#stephen-baxter — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #stephen-baxter, aggregated by home.social.
-
Book Review: “Stone Spring – Northland: Book One”
-
Latest additions to the #reading stack.
I hadn't recorded it properly, but turns out I already owned the book The Long Earth by #TerryPratchett and #StephenBaxter. 😎
Reading the series right now.Three #ChildrenBooks chosen by my youngest and me. I didn't know #CarlosRuizZafon wrote children's books, too.
-
Wybuch wulkanu Yellowstone i jego skutki jest opisany w serii #scifi Długa Ziemia
#terrypratchet #stephenbaxter-------
Wulkan Yellowstone wybuchnie? Konsekwencje dla Polski - Planeta https://www.planeta.pl/nauka/wulkan-yellowstone-wybuchnie-konsekwencje-dla-polski -
Finished reading FLUX by Stephen Baxter of the Xeelee cycle. The main premise was very imaginative and interesting, but also unbelievable, so my suspension of disbelief muscles need a long rest. It was also too long for my taste, but I still liked it enough to finish it.
#books
#fiction
#flux
#sciencefiction
#scifi
#stephenbaxter
#suspensionofdisbelief
#xeelee
#xeeleecycle
@ff16e04363da999a0645281d7bcc8ae23131e5708e5e3c32631b97c8767df70b -
The Massacre of Mankind by Stephen Baxter is a true monument to The War of the Worlds, perfectly extending the story into a wider incursion by the Martians. 10/10 from me, it is a book I'm not going to forget.
https://rdmp.org/dale-mellor/bookblog/?review=the-massacre-of-mankind
@bookstodon #reading #waroftheworlds #themassacreofmankind #scifi #ScifiReading #stephenbaxter #books #BooksWorthReading
-
Finished reading:
Ark
by
Stephen BaxterMixed review, it was a little too depressing for me...
👍 🤖 👎https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ark_(novel)
#Literature
#SciFi
#ScienceFiction
#books
#bookstodon
#coverart
#StephenBaxterGroups:
@[email protected]
@[email protected]
@Scifiart
@sciencefiction -
Der #SFAdventskalender2024
Hinter dem zwölften Türchen wird es plötzlich dunkel.>> https://www.sf-lit.de/aktuelle-meldungen/letzte-meldung-2413/
-
‘Timelike Infinity’ Is Sharp And Compelling
Timelike Infinity (1992) by Stephen Baxter raises the bar on hard SF. Baxter grounds his story with real science and maths yet balances it with high stakes action and believable characters. Baxter takes enormous ideas and makes them relatable and urgent without sacrificing authenticity. This makes Timelike Infinity an engaging story on multiple levels.
The Qax have subjugated Earth and all its colonies. Humanity serves the needs of the Qax with little hope of escape. However, the Cauchy, a ship ferrying a wormhole gate returns after 1,500 years of travel and rebels shock the Qax by flying a ship into the open wormhole to travel into the past before the arrival of the Qax.
The Qax worry what effect these rebels will have on the timeline and so revive Earth technologies to create a new wormhole gate. When the gate is complete a ship emerges. A Xeelee ship commanded by a future Qax. This Qax has come to stop the rebels at all costs.
When the future Qax arrive 1,500 years in the past only Michael Poole, the scientist who created the wormholes, has a plan to stop this Qax. A foolhardy and reckless plan but it’s the only plan he has. Michael must make the plan work or accept the utter destruction of humankind.
Stephen Baxter’s Xeelee Sequence is one of those series I didn’t read when they were first published. I was at uni in the early 90s and had neither time nor money to spend on books. It’s a good thing too since this is the kind of story that easily distracts me from other activities, like studying.
After reading Baxter’s first novel, Raft (1991), I had no clear sense of what the Xeelee are. Timelike Infinity , however, is much more direct about the Xeelee and their supreme god-like abilities. They are, for all intents and purposes, the ‘owners of the universe’. Which is to say don’t mess with the Xeelee if you don’t want your whole species eliminated.
The Xeelee aside, Baxter uses science to create problems and solutions. He twists and turns physics and maths into metaphysical pretzels. This, in turns, allows characters to justify actions or refute those same actions. The arguments are all correct, from a point of view. And that’s the whole point. Baxter uses Schrödinger and Wigner to set up a solution that only works if there is an observer. But who is that observer? God or something else?
