book data
206 ratings,
3.98
average rating, 14 reviews
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published
April 20th 1998
by Voyager
details
Paperback, 400 pages
literary awards
isbn
0006498124
(isbn13: 9780006498124)
description
Ironically, you'll probably appreciate Vacuum Diagrams most after you've put it down. The prolific and acclaimed Stephen Baxter has always been praise…more
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 309)
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avg 3.98
editions: all | this edition
editions: all | this edition
Read in May, 2005
recommends it for:
serious sci-fi readers
This is the very best sci-fi book I've ever read. This book attempts to offer PLAUSIBLE ideas about what other forms of life might exist in our universe, may have existed, or might exist in the future. These are not your average lizard-like aliens with large black eyes. No sir, these are "life forms" that will bend your mind over backwards and turn it inside out.
Absolutely fascinating read from cover to cover. If I could forget this book and read it again, I would.
Absolutely fascinating read from cover to cover. If I could forget this book and read it again, I would.
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Read in August, 2009
Being a hard sci-fi nut, I find it difficult to get my sci-fi fix without compromising something. In this case my compromises were minimal - Baxter isn't the greatest writer in the genre, but damn if his science isn't glorious!
This book is less a novel than a collection of stories drawn from a single unique universe of his devising, loosely connected by a segregated secondary narrative that gives them some additional weight and context. Many of the tales can be read as stand-alone ...more
This book is less a novel than a collection of stories drawn from a single unique universe of his devising, loosely connected by a segregated secondary narrative that gives them some additional weight and context. Many of the tales can be read as stand-alone ...more
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Read in August, 2008
A great collection of stories and a fascinating future history of human beings. I have not read any of the other books set in this universe but this collection provides a great overview. I recommend this to fans of space opera that have an affinity for hard sci fi.
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Quite possibly the best collection of hard sci-fi stories ever. I've read it twice and I think its about time I read it again.
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Read in August, 2008
This book attempts to tell the story of the human race across nearly 5 million years of time. It is actually a collection of short stories, connected by a story Baxter wrote to tie them together into a semi-coherent whole. The stories are interesting on their own and in the context of human history, but it seemed disjointed and abrupt, with most of the stories ending before they had played out. Overall, I thought it was a fascinating attempt to condense 5 million years of events into a single...more
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recommends it for:
sci-fi fans that have read some Baxter
A collection of short stories that form a time line synopsis of Baxter's Xeelee, Qax, Silver Ghosts, Human universe. I generally tend to shy away from short stories because I'll get all excited about the story and then suddenly it's over so soon, but Baxter's Vacuum Diagrams was different because it helped paint a more concrete picture of how this particular universe worked. And being a new fan of Baxter's, I've got a lot more to read of this particular universe.
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Read in February, 2009
I have loved all of Baxter's books, but this is a weird compilation of almost all his books that end up here as one story, summarized chapter by chapter. Some of the content is word for word from his others books. So while I am three-quarters done, as I am using it as a tool to put me to sleep at night, I will probably put it down and continue to read "The Ghost in Love."
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This is the book to read to get the whole overview of the Xeelee set of books by Baxter. It is made up of short stories. I would actually recommend saving this one for last and reading Flux, Raft, Timelike Infinity, and Ring first.
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Top 5 of all time - acts as a future-history of mankind, complete with all triumphs and failures. Detailed timelines of extraterrestrial conquests, time travel, and the eventual end of the universe.
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Liked it. Good series of short stories in the 'Ring' or Xe lee Sequence...
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Read in April, 2007
An expansive novel about the length & breadth of human history, the ebb & flow of time and the will to survive, to thrive & dominate.
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