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Stephen Baxter
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Space Hardcover – 7 Aug. 2000

by Stephen Baxter (Author)
4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 498 ratings
See all formats and editions

‘If they existed, they would be here’ ENRICO FERMI. In the second volume in Stephen Baxter’s epic Manifold Series Reid Malenfant inhabits the universe Malenfant kick-started in TIME (‘science fiction at its best’ FHM) – and ‘they’ are here.

’If they existed, they would be here’ – this is the Fermi paradox concerning the existence of extrarrestrials. Once it confirmed Malenfant’s opinion that humanity was alone in the universe. But when Nemoto, a Japanese researcher on the Moon, discovers evidence of extraterrestrial intelligence in the solar system, the same paradox provokes both Malenfant and Nemoto to question why now? Because, suddenly, there are signs of intelligent life in deep space in all directions. Deeper layers of Fermi’s paradox unravel as robot-like aliens, the Gaijin, seem to be e-mailing themselves from star to star, and wherever telescopes point, far away, other alien races are destroying worlds…

In the face of this onslaught from the stars, Malenfant sets out alone in a salvaged antique spacecraft to make contact with the Gaijin. In response the Gaijin come to Earth – but not to save mankind. Curious but aloof, incomprehensible, the Gaijin seem unhappy with what they find here and set about recreating from existing DNA some of the marvels of prehistory, including those hominids driven to extinction by man.

As other aliens approach in a blaze of destruction there is no comfort in recalling Nemoto’s certainty that this has all happened before, over and over. But in the soul of Malenfant, in the dreams of the new Neandertals, and in Nemoto’s obsessive loathing of all aliens there are glimmers of hope that the cycle can be broken…

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  1. Book 2 of 3
    Manifold
  2. Print length
    464 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publisher
    Harper Voyager
  5. Publication date
    7 Aug. 2000
  6. Dimensions
    15.9 x 4.2 x 24 cm
  7. ISBN-10
    0002257718
  8. ISBN-13
    978-0002257718
  9. See all details
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Product description

Review

‘The most important living science-fiction writer in the country’
THE TIMES

‘The best SF writer in Britain’
SFX

Praise for The Manifold Trilogy:

‘Pacy, visionary, extravagantly imagined, TIME places Baxter firmly in the tradition of Arthur C. Clarke and Isaac Asimov’
THE TIMES

‘Highly intelligent, with original ideas in almost every sentence’
THE GUARDIAN

‘Baxter is taking basic SF ideas and rebuilding them based on current science, technology and politics … [He] apparently has the ambition and the energy to reinvigorate hard SF all by himself’
LOCUS

‘It’s time for Baxter to take his place alongside Asimov and Heinlein’
EDGE

From the Back Cover

In the second volume of Stephen Baxter's epic Manifold series Reid Malenfant inhabits the universe kick-started in Time ('Time is pacy, visionary, extravagantly imagined' 'THE TIMES'). In 'Space' life is everywhere!

'If they existed, they would be here' – this is the Fermi paradox concerning the existence of extraterrestrials. Once it confirmed Malenfant's opinion that humanity was alone in the universe. But when Nemoto, a Japanese researcher on the Moon, discovers evidence of extraterrestrial intelligence in the solar system, the same paradox provokes both Malenfant and Nemoto to question why now? Because, suddenly , there are signs of intelligent life in deep space in all directions. Deeper layers of Fermi's paradox unravel as robot-like aliens, the Gaijin, seem to be e-mailing themselves from star to star, and wherever telescopes point, far away, other alien races are destroying worlds.

In the face of this onslaught from the stars, Malenfant sets out alone in a salvaged antique spacecraft to make contact with the Gaijin. In response the Gaijin come to Earth in their beautiful silver flower-ships – but not to save mankind. They trawl through the archives of human culture for their own culture for their own mysterious reasons. In their wake, recreated marvels of prehistoric life once more roam the Earth, including those hominids driven to extinction by man. But the Gaijin have more questions than answers.

As other aliens approach in a blaze of destruction there is no comfort in recalling Nemoto's certainty that this has all happened before, over and over. But in the soul of Malenfant, in the dreams of the new Neanderthal's and in Nemoto's obsessive loathing of all aliens there are glimmers of hope that the cycle can be broken.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Harper Voyager; First Edition (7 Aug. 2000)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 464 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0002257718
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0002257718
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 15.9 x 4.2 x 24 cm
  • Customer reviews:
    4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 498 ratings

About the author

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Stephen Baxter

Stephen Baxter

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Stephen Baxter is the pre-eminent SF writer of his generation. Published around the world he has also won major awards in the UK, US, Germany, and Japan. Born in 1957 he has degrees from Cambridge and Southampton. He lives in Northumberland with his wife.

