Join Amazon Prime and get unlimited Free One-Day Delivery. Already a member? Sign in.

 

or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
   
More Buying Choices
41 used & new from £0.01
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
Origin (Manifold)
 
See larger image 
Share your own customer images
Publisher: learn how customers can search inside this book.

Origin (Manifold) (Paperback)

by Stephen Baxter (Author)
3.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
RRP: £6.99
Price: £5.49 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
You Save: £1.50 (21%)
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 3 left in stock--order soon (more on the way).

Want guaranteed delivery by Friday, July 17? Choose Express delivery at checkout. See Details
16 new from £3.18 24 used from £0.01 1 collectible from £15.00
Other Editions: RRP: Our Price: Other Offers:
Hardcover (First Edition) 32 used & new from £0.08
Paperback (ANZ Only Ed) £9.99 £8.99 Order it used

Frequently Bought Together

Origin (Manifold) + Space + Time
Price For All Three: £16.97

Show availability and shipping details

  • This item: Origin (Manifold) 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

  • Space 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

  • Time 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

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Space

Space

by Stephen Baxter
3.8 out of 5 stars (17)  £5.49
Time

Time

by Stephen Baxter
3.6 out of 5 stars (27)  £5.99
Phase Space

Phase Space

by Stephen Baxter
3.7 out of 5 stars (7)  £5.49
The Time Ships

The Time Ships

by Stephen Baxter
4.6 out of 5 stars (17)  £5.49
The Temporal Void

The Temporal Void

by Peter F. Hamilton
4.4 out of 5 stars (25)  £7.14
› Explore similar items

Product details

  • Paperback: 496 pages
  • Publisher: Voyager; New Ed edition (5 Aug 2002)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0006511848
  • ISBN-13: 978-0006511847
  • Product Dimensions: 17.6 x 10.6 x 3 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 106,997 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category:

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

    •  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

Product Description

Amazon.co.uk Review
Stephen Baxter continues to think big and create SF on a grand cosmic scale in Origin, the third novel of his Manifold trilogy.

The Manifold is an infinite sheaf of alternative universes which Baxter explores in terms of Fermi's Paradox. There's no reason why humanity should be unique; logically there should be alien races, some long enough established to have made their mark on the galaxy; where are they?

Book one, Time, offered a vision of lonely humanity extending to the far end of eternity and finally rebooting a "better" universe. Space showed the consequences of teeming interstellar life, a cruel struggle for resources, punctuated by galactic-sized extinction events. Now Origin confronts the whole Manifold and its and humanity's manipulation by enigmatic "Old Ones".

Astronaut Reid Malenfant (versions of whom starred in Time and Space) again encounters advanced technology as a huge, glowing blue circle--a portal to and from the Red Moon that wanders between universes and has just replaced our own moon. It's habitable and populated by an extraordinary medley from all stages of human evolution, scooped up from different Earths. There's much conflict with primitives leading nasty, brutish and short lives... plus super-evolved humans who debate whether we are truly sentient.

At its core the Red Moon contains the failing World Engine which flips between universes. Also down there is the secret history of this multi-verse, right back to the cataclysmic branch-point from which the Manifold flowered. Who are the Old Ones? "They made the manifold"--but were maybe not so different from us and rash, quixotic Malenfant after all. Highly superior SF, guaranteed to jolt one's sense of wonder. --David Langford --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Synopsis
Concluding the epic Manifold series that began with TIME and continued with SPACE: the adventures of the maverick astronaut Reid Malenfant bring him at last to the beginning of everything. NASA astronaut Reid Malenfant is flying a military jet over Africa when a vast electric-blue circle appears in the air -- and the Red Moon dramatically replaces our ancient, cherished moon. Malenfant's plane is destroyed as he chases the alien circle of light. Though Malenfant survives, his wife Emma is swept up and hurled towards the Red Moon. Through the months of floods and earthquakes that follow Malenfant singlemindedly lobbies for a moonshot to rescue her. He's heading for the Red Moon where time and space converge, the origin of the manifold.

