Teaser

As the Roman Empire falls to barbarian invasion, a small group of survivors seek safety. Their actions set in motion a chain of events that will echo through the centuries, until the end of time itself . . .

Review

Having read the main Xeelee series (including the two later novels) and the associated short story collections, my quest for more Baxter has taken me down the murky side avenues of the Destiny’s Children novels. I read Exultant, the second novel, some time ago, and the third continues to elude me. Happily, Baxter doesn’t write linear series. You can skip and dance your way through the Xeelee universe in just about any order you want, and even if you miss out on some of the connective tissue, you’ll pick up on what’s important.

After the grand space operatic of Exultant, Coalescent proves to be something altogether different. On the one hand we have a man in the present-day/near future looking for his missing sister, while on the other we have a centuries-long narrative chronicling the rise of a secretive cult buried under the streets of Rome. This split in the narrative, and constant switches of perspective, is something that would usually bother me. But if any author has earned my trust, it’s Stephen Baxter.

In the hands of a lesser author, the story of Coalescent could easily have been fodder for a simple thriller. But in Baxter’s world, it’s far more than that. Seeded early on are suggestions of the larger Xeelee universe at play, while the main thread of the cult goes into some very interesting speculative social spaces. For me, this is where the roughness of Baxter’s early prose is finally stripped away to reveal an author finally capably of fully illustrating his incredible imagination. And as an SF nerd, it was fun to catch all the references to works by other authors, Easter eggs that are scattered just thinly enough to remain cute rather than self-indulgent.

After Coalescent, I delved straight into the fourth book in the series, which follows the early Baxter tradition of gathering short stories and novellas from the same universe and attaching them as a bonus book at the end of the trilogy proper.

It’s Resplendent that offers more than just glimpses of the Xeelee universe. It’s also one that leaves me a little conflicted. The thing is, I don’t think Baxter is particularly good at short fiction. As evidenced by the size of the larger series, his ideas are ones that require room to breathe. This is not to say that his stories are bad. Far from it. They are all excellently told. But the also feel incomplete. Because they are not standalone tales. They are snapshots and glances of the Xeelee universe as a whole. You can’t fully appreciate them unless you are familiar with the larger setting. In a way, they are the opposite of his novels. The connective tissue added for this collection provide some much needed context, but this is a rare time when I won’t recommend this as the best place to start with Baxter’s writing.

However, I am not just starting out. I have now read all but one of the Xeelee novels. With that background, I can begin to appreciate the sheer scale of what Baxter is doing with this universe. There’s a timeline here that stretches from the Big Bang to the end of the universe, and the stories genuinely cover that span. It’s a universe that feels not only big, but old. Achingly old. There’s more here than one author could ever cover. Entire ages of history go untold, noted only as dates on a calendar. Resplendent doesn’t even begin to fill in the gaps in the timeline. Instead, it opens up windows. We can watch the war between the Xeelee and humanity, marvel at the Ghosts, and gape in awe at the threat to baryonic life. But not for too long. Because some stories are simply too big to be told. No wonder Baxter has returned to this well so often in his career.

Resplendent may not be the best place to start, and Coalescent is something a little different to the usual Baxter experience. If you’re already a fan, both books have plenty to offer you. If you’re just starting out, maybe Coalescent is a way to gently ease yourself into the dark future history of the Xeelee.

Book Stats

• Books 1 and 4 of Destiny’s Children
• Published 2003-2006 by Gollancz