Interim Coalition of Stephen Baxter discussion

There wasn't a discussion group for the novels by Stephen Baxter, so I decided to create one. Please introduce yourself so we can kick this off right.

Also be sure to check out the [bookshelf] link. We have his novels organized nicely by series.

Hi there. I'm Bella, big scifi fan. I haven't read any books by Stephen Baxter yet, but I just received an ARC of The Long Earth by Terry Pratchett & Stephen Baxter and I can't wait to start reading it.

Do you have any recs for a Stephen Baxter newbie? What's a good place to start?

Hi Bella, depends on your tastes but possible Raft.

I really enjoy scifi space opera's (my favorite series of all time is Dune) but also a big Discworld fan. I'm really looking forward to reading Stephen Baxter's new book.

I'm going to check out Raft. Thanks!

Raft is part of the Xeelee sequence, it takes awhile to get into and fit the pieces together, but definitely worth it. Check out the groups bookshelf link.

http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/8...

Hi everyone,

I'm a bit of a late starter with regard to Baxter's writing.
I'm currently reading Book II from The Northland Trilogy : Bronze Summer.

Good Friday evening to all. My name is Richard. I have read several of Mr. Baxter's books, and I am currently working on the Xeelee Sequence via Xeelee: An Omnibus and Vacuum Diagrams. I am a retired public school educator, and I am lover of artfully crafted hard science fiction. Mr. Baxter is certainly a master writer in this genre, IMHO.

Hi guys (& girls),

I'm a big fan of Stephen Baxter's writing. I've read most of his work and appreciate pretty much the whole lot.

Bella, I started out reading "Flood" & then "Ark". Very easy to read, not too "hard" sciency, which you can leave for later readings, when you can tackle the Xelee Sequence (his most accomplished work IMO).

The Destiny's Children series was also fascinating reading and although not Science-based, but rather Historical-Fiction, his Time Tapestry series was a great read!

Hi all - Baxter's been my favourite SF author for years now, since I first read 'The Time Ships' and 'Timelike Infinity'. I'm surprised he doesn't have more fans here!

bella wrote: "Hi there. I'm Bella, big scifi fan. I haven't read any books by Stephen Baxter yet, but I just received an ARC of The Long Earth by Terry Pratchett & Stephen Baxter and I can't wait to start readin..."

Hi, Bella. I'm Richard, and I have been a big Stephen Baxter fan for several years. If you look at the body of his work, a lot of it is devoted to series of stories that are related to a common theme. My suggestion is as you make selections, check out his website for his works. I have been making selections on that basis for as long as I have read his work, and it has always been a good choice for starting points. I have found the NASA series (Voyage, Moonseed, Titan) to be very enjoyable as alternative fiction. The Time Ships is also a good choice for a first read as it stands alone as the sequel to H.G. Wells classic The Time Machine. It (The Time ships) is a great read, especially if you liked Wells' The Time Machine. The Time Ships is one outstanding work IMHO (in my honest opinion).

Big time Baxter fan here, he's my go-to author when I want a good sci-fi read.

Hi All, coming back to reading some Baxter after slogging through the Three Body Problem (kept falling asleep).

I have already read the Flood, Time Odyssey and Proxima series.

Which Should I read next: Xeelee sequence? Manifold? Time's Tapestry? Desitny's Children?

Rick wrote: "Hi All, coming back to reading some Baxter after slogging through the Three Body Problem (kept falling asleep).

I have already read the Flood, Time Odyssey and Proxima series.

Which Should I rea..."
Hi,

I'd advise you to start with the Xeelee Sequence, if you have a few months ahead of you. I bought a pack on Amazon with the first 10 books. The author is suggesting a particular order of reading on his site, but I'd advise not to use it. For some reason Stephen wants you to start with Vacuum Diagrams, a compilation of short stories, but within a few minutes of reading I stumbled upon a massive spoiler.
The authors of the 10-books pack on the other hand put them in in the perfect reading order:

Raft
Timelike Infinity
Flux
Ring
Coalescent (Destiny's Children)
Exultant (Destiny's Children)
Transcendent (Destiny's Children)
Resplendent (Destiny's Children)
Vacuum Diagrams
Xeelee: Endurance

Stick to this order please. Even though the first 3 don't seem related at first, in Ring you get that wow effect (that I personally love) when you suddenly see tie-ins from a different timelines or sequences of events.
Then there is the Destiny Children's pack. The first one, Coalescent, doesn't seem related to the rest of the universe. But then you will miss a lot in the 3 remaining ones if you didn't read Coalescent and Ring beforehand. And you need Exultant and Transcendant for the rest of the sequence.

After this pack Stephen Baxter has added:
Xeelee: Vengeance
Xeelee: Redemption

Hope this helps.

Wow, thoughtful post thank you! I was very confused about the order to read them in. I think i will tackle them next. I returned to reading after many years to help my insomnia - turning off screens at night and reading has helped immensely.

PS if you were to do the whole series (all 17 books) would you say this order would be ok:

After Ring, read:
Reality Dust
Riding the Rock
Mayflower II

and after Vacuum Diagrams, read:
Starfall
Gravity Dreams?

that is keeping in line with the book numbers Goodreads has them sorted as.