Here are the Destiny's Children novels in series order:

Coalescent

Exultant

Transcendent

Resplendent

Time's Tapestry novels in series order:

Emperor

Conqueror

Navigator Weaver

Flood novels:

Flood

Ark

Time Odyssey series (with Arthur C Clarke):

Time's Eye

Sunstorm

Firstborn

Manifold series:

Time

Space

Origin

Phase Space

Mammoth series:

Mammoth (aka Silverhair)

Long Tusk

Ice Bones

Behemoth

NASA trilogy:

Voyage

Titan

Moonseed

Xeelee sequence:

Raft

Timelike Infinity

Flux

Ring

Vacuum Diagrams (linked short stories)

The Xeelee Omnibus (Raft, Timelike Infinity, Flux, Ring)

The Web series for Young Adults:

Gulliverzone

Webcrash

Coming in 2010:

Stone Spring - book one of the Northland series

Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
498 global ratings

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Customers find the book an engaging read with well-imagined science fiction. They describe it as a must-read for sci-fi fans.

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Customers find the book readable. They say it's the best of Baxter's series and a must-read for Sci-Fi fans.

"...It is a good read and, although some of the continuity is difficult at times, you can go back and check the character...." Read more

"The best book of Baxter I read so far. It is not easy to digest though. Quite philosophical at times." Read more

"Amazing book, a must read for any Sci-Fi fan." Read more

3 customers mention ‘Science fiction’3 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the science fiction. They find it well-written, imaginative, and engaging. The series is scientifically based.

"Top quality science fiction - mind blowing. Takes me back to the power and imagination of Arthur C. Clark or Asimov." Read more

"Like the other books in this series, well written, well imagined and keeps you intreagued the whole way through. Loved it" Read more

"Cleverly science based..." Read more

This book will change your view of the universe
5 out of 5 stars
This book will change your view of the universe
Of all Baxter's books, this is my favourite and the one I will re-read time and again. Part of the Manifold series, Baxter attempts another answer to the Fermi Paradox. Briefly put...if life happens throughout the galaxy (or universe) so frequently then where are all the aliens? We should at least see evidence of their works even if they are long dead. Once read, you may never look at the solar system in quite the same way again, never mind the stars. Pray the sky doesn't change when you look up at night.
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Top reviews from United Kingdom

  • Salsatap
    5.0 out of 5 stars Cleverly science based
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 28 February 2014
    Verified Purchase
    Baxter is a pessimist at the end of the day (or book) and the works I have read so far tend to have an unexpected apocalyptic ending when you least expected it! It is a good read and, although some of the continuity is difficult at times, you can go back and check the character.

    This is a non-star wars style of alien invasions, and although he focusses on particular characters, they are there to bring out the science and speculation about the obvious questions "Is there anyone out there, and if so where the hell are you?".

    I enjoyed it.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Tim from Cyprus
    4.0 out of 5 stars Doesn't follow on from Book 1
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 25 February 2015
    Verified Purchase
    Same characters as book 1, but it doesn't follow on from book one. Instead it describes a completely different series of events in ostensibly the same universe and time frame. A bit confusing at first, but enjoyable nevertheless.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Tobias Fleischmann
    5.0 out of 5 stars The best book of Baxter I read so far
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 11 August 2016
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    The best book of Baxter I read so far.
    It is not easy to digest though.
    Quite philosophical at times.
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  • Amazon Customer
    4.0 out of 5 stars A propable answer to the fermi paradox
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 28 September 2008
    This is the second book in Baxter's tetralogy "Manidold" the scope of which is to find answers to the Fermi paradox. But Space is the only one which really provides a propable answer (if we except "Time"'s answer that yes we are alone) while the third and fourth books (origins and Phase Space) give abswers that are interesting but scientifically not so propable.
    But Space do give a propable answer: telling a story with a journey through thousands of years in the future the answer is yes there are many aliens in the universe but most of them are destroying themselves through war or ecological distructions (humans are a candidate for such a future!!). But some of them escape this fate and they finally make it to the stars as the expansion in space is the only means to sustain themselves finding new recources. But travelling in sublight speeds they need thousands of years to cover some hundreds of light years and so the possibility to meet eachother is rather small. It does happen but not everyday. But even they will be finally destroyed from cosmic events like supernova explosions or the collapase of neutron stars which can destroy life across many light years! To say it in one world allthough many life forms exist in the universe the is no TIME to meet eachother and even if they will meet others the most propable result will be the anihillation of one race from another in this continuing expansion for recources.
    But Baxter also tells us another story embedded in the first one: the story of the continual fail of humanity to see in the long term to make longterm planning in one world the story of a blinkered humanity. And this is also, unfortunatelly, true.
    All in all this a book that will make you rethink our place in the universe and our future.
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  • TDF
    3.0 out of 5 stars Hard work
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 9 October 2013
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    I really enjoyed Time, but this can get to be hard work in places..I find i'm having to re-read parts of chapters simply because I literally lose the plot, and that's never happened reading a book before.
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  • Steve Betts
    5.0 out of 5 stars Top quality science fiction - mind blowing. Takes me ...
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 4 October 2014
    Verified Purchase
    Top quality science fiction - mind blowing. Takes me back to the power and imagination of Arthur C. Clark or Asimov.
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  • The Wanderer
    4.0 out of 5 stars Brilliantly imaginative - a novel of epic proportions
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 2 March 2008
    "Space" is the second book in Stephen Baxter's Manifold trilogy, and a sequel of sorts to "Time", although it can also be read independently. Once again the central character is Reid Malenfant, an ex-NASA astronaut and failed entrepreneur. Obsessed with the search for extraterrestrial life, Malenfant seeks a solution to the Fermi paradox: given that the universe is billions of years old, if life exists out in the cosmos, why don't we see the evidence of it all about us? Thus when alien intelligence is detected out in the asteroid belt, Malenfant takes it upon himself to investigate, to make contact and ultimately to follow them back to the stars, through the mysterious blue portals through which they came.

