Manifold: Time
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| Author | Stephen Baxter |
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| Cover Artist | Tony and Daphine Hallas/Science Photo Library |
| Country | Great Britain |
| Language | English |
| Series | Manifold |
| Genre(s) | Science fiction |
| Publisher | Voyager (UK) & Del Rey Books (USA) |
| Released | 1999 |
| Media Type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Pages | 456 p. (UK hardback edition) & 456 p. (UK paperback edition) |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-00-225768-8 (UK paperback edition) & ISBN 0-00-651182-1 (UK paperback edition) |
| Followed by | Manifold: Space |
Manifold: Time is a science fiction novel by Stephen Baxter. It is the first of Baxter's Manifold trilogy (the others being Manifold: Space and Manifold: Origin) although the books can be read in any order given that the series takes place in a multiverse.
[edit] Plot introduction
Time is set on Earth, the inner part of the Sol System and various other universes onwards from the 21st century. The novel covers a wide range of topics, from the Doomsday argument to the Fermi paradox, and genetic engineering among others. The book provides a fascinating visualization of the effect time can have on matter and space. It also discusses several other time-related ideas, such as what would humanity do if it was widely accepted it was within a few centuries of extinction.
[edit] Explanation of the novel's title
The title is Time as, unlike most novels, it does not focus on a very small time period. Instead this book takes place over millions of years, thus the name Time.
[edit] Plot summary
The book starts out in the very distant future, at the end of space and time, when the last descendants of humanity are facing extinction. While most of them are so weary and tired that they welcome extinction, a small fraction decides that they could alter fate if only some key changes were made on their distant past. It turns out that the distant past they were referring to corresponds to the near present. The changes come in several forms, like the discovery of asteroid 3753 Cruithne, and the appearance of super-intelligent children around the world (compare with Childhood's End).
Reid Malenfant, a flunked astronaut, runs a secret space upstart company in the Arizona desert, and plans on reigniting the space race, which has stagnated due to NASA bureaucracy. His plan is to kickstart asteroid mining by harvesting the Iron ore availalable at the NEO Reinmuth. But has is persuaded to divert his attention to the asteroid Cruithne, which reveals a staggering alien artifact which turns out to be a Einstein-Rosen bridge.
[edit] Characters in "Manifold: Time"
- Reid Malenfant – main protagonist
- Emma Stoney – Malenfant's ex-wife and employee
- Cornelius Taine – brilliant escatologist mathematician
- Sheena – a genetically engineered squid
[edit] Writing Style
Time is split up into 4 parts and then into little sections which focus on a different character. This is different from the other novels in this series, which use the usual style where it is split up into chapters.
[edit] Major themes
- Stellar evolution
- Child-Parent Universe Cosmology
- Genetic engineering of non-human species for scientific purposes
- Time Travel
- Human and societal responses to knowledge of impending doom
[edit] Allusions/references to other works
[edit] Literary significance & criticism
"Pacy, visionary, extravagantly imagined"
"Time has one of the best time-jump sequences ever attempted, during which the protagonists witness the entire of future of the universe ... Highly intelligent, with original ideas in almost every sentence..."
"Time places Baxter firmly in the tradition of Arthur C. Clarke and Isaac Asimov. How reassuring to know that someone at least is still looking at the stars"
"Science fiction at its best"
[edit] Allusions/references from other works
The 'blue children' noted in the book, prodigies with an accountable attraction to blue circle, seem to correlate somewhat with the new-age idea of indigo children. An 'indigo aura' is almost synomous with a blue circle.
[edit] Awards and nominations
~references to and details of awards and nominations, if applicable~
Nominated for the 2000 Arthur C. Clarke Award
[edit] Trivia
[edit] Release details
- 1999, UK, Voyager (HarperColins) ISBN 0-00-225768-8 , Pub date 2 August 1999, hardback
- 2000, UK, Voyager (HarperColins) ISBN 0-00-651182-1, Pub date 7 August 2000, paperback
- 2000, USA, Del Rey Books ISBN 0-345-43075-1, Pub date ? January 2000, hardback
- 2000, USA, Del Rey Books ISBN 0-345-43076-X, Pub date ? November 2000, paperback
[edit] Sources, references, external links, quotations
| Books by Stephen Baxter (edit) |
|---|
| Xeelee Sequence: Raft - Timelike Infinity - Flux - Ring - Vacuum Diagrams - Reality Dust - Riding the Rock |
| Destiny's Children Series: Coalescent - Exultant - Transcendent - Resplendent |
| Manifold Trilogy: Time - Space - Origin - Phase Space |
| The Mammoth Trilogy: Silverhair - Longtusk - Icebones |
| A Time Odyssey Series: Time's Eye - Sunstorm - Firstborn |
| The Web Series: Gulliverzone - Webcrash |
| Time's Tapestry Series: Emperor - Conqueror |
| Others: Anti-Ice - The Time Ships - Voyage - Titan - Moonseed - The Light of Other Days - Traces - Evolution |
| Non-fiction: Deep Future - Omegatropic - Ages in Chaos |
