pompous and self-important, like maybe the author just likes the sound of his own voice (so to speak), so yeah...this "hard sci-fi" is a big "hard pass" from me.
December 18, 2021
Interesting premise, but it is slow, bureaucratic, and the conclusion is dissatisfying.
November 7, 2022
He visto opiniones bastante duras respecto a este libro y bueno, casi todas las cosas que critican, son cosas que me gustan de vez en cuando, así que por ese lado no habido problema. Ciencia Ficción dura especulativa con muchas páginas de gente hablando y “sin que pase nada”, pues todo eso también me gusta de vez en cuando y no puedo criticarlo teniendo tan reciente “La Nube Negra” de Fred Hoyle y es a lo que te expones a veces cuando los escritores son astrofísicos como lo era Hoyle o Matemáticos como lo es Baxter.
Dicho esto, si algo tengo que admitir es que donde más flojea es en los personajes y su menor importancia relativa dentro de la trama respecto a su importancia como vehículos de la misma. Pero no me parece nada grave tampoco si no es una Space Opera de varios volúmenes y esto no lo es.
La trama en sí, pues tampoco os tengo que desvelar nada más que de lo que pone en la presentación del libro y en su prólogo, que ya deja muy claro que se va liar gorda porque alguien ve algo que hacemos a mediados del siglo XX y lanza un mensaje que tiene respuesta en el siglo XXI. La respuesta y el mensaje que nos dejan a nosotros es tan simple como de buenas a primeras y coincidiendo con un eclipse lunar, el sol desaparece.
No hay que saber más, a partir de aquí especulación a tope y no son más que las primeras páginas de la novela y la premisa inicial de una historia de primer contacto elevada a la potencia más bruta y loca posible. Mucha gente hablando y tal, pero hablando se llegan a cotas hiperlocas de ciencia ficción dura a niveles que pocas veces leo. Y bueno también hay naves y eso, con motores que yo personalmente nunca he visto teorizados así que tampoco os fieis de las reseñas que abandonan el libro.
Todo ello salpicado con un futuro cercano (unos 30 años) post-brexit, post segunda secesión americana, post crisis climática y post pandemias que como es lógico, son temas que ahora son actuales y por tanto van a colarse en las páginas de los autores de una manera u otra.
Yo le doy el visto más que bueno, sin llegar a la excelencia tampoco, pero muchas más que “solo” disfrutable.
Dicho esto, si algo tengo que admitir es que donde más flojea es en los personajes y su menor importancia relativa dentro de la trama respecto a su importancia como vehículos de la misma. Pero no me parece nada grave tampoco si no es una Space Opera de varios volúmenes y esto no lo es.
La trama en sí, pues tampoco os tengo que desvelar nada más que de lo que pone en la presentación del libro y en su prólogo, que ya deja muy claro que se va liar gorda porque alguien ve algo que hacemos a mediados del siglo XX y lanza un mensaje que tiene respuesta en el siglo XXI. La respuesta y el mensaje que nos dejan a nosotros es tan simple como de buenas a primeras y coincidiendo con un eclipse lunar, el sol desaparece.
No hay que saber más, a partir de aquí especulación a tope y no son más que las primeras páginas de la novela y la premisa inicial de una historia de primer contacto elevada a la potencia más bruta y loca posible. Mucha gente hablando y tal, pero hablando se llegan a cotas hiperlocas de ciencia ficción dura a niveles que pocas veces leo. Y bueno también hay naves y eso, con motores que yo personalmente nunca he visto teorizados así que tampoco os fieis de las reseñas que abandonan el libro.
Todo ello salpicado con un futuro cercano (unos 30 años) post-brexit, post segunda secesión americana, post crisis climática y post pandemias que como es lógico, son temas que ahora son actuales y por tanto van a colarse en las páginas de los autores de una manera u otra.
Yo le doy el visto más que bueno, sin llegar a la excelencia tampoco, pero muchas más que “solo” disfrutable.
June 14, 2024
Galaxias by Stephen Baxter is one of my few forays into contemporary SF novels, as I usually prefer shorter novels that focus on conceptual breakthroughs or new ideas, as Outlaw Bookseller would describe it. Most of these novels date from the 60s to the 80s. Stephen Baxter started writing SF in the 90s and is still very prolific.
