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Coalescent (Destiny's Children #1)

by Stephen Baxter

3.74 · Rating Details · 1,877 Ratings · 99 Reviews

When his father dies suddenly, George Poole stumbles onto a family secret: He has a twin sister he never knew existed, who was raised by an enigmatic cult called the Order.

The Order is a hive - a human hive with a dominant queen--that has prospered below the streets of Rome for almost two millennia.

After Poole enters the Order's vast underground city and meets the distur ...more

Paperback, 527 pages

Published November 23rd 2004 by Del Rey Books (first published 2003)

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Lists with This Book

The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

The Girl with All the Gifts by M.R. Carey

Arthur C Clarke Award Winners and Finalists

142nd out of 180 books — 11 voters

best hard science fiction

202nd out of 271 books — 423 voters

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Community Reviews

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Jan 09, 2008 Bob(by) rated it really liked it

Some lady who hangs out with King Arthur goes into hiding and creates an insect-like hive society. Some modern day dude happens upon it. Hijinks ensue.

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Apr 17, 2008 David rated it liked it · review of another edition

Coalescent covers the progression of a divergence of the human genetic lineage from the falling of the Roman empire into modern times. This diverenge theatens the normal humans, as the new genetic offshoot behave as a hive and thus individuality is subsumed to the group. Facinating at times, I enjoyed the latter part of the book more. As the hive were mainly comprised of women, I kept on asking myself whether women could possibly change so much in 1500 years and I am unconvinced.

The book was als ...more

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Jan 08, 2014 Ian rated it liked it · review of another edition

Many years ago, I remember Mark Plummer declaring that Stephen Baxter would be a good author to collect. What Mark clearly had not taken into account was the need for a very large room to hold such a collection. It’s not just that Baxter is prolific – 39 novels and 9 collections in 22 years – but also that most of his books are also huge. Coalescent – the first in a trilogy, natch, called Destiny’s Children – is one of these huge novels: the Gollancz hardback is 473 pages long. There are two mai Many years ago, I remember Mark Plummer declaring that Stephen Baxter would be a good author to collect. What Mark clearly had not taken into account was the need for a very large room to hold such a collection. It’s not just that Baxter is prolific – 39 novels and 9 collections in 22 years – but also that most of his books are also huge. Coalescent – the first in a trilogy, natch, called Destiny’s Children – is one of these huge novels: the Gollancz hardback is 473 pages long. There are two main narratives, one set in Ancient Britain after the Romans have left, and one in the present-day. The former provides the historical context for the climax of the latter. George Poole’s father has died, and he has sort out the estate. He discovers that his father regularly sent money to a religious order in Rome, and that he has a sister in that order. So he travels to Rome to learn more. In fifth-century Britain, a young girl, Regina, is sent north to Hadrian’s Wall to stay with her grandfather after the death of her wealthy father. As it becomes clear that Rome has no interest in, or is incapable of, returning to Britain, things start to fall apart. Regina’s narrative shows how she grows up and survives in a Britain falling apart, before she eventually takes ship for Rome and forms the Puissant Order of Holy Mary Queen of Virgins. Poole, meanwhile, through an old school friend who is now a conspiracy nut, discovers that there is more to the Order than appears. It is, in fact, an all-female Hellstrom’s Hive living in an ancient labyrinth under the streets of Rome. The novel abruptly jumps into the far future and describes an attack on a human hive by members of another human civilisation. Baxter has done this before, notably in Titan, and I’m not entirely convinced it’s a useful technique. Mind you, Coalescent is the first book of a trilogy, so perhaps it suits better here. Having said that, I enjoyed the book more than I’d expected to – the two narratives didn’t seem to sit well together but were individually interesting, and once the connection had become obvious things picked up. I’m looking forward to reading the rest of the trilogy. ...more

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Jun 09, 2009 Ryan rated it liked it

Not what I expected at all from the synopsis. It was very slow paced, yet the questions and mysteries that Stephen Baxter had embedded within the pages kept me turning. The end of the book left me teetering on an awkward fence between completely disappointed, and severely shocked. The underlying message that Stephen Baxter was communicating was worth the read. However, it is definitely not a book that I put any re-read value into.

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Oct 26, 2009 Andrew rated it it was ok

This book contained interesting ideas I could appreciate, but Baxter is too often limited by his engineering background. He often comes across as a stereotypical engineer, and his characters don't quite seem fully fleshed out, acting more as schematics to aid his design. His understanding of evolution also irritated me a bit at points, as he ignored the costs of adaptations and limits of evolution in a few points, but I recognize this is a biologist niggling over how an engineer views a biologic ...more

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Dec 11, 2009 Palmyrah rated it did not like it · review of another edition

A very bad book, but it did keep me reading all the way to the end. As to why, later.

