[tmilktoast]

Hello World,

I read Vacuum Diagrams by Stephen Baxter some time ago after purchasing it on a whim.

I found it to be a thought-provoking and a bit dense. Maybe not so much "dense", as having depth, but also being a bit inscrutable. I felt I was offered a glimpse into a series of great universe altering and shattering events, but not allowed to linger enough to understand what I was witnessing. It is hard to qualify the book. Is it a book of short stories somewhat tenuously connected by a narrator whose nature I didn't quite grasp (as I remember it now), or is it novel?

I do know, however, that I liked what I read and if I understand correctly there are a series of books within the same universe. I have the impression that if I had read these other books, I wouldn't have felt I'd just been taken through an whirlwind tour of the history of Baxter's universe, intriguing though it may have been.

Is there any truth to that idea? And what books should I read?

p.s. I just thought of the Search fuction... oh well, too late now!

[Phantos]

very cool stuff...
too smart sometimes and challengingly dry at points, but well worth the effort...
this will explain: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xeelee

[Hobbit]

And there is a Xeelee connection to Baxter's recent series too.

Hobbit

[tmilktoast]

Thanks, I'll check out some of those books.

I agree that it was dry at times, and much of the science was over my head, but enjoyable none the less.

It had been quite a while since I'd read sort of "space" science fiction, I suppose it would be classified as hard science fiction, so that factored in my enjoyment as well.

[Hobbit]

I don't think it's just lazy pigeonholing that compares Stephen to Arthur C Clarke - a lot of Stephen's work has a similar style, with all the strengths and weaknesses that involves.

In some ways Stephen's writing can therefore be seen as oldfashioned SF, though I think he is a little underrated - perhaps most in his recent work which has covered topics as diverse space opera, genetics and ancient prehistory and Roman history.

His recent series with ACC I have really enjoyed too.

(But I still really, really don't like The Light of Other Days. :) )

Hobbit

[tmilktoast]

Arthur C. Clarke, how could I have forgotten of him? I'm certainly even more interested in reading more Baxter (hopefully my library can help me -- probably not), if he is comparable. Old fashioned SF is where I started, more or less. But it has been years since I've read anything like that.

ACC is still writing? That's pretty amazing. I've always wondered how these collaborative novels have worked, the process I mean.

Suddenly I'm inspired to re-read Rendezvous with Rama, and I'm strangely excited.