Galaxias is my first Baxter novel and I really enjoyed it. Compared to my normal reading habits, Galaxias is a different experience, but I'm happy to switch to modern books every now and then. It is definitely worth reading, as it has a broader scope that seems to be present in many other SF books published in the 2010s and beyond.
Baxter develops, especially at the beginning, very charismatic protagonists who are worth following and caring about, including a tragic story. Suddenly, perfectly in tune with a normal solar eclipse, the sun, its mass and its energy disappear from one second to the next. It quickly becomes clear that only an extraterrestrial being can be responsible for this... Is it a way to communicate with us? Or does it want to threaten us? The universe should not be populated by humans?
The book is divided into several parts, the first of which takes place on the very first day of this event, and it's in these chapters that Baxter is best able to draw me into the story, and it's very fast paced. In my opinion, the best part of the book. After that the chapters cover a wider time horizon of the next decade. The chapters become more similar in structure, the protagonists meet again, discuss the latest issues and then part. This is a bit monotonous and definitely a downer. The ending, however, is very strong and makes up for the dry middle part.
After all, humanity is at stake and has to deal with problems not only on an Earth-wide scale, but also on a planetary or even galaxy-wide scale. This is definitely an important aspect of SF today, and, to be honest, it is fascinating to read. Nevertheless, I usually get the feeling that the authors of such novels want to find the best possible explanation for the roaming questions: When will we find other intelligences in the universe? How did they evolve? What are their goals? In the end, the scope is so vast, spanning decades and even centuries or millennia, that these books, including Galaxias, lose something of their plot and the ability to feel for the protagonists also in the later part of the book. This is why, in my opinion, these novels cannot be rewarded with 5 stars, there is always a lack of a final answer or ending, which is of course difficult or even impossible to achieve.
All in all, Galaxias is an epic adventure with some flaws. At the beginning, the focus is on the scientific, political and social handling of the removal of the sun from the solar system. Then the consequences and decisions that were made after this strange event, and finally, in the very last chapter, a small glimpse into the year 200,000,000 AD is presented, which could very vaguely include an answer from this extraterrestrial being.
Baxter is very prolific at the moment, with two more novels after Galaxias already on my shelves, The Thousand Earths and Creation Node, so my journey of reading hard SF novels continues...
Galaxias is my first Baxter novel and I really enjoyed it. Compared to my normal reading habits, Galaxias is a different experience, but I'm happy to switch to modern books every now and then. It is definitely worth reading, as it has a broader scope that seems to be present in many other SF books published in the 2010s and beyond.
Baxter develops, especially at the beginning, very charismatic protagonists who are worth following and caring about, including a tragic story. Suddenly, perfectly in tune with a normal solar eclipse, the sun, its mass and its energy disappear from one second to the next. It quickly becomes clear that only an extraterrestrial being can be responsible for this... Is it a way to communicate with us? Or does it want to threaten us? The universe should not be populated by humans?
The book is divided into several parts, the first of which takes place on the very first day of this event, and it's in these chapters that Baxter is best able to draw me into the story, and it's very fast paced. In my opinion, the best part of the book. After that the chapters cover a wider time horizon of the next decade. The chapters become more similar in structure, the protagonists meet again, discuss the latest issues and then part. This is a bit monotonous and definitely a downer. The ending, however, is very strong and makes up for the dry middle part.
After all, humanity is at stake and has to deal with problems not only on an Earth-wide scale, but also on a planetary or even galaxy-wide scale. This is definitely an important aspect of SF today, and, to be honest, it is fascinating to read. Nevertheless, I usually get the feeling that the authors of such novels want to find the best possible explanation for the roaming questions: When will we find other intelligences in the universe? How did they evolve? What are their goals? In the end, the scope is so vast, spanning decades and even centuries or millennia, that these books, including Galaxias, lose something of their plot and the ability to feel for the protagonists also in the later part of the book. This is why, in my opinion, these novels cannot be rewarded with 5 stars, there is always a lack of a final answer or ending, which is of course difficult or even impossible to achieve.
