| Stephen Baxter | |
|---|---|
 Stephen Baxter at 63rd World Science Fiction Convention. |
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| Born | 13 November 1957 Liverpool, England |
| Occupation | Writer |
| Nationality | British |
| Genres | Hard SF |
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Influences
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| Official website | |
Stephen Baxter (born 13 November 1957) is a prolific British hard science fiction author. He was born and raised Roman Catholic. He has degrees in mathematics and engineering.
Writing style
Strongly influenced by SF pioneer H. G. Wells, Baxter has been a distinguished Vice-President of the international H. G. Wells Society since 2006.
His fiction falls into three main categories, each with a very different style and tone.
His Xeelee Sequence stories are set in the far future, where humans are rising to become the second most powerful race in the universe, next to the god-like Xeelee. Character development in these stories takes second place to the depiction of advanced theories and ideas, such as the true nature of the Great Attractor, naked singularities and the great battle between Baryonic and Dark matter lifeforms. Examples of novels written in this style: Ring, Timelike Infinity.
His present-day Earth stories are much more human, with characters portrayed with greater depth and care. They typically indulge in "if only" whimsy or outright alternative history, dreaming about what humanity could achieve in the exploration of space. NASA features prominently, and a great deal of research has obviously been done into its internal structuring and methods.
However, these novels have a much darker tone than any of his other stories and do not often portray much hope for humanity as a moral species. Examples of novels written in this style include his NASA Trilogy, including Voyage (winner of the Sidewise Award for Alternate History), Titan, and Moonseed); and his as-yet unnamed disaster series, including Flood and Ark.
Each novel of the Manifold trilogy is focused on a potential explanation of the Fermi paradox.
His "Evolution" stories are a later development and show an increasing interest in the evolution of humanity. These seem to have their origins in stories of his other writing styles, such as Mammoth and Manifold: Origin. The novel Evolution is an example of this style.
Baxter also covers numerous other styles: his Mammoth stories, ostensibly for children, are often of great delight to adults, while The Time Ships (an authorised sequel to The Time Machine) is generally taken to be one of his greatest novels.[citation needed] It won the John W. Campbell Memorial Award, the Philip K. Dick Award, the BSFA Award, and was nominated for other major science fiction awards, including the Hugo Award.
In February 2007, Baxter was announced as the author of what was to be the 100th story for Big Finish Productions' Doctor Who audio series. Earthstorm was originally scheduled to be released in late September 2007, but has been delayed indefinitely, according to a May 2007 announcement on the company's website.
Baxter has also written non-fiction essays and columns for such publications as Critical Wave and the British SF Association's Matrix.
Literary awards
| Award Name | Year | For book | Short stories printed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| BSFA Award SF Novel | 1995[1] | The Time Ships | |
| Sidewise Award for Best Short Form Alternate History | 1995 | Brigantia's Angels | Traces |
| John W. Campbell Award | 1996[2] | The Time Ships | |
| Philip K. Dick Award | 1996[2] | The Time Ships | |
| Sidewise Award for Best Long Form Alternate History | 1996 | Voyage | |
| BSFA Award Short Fiction | 1997 | War Birds | Phase Space |
| SF Chronicle Award Best Novelette | 1998 | Moon Six | Traces |
| Analog Award Best Short Story | 1998 | Moon-Calf | Phase Space |
| Philip K. Dick Award | 1999[3] | Vacuum Diagrams | |
| Analog Award Best Short Story | 2000 | Sheena 5 | Phase Space |
| Locus Poll Award Best Novelette | 2000 | Huddle | Phase Space |
| Asimov's Readers' Poll Novelette | 2001 | On the Orion Line | Resplendent |
| BSFA Award Non-Fiction | 2001 | Omegatropic | |
| Analog Award Best Short Story | 2002 | The Hunters of Pangaea | Evolution & The Hunters of Pangaea |
| BSFA Award Short Fiction | 2004 | Mayflower II | Resplendent |
Baxter's story Last Contact is nominated for the 2008 Hugo Award for best short story.[1]
Bibliography
All ISBNs are for the first edition.