The construction of Coalescent is a sloppy mess. Essentially there are two narrative streams told in alternate chapters. One is set in the present day (c.2000) and one begins in fourth-century Britain soon after Constantine left it to go purple-hunting in Rome, taking most of the Roman garrison with him and leaving the island wide open to plunder by the Saxons.

This 'Roman' stream is told in the third person. Mos ...more

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Mar 06, 2010 Tim rated it liked it

Shelves: science-fiction

I really liked the idea here of divergent human evolution. The idea of a "coalescence" is an enduring contribution to science fiction.

I also have to say that I loved the historical segment about the fall of Rome. It really seemed to me to get it right: how things slowly fell apart, and never got right again. As Eliot said, "not with a bang, but a whimper."

Really 3.5 stars. See also my review of Transcendent by the same author.

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Feb 17, 2014 Beck Fitzsimmons rated it liked it

this book began slowly, seriously slowly! It took me three tries until i got hooked. The ideas were intriguing but the delivery felt clumsy and sort of awkward. The historical ventures into the disintegration of Roman/British society were actually quite enjoyable. But I ended up dreading the increasingly inevitable scene of eusociety projected into the future. And when it finally came (ch 49) it just seemed ridiculous. I didn't have high expectations of this book. Just a bit of post-thesis escap ...more

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Apr 30, 2011 Faith Justice rated it liked it

Shelves: given-away

First of all, the back cover info is a trifle misleading, which is a shame because the real story is just as good and absorbing as the cover hype. The book weaves together three narratives: George Poole's first person mystery as he searches for his lost sister; the historical fiction 5th Century exploits of one of his ancestors Regina, who lives through the fall of the Roman Empire in Britain, moves to Rome, and founds the Order; and the modern SF story of Lucia, one of the members of the Order. First of all, the back cover info is a trifle misleading, which is a shame because the real story is just as good and absorbing as the cover hype. The book weaves together three narratives: George Poole's first person mystery as he searches for his lost sister; the historical fiction 5th Century exploits of one of his ancestors Regina, who lives through the fall of the Roman Empire in Britain, moves to Rome, and founds the Order; and the modern SF story of Lucia, one of the members of the Order. Of the three, I found George's story to be the weakest. He is basically a foil for introducing the other two and a stand-in for the reader; someone to whom things can be explained rather than an active agent. As the book progressed I actually became a little impatient with the George story and always looked forward to the next installments of Regina and Lucia.

The book is a fascinating meld of science fiction and historical fiction. Baxter does a great job showing how the withdrawal of Rome from Britain resulted in the rapid decline of cities, withering of trade, decline of population and the loss of education and skills; in other words, the rapid onset of the Dark Ages in just a couple of generations. King Arthur makes an appearance--as two different characters that are frequently cited as sources for the legend--as well as Merlin. Baxter also does a credible job of creating the Order, giving it a sound basis in science and biology, and evolving it through 1500 years to the semblance of a hive. Although there is no dominant queen and they don't "plan" an invasion of the rest of earth, as trumpeted in the back matter.

I do have a nit to pick. Baxter has a penchant for punning names. In another book I reviewed, his rogue protagonist was Malenfant (bad child in French.) In this one, the founding mother of the Order is Regina (queen.) He also named some secondary characters after historical figures that lived in those times. The fictional ones had nothing to do with the historical characters, so I found it jarring whenever they appeared. There are plenty of names that don't carry any associations, which could have easily been used. Naming is a tricky thing and there is nothing wrong with using a name to reinforce a character, but if it pulls the reader out of the story, it's a distraction.

To summarize, I enjoyed the book. The writing is straight-forward, the characters interesting, the plot unique. Baxter is a deep thinker who sprinkles his narrative with discussions of social behavior, philosophy, morals, and science. I'd recommend this book to both the SF and HF communities.
...more

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Feb 15, 2011 Daniel added it

I really enjoyed book one of the Destiny's Children series. The format of alternating between present day and 300 A.C.E. Rome was an interesting way bring all the events of the story together. It also made me question our human perception of time as a thing to be experienced as linear. By alternating each chapter between the present and ancient times events, I was able to think of the events in time as if they were happening concurrently as opposed to hundreds of years apart. I'm not sure if thi ...more

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May 03, 2011 Daniel Roy rated it liked it

Shelves: sf, contemporary

Let's be upfront about it: Coalescent is not a book for everyone. It alienates Baxter fans who are used to distant-future high-concept space opera, and it alienates casual fans who might pick this up as a historical novel. Essentially, it pleases neither crowd. So, is it worth reading? Absolutely, but you better be patient.