All in all, Galaxias is an epic adventure with some flaws. At the beginning, the focus is on the scientific, political and social handling of the removal of the sun from the solar system. Then the consequences and decisions that were made after this strange event, and finally, in the very last chapter, a small glimpse into the year 200,000,000 AD is presented, which could very vaguely include an answer from this extraterrestrial being.
Baxter is very prolific at the moment, with two more novels after Galaxias already on my shelves, The Thousand Earths and Creation Node, so my journey of reading hard SF novels continues...
December 14, 2021
I have to say, this was a shallow read. I do like Stephen Baxter's Xelee series and the NASA series but this book didn't work for me.
It had the usual crop of science/technology ideas but there wasn't really a coherent story between these ideas. The storyline was pieced together from what would be best described as press briefings and the characters were added only to witness these events, without having much agency of their own.
Zhi comes closest to be an active protagonist but even his motivation and how he gets into some - relative - action is questionable at best. The rest of the In-Jokes are simply passive observers for the most time.
The themes are interesting but I didn't think that long conversations in the back rooms where Zhi and his mother was forced to sit together were particularly interesting setting to take us into universe or at least the Milkyway that was dominated by a Kardeshev scale III civilisation (entity?)
The suspension of disbelief was entirely lacking for me: China committing to a plan to dismantle effectively the whole of Mercury to push the whole Solar system out of the Milkyway as a gesture of communication is something I cannot take seriously as a political act. Or that the whole motivation for Zhi to 'strike back' to the Galaxias was that his husband died on his way back from Mars.
I find it lacking too for the Galaxias to expend energies to move a whole star out of its place only to send a message about saving the galactic resources, a scale of energy that might have been able to kick start an entirely new intelligent species and some.
It had the usual crop of science/technology ideas but there wasn't really a coherent story between these ideas. The storyline was pieced together from what would be best described as press briefings and the characters were added only to witness these events, without having much agency of their own.
Zhi comes closest to be an active protagonist but even his motivation and how he gets into some - relative - action is questionable at best. The rest of the In-Jokes are simply passive observers for the most time.
The themes are interesting but I didn't think that long conversations in the back rooms where Zhi and his mother was forced to sit together were particularly interesting setting to take us into universe or at least the Milkyway that was dominated by a Kardeshev scale III civilisation (entity?)
The suspension of disbelief was entirely lacking for me: China committing to a plan to dismantle effectively the whole of Mercury to push the whole Solar system out of the Milkyway as a gesture of communication is something I cannot take seriously as a political act. Or that the whole motivation for Zhi to 'strike back' to the Galaxias was that his husband died on his way back from Mars.
I find it lacking too for the Galaxias to expend energies to move a whole star out of its place only to send a message about saving the galactic resources, a scale of energy that might have been able to kick start an entirely new intelligent species and some.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 11, 2023
Année 2057, l’humanité se relève à peine d’un enchainement de catastrophes climatiques. Un jour de janvier comme les autres, le soleil disparait lors d’une éclipse.
Pitch simple, mais diablement efficace, et c’est tout ce que vous avez besoin de savoir avant de commencer ce livre – qui sera certainement dans mon top 10 de l’année tellement il est absolument GENIAL. Sciences de folie, histoire aux proportions dantesques, personnages plutôt développés pour du Baxter, il est juste dingue. Vraiment, je n’ai qu’une hâte, c’est de le voir adapté au cinéma, tellement il y a matière à faire. J’aimais déjà beaucoup Baxter, mais ce livre est typiquement ce pourquoi j’aime la SF : de l’émotion, du grandiose, et des concepts de ouf qui me donnent envie de checker wikipédia toutes les 5 minutes.
Lisez le, urgemment, vous ne le regretterez pas.
Pitch simple, mais diablement efficace, et c’est tout ce que vous avez besoin de savoir avant de commencer ce livre – qui sera certainement dans mon top 10 de l’année tellement il est absolument GENIAL. Sciences de folie, histoire aux proportions dantesques, personnages plutôt développés pour du Baxter, il est juste dingue. Vraiment, je n’ai qu’une hâte, c’est de le voir adapté au cinéma, tellement il y a matière à faire. J’aimais déjà beaucoup Baxter, mais ce livre est typiquement ce pourquoi j’aime la SF : de l’émotion, du grandiose, et des concepts de ouf qui me donnent envie de checker wikipédia toutes les 5 minutes.