    The action unfolds over no less than 1,800 years, from the present day up to the thirty-eighth century, with the final, epic conclusion set another 5,000 years after that. In this way Baxter lays out a compelling vision of the possible long-term effects of Earth's contact with aliens. Unlike in "Time", where he employs an interesting mix of faux newspaper articles, blogs and journal entries to tell his story, in "Space" he sticks to a more conventional third-person narrative. The story is related through the perspective of four or five main characters, all of whom use the portals to travel to the stars and see life beyond Earth, and who, over the course of many years, become witnesses to the gradual decline of human civilisation.

    The story is episodic in nature, and has the impression of a number of short stories loosely linked together. This can be frustrating for the reader, as there are enough intriguing ideas packed in this book to sustain half a dozen different novels. Each successive world is imaginatively drawn - from Earth, Io, Triton and Mercury to Alpha Centauri and far beyond - but Baxter tends to pass over them all very quickly, which does become tiresome. There comes a point about two-thirds of the way in when one wonders what the ultimate point is. Another result of the disjointed nature of the novel is that is difficult to feel fully engaged with the characters or get a sense of their development in these extraordinary circumstances. It is disappointing, too, that Malenfant - in principle a fascinating character - does not feature more, despite his centrality to the story. However, it is clear that this is not meant to be a character-driven novel so much as one based around ideas. Indeed "Space" has at its heart themes of human ambition and determination, consciousness and identity, self and soul, and the will to survive in a hostile universe, all of which are explored in depth.

    In "Space", the author shows an imagination and consideration of the big questions of existence which is not often seen in most modern SF. It is true that there is less hard science and more scientifically-informed speculation than there was in "Time", but Baxter delivers it with such confidence that it hardly matters. This is truly a novel for the twenty-first century.
    7 people found this helpful
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  • James M.
    5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 23 November 2016
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    Amazing book, a must read for any Sci-Fi fan.
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  • MSchmidt
    5.0 out of 5 stars Hard-Sci-Fi
    Reviewed in Germany on 29 September 2016
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    Baxter bleibt sich selbst treu und spannt eine räumlich und zeitlich epische Handlung auf. Wie in vielen seiner Bücher bestichen weniger die Handlung und die (in der Manifold-Reihe stets wiederkehrenden) Charaktere, sondern mehr seine Visionen und Konzepte. Auch wenn die Handlung manchmal kurzgeschichtenartig um den heißen Brei mäandert, faszinieren das große Ganze, die unglaublichen Skalen, die vielen Ideen und der Rahmen, nämlich eine Interpretation des Fermi-Paradoxes, also der Frage warum wir bis jetzt keinen Hinweis auf außerirdisches Leben haben.

