Traces
A Stephen Baxter short story set in an alternate world that evokes ancient Britain. Against a background of differently developed religion, empire, and technology, it examines historical contingency with a hard-SF edge.
Work Information
A Stephen Baxter short story set in an alternate world that evokes ancient Britain.
A Stephen Baxter short story set in an alternate world that evokes ancient Britain. Against a background of differently developed religion, empire, and technology, it examines historical contingency with a hard-SF edge.
Review Summaries
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Readers tend to remember the force of the subject and the distinctive structure. The work rewards attention to character choices and lingering scenes more than to simple background exposition.
Book Information
- Publisher
- Voyager
- Published
- 1999-01-01
- Pages
- 368 pages
- Language
- 英語
- Size
- 11.1 x 2.4 x 17.8 cm
- ISBN-13
- 9780006498148
- ISBN-10
- 0006498140
- Price
- 18143 JPY
- Category
- 洋書/Literature & Fiction/Short Stories/Single Author
Stories set in a variety of futures from the award-winning heir of Arthur C. Clarke: Traces gives a kaleidoscopic vision of the possibilities for humankind. There are vision of histories which differ from our own, either through small changes – what if Germany had won WWI (`Mittelwelt’) – or through a fundamental difference in physical laws – what if Archimedes had been right in his clockwork-like cosmological vision (`No Longer Touch the Earth’). There are visions of futures in which people struggle to survive in a variety of bizarre environments (`Downstream’, `The Blood of Angels’), or, weakened and powerless, inhabit the end of worlds (`Inherit the Earth’, `George and the Comet’). There are explorations of astonishing events of our own lifetimes, in particular the grand expansion into space (`Zemlya’, `Moon Six’, `Pilgrim 7’). These visions give an impression of the contingency of our everyday here-and-now, surrounded as it is by an infinite array of possible pasts, presents, and futures.
Stephen Baxter applied to become an astronaut in 1991. He didn’t make it, but achieved the next best thing by becoming a science fiction writer, and his novels and short stories have been published and won awards around the world. His science background is in maths and engineering. He is married and lives in Buckinghamshire.
Reviews
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Excellent.
Some superb stories here. Definately worth a read.
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Books are the best entertainment
Pretty damn good condition for a used book. I like books. Reading is the best. yay!
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not his best stories
This mostly seems to cover his early period, with lots of alternate histories (which I don't tend to like).
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After having read ALL of the Xeelee books and stories ...
After having read ALL of the Xeelee books and stories and wanting more, I gave this a try. Though imaginative, I was not driven to pick up the book at every available minute of down time...
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A rather mixed bag
I'm a bit 'old school' when it comes to Sci-Fi and I found many of the stories to be just plain grim rather than intriguing or imagination provoking. I enjoyed the more retro - Jules Verne type stories the most.
Related Literary Awards
- Sidewise Award Edition 1 (1995) ・short story prize