Tags Customers Associate with This Product

 (What's this?)
Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
Check the boxes next to the tags you consider relevant or enter your own tags in the field below
(1)
(1)
(1)
(1)
(1)
(1)

Your tags: Add your first tag
 
See most popular tags

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

Origin (Manifold)
63% buy the item featured on this page:
Origin (Manifold) 3.2 out of 5 stars (17)
£5.49
Time
13% buy
Time 3.6 out of 5 stars (27)
£5.99
Voyage
9% buy
Voyage 4.7 out of 5 stars (6)
£5.99
The Time Ships
8% buy
The Time Ships 4.6 out of 5 stars (17)
£5.49
Explore similar items
 

Customer Reviews

17 Reviews
5 star:
 (3)
4 star:
 (6)
3 star:
 (3)
2 star:
 (2)
1 star:
 (3)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.2 out of 5 stars (17 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Superb finale to the manifold series!, 15 Sep 2001
This review is from: Origin (Manifold) (Hardcover)
In the three books in the manifold series Stephen baxter attempts to explain the 'Fermi paradox'. For those not in the know, the Fermi pardox states that the universe has been around for so long now that intelligent life has had plenty of time to develope but if it had it would be here by now!. In the first book 'Time' the story starts in a universe where life only exists on Earth. The second and perhaps weekest book in the series 'Space' has all the same characters as the first and even starts at the same time the first book started but this time the story is set in an alternate universe where life is everywhere. Now in 'Origon' the final book in the 'Manifold' series Stephen Baxter has set a compromise where life is everywhere and only on Earth, to explain how this is possible would give away too much plot. Origon starts with the moon dissapearing and being replaced by a new red moon thriving with life. Once again our hero 'Reid Malenfant' has to convince NASA to build a 'big dumb booster' rocket to get him into space and explore this new moon. What Malenfant doesn't tell them is that he has an alternate motive to get to the moon - his wife Emma is up there, teleported by a blue ring that magically appeared over South Africa. This is a gripping finale to the manifold series never slowing down to let you catch your breath. Time was a great read, Space tailed off a little but Origon has more than made uo for that it is a superb book - If you haven'tread it yet go out and get it now! And then read everything else that Stephen Baxter has written!
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Possible SPOLIER alert, 19 Mar 2003
Great book. I thought the first two in the series were fantastic, but this book didn't quite have the same 'ring' about it. Hoho. Still, great story which luckily held my attention. Although it may not for other lovers of hard Sci-Fi.

I am left feeling gutted. It almost feels like Baxter got a little bored near the end, or annoyed.
It's not fair. If there weren’t an infinite number of universes I'd be even more upset.
Part of me wishes I'd stopped at the second book... Although I doubt I, nor anyone who enjoyed the first two, would have been able to do that.

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting SF treatment of our "alien" ancestors, 8 Nov 2002
This is hard science fiction (ie, Baxter knows what he's talking about). It throws modern protagonists into an environment where they are confronted with Neanderthals, australopithecines and other human ancestors, including previously unknown species invented by Baxter. What's particularly impressive is Baxter's vision of the psychology of the almost-humans - speculative, but highly convincing. Themes of alternative history and a (silly but enjoyable) theory of human origins are also dealt with. The writing is good, and the characterisation is fair.
This is part of the Manifold sequence of books - I recommend you read 'Space' before you read this (and perhaps 'Time', although it's not so good) but it's not essential. They feature the same characters in alternate timelines. This works well, and is not a way to pad out a novel to saga length!
There aren't many authors writing 'proper' SF at the moment. That said, you don't need to be an expert in science to enjoy this. If you are interested in human evolution, you will find it an extremely enjoyable piece of speculation!
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 Of the origins
Manifold is a series of three books. They're not a sequence, actually, as they describe parallel universes. Read more
Published 15 months ago by Mikko Saari

1.0 out of 5 stars Oh dear, its all gone a bit wrong...
I was eagerly awaiting this book, and upon reading it I was very disappointed.