Xeelee Sequence
| Title | Year | ISBN | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Raft | 1991 | ISBN 0-246-13706-1 | Arthur C. Clarke Award nominee, 1992[4] |
| Timelike Infinity | 1992 | ISBN 0-00-224016-5 | |
| Flux | 1993 | ISBN 0-00-224025-4 | |
| Ring | 1993 | ISBN 0-00-224026-2 | |
| Vacuum Diagrams | 1997 | ISBN 0-00-225425-5 | Philip K. Dick Award winner, 1999[3]
Short story collection. |
| Reality Dust | 2000 | ISBN 1-902880-10-2 | Novella (first published by PS Publishing as trade paperback and hardcover; both limited; later collected in Resplendent) |
| Riding the Rock | 2002 | ISBN 1-902880-60-9 | Novella (first published by PS Publishing as trade paperback and hardcover; both limited; later collected in Resplendent) |
| Mayflower II | 2004 | ISBN 1-904619-16-9 | Novella (first published by PS Publishing as trade paperback and hardcover; both limited; later collected in Resplendent) |
| Starfall | 2009 | ISBN 978-1-906301-59-0 | Novella (published by PS Publishing as hardcover and jacketed hardcover; both limited) |
NASA Trilogy
| Title | Year | ISBN | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Voyage | 1996 | ISBN 0-00-648037-3 | Arthur C. Clarke Award nominee, 1997[5] |
| Titan | 1997 | ISBN 0-06-105713-4 | Arthur C. Clarke Award nominee, 1998[6] |
| Moonseed | 1998 | ISBN 0-06-105903-X |
The Web Series
See The Web (series)
Manifold Trilogy
| Title | Year | ISBN | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manifold: Time | 1999 | ISBN 0-345-43076-X | Arthur C. Clarke Award nominee, 2000[7] |
| Manifold: Space | 2000 | ISBN 0-345-43077-8 | |
| Manifold: Origin | 2001 | ISBN 0-345-43079-4 | |
| Phase Space | 2002 | ISBN 0-00-651185-6 | Short story collection. |
The Mammoth Trilogy
| Title | Year | ISBN | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Silverhair | 1999 | ISBN 0-06-105132-2 | |
| Longtusk | 1999 | ISBN 0-380-81898-1 | |
| Icebones | 2001 | ISBN 0-380-81899-X | |
| Behemoth | 2004 | ISBN 0-575-07604-6 | Omnibus of the Mammoth trilogy |
Destiny's Children
| Title | Year | ISBN | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coalescent | 2003 | ISBN 0-345-45786-2 | Arthur C. Clarke Award nominee, 2004[8] |
| Exultant | 2004 | ISBN 0-345-45788-9 | |
| Transcendent | 2005 | ISBN 0-345-45792-7 | Jonh W. Campbell Memorial Award nominee, 2006[9] |
| Resplendent | 2006 | ISBN 0-575-07896-0 | Short story collection. |
A Time Odyssey (Co-authored with Arthur C. Clarke)
| Title | Year | ISBN | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Time's Eye | 2003 | ISBN 0-345-45248-8 | |
| Sunstorm | 2005 | ISBN 0-345-45250-X | |
| Firstborn | 2007 | ISBN 978-0-345-49157-2 |
Time's Tapestry series
| Title | Year | ISBN | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Emperor | 2006 | ISBN 0-575-07432-9 | |
| Conqueror | 2007 | ISBN 0-575-07673-9 | |
| Navigator | 2007 | ISBN 978-0-441-01559-7 | |
| Weaver | 2008 | ISBN 978-0-575-08204-5 |
Un-named disaster series
| Title | Year | ISBN | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flood (2008 novel) | 2008 | ISBN 978-0575080584 | British Science Fiction Association Award nominee, 2008[10] |
| Ark | 2009 | ISBN 978-0575080577 |
| Title | Year | ISBN | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anti-Ice | 1993 | ISBN 0-06-105421-6 | Alternate History |
| The Time Ships | 1995 | ISBN 0-06-105648-0 | BSFA Award winner, 1995[1]; Campbell Award winner, 1996[2]; Hugo, Locus, Clarke, British Fantasy, and Phillip K. Dick Awards nominee, 1996[2]
