Xeelee: Vacuum Diagrams

Baxter thinks on a grand scale

Like his other Xelee books, the author has the best and grandest ideas in hard science fiction, literally incorporating the whole gamut of the history of our universe, and all sorts of cutting edge modern physics concepts, even alternative universes. His science is plausible and incredibly mind-boggling and the Xelee are the most impressive alien species in science fiction. Well worth rereading as well as the rest of the series. Even compared to the other great masters science-fiction such as Clark, Heinlein, Asimov and the new generation such as Alastair Reynolds, Peter Hamilton or Andy Weir, Steven Baxter is truly incomparable. His stories may lack a little characterization, but if you like your science-fiction harder than diamonds yet plausible, if you want your mind boggled and stretched beyond its limits, Steven Baxter is the master to read.