Proxima
Sep 2013 · Hachette UK
4.3star
133 reviewsreport
Ebook
592
Pages
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About this ebook
How would you survive on a planet that doesn't spin?
The very far future: The Galaxy is a drifting wreck of black holes, neutron stars, chill white dwarfs. The age of star formation is long past. Yet there is life here, feeding off the energies of the stellar remnants, and there is mind, a tremendous Galaxy-spanning intelligence each of whose thoughts lasts a hundred thousand years. And this mind cradles memories of a long-gone age when a more compact universe was full of light ...
The 27th century: Proxima Centauri, an undistinguished red dwarf star, is the nearest star to our sun - and it hosts a world, Proxima IV, habitable by humans. But Proxima IV is unlike Earth in many ways. Huddling close to the warmth, orbiting in weeks, it keeps one face to its parent star at all times. The 'substellar point', with the star forever overhead, is a blasted desert, and the 'antistellar point' on the far side is under an ice cap in perpetual darkness. How would it be to live on such a world?
Yuri Eden is among the prisoners tasked with settling this newfound wilderness. But will Proxima prove to be a second chance for humanity, or the catalyst for our destruction . . ?
PROXIMA tells the amazing tale of how we colonise a harsh new eden, and the secret we find there that will change our role in the Universe for ever.
Readers love Proxima:
'The plot was very interesting and I really liked how the narrative alternated from the past to the future to give a better understanding of the setting . . . a thought provoking and compelling read' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
'Some damn fine science fiction . . . There's a strong blend of characters here, including human and AI' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
'I highly recommend it for fans of hard sci-fi, time dilation, space exploration, colonisation and first contact . . . Baxter has gone to a lot of bother to do his scientific, ecological research to serve you an entire planet on a platter' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
'Half hard sci-fi about surviving on a new planet, half an almost-2001 sense of mysterious alien force. It all comes together really well' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
The very far future: The Galaxy is a drifting wreck of black holes, neutron stars, chill white dwarfs. The age of star formation is long past. Yet there is life here, feeding off the energies of the stellar remnants, and there is mind, a tremendous Galaxy-spanning intelligence each of whose thoughts lasts a hundred thousand years. And this mind cradles memories of a long-gone age when a more compact universe was full of light ...
The 27th century: Proxima Centauri, an undistinguished red dwarf star, is the nearest star to our sun - and it hosts a world, Proxima IV, habitable by humans. But Proxima IV is unlike Earth in many ways. Huddling close to the warmth, orbiting in weeks, it keeps one face to its parent star at all times. The 'substellar point', with the star forever overhead, is a blasted desert, and the 'antistellar point' on the far side is under an ice cap in perpetual darkness. How would it be to live on such a world?
Yuri Eden is among the prisoners tasked with settling this newfound wilderness. But will Proxima prove to be a second chance for humanity, or the catalyst for our destruction . . ?
PROXIMA tells the amazing tale of how we colonise a harsh new eden, and the secret we find there that will change our role in the Universe for ever.
Readers love Proxima:
'The plot was very interesting and I really liked how the narrative alternated from the past to the future to give a better understanding of the setting . . . a thought provoking and compelling read' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
'Some damn fine science fiction . . . There's a strong blend of characters here, including human and AI' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
'I highly recommend it for fans of hard sci-fi, time dilation, space exploration, colonisation and first contact . . . Baxter has gone to a lot of bother to do his scientific, ecological research to serve you an entire planet on a platter' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
'Half hard sci-fi about surviving on a new planet, half an almost-2001 sense of mysterious alien force. It all comes together really well' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
Ratings and reviews
4.3
133 reviews
Andrew KENNEDY (adk)
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November 28, 2014
Really absorbing story full of detail, and set across a huge stage. Sometimes a bit terse and predictable but the science, politics and personalities are all enjoyable and we'll described. Looking forward to the next book, Ultima.
5 people found this review helpful
Ronny Cook
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March 26, 2015
Promixa looks forward to a future with a believable society and Solar System and interesting characters, although the major plot twist is somewhat predictable. The ending is something of a shock, although it leaves some gaping questions open in clear anticipation of a sequel; as such it feels unresolved, a pity for an otherwise good book.
1 person found this review helpful
Billy Bookworm
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February 12, 2020
This is my kind of SciFi. Grand scale, science based, imaginative story telling. In a similar style to A C Clarke's Rama series, Greg Bear's Eon series and Jennifer Fohner Wells' Confluence series. All expansive, immersive, imaginative story telling. Now for Ultima...
About the author
Stephen Baxter is the pre-eminent science fiction 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.
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