It starts like his previous two books in the trilogy were written - a high concept and original... Read more

Published on 22 Aug 2004 by Mr. K. J. Santi

1.0 out of 5 stars Origin - of boredom?!
Well, I picked this book up expecting a detailed and exciting story. What did I get? Lots of little sentences strung together in little paragraphs that jumped around the place... Read more
Published on 6 Nov 2003 by chrisbertrand

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent
This whole manifold trilogy is well worth a read. Time was brilliant, space lost me a bit, but Origin brings everything together, and still manages to give you a puch in the... Read more
Published on 17 Jan 2003 by simon-carrington

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting SF treatment of our "alien" ancestors
This is hard science fiction (ie, Baxter knows what he's talking about). It throws modern protagonists into an environment where they are confronted with Neanderthals,... Read more
Published on 8 Nov 2002 by laurie_driver

1.0 out of 5 stars great miss and den it gets worse
The first two books in this trilogy were genuinely enjoyable. They have 'big picture' sweeps and some interesting hard science fiction ideas. Read more
Published on 23 Oct 2002 by 2cleverbyhalf

5.0 out of 5 stars GENIUS!!
In the three books in the manifold series Stephen baxter attempts to explain the 'Fermi paradox'.
For those not in the know, the Fermi pardox states that the universe has been... Read more
Published on 2 Oct 2002 by Craig McFarlane

3.0 out of 5 stars Some good ideas, but a disappointing sequel.
I found first two books in the trilogy, Time and Space, excellent, and I had been looking forward to the release of Origin in paperback so that I could afford it! Read more
Published on 3 Sep 2002

4.0 out of 5 stars Long until the end
TIME I consider to be the greatest science fiction novel ever. SPACE, though not living up to its predecessor's greatness, was a better-than-average Baxter (translation: work of... Read more
Published on 30 Sep 2001

4.0 out of 5 stars Brave change of direction; needs more polish
I didn't expect this to be a popular book. Judging by these review, people seem to have felt it a disappointment. Read more
Published on 14 Sep 2001

Only search this product's reviews


Customer Discussions

 Beta (What's this?)
This product's forum (0 discussions)
  Discussion Replies Latest Post
  No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
  [Cancel]


Active discussions in related forums
   
Related forums

Listmania!

Create a Listmania! list

Look for similar items by category

Feedback

Fun for Everyone

Christmas Gifts
Achieve over 15,000 RPM with our great range of Powerballs.

›Shop the Powerball store

  

More From Stephen Baxter

Firstborn: A Time...

Firstborn: A Time Odyssey Book Three

With this epic tale of altered histories and different earths, a... Read more
£6.99 £4.33

 

Boys Smell

Lynx Africa Body Spray and After Shave Gift set
But we make sure they smell good...

›Discover male grooming at Amazon.co.uk

  

Treat Someone

Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificates--available in any amount from £5 to £500 With an Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificate, you can get them what they want (even if you don't know what that is).

›Learn more about Gift Certificates

  
Ad

Where's My Stuff?

Delivery and Returns

Need Help?

Your Recent History

  (What's this?)
You have no recently viewed items or searches.

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

Look to the right column to find helpful suggestions for your shopping session.
Continue Shopping: Top Sellers

amazon.co.uk Amazon Home
International Sites:  United States  |  Germany  |  France  |  Japan  |  Canada  |  China
Business Programs: Sell on Amazon  |  Fulfilment by Amazon  |  Join Associates  |  Join Advantage
Customer Service  |  Help  |  View Basket  |  Your Account
About Amazon.co.uk  |  Careers at Amazon
Conditions of Use & Sale |  Privacy Notice  © 1996-2009, Amazon.com, Inc. and its affiliates