Time / Stephen Baxter

 

Time by Stephen Baxter
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I'm not sure why I put off this book for so long. I didn't expect to get as involved as I did and was pretty startled by how emotionally engaged I was. My own prejudice, I suppose, as I don't generally enjoy the more technically based stories. Baxter included enough human interaction (and squid interaction) to keep me happy.

It helped that one of the major point of view characters is Emma Stoney, the ex-wife of one Reid Malenfant, billionaire with grandiose plans. Emma still retains a significant position in his business empire and seems to be an important presence at any of his dramatic events. In fact, nothing of any import happens without her and even she is not sure why she sticks around.

There are details that remind me of earlier science fiction. H.G. Wells' The War of the Worlds, with its intelligent cephalopod invaders from Mars. On page 254, there was a little shout out to Kurt Vonnegut: So it goes. The mysterious object on the near Earth asteroid reminded me of the black monoliths in 2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke. The Blue children smacked of another Clarke novel, Childhood's End. Maybe some echoes of David Brin's Uplift series regarding the engineering of the intelligent squid pilot, Sheena, and her dreams of the shoal (much like the Whale Dream that Brin's dolphin space explorers experience).

This novel is copyrighted in 2000, but some of the plot details are pulled from the 2021 news headlines: billionaires starting space companies, religious nuttiness about science, protesting, etc. I read the first few pages and thought about Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson and their space travel plans, separate from NASA. Today’s entrepreneurs just seem to be fixated on Mars rather than the asteroids.

I know the ending is meant to be hopeful, but I found it rather depressing. I can't imagine what is left to be discussed, but there are two more books. Curiosity will carry me along to the next one for sure.

Book number 427 of my Science Fiction & Fantasy Reading Project.



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