The story starts at the Fall of the Roman Empire, and follows a young British Roman woman named Regina as her world falls apart around her. The majority of the novel focuses o Let's be upfront about it: Coalescent is not a book for everyone. It alienates Baxter fans who are used to distant-future high-concept space opera, and it alienates casual fans who might pick this up as a historical novel. Essentially, it pleases neither crowd. So, is it worth reading? Absolutely, but you better be patient.

The story starts at the Fall of the Roman Empire, and follows a young British Roman woman named Regina as her world falls apart around her. The majority of the novel focuses on Regina's trials, as she escapes war-torn Britain and ends up in Rome by way of Avalon. (More on this in a moment.) In parallel with this, we follow the actions of a mild-mannered British man, a descendant of Regina, who discovers he has a long-lost twin sister secluded in an Italian religious order.

If this doesn't sound like exciting SF, well, that's because it ain't. The story of Regina is somewhat interesting, but a lot of time is spent by Baxter showing us how much historical research he put into making this a geniune historical novel. There's a somewhat interesting segue to the story as Regina joins King Arthur's court, becoming the historical inspiration for Morgan by virtue of being Merlin's rival; however, it serves no real purpose except being clever, and actually detracts from the goals of Regina's story arc, which is to provide a historically believeable context to the founding of the Order.

The modern storyline, following a descendant of Regina as he comes to grip with the existence of a long-lost twin, also unfortunately feels like filler. This is mostly because the main character, mild-mannered, middle-aged George Poole, is not that interesting at all. Fortunately, his eccentric and paranoid geek friend, Peter McLachlan, provides for tasty SF ideas such as galactic-scale weapons and Dark Matter starships. These moments are few and far between, but they provide a hint as to the greatness that is to come.

If you manage to get through the dreary start, things suddenly kick into overdrive. Regina gets to Rome, and founds a secretive Order that still exists centuries later. George Poole, in modern times, discovers the ramifications of the Order as he finds his lost sister. That's when things get really crazy, and we finally understand where Baxter was going all along.

I'm not gonna spoil it for you; I had the pleasure of reading this novel without forewarning, and I suggest you do the same. Suffice to say that the point of Coalescent is to provide a deep reflection on the nature of human society, and in this aspect, it more than delivers. If this kind of payoff seems appealing to you regardless of the obstacles I described previously, then go ahead and pick up Coalescent.

In the end, Coalescent returns to solid SF grounds, and the perspective is dizzying and highly satisfying. As a book of Big Ideas, Coalescent works perfectly, and is well worth the time investment. It's a book that rewards patience, in spades.

Coalescent is technically the first of a trilogy called Destiny's Children. The novel was strong enough to make me pick up the sequel, Exultant, but I must warn you that the sequel is nowhere near the level of Coalescent. Yes, passing references are made to it in the sequel novel, but they amount to a poor novel paying hommage to a much superior one, and you won't miss anything by skipping Exultant. Do yourself a favor and consider Coalescent a stand-alone story. ...more

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Jun 18, 2011 Peter Walton-Jones rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Once again I have been drawn into a series of stories where the first part has left me uncertain as to whether I really want more. Science Fiction at its best challenges our view of people; history, the future, technology, religion, power, politics, culture, etc. This is a fairly good story with some interesting ideas about evolution and genetics. It spans across time from the days of "Arthur" to today and hints of the future. The genetic mutation (people mimicking hiving insects as a survival m ...more

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Apr 27, 2013 Vicki Doronina rated it really liked it

This is not just one book, but loosely connected, two and a bit – a historical novel, a biological thriller and a science fiction short story – under one cover.

The historical novel is about a girl growing up in Britain in the 5th century A.D., while the Roman rule disintegrates. Now, I am not a fan of historical novels – when I’ve tried to read them a couple of times before, I’ve been disappointed by how modern the characters’ thinking was. And if I want to know about history, I’d rather read a ...more

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Aug 05, 2013 Chen-song Qin rated it liked it

This book has an interesting premise, and it rides a wave of interest recently in science fiction about hive societies. However, as some other reviews have noted, the narrative skips around too much, and not in an orderly fashion either. It makes the book look like an attempt at several different stories that are tied together by a general theme. However, the author does not pull this off and only makes the whole thing seem scattershot.

