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 Post subject: Stephen Baxter
PostPosted: Mon Jun 02, 2003 5:04 pm 
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Lady Scryer
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I couldn't resist a book called Evolution by Stephen Baxter when I saw it recently...it just looked very interesting.

Quote:It is the job of a science fiction writer to visualize the future. But there are those who go far beyond, veturing into realms of breathtaking science and imagination. That kind of cutting-edge talent is as rare as a supernova - and in in its own way, just as powerful. Arthur C. Clarke had it. So did William Gibson. Now, with Evolution, Stephen Baxter delivers what is sure to be one of the most talked-about books of the year - and shows once again why he belongs among the select company of science fiction writers who matter. Stretching from the distant past into the remote future, from primordial Earth to the stars, Evolution is a soaring symphony of struggle, extinction, and survivial; a dazzling epic that combines a dozen scientific disciplines abd a cast of unforgettable characters to convey the grand drama of evolution in all of its awesome majesty and rigorous beauty. Sixty-five million years ago, when dinosaurs ruled the earh, there lived a small mammal, a proto-primate of the species Purgotorius. From this humble beginning, Baxter traces the human lineage forward through time. The adventure that unfolds is a gripping odyssey governed by chance and competition, a perilous journey to an uncertain destination along a route beset by sudden and catastrophic upheavels. It is a route that ends, for most species, in stagnation or extinction. Why should humanity escape this fate? A generation from today, a group of concerned scientists - distant desendants of that primitive Purgotorius - gathers on a remote island to discuss this very question. The ceaseless expansion of human civilization has triggered an urgent environmental crisis that must be solved now, if the Earth is to survive as a hospitable place for human life. But just when a peaceful solution seems within reach, two acts of shocking violence set in motion a cataclysmic chain of events that will expose the limitations of human intellect and adaptability in the face of the blind and implacable processes of Darwin's dangerous idea.

and about the author:
Quote:Stephen baxter is a trained engineer with degrees from Cambridge (mathematics) and Southhampton 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 the Arthur C. Clark award, most recently for Manifold:Time. His novel Voyage won the Sidewise Award for the Best Alternate History Novel of the Year; he also won the John W. Campbell Award and the Phillip K. Dick Award for his novel The Time Ships. He is currently working on his next novel, a collaboration with Sir Arthur C. Clark. Our lives are the songs that sing the universe into existence.~David Zindell
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 Post subject: Re: Stephen Baxter
PostPosted: Tue Jun 03, 2003 5:00 am 
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Lady Scryer
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Location: Michigan, USA
I started reading Evolution tonight and am very much enjoying it. If I had to compare Baxter to anyone else, it would be Kim Stanley Robinson, with an intelligent, detail-packed, well-researched story. Our lives are the songs that sing the universe into existence.~David Zindell
****Tavern Wench of DOGMA, the Defenders of George Martin's Art****<i></i>


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 Post subject: Re: Stephen Baxter
PostPosted: Sat Jun 21, 2003 1:02 am 
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Joined: Fri May 09, 2003 12:24 am
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A couple of years ago I was on vacation in Puerto Vallarta, and decided I needed something to read on the beach. I found this funny, little used bookstore where the paperbacks were all jammed onto the shelves at random (no alphabetical order), and I managed to pick a couple of sci fi books out of the chaos: Van Vogt's "War With The Rull" and "Manifold Time" by Stephen Baxter.

Normally, I probably wouldn't have picked up a Baxter book, as I don't read much of the Hard SF anymore, but I ended up pleasantly surprised and mighty impressed. Manifold Time is a solid tale throughout, but the final, jaw-dropping chapters really deliver the goods.

Baxter is someone I'd like to read more of ... if only there were more time! <i></i>


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