or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
 
More Buying Choices
20 used & new from £7.99

Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
Flood
 
See larger image
 

Flood (Hardcover)

by Stephen Baxter (Author)
3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
RRP: £18.99
Price: £13.29 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
You Save: £5.70 (30%)
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
In stock.
Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk. Gift-wrap available.

Only 5 left in stock--order soon (more on the way).

Want guaranteed delivery by Tuesday, November 10? Choose Express delivery at checkout. See Details
14 new from £9.70 6 used from £7.99

Frequently Bought Together

Flood + Ark + Orbus
Price For All Three: £31.83

Show availability and shipping details

  • This item: Flood by Stephen Baxter

    In stock.
    Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk.
    This item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions

  • Ark by Stephen Baxter

    In stock.
    Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk.
    This item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions

  • Orbus by Neal Asher

    In stock.
    Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk.
    This item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions


Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Ark

Ark

by Stephen Baxter
4.0 out of 5 stars (9)  £7.77
Orbus

Orbus

by Neal Asher
3.8 out of 5 stars (41)  £10.77
Weaver (Gollancz S.F.)

Weaver (Gollancz S.F.)

by Stephen Baxter
4.8 out of 5 stars (5)  £4.99
Nova War

Nova War

by Gary Gibson
4.2 out of 5 stars (6)  £10.78
Emperor (Gollancz S.F.)

Emperor (Gollancz S.F.)

by Stephen Baxter
4.0 out of 5 stars (7)  £4.49
Explore similar items

Product details

  • Hardcover: 480 pages
  • Publisher: Gollancz (17 Jul 2008)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0575080566
  • ISBN-13: 978-0575080560
  • Product Dimensions: 23.6 x 15.6 x 4.6 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 140,705 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category:

    #33 in  Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Authors, A-Z > B > Baxter, Stephen

Product Description

LOCUS

'FLOOD has an increasing sense of gravitas, and even, by the end, a genuine weight of mourning. It's actually a novel that gains in power as it goes along, and as it becomes increasingly apparent that no miracle technofixes are in sight. A largely old fashioned disaster tale presented with spectacle and efficient pacing'
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.


Review

"Baxter's vision of a drowning earth is compelling." (Lisa Tuttle THE TIMES )

"A central narrative that's as relentless as a Panzer sweeping across lowland France in 1940. Amid huge events, the author still finds time for the intimate, the human-sized." (Jonathan Wright SFX )

"He retains that uniquely easy way of dramatizing scientific possibilities into an engaging survivial narrative, while throwing in some satirical barbs." (STARBURST )

'FLOOD has an increasing sense of gravitas, and even, by the end, a genuine weight of mourning. It's actually a novel that gains in power as it goes along, and as it becomes increasingly apparent that no miracle technofixes are in sight. A largely old fashioned disaster tale presented with spectacle and efficient pacing' (LOCUS )

"Covering events from the UK to the US, from Australia to Tibet, this is a comprehensive disaster novel that has a very global feel. Perhaps mostly this book is an homage to human survivability - we endure should be our motto. [It] deserves to sit high on the blockbuster shelves." (SFFWORLD )

"For once a modern SF book where the central science doesn't need the reader to have memorised advanced quantum theory beforehand. Flood is a superbly enjoyable SF novel, although those living close to the sea may feel a bit nervous after reading it. And before anyone asks, yes, it's better than Waterworld. (THE WERTZONE )

"Bold, compassionate, exhilarating, wrenching stuff." (Niall Harrison INTERNET REVIEW OF SF )

"A gripping near-future allegory of global warming. At times, Baxter's narrative is as relentless as the inexorable waters, but that, you suspect, is his idea Deeply scary." (Jonathan Wright BBC FOCUS )

"There is a degree of optimism throughout that belies any biblical doom; the world may be changed irrevocably, but there can still be a place for humanity." (Paul cocburn INTERZONE )

"The ever readable Baxter has a page-flipper in Flood. It will make you fidget in your beach chair this summer. It is not just a literary come-uppance for climate change deniers; it will give everyone pause to think." (John C. Snider SCI FI DIMENSIONS )

"Baxter never loses sight in the bigger picture of the effect of the flood on the lives of individuals, societies and nations. The cast might be extensive, but the lives of the major players are skilfully interwoven with the plight of the planet. The sequel, Ark, will continue this enthralling story." (Eric Brown GUARDIAN ) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Tags Customers Associate with This Product

 (What's this?)
Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
 

Your tags: Add your first tag
 

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

Flood
85% buy the item featured on this page:
Flood 3.5 out of 5 stars (32)
£13.29
Ark
4% buy
Ark 4.0 out of 5 stars (9)
£7.77
Orbus
4% buy
Orbus 3.8 out of 5 stars (41)
£10.77
Transition
4% buy
Transition 3.9 out of 5 stars (21)
£9.49

 

Customer Reviews

32 Reviews
5 star:
 (8)
4 star:
 (9)
3 star:
 (10)
2 star:
 (2)
1 star:
 (3)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.5 out of 5 stars (32 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Requiem For a Drowned World (4.5 Stars ****), 26 Oct 2008
By G. J. Oxley "Gaz" (Tyne & Wear, England) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   
This book begins in 2016 with the story of five hostages held in Barcelona, where it's raining heavily and won't stop. They're rescued by a team sent by Nathan Lomockson - a technocrat and very rich man - but not before one of them is brutally killed. The remaining four pledge to look out for each other from then on. Lomockson himself takes a lifelong interest in each of them, and their fates thereafter are tied in with his. The ensuing events in the novel take place over a span of around sixty years.