Alternate History. An authorised sequel to H. G. Wells's The Time Machine |
| The Light of Other Days | 2000 | ISBN 0-312-87199-6 | Co-authored with Arthur C. Clarke. |
| Evolution | 2003 | ISBN 0-345-45783-8 | |
| The H-Bomb Girl | 2007 | ISBN 0-571-23279-5 | Young adult |
| Title | Year | ISBN | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Traces | 1998 | ISBN 0-00-649814-0 | Short story collection. |
| The Hunters of Pangaea | 2004 | ISBN 1-886778-49-3 | 18 stories and five essays on science and science fiction. |
Non-fiction
| Title | Year | ISBN | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deep Future | 2001 | ISBN 1-85798-844-2 | Mainly articles on science. |
| Omegatropic | 2001 | ISBN 0-95407-881-0 | Mainly science fiction criticism. |
| Revolutions in the Earth Ages in Chaos |
2003 (UK) 2004 (US) |
ISBN 0-29782-975-0 ISBN 0-76531-238-7 |
James Hutton and the True Age of the World[11] James Hutton and the Discovery of Deep Time |
References
- ^ a b "1995 Award Winners & Nominees". Worlds Without End. http://www.worldswithoutend.com/books_year_index.asp?year=1995. Retrieved 2009-05-15.
- ^ a b c d "1996 Award Winners & Nominees". Worlds Without End. http://www.worldswithoutend.com/books_year_index.asp?year=1996. Retrieved 2009-05-15.
- ^ a b "1999 Award Winners & Nominees". Worlds Without End. http://www.worldswithoutend.com/books_year_index.asp?year=1999. Retrieved 2009-05-15.
- ^ "1992 Award Winners & Nominees". Worlds Without End. http://www.worldswithoutend.com/books_year_index.asp?year=1992. Retrieved 2009-05-15.
- ^ "1997 Award Winners & Nominees". Worlds Without End. http://www.worldswithoutend.com/books_year_index.asp?year=1997. Retrieved 2009-05-15.
- ^ "1998 Award Winners & Nominees". Worlds Without End. http://www.worldswithoutend.com/books_year_index.asp?year=1998. Retrieved 2009-05-15.
- ^ "2000 Award Winners & Nominees". Worlds Without End. http://www.worldswithoutend.com/books_year_index.asp?year=2000. Retrieved 2009-05-15.
- ^ "2004 Award Winners & Nominees". Worlds Without End. http://www.worldswithoutend.com/books_year_index.asp?year=2004. Retrieved 2009-05-15.
- ^ "2006 Award Winners & Nominees". Worlds Without End. http://www.worldswithoutend.com/books_year_index.asp?year=2006. Retrieved 2009-05-15.
- ^ "2008 Award Winners & Nominees". Worlds Without End. http://www.worldswithoutend.com/books_year_index.asp?year=2008. Retrieved 2009-05-15.
- ^ Jim Gilchrist book review (26 July 2003). "How James Hutton rocked the world". The Scotsman. http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/s2.cfm?id=806902003.
External links
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Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Stephen Baxter |
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Stephen Baxter |
- Stephen Baxter's official website
- The Manifold (an unofficial but up-to-date fan site)
- - The Manifold Message Boards (where fans of Mr. Baxter can interact and discuss his work)
- The Baxterium (a semi-official Baxter site)
- Stephen Baxter at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
- Stephen Baxter's online fiction at Free Speculative Fiction Online
- Stephen Baxter Yahoo! Groups (fan discussion group)
- Stephen Baxter Fantastic Fiction
- Stephen Baxter Book Reviews on The SF Site
- Interview with Steven Baxter on The SF Site
- Steven Baxter Infinity Plus Profile
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