    Wer sich sich davon begeistern lässt, zum Nachdenken angeregt werden will und alle paar unterdurchschnittlichen Seiten ein Auge zudrückt, ist hier richtig.
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  • Pedro
    5.0 out of 5 stars Portal-hopping with Malenfant is a joy
    Reviewed in the United States on 3 July 2014
    Verified Purchase
    Space is a well paced novel based on an intelligent speculation around the Fermi paradox.
    One thing I absolutely love about Baxter is the fact that from the beginning of his novels interesting events take place, which immediately make you wonder about what is going to happen next. Most characters are interesting and gripping and you never get tired of seeing the universe through Malenfant's eyes.
    I like the balance between action, accurate science (mostly, anyway) and existential reflection. The fact that these Manifold books are not plot driven in the classic sense makes little difference in what concerns the quality of the writing, the pure childish excitement in following the author's speculations and the intensity of the ideas which are presented.
    The characters embark on a grand journey and it is purely a matter of personal preference that you are more or less pleased with the fact that Baxter dwells is deriving the existential consequences of the events taking place, rather than delivering a self contained story.
    If you are a regular sci-fi reader you will recognise a lot of references in this book, although you will never feel that you are re-reading anything. Baxter's particular blend of ideas is very original.
    Personally I profoundly enjoy this type of writing and I rate it well above the level of most of the current sci-fi writers.
    This is a worthy sequel to Time (although it is a fully independent story), which looks closer into aspects which were only superficially approached on the first book (such as galactic level engineering).
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  • Subpixel
    4.0 out of 5 stars Cruel, austere, but immensely enjoyable.
    Reviewed in the United States on 22 September 2009
    Verified Purchase
    (If you're not here for a spoiler, don't read past the spoiler line!)

    If you're looking for jarheads in space, egyptian aliens, pod races and feel good endings about humankind's unique humanity you can step away now.

    The rest of you can face the bloody harsh wind of Baxter's second attempt at explaining the Fermi paradox: if life just happens, why have we only found it on our planet? The book takes a long, descriptive path through the next few thousand years, painting on a grand scale what's going on in our stellar neighborhood. Relatively convincing quasi physics are woven into a surreal picture of space/time travelers, incomprehensible aliens, resource struggles on a ridiculous scale, and ultimately a cold, cold, unfortunately teetering universe.

    The payoff for sticking with this very deliberately paced revelation of the universe's mechanical heart is gaining a moment of clarity where you get to pose yourself the question: If the universe is "just" the universe, sans the metaphysical we've imagined, if it really is just a big cooling explosion and we're just bizarre knots in the eddies of cooling gasses... do waffles and bacon still taste good?

    ***** HERE BE SPOILERS *****

    For those who'd like a few more details before committing to the book:
    Malenfant is back, and ends up with a key role again. He isn't the same Malenfant, just as this isn't the same universe as the first Manifold book. The idea here seems to be that Baxter is using each book to explore another answer to the Fermi paradox. Some of the first book's characters make cameos here, but there's a new cast to make room for too.

    This time around, the answer to the paradox revolves around the idea that life does happen all over the place, but it gets wiped out all the time. This seems to happen on a period that allows for a sufficiently high degree of sophistication that the relics of those civilizations are incomprehensible to us. Baxter would like us to picture the idea that sufficiently advanced resource plundering is indistinguishable from geology. As with the first book, he also casually tosses star engineering out there as part of his mechanism. Given the nature of the relics, the timescales involved, and the thoroughness of the "reboot" function, he paints a convincing picture of why we aren't seeing any evidence of others in the sky.

    As per the first book, we follow our ragged collection of human observers out to the stars to observe all of this first hand en route to the melancholy final reveal. The pacing is slow and Baxter spends what feels like more time describing every nut and bolt compared to the first book. Given that the whole point of the book is to paint you a picture of this tragic universe though, this really is only a bad thing if you have a short attention span.

    The punchline, the bit about our part to play, is refreshing. No magic invoked here, no triumph of vague spirit or ill defined virtue. Baxter calls us out for being what we manifestly demonstrate ourselves to be rather than what we'd like to think we are, and finds a use for it!

    I very much enjoyed this book. Two thumbs (flecked with maple syrup) up.
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  • Dan
    5.0 out of 5 stars An engrossing story on an astonishing scale
    Reviewed in the United States on 25 January 2019
    Verified Purchase
    Baxter has completely altered my perspective on the universe and life. For me, Manifold: Space managed to thread the needle of grounding the narrative in hard science while transporting me to fantastic places I could never have conceived of in my hottest fever dream. None of this review is rhetorical hyperbole. This book was as terrifying as it was exhilarating. It is a gift to the inquisitive mind, and fully accessible to a casual reader like me.
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  • Blunt Reviews
    3.0 out of 5 stars Hard Science Fiction
    Reviewed in the United States on 7 July 2012
    Verified Purchase
    Not being a great writer myself I will let others do the plot summaries and simply state my opinion of the book.

    I consider Baxter one of the core group of hard science fiction writers however reading his books often feels too much like work...unlike Banks or Reynolds. Maybe its too much exposition on physics and too little character development. The balance between the two is off.

    All in all, a so so book.
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