Lisez le, urgemment, vous ne le regretterez pas.
January 9, 2022
A new Stephen Baxter novel comes as a joy to me. He has written some of my very favourite novels. I did have an issue with the ending but otherwise I thoroughly enjoyed Galaxias. I was also terrified by it. A review is now up on For Winter Nights.
December 5, 2021
Baxter asks a fascinating question: what would happen if the Sun vanished for 24 hours? Not just no sunlight, but no Sun at all, with all the weird things this would do to the orbit of the Earth and the Moon.
The answers to this question are intriguing and surprising. The difficulty with this book is that it centres these answers on the personal journeys of three friends who are all rather privileged and not particularly likeable. Baxter’s “Flood” shone because it captured the everyday anguish of a planetary catastrophe, while Stephenson’s “Seveneves” provided wonderful scientific details of how the apocalypse might play out. “Galaxias” tries to do both, but doesn’t really succeed at either. It also tries too hard to explain what happened to the Sun, when perhaps, like in “Seveneves”, the story is better if no explanation is offered or attempted.
Overall, “Galaxias” is probably worth your time, as long as you don’t go in with the very high expectations that Baxter’s previous works might set.
The answers to this question are intriguing and surprising. The difficulty with this book is that it centres these answers on the personal journeys of three friends who are all rather privileged and not particularly likeable. Baxter’s “Flood” shone because it captured the everyday anguish of a planetary catastrophe, while Stephenson’s “Seveneves” provided wonderful scientific details of how the apocalypse might play out. “Galaxias” tries to do both, but doesn’t really succeed at either. It also tries too hard to explain what happened to the Sun, when perhaps, like in “Seveneves”, the story is better if no explanation is offered or attempted.
Overall, “Galaxias” is probably worth your time, as long as you don’t go in with the very high expectations that Baxter’s previous works might set.
July 28, 2024
After an interesting opening, it becomes one of the most tedious books imaginable. Even the two main characters, made of purest MDF, wouldn't be able tell themselves apart. Endless unconvincing speeches made by various unconvincing cutouts, at great and repetitious length, and then another character will say "Get to the point!" as though this somehow excuses the author from bothering to do the same. Baxter has never been capable of more than functional and efficient prose, but on this evidence experience is actually making him worse. This thing is flabby as fuck.
December 29, 2022
Because Galaxias is a great example of hard-sf, this review is as good a place as any to talk about what distinguishes hard-sf from regular science fiction. It can be characterized by a strict adherence to accuracy and plausible speculation within the hard sciences (physics, chemistry, astronomy, geology, etc. In many hard-sf works, character development and continuity of the experience of particular humans may be sacrificed in favor of conceptual scope over extended periods of time. The poster-boy of hard-sf was Arthur C. Clarke, and much of Stephen Baxter’s work is out of the same mold. If you look through his bibliography, you will find collaborations between Baxter and Clarke, as well as occasional conceptual homage to Clarke. Galaxias re-uses Clarke’s concept of an alien sentinel placed on the Moon for purposes of monitoring for the appearance of intelligent life on Earth – but the novel is far more than just an update on Clarke’s 2001: A Space Odyssey.
The story begins in the late 2050s, on an Earth that went through a disruptive climate crisis in the 2030s. The human migrations and social and political changes resulting from that are not the plot, but backstory to the current situation. Baxter positions three youngish adult characters who bonded non-romantically during college so that through interaction between them, they take complementary perspectives of his near-future world building. And, wildly unexpectedly, on January 5 of 2057 during an eclipse, the Sun disappears. The effects of the loss of the full range of solar radiation and the loss of the Sun’s gravitation are extensively explored, with lethal consequences. The English scientists and politicians with whom the three characters are associated scramble to understand, but in the end must accept that the timing of the event to match a human-observable eclipse indicates a non-natural phenomenon, but rather an extraterrestrial message.