Timelike Infinity is not just a philosophical treatise. For all the grand scientific ideas Baxter bandies about he also creates high action. The stakes are big and the weapons are bigger. Yet, there is room for subtlety and surprise. Given the superiority of Xeelee technology the humans face incredible odds. But Baxter allows for the creativity of his characters thinking to make the battle more equal.
The characters of Timelike Infinity are interesting and well developed, yet there is something a little uniform in their make up. I think it’s because they all seem to be geniuses at one thing or another. This doesn’t harm the story in any way but it is something to be aware of while reading it.
Stephen BaxterOne thing that strikes me is that Timelike Infinity harkens back to SF space operas of the Golden Age of SF. The ideas and action are huge and on the grandest of scales. I have no doubt that given the chance John W. Campbell, Jr. or any of the other editors of that era would have jumped at the chance to publish Timelike Infinity.
Timelike Infinity is big, bold SF in the grandest tradition. If you like your SF hard, your technologies incredible, and your action vast then Timelike Infinity is perfect for you. And you don’t need to have read the previous novel, Raft. Timelike Infinity stands on its own within the Xeelee Sequence and alongside any SF you choose to mention. I will be returning to the Xeelee universe in the near future.
#BookReview #StephenBaxter #TimelikeInfinity #XeeleeSequence
-
Journalling some stuff I read / visited / painting / wrote in a #blogpost
#StephenBaxter #HGWells #WarOfTheWorlds #bookreview #scifi #DylanDog #comic #Forensics #Warhammer #WarhammerCommunity #art #writing #blog
https://neurontosomething.wordpress.com/2024/10/26/my-brain-comfort-foodfor-thought/
-
20 books that have had an impact on who you are. One book a day for 20 days. No explanations, no reviews, just book covers (don't forget the alt text).
11/20
The Time Ships by Stephen Baxter
-
JOIN US…for a last hurrah in the #LongEarth!
Guests Joel Martin and Deanne Sheldon-Collins return for #TerryPratchett and #StephenBaxter’s final #TheLongEarth novel.
Catch up with a recap of the first four books in #PratchatPreviously2: https://pratchatpodcast.com/2024/07/08/pratchatpreviously2-the-longer-footnote/
Then listen to our discussion of THE LONG COSMOS in #Pratchat78: https://pratchatpodcast.com/2024/07/08/pratchat78-one-step-beyond/
-
In our next episode, #Pratchat78, Joel Martin and Deanne Sheldon-Collins join us for the end of the journey in The Long Cosmos!
Get your questions in this week - we record next Saturday.
-
"... the Undying were weighed down by the huge burden of the past, each locked into a separate world.
... The present is just a surface bubble of sensation surrounding a great bubble of memory. You forget how to see, to hear; you forget how to talk to people. You forget other people even *exist*. You sink inwards into yourself, thinking about the past. Living on and on without end."
#StephenBaxter, Transcendent, 2005
-
(Flere) bøger vi elsker
Simon har løftet sløret for hemmeligheden: selv om vi er bibliotekarer og burde elske alle bøger ligeligt, så er der altså bøger, vi elsker mere end andre. Og når han nu har smidt nogle rigtig gode titler på bordet, vil jeg også være med – og begrænser mig selv lidt ved at sige, at det ikke må være de samme som Simon (for han har hugget nogle rigtige gode eksempler). Desuden har jeg sat en arbitrær begrænsning på 10 bøger – så er der også mulighed for at vende tilbage med en ny liste senere.
“Elske” er naturligvis et svært kriterium – folk bliver sure, hvis man forsøger at sætte ens kærlighed på tal, og overgangen fra “elsker” til “elsker mere” er flydende, også fra dag til dag. Så jeg har tænkt: bøger, der hos mig rammer den der flygtige genlæsningskvalitet, der gør, at jeg vender tilbage til dem – eller har lyst til at vende tilbage til dem – for at opdage endnu mere i dem.