The narrative moves forward by chronological increments as the world's water level increases, and continues to rise. The episodic structure suits the book perfectly - it's a neat narrative trick. Baxter provides us with a series of snapshots of important events and details the human reaction to each stage of the increase.

Nathan sets himself up as a would-be saviour of the world. He appears at pivotal points throughout the story as the sea levels rise higher and higher, and we see the impact of important events on his and/or one or more of the former hostages. Although a hard-boiled, nuts and bots SF writer, Stephen Baxter realises that his book would be nothing if the reader weren't allowed to engage emotionally with the characters.

And even though the characterisation isn't as strong as your average mainstream writer's, it's still good enough to carry the story of the watery death of an entire planet.

If you remember back to your schooldays (a harder and harder job for some of us!) the hydrologic cycle taught us that there is not one extra drop of water now than there was at the time of creation. So where is the extra water coming from? Melting icecaps? That would only be responsible for a limited increase. The author comes up with a fairly plausible reason for the scenario - and guess what? - we're responsible! But I'll say no more about this aspect, as I don't want to spoil the book for readers.

This is a big fat tome but I galloped through it very quickly. There are a lot of evocative scenes that resonate in the mind long after the book is finished, and it reminded me of why I fell in love with SF in the first place some thirty years ago. I for one am greatly looking forward to the follow-up `Ark', due out next year.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Damp and worrying, 5 Aug 2008
By Mr. M. Hanlon "twiglet100" (London, UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Flood (Paperback)
For some reason the end of the world is rarely terrifying. From even the nastiest plagues, the most ferocious wars, the most apocalyptic asteroid strikes or alien invasions there is usually hope - hope of recovery, of rebuilding, a glimmer of light at the end of a long dark tunnel.
The brilliant thing about Flood is the sheer lack of hope. For once you lose the land you lose everything. Any terrestrial species, however brilliant, is doomed from the moment the waves lap around the highest mountains. Baxter at his hard sci-fi best here, providing a plausible mechanism for an implausible catastrophe. The episodic treatment works well and the characters, although a tad cliched (the grizzled old astronaut, a brace of plucky hardbody female scientists, several annoying teenagers) are engaging enough to carry the story along.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Washed away, 12 Sep 2008
By Gareth Wilson "drosdelnoch2" - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)      
This review is from: Flood (Paperback)
Upon opening the envelope that this arrived it I loved the bit of marketing from the publisher, they'd put it in a zip lock bag. Yet apart from this piece of fun what did the book entail and how did it deliver?

In short this tale ended up a cross between Flood (the UK TV drama which also has a similar beginning) and Waterworld where death sails the seven seas (or rather the one sea with jutting bits of land) and mankind is forced to survive by wits and science cunning. Not only is the tale well written but its something of a "this is going to happen" feel about it rather than "it might happen" and this tale is perhaps something that should be used as a wake up call to mankind now unless we all learn to grow gills or sail like Sinbad. Well written although the Spartan style of description by Baxter does the reader a favour in my own opinion as there is nothing as vivid as the imagination for painting in the colours and of course imagining that devastation to mankind with the loss of so much land. A great piece of literature and as usual a style all of his own.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Another great British disaster novel
This is another offering in the grand tradition of British disaster novels. No triffids, Martian invaders or death of grass here, just lots and lots of water. Read more
Published 10 days ago by A. J. Poulter

1.0 out of 5 stars Tedious
Assuming you can handle the premise that vast quantities of water are rushing out of huge underground oceans to flood the earth (what's pushing it up? what's replacing it? Read more
Published 17 days ago by JAJPD

3.0 out of 5 stars Start swimming now...
Stephen Baxter seems to be brilliant at picking up on some bonkers bit of science and blowing us all up with it. Read more
Published 19 days ago by Stuart Mcmillan

3.0 out of 5 stars Where's the plug? Who left the tap on?
You really don't get many bigger ideas than the end of the world, and in this case this is exactly what we get in an epic 40 year span. Read more
Published 20 days ago by Russell G. Pottinger

3.0 out of 5 stars A great passing move - but no goal celebration at the end of it.
In brief - Stephen Baxter's sci fi novels have often left me in raptures at their steadily building, technical plots, often with outlandish and extreme endings. Read more
Published 25 days ago by fatsovonchubby

1.0 out of 5 stars Poorly written - very disappointing
Unfortunately this book will confirm a lot or readers' prejudices that sci-fi is interesting ideas poorly written. Read more
Published 26 days ago by Bill Maryon

3.0 out of 5 stars Flood
Finding this book a bit of a slog, rather longwinded and one gets the feeling there is a lot of padding out of the story. Read more
Published 1 month ago by P. Brailsford

5.0 out of 5 stars Very good story
This is a very interesting page turner, its nothing like the film of the same name. The books story gives us a bleak if somewhat damp future and is based on real science, as i... Read more
Published 1 month ago by R. Packham

3.0 out of 5 stars Could have been great but isn't.
The reason it isn't as pointed out in other reviews here is that we are always with the survivors. The story verges on soap at times and given that many people like these... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Mrs. Susan E. A. Andrews

3.0 out of 5 stars Could have been great
The book doesn't live up to the great premise and indeed after a good opening third it kind of meanders to a so-so conclusion. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Eoin Lynch

Only search this product's reviews



Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
J G Ballard was here first. 2 2 days ago
See all discussions...  
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
   
Related forums


Listmania!


Look for similar items by category


Look for similar items by subject







i.e., each product must be in subject 1 AND subject 2 AND ...

Feedback

Ad

Your Recent History

 (What's this?)

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.