I thoroughly enjoyed that unravelling and progression through cosmological mysteries that ensues. Baxter leverages a dozen speculative concepts ranging from planetary water-world intelligence to self-reproducing machines. The narrative transitions from daily to monthly to yearly to millions of years of time span, which I expect will be intolerable for the expectations of more conventional readers. In his Afterward, Baxter cites diverse sources for scholarly explorations of the concepts. I have to say that the one that broke credibility for me was “negative matter,” and in the Afterward I see that the citation is actually through another SF writer. There does exist theoretical analysis, but the evidence for it seems mighty slim.
And finally, I have to note that Baxter’s near future Earth is envisioned with extreme Anglo-centrism (boat people refugees from France washing up on England’s shore, because Europe has suffered from climate change more than England?), combined with some naivete regarding American politics (there have been several secessions and the rump USA is dominated by the right-wing?), and a China that is nearly as indecipherable as the alien intelligence. But those are probably nits, compared to the mind-blowing cosmological implications that are on the main stage of the novel.
The story begins in the late 2050s, on an Earth that went through a disruptive climate crisis in the 2030s. The human migrations and social and political changes resulting from that are not the plot, but backstory to the current situation. Baxter positions three youngish adult characters who bonded non-romantically during college so that through interaction between them, they take complementary perspectives of his near-future world building. And, wildly unexpectedly, on January 5 of 2057 during an eclipse, the Sun disappears. The effects of the loss of the full range of solar radiation and the loss of the Sun’s gravitation are extensively explored, with lethal consequences. The English scientists and politicians with whom the three characters are associated scramble to understand, but in the end must accept that the timing of the event to match a human-observable eclipse indicates a non-natural phenomenon, but rather an extraterrestrial message.
I thoroughly enjoyed that unravelling and progression through cosmological mysteries that ensues. Baxter leverages a dozen speculative concepts ranging from planetary water-world intelligence to self-reproducing machines. The narrative transitions from daily to monthly to yearly to millions of years of time span, which I expect will be intolerable for the expectations of more conventional readers. In his Afterward, Baxter cites diverse sources for scholarly explorations of the concepts. I have to say that the one that broke credibility for me was “negative matter,” and in the Afterward I see that the citation is actually through another SF writer. There does exist theoretical analysis, but the evidence for it seems mighty slim.
And finally, I have to note that Baxter’s near future Earth is envisioned with extreme Anglo-centrism (boat people refugees from France washing up on England’s shore, because Europe has suffered from climate change more than England?), combined with some naivete regarding American politics (there have been several secessions and the rump USA is dominated by the right-wing?), and a China that is nearly as indecipherable as the alien intelligence. But those are probably nits, compared to the mind-blowing cosmological implications that are on the main stage of the novel.
November 27, 2022
A solid read, the start is fantastic and really gets your imagination flying. The middle I found a bit slow, however push through as it does ramp back up and the ending is well worth it. 3.5 stars
Read
November 5, 2021Note: this book gets absolutely panned on Amazon.
And what is it about the sun going out. I swear this is the third book I've encountered with this theme recently
And what is it about the sun going out. I swear this is the third book I've encountered with this theme recently
August 29, 2023
One would think that a book about the sun suddenly disappearing from the sky would be a whole hell of a lot more exciting than this ended up being.
Instead of the disaster-porn aspects Galaxias promised, it’s just a bloated 500+ page speculative hard sci-fi novel that meanders around endlessly. There’s maybe one 4 page passage of world destruction, but that’s quickly forgotten, buried under page after page of inane dialogue that never ends, spoken by unlikable cardboard characters.
Sure, some of the ideas that Baxter presents are kind of cool (from the Sun being controlled by alien technology, to the decade spanning journey humanity has to undergo in order to travel vast distances through space), but that’s not an excuse for such a clunky and oh so repetitive story that goes nowhere and, at the conclusion, doesn’t answer a single damn question it presents readers with.
It’s really a bummer this one sucked so bad, as Baxter has penned some truly awesome sci-fi/disasterporn novels that i consider some of the best in the genre and some of my all time favorite books. Here though, he plods along at a snail’s pace and somehow manages to write one of the most boring books I’ve read in quite some time.