- The Gone-Away World
Jeg er netop nu i gang med slutningen af Nick Harkaways debutroman og kan mærke de indledende øvelser til den postliterale depression, der kan ramme én efter en rigtig god bog. Det er en svær bog at beskrive, fordi jeg føler, at enhver omtale af indholdselementer bør efterfølges af “… men ikke fjollet!” Den er både dramatisk, goshwow’et, overraskende, romantisk og meget mere – og til tider en smule fjollet. Jeg har tidligere forsøgt at skrive om den her. Og her. Og nu altså også her. Så om ikke andet, bør du lade dig overbevise af min vedholdenhed.
- Perdido Street Station
Det er svært at vælge en China Mieville-roman frem for de andre, for de er alle fede. Men Perdido Street Station var den første, jeg læste, så den har en særlig plads.
Husker du den scene i LoTR, hvor Saruman råber til sine orker: “The old world will burn in the fires of industry!” Hvis nu en af de orker havde overlevet og siden slået sig ned et fjern sted for at opfinde sin verdens ækvivalent til science fiction, ville have sikkert have skrevet PSS. Fantasy, monstre, kapitalismekritik og en forfatter, der elsker sit sprog så tykt, som danskerne elsker den brune sovs.
- Excession
Iain Banks (både med og uden M) er også en forfatter, hvor det er svært at vælge en enkelt titel – men det må alligevel være Excession, når det nu skal være.
Banks’ Culture er det perfekte socialistiske fremtidssamfund, hvor super-AI’er ordner alle de store ting, og kødvæsener kan gøre med livet, hvad de lyster. Det er space opera med superteknologi og vidunderlig technobabble, men hvad sker der, når man pludselig får kontakt til en civilisation, der er cirka lige så langt fremme i forhold til Culture, som Culture er i forhold til menneskeheden lige nu? Der sker mange ting – blandt andet at førnævnte super-AI’er har lange samtaler. Og det er overraskende underholdende.
- Stephen Baxter: Titan
Vi bliver i science fiction-land med en bog, som det nok er mere end 20 år siden, jeg læste – men den har printet sig i mit hoved som en tung klump deprimerende hård sf. Hård sf, der er deprimerende – ikke sf, der er deprimerende hård, selv om det er en spændende tanke.
I et forsøg på at redde fremtidige budgetter beslutter NASA at sammensætte en ekspedition til Titan, en af Saturns måner – for man kan jo ikke nedlægge NASA, hvis man har astronauter ude i rummet. Vel? Det viser det sig, at man godt kan – og det er snart ikke astronauternes eneste problem. Faktisk bliver det bare tristere og tristere.
- Jagten på den lille gedde
For nu at lette lidt på humøret må vi have en finne på banen. Den her har jeg skrevet om for nylig.
- Råchokteksterne
Metafiktion. Hukommelsestab. Begrebshajer. Den kan du læse om her.
- Blindsight
Endnu en omgang science fiction – men nu også med lidt lækker afsmag af horror. Tusindvis af kometagtige genstande styrter ned i Jordens atmosfære og scanner hele planeten. Et skib, Theseus, bliver sendt af sted for at finde modtagerne af den scanning. Vi følger mandskabet på vej til first contact – og mødet med en fremmed intelligens – altimens Peter Watts kaster sig ud i det hav af sære effekter, som opstår af og i den klump materie, der bebor vores kranier. Blindsight er tæt, foruroligende og spændende roman, hvor menneskeligheden bliver skåret skarpt op i rummets kulde og mørke.
- Blood Music
Novellen, der ligger til bund for Blood Music, er en god klassisk omgang ekstrapolerende science fiction – i romanen lader Bear sig selv gå lidt mere grassat. Det er nanoteknologi, det er frygten for grey goo – men det er også et overraskende skarpt sving ud i en anden retning.
- Imajica
Clive Barker er igen en forfatter, hvor det er lidt svært at vælge en enkelt titel – men Imajica får point, fordi den er stor, monstrøs og ikke del af en serie, der aldrig er blevet afsluttet (for helvede, Clive!). Barker er en af de få forfattere, der kan få lov at blande fantasy og horror, fordi han formår at skrive magi, så det virker unaturligt og overvældende og (nåja) magisk. Og så er han lige så glad for at fylde gode ord ind i sin tekst som f.eks. Mieville, og det har jeg åbenbart en forkærlighed for.
