Conqueror (The second book in the Time's Tapestry series) A novel by Stephen Baxter As the comet fills the sky over Britain and rumours of war coming from across the channel spread two young men accompany a lecherous bishop north to the ruins of the ancient Hadrian's Wall to search for a man known only as 'the last Roman' and the mysterious prophecy he keeps - the prophecy of Isolde. It is a prophecy that tells of an invasion by a North man and an empire that will last thousands of years, an empire of the Aryans. Stephen Baxter's new series is full of page-turning action, intriguing mystery and awe-inspiring scientific speculation. Full of evocative historical detail and characters who jump of the page this is history lived by people who's future is not yet locked as our past.

The year is 2020. Fueled by an insatiable curiosity, Reid Malenfant ventures to the far edge of the solar system, where he discovers a strange artifact left behind by an alien civilization: A gateway that functions as a kind of quantum transporter, allowing virtually instantaneous travel over the vast distances of interstellar space. What lies on the other side of the gateway? Malenfant decides to find out. Yet he will soon be faced with an impossible choice that will push him beyond terror, beyond sanity, beyond humanity itself. Meanwhile on Earth the Japanese scientist Nemoto fears her worst nightmares are coming true. Startling discoveries reveal that the Moon, Venus, even Mars once thrived with life?life that was snuffed out not just once but many times, in cycles of birth and destruction. And the next chilling cycle is set to begin again . . .Review"Baxter's work reminds us all what science fiction is truly about."--GREG BEAR   Author of Darwin's Radio From the Hardcover edition.From the Inside FlapThe year is 2020. Fueled by an insatiable curiosity, Reid Malenfant ventures to the far edge of the solar system, where he discovers a strange artifact left behind by an alien civilization: A gateway that functions as a kind of quantum transporter, allowing virtually instantaneous travel over the vast distances of interstellar space. What lies on the other side of the gateway? Malenfant decides to find out. Yet he will soon be faced with an impossible choice that will push him beyond terror, beyond sanity, beyond humanity itself. Meanwhile on Earth the Japanese scientist Nemoto fears her worst nightmares are coming true. Startling discoveries reveal that the Moon, Venus, even Mars once thrived with life?life that was snuffed out not just once but many times, in cycles of birth and destruction. And the next chilling cycle is set to begin again . . .

The novel can be classified as an alternate history for its portrayal of 19th century Europe and the changes resulting, particularly in Britain, from an explosive scientific discovery made in the 1850s. A new element has been discovered in a hidden vein near the South Pole. Anti-ice is harmless until warmed, when it releases vast energies that promise new wonders and threaten new horrors beyond humankind’s wildest dreams.

Hugo Best Short Story nominee (2002).

Navigator (The third book in the Time's Tapestry series) A novel by Stephen Baxter In 1492, as men of vision, weary of the strife of war, are drawn to the unknown West, an explorer seeks the funding for his voyagewhile a mysterious Weaver plots to unravel the strands of time and stop him. As William the Conqueror's men attempt to stamp out the flames of rebellion, a prophecy is uttered. A bedraggled woman in a ruined chapel speaks of civilizations in conflict, armed by the engines of God... And that prophecy proves to be true as the fearsome war between Christianity and Islam leaves its mark across the land. In Spain, a rogue priest dreams of the final defeat of Islam, for he has found a rent in the tapestry of time, a point where agents from the future used diabolical weapons of destruction to change history. Centuries later, in 1492, as men of vision weary of the strife and are drawn to the unknown West, one such explorer seeks the funding for his voyage- while a mysterious Weaver plots to unravel the strands of time and stop him.

Review"Good, solid, hard SF"." STARBURST "The massive scale and ever-shifting cast make it pleasingly reminiscent of Asimov's 'Foundation'. " SFX "The stories are varied, intriguing and thought-provoking. Unmissable." -- Dave Golder BBC FOCUS Product DescriptionRESPLENDENT is a collection of stories that encompasses mankind's epic fight for survival against the Xeelee, a narrative of how man will change and evolve over our epic journey out into the universe. These tales will encompass the rise of sub-molecular empires in the first nanoseconds after the Big Bang to mankind's final transformation. Full of cutting-edge science, descriptions of time and space on a mind-boggling scale and memorable, all-too-human characters. It is both the capstone to one of the most significant series in the history of SF and a remarkable achievement in its own right. This is a mature and uniquely talented writer at the height of his powers.

Transported to the Sky Steppe of Mars in the final, satisfying book in British author Baxter’s highly original Mammoth trilogy ( Longtusk; Silverhair ), his engaging wooly characters face an abandoned and potentially lethal terraforming experiment left there by humans (aka “the Lost”). Matriarch mammoth Silverhair’s daughter, Icebones, awakens from an unnatural slumber to find herself in a land and time far from her native Pleistocene earth. The mammoths here have no knowledge of their ancient culture, such as the teachings of their mighty progenitor, Kilukpuk. Mammoth tradition says the Sky Steppe is “the Island in the sky where... mammoths would one day find a world of their own, free from the predations and cruelty of the Lost, a world of calm and plenty” yet whatever promise Mars once held is fading now as the changes made by human engineers are reversed under the assault of the red planet’s uncompromising weather and geology. Icebones’s companions, used to depending on the Lost for everything, can’t possibly survive alone. Their only hope is to cross half the world to reach the Footfall of Kilukpuk, a rich valley full of all the sweet grass and water the mammoths need. The journey is long and treacherous, but as the beasts’ great Cycle says, “The mammoth dies, but mammoths live on.” Baxter fills the tale with taut adventure and splendid settings, making it easy to suspend disbelief.