I guess all authors are allowed a clunker here and there, but man, this one was incredibly disappointing.
Instead of the disaster-porn aspects Galaxias promised, it’s just a bloated 500+ page speculative hard sci-fi novel that meanders around endlessly. There’s maybe one 4 page passage of world destruction, but that’s quickly forgotten, buried under page after page of inane dialogue that never ends, spoken by unlikable cardboard characters.
Sure, some of the ideas that Baxter presents are kind of cool (from the Sun being controlled by alien technology, to the decade spanning journey humanity has to undergo in order to travel vast distances through space), but that’s not an excuse for such a clunky and oh so repetitive story that goes nowhere and, at the conclusion, doesn’t answer a single damn question it presents readers with.
It’s really a bummer this one sucked so bad, as Baxter has penned some truly awesome sci-fi/disasterporn novels that i consider some of the best in the genre and some of my all time favorite books. Here though, he plods along at a snail’s pace and somehow manages to write one of the most boring books I’ve read in quite some time.
I guess all authors are allowed a clunker here and there, but man, this one was incredibly disappointing.
July 4, 2022
Galaxias is Milton's Paradise Lost for the covid 19 pandemic: instead of Milton justifying the ways of God to men, we have Baxter justifying the ways of government to readers.
Wish I could give four stars. Well written hard SF. Beautifully edited and marketed. Scrupulously faithful to the genre.
The tone is one of submission: to fate, to government, to death, and to Galaxias. Gone the optimism of earlier SF. Stoic British characters pessimistically handle terrible circumstances..
The ending is cryptic, containing the seed of an exciting story. The main story had lots of meetings. Lots of superb exposition. Lots of British stoicism.
Why doesn't this great sci-fi satisfy as literature? It lacks tragic magnitude, the romance of space, and actual striving against an implacable enemy.
We might choose to admire his stoic acceptance. We might choose to regard it as simping for Chinese authoritarianism. We might choose to overlook the authoritarian-left bias. It does not ruin the story, but it does ruin the characters, who are unconvincing. They are all the same person.
We have a diverse cast of lead characters behaving exactly like straight white men did in science fiction a decade ago. Would these diverse characters really behave the same way, or is the diversity really stage dressing for the author to wheedle acceptance from the diversity-ruled publishing class?
It seems that the book patronizes the diversity conspirators, because of the book's bizarre characterisation of diversity folk as straight white males in drag.
If you intend to read this book, skip the middle third from 33% to 66%.
You won't know some of the characters in the last third but they are facelessly interchangeable anyway.
Read the plot points of the last third fall in the last two pages of each chapter; but Yun's exposition is brilliant and requires careful reading, even though it should have come 300 pages earlier.
Cut the middle third of the book and you have a solid procedural left wing diversity hard SF book with great science and fascinating politics, at 3 stars. Cut the middle AND the BS politics and you have a four star book.
As is, seems to be a two star book.
Wish I could give four stars. Well written hard SF. Beautifully edited and marketed. Scrupulously faithful to the genre.
The tone is one of submission: to fate, to government, to death, and to Galaxias. Gone the optimism of earlier SF. Stoic British characters pessimistically handle terrible circumstances..
The ending is cryptic, containing the seed of an exciting story. The main story had lots of meetings. Lots of superb exposition. Lots of British stoicism.
Why doesn't this great sci-fi satisfy as literature? It lacks tragic magnitude, the romance of space, and actual striving against an implacable enemy.
We might choose to admire his stoic acceptance. We might choose to regard it as simping for Chinese authoritarianism. We might choose to overlook the authoritarian-left bias. It does not ruin the story, but it does ruin the characters, who are unconvincing. They are all the same person.
We have a diverse cast of lead characters behaving exactly like straight white men did in science fiction a decade ago. Would these diverse characters really behave the same way, or is the diversity really stage dressing for the author to wheedle acceptance from the diversity-ruled publishing class?
It seems that the book patronizes the diversity conspirators, because of the book's bizarre characterisation of diversity folk as straight white males in drag.
If you intend to read this book, skip the middle third from 33% to 66%.