- Setans porte
En dansker skal der også være plads til, og hvis der kun skal være en, så må det være Grete Roulund – og Setans porte er den bog, som jeg ryster truende ad folk, indtil de læser den. I en sydøstasiatisk ørepublik har franskmændene lavet lidt for mange atomprøvesprængninger (eller også er guderne vrede), og nu er bajangerne sluppet løs. Og det er dystert og fascinerende og fantastisk. Jeg har skrevet om den her – og Gyseren har mit portræt af Grete Roulund liggende.
#ChinaMieville #CliveBarker #fantasy #GregBear #GreteRoulund #horror #JuhaniKarila #NickHarkaway #StephenBaxter
-
"The present is just a surface of sensation surrounding a great bubble of memory. You forget how to see, to hear; you forget how to talk to people. You forget other people even *exist*. You sink inwards into yourself, thinking about the past. Living on and on without end."
#StephenBaxter, Transcendent, 2005
-
Tag 4 auf der Akut Station.
Die Vitalwerte haben sich wieder auf ein normales Maß eingependelt, schlechte Gedanken schwinden, aber ich grübel immer noch viel.
Gestern durfte ich mit Mitpatienten die Station verlassen und habe mich in der Bücherei mit Lesestoff eingedeckt. Lesen tat ich in den letzten Monaten so gut wie gar nicht mehr, umso mehr freue ich mich, wieder in die Weiten des unendlichen Weltalls abtauchen zu können.
#Depression
#Depressionen
#ScienceFiction
#StephenBaxter -
Wishing a very happy birthday to Stephen Baxter - co-author of The Long Earth series.
#Discworld #DiscworldConvention #DiscworldBirthday
#TerryPratchett #StephenBaxter #TheLongEarth -
Historical superheroes! Explicit Jesus allegories! Big Dumb Objects!
Just another typical adventure in the Long Earth.
Isn’t it?
Find out as Deanne Sheldon-Collins joins us for a long chat about the penultimate #LongEarth novel, 2015’s THE LONG UTOPIA by #TerryPratchett and #StephenBaxter.
https://pratchatpodcast.com/2023/07/23/pratchat69-long-fall-sally/
-
@davidsuculum Yes, I read the entire "The Long Earth" series (by Terry Pratchett & Stephen Baxter). Some truly creative worldbuilding, quite hard-science-ey, and an interesting narrative technique: There's not actually much in the way of story narrative, but rather a series of travelogues -- like a book by a futuristic Richard Francis Burton.
I believe I read that Pratchett and Baxter told denizens of Madison, Wisconsin (which gets nuked) "Nothing personal. Sorry about that." ;->
Incidentally, volume five, The Long Cosmos, was the very last we have from Pratchett. Dammit. But also thank you, pterry.
-
Book Review: ‘The Thousand Earths’
"Hackett wakes to a future in which the Sun is a white dwarf, Milkomeda is dying, and the rest of the Universe is beyond visibility, due to accelerated expansion driven by dark energy."
#sciencefiction #StephenBaxter
https://theorkneynews.scot/2023/07/09/book-review-the-thousand-earths/ -
Hey folks - #Pratchat69, discussing #TerryPratchett and #StephenBaxter’s #TheLongUtopia, will be a bit late.
But since some of you wanted a quick refresher on the #LongEarth so far, here’s #PratchatPreviously, a little recap!
Let us know what you think - and whether you really do want @McKenzie_Ben to do this again in another year or so…
https://pratchatpodcast.com/2023/07/08/pratchatpreviously-the-long-footnote/
-
It’s time for questions for #Pratchat69, The Long Utopia!
What do you want to ask us and guest Deanne Sheldon-Collins about #TerryPratchett and #StephenBaxter’s penultimate #LongEarth novel?
Get them in via reply, hashtag or usual channels by Saturday the 24th of June.
-
Okay, #introduction
I put it off because there is 🫧 where my memory should be. Hi, I'm Sygin. I'm queer, nonbinary and very, very not a man. I used to have the account on the .lol instance. Also depressed and anxious. I like video games, rats and making soup. Some sort of anarcho - collectivist because hierarchies rarely lead to good things and individualism is for chumps. Talk to me about #stephenbaxter books. I live on TERF island. It's been kind of rough, but I hope y'all are having at least an ok day.
