Stephen Baxter

 

Easton Press Stephen Baxter books

Silverhair - Signed First Edition of Science Fiction - 1999
Evolution - Signed First Editions of Science Fiction - 2003
Emperor - Signed First Editions of Science Fiction - 2007

 

Who is Stephen Baxter?

Stephen Baxter, born on November 13, 1957, in Liverpool, England, is a prolific British science fiction author known for his imaginative and often hard science fiction works. With a background in mathematics and engineering, Baxter's novels often explore grand scientific concepts, cosmic themes, and alternate histories. Baxter earned his degree in mathematics from the University of Cambridge and later completed a doctorate in engineering. His academic background laid the foundation for the rigorous scientific detail found in many of his works.

Baxter's writing career took off with the publication of his first novel, Raft, in 1991. However, he gained broader recognition with The Time Ships (1995), a sequel to H.G. Wells' The Time Machine. Baxter's continuation of Wells' classic demonstrated his ability to engage with established literary works while adding his own imaginative twists. One of Baxter's notable contributions to science fiction is his involvement in the Xeelee Sequence, a series of novels and stories that explore the far future, featuring cosmic conflicts and the enigmatic Xeelee race. The series includes works such as Ring (1994) and Vacuum Diagrams (1997).

Raft is a science fiction novel written by Stephen Baxter. It was first published in 1991 and is the first book in Baxter's Xeelee Sequence, a series of novels and stories that explore a far-future universe with advanced technologies and cosmic-scale conflicts. In Raft, the story is set in a universe where the constants of nature, such as the gravitational constant, are different from our own. This alternate universe features a vastly different reality, where humans and other creatures exist on a flat, infinite plane known as the "Raft." The novel follows the protagonist, Rees, as he navigates this strange world and encounters various challenges. Raft is known for its imaginative world-building and exploration of physics and cosmology.

In collaboration with renowned author Arthur C. Clarke, Baxter co-wrote several novels, including The Light of Other Days (2000) and Time's Eye (2003), blending Baxter's scientific expertise with Clarke's visionary storytelling. Beyond his work with Clarke, Baxter has authored numerous standalone novels and series. Notable works include the Manifold series, the Destiny's Children series, and Flood (2008) and Ark (2009), which explore the consequences of catastrophic climate change.

Baxter's novels are characterized by their adherence to scientific principles, intricate world-building, and a willingness to tackle ambitious and speculative ideas. His contributions to the genre have earned him critical acclaim and nominations for prestigious awards. Stephen Baxter remains an active and influential figure in the world of science fiction literature.

 

Silverhair - Manmoth Series Book 1

From Stephen Baxter, one of today's most acclaimed writers of science fiction and fantasy, comes this unforgettable saga of life and loss in the grand tradition of Watership Down.
For fifty thousand springs, Silverhair and her kind, the last of the woolly mammoths, have lived in a remote tundra, rimmed by ice and sea and mountain. Soon to be a mother, Silverhair looks to the future with hope. But even as her life begins, the world she loves is ending. A new menace, more vicious than any enemy, is descending upon the snowlands a two-legged creature that kills for joy. Desperate to save their kind, Silverhair and the matriarch, Owlheart, must travel across the glacial torrents, beyond the saw-toothed mountains. There they will seek help from the distant cousins who found their destiny in the sea, and from an enemy an ice-faced menace known as...the Lost.

Evolution

Stretching from the distant past into the remote future, from primordial Earth to the stars, Evolution is a soaring symphony of struggle, extinction, and survival; a dazzling epic that combines a dozen scientific disciplines and a cast of unforgettable characters to convey the grand drama of evolution in all its awesome majesty and rigorous beauty. Sixty-five million years ago, when dinosaurs ruled the Earth, there lived a small mammal, a proto-primate of the species Purgatorius. 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 upheavals. It is a route that ends, for most species, in stagnation or extinction. Why should humanity escape this fate?

Emperor - Time's Tapestry Book 1

A Celtic noble betrays his people and sides with the conquering Roman legions-all because of a prophecy that reveals secrets about the world that is to come, guiding those who hold it to wealth and power.

The Prophecy has resided in the hands of a single family for generations, revealing secrets about the world that is to come, and guiding them to wealth and power...

It begins when a Celtic noble betrays his people at the behest of his mother's belief in The Prophecy and sides with the conquering Roman legions. For the next 400 years, Britannia thrives-as does the family that contributed to Rome's reign over the island with the construction of Emperor Hadrian's Wall and the protection of Emperor Constantine from a coup d'état.

And even when the sun begins to set on the Roman Empire, The Prophecy remains. For those capable of deciphering its signs and portents, the future of Earth is in their hands

Stephen Baxter quotes

"We seem to be young, in a very old Galaxy. We're like kids tiptoeing through a ruined mansion." - Revelation
"When you get close enough to someone you're never really alone again." - Resurrection
"In the Vortex that lies beyond time and space tumbled a police box that was not a police box." - Ring (short story, co-written with Arthur C. Clarke)
"The past is a distraction, a source of envy, enmity, bitterness. Only the present matters, for only in the present can we shape the future. Cut loose the past; it is dead weight." - Destiny
"We ought to call ourselves Homo clamorans. Noisemaking man." - The Time Ships