You won't know some of the characters in the last third but they are facelessly interchangeable anyway.
Read the plot points of the last third fall in the last two pages of each chapter; but Yun's exposition is brilliant and requires careful reading, even though it should have come 300 pages earlier.
Cut the middle third of the book and you have a solid procedural left wing diversity hard SF book with great science and fascinating politics, at 3 stars. Cut the middle AND the BS politics and you have a four star book.
As is, seems to be a two star book.
October 21, 2021
A fantastic ‘what if’ almost believable
Yet another fantastic concept and story from Stephen Baxter, one of the best scifi writers in the world. With more twists than you can imagine
Yet another fantastic concept and story from Stephen Baxter, one of the best scifi writers in the world. With more twists than you can imagine
January 29, 2022
Terminally dull.
I kept turning the pages hoping that something, anything would happen. It didn't. If you like stories with constant repetition and consisting of nothing but descriptions of endless meetings then this is the one for you!
I kept turning the pages hoping that something, anything would happen. It didn't. If you like stories with constant repetition and consisting of nothing but descriptions of endless meetings then this is the one for you!
December 28, 2022
Just so we are clear, Charlie is Astronomer Royal, Zhi is grieving, the In Jokers are a tight group of three... And if you are not clear, open the book and read three pages, any pages, because it will be said times and times and times again. Stating the obvious is an understatement of this book. (How many times can it be said that so and so is this and that? Yes, I got it, Jane is her daughter, I understood the concept the first five times I was told!)
The idea behind it is not bad, but the execution of it is atrocious. There is no action per say, just meetings over meetings where everyone lectures you either on the obvious or on things that one doesn’t really need to be able to navigate. And when it does that, there’s this very hard to shake feeling of being patronised.
The characters are… well not even boring, better said alarmingly dumb. The way they talk and behave with one another is not unrealistic, but insensitive and fake.
I was curious to read a sci-fi book and I had hope for this one because Stephen Baxter did a good job with Arthur C Clarke on the Time Odyssey. Now my question is who did a good job? Because quite obviously the good writing came from Clarke and the idea… maybe Baxter had something to do with it, but the jury is still out.
The only good things to be said about it are the idea behind it (although how original it is, that’s another debate) and the good representation of women and LGBT+ characters (although at one point you can get quite annoyed with how many times it points out, in your face, that so and so is gay and engaged…).
The idea behind it is not bad, but the execution of it is atrocious. There is no action per say, just meetings over meetings where everyone lectures you either on the obvious or on things that one doesn’t really need to be able to navigate. And when it does that, there’s this very hard to shake feeling of being patronised.
The characters are… well not even boring, better said alarmingly dumb. The way they talk and behave with one another is not unrealistic, but insensitive and fake.
I was curious to read a sci-fi book and I had hope for this one because Stephen Baxter did a good job with Arthur C Clarke on the Time Odyssey. Now my question is who did a good job? Because quite obviously the good writing came from Clarke and the idea… maybe Baxter had something to do with it, but the jury is still out.
The only good things to be said about it are the idea behind it (although how original it is, that’s another debate) and the good representation of women and LGBT+ characters (although at one point you can get quite annoyed with how many times it points out, in your face, that so and so is gay and engaged…).
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 11, 2022
I've read a few Baxter books, so I am aware that character writing is not his strength, but I know he can do better than this. Our pov characters do not even have any initiative, just total pawns in the like 40 different meetings they're dragged into.
The scientific fiction elements just are not enough to keep the book interesting, essentially nothing of any interest occurs after the sun's disappearing act.
Even readers who are used to Baxter should not bother with this
The scientific fiction elements just are not enough to keep the book interesting, essentially nothing of any interest occurs after the sun's disappearing act.
Even readers who are used to Baxter should not bother with this
September 29, 2023
A book by Stephen Baxter about the sun disappearing should have been at least a good read but this was disappointing. More a book about endless dull meetings about the sun disappearing with this pseudo glib dialogue that I find irritating, by characters I couldn’t work up much interest in. Still, it was just barely engaging enough to finish although a real slog. Again, a psychologist might help me understand my compulsion to finish books that aren’t really holding my interest.
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