A Time Odyssey
A Time Odyssey, a series of books co-written by Arthur C. Clarke, author of 2001: A Space Odyssey, and Stephen Baxter. As of 2006, the series consists of:
- Vol. 1 – Time's Eye (2003)
- Vol. 2 – Sunstorm (2005)
- Vol. 3 – Firstborn (December 26 2007)
Premise
The story is based on Clarke's previous novel-series of the Space Odyssey, Clarke, in the introduction to the Time's Eye describes the premise as "neither a prequel nor sequel" to the Space Odyssey but an "orthoquel" (a neologism -also a portmanteau- coined by Clarke for this purpose, combining the words for 'sequel' with 'orthogonal'). In the Space Odyssey, a race of benevolent godlike aliens with highly advanced technology decides to use machines called "monoliths" to travel across space and seed the universe with intelligent life (including Earth) and "test" and "weed out" species with no possibility for intelligence.
In the Time Odyssey, not-so-benevolent godlike aliens start an endless mission to regulate the development of sentient life in the Universe, in order to prevent other (uncivilized, in their view) species from harnessing too much of its energy, which would only accelerate the inevitable entropic death of the Universe, thus rendering the general development of life impossible. Consequently, a faction of these "Firstborn" attempt to "weed out" intelligent species such as man by subjecting them to temporal stimuli. These stimuli involve splitting the species' homeworld up into different time periods, in order to better see in which period of history the species was at its best. Since time is orthogonal to space in relativity, Clarke uses the term "orthoquel" to describe this series vis-a-vis his earlier one.
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Books by Stephen
Baxter
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| Xeelee Sequence: Raft – Timelike Infinity – Flux – Ring – Vacuum Diagrams – Reality Dust – Riding the Rock |
| Xeelee story elements: Great Northern - Other technology - Qax - Other species |
| Destiny's Children: Coalescent – Exultant – Transcendent – Resplendent |
| Manifold Trilogy: Time – Space – Origin – Phase Space |
| The Mammoth Trilogy: Silverhair – Longtusk – Icebones – Behemoth |
| A Time Odyssey: Time's Eye – Sunstorm – Firstborn |
| The Web Series: Gulliverzone – Webcrash |
| Time's Tapestry: Emperor – Conqueror |
| NASA Trilogy: Voyage – Titan – Moonseed |
| Others: Anti-Ice – The Time Ships – The Light of Other Days – Evolution |
| Unrelated collections: Traces – The Hunters of Pangaea |
| Non-fiction: Deep Future – Omegatropic – Ages in Chaos |
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