As to the science content, it's rather far-fetched. I know o ...more

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Jul 19, 2015 Mark Easter rated it liked it · review of another edition

Now, joined by his boyhood friend Peter McLachlan, who arrives in Rome with a dark secret of his own, George uncovers evidence suggesting that the women of the Order have embarked on a divergent evolutionary path. But they are not just a new kind of human. They are a better kind, genetically superior, equipped with all the tools necessary to render homo sapiens as extinct as the Neanderthals. And, chillingly, George and Peter soon have reason to fear that this colony is preparing to leave its overcrowded underground nest. . . . Stephen Baxter possesses one of the most brilliant minds in modern science fiction. His vivid storytelling skills have earned him comparison to the giants of the past: Clarke, Asimov, Stapledon. Like his great predecessors, Baxter thinks on a cosmic scale, spinning cutting-edge scientific speculation into pure, page-turning gold. Now Baxter is back with a breathtaking adventure that begins during the catastrophic collapse of Roman Britain and stretches forward into an unimaginably distant, war-torn future, where the fate of humanity lies waiting at the center of the galaxy. . . . Destiny's Children COALESCENT George Poole isn't sure whether his life has reached a turning point or a dead end. At forty-five, he is divorced and childless, with a career that is going nowhere fast. Then, when his father dies suddenly, George stumbles onto a family secret: a sister he never knew existed. A twin named Rosa, raised in Rome by an enigmatic cult. Hoping to find the answers to the missing pieces of his life, George sets out for the ancient city. Once in Rome, he learns from Rosa the enthralling story of their distant ancestor, Regina, an iron-willed genius determined to preserve her family as the empire disintegrates around her. It was Regina who founded the cult, which has mysteriously survived and prospered below the streets of Rome for almost two millennia. The Order, says Rosa, is her real family and, even if he doesn't realize it yet, it is George's family, too. When she takes him into the vast underground city that is the Order's secret home, he feels a strong sense of belonging, yet there is something oddly disturbing about the women he meets. They are all so young and so very much alike. Stephen Baxter possesses one of the most brilliant minds in modern science fiction. His vivid storytelling skills have earned him comparison to the giants of the past: Clarke, Asimov, Stapledon. Like his great predecessors, Baxter thinks on a cosmic scale, spinning cutting-edge scientific speculation into pure, page-turning gold. Now Baxter is back with a breathtaking adventure that begins during the catastrophic collapse of Roman Britain and stretches forward into an unimaginably distant, war-torn future, where the fate of humanity lies waiting at the center of the galaxy. . . . Destiny's Children COALESCENT George Poole isn't sure whether his life has reached a turning point or a dead end. At forty-five, he is divorced and childless, with a career that is going nowhere fast. Then, when his father dies suddenly, George stumbles onto a family secret: a sister he never knew existed. A twin named Rosa, raised in Rome by an enigmatic cult. Hoping to find the answers to the missing pieces of his life, George sets out for the ancient city. Once in Rome, he learns from Rosa the enthralling story of their distant ancestor, Regina, an iron-willed genius determined to preserve her family as the empire disintegrates around her. It was Regina who founded the cult, which has mysteriously survived and prospered below the streets of Rome for almost two millennia. The Order, says Rosa, is her real family and, even if he doesn't realize it yet, it is George's family, too. When she takes him into the vast underground city that is the Order's secret home

...more

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Jul 09, 2015 Shane Kiely rated it really liked it · review of another edition

This book is science fiction that doesn't really wear it's genre on it's sleeve. It's very much a soft science fiction story, not in the sense that it's scientifically inaccurate but more in that it concerns human society & social structures rather than any particular technology (though there are smatterings of physics in there). For much of it's run time it reads like historical fiction as one of the main plot threads concerns the era of the fall of the Roman Empire in the west. This altern ...more

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Jan 02, 2014 Nicolas rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: anticipation, animaux, voyage, terrorisme, famille, amiti

Gros bouquin, au thème pourtant simple : le personnage principal découvre que sa famille est beaucoup plus étendue dans le temps qu'il ne pouvait le croire, mais aussi que son organisation sociale la rapproche pas mal d'une secte.
Bon, en fait, c'est plus compliqué et parfois plus spectaculaire que ça. mais, surtout, cet élément, qui est le coeur de l'intrigue, m'est passé complètement à côté, focalisé que j'étais sur le décor. Pourquoi ? simple : Rome. Rome, la ville éternelle ! Je me suis plong ...more

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Jan 20, 2014 Peter Goodman rated it really liked it

Shelves: science-fiction

“Coalescent,” by Stephen Baxter (Del Ray, 2003). An oddity, although it still is well-written and well-observed. Ostensibly science fiction (and there is that), the bulk of the novel contains two parallel plots: the life of a woman as Roman Britain dissolves, and the life of a man, apparently one of her descendants, tracking down a long-lost sister in early 21st century England. Exceptional description of what it must have been like to experience the disintegration of a stable civilization: the ...more

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Jun 11, 2014 Heather rated it really liked it

The back cover text led me to believe that this was a very different flavor of book than it turned out to be. Almost the entirety of that supposed teaser applies not to the entire book, but to the end of the book. That’s right–instead of providing the premise, they provide the climax (and some of that description is actually incorrect). Also, the text presents an impression of a book that is heavily sci-fi and suspenseful, which simply isn’t the case. The majority of the book is a combination of The back cover text led me to believe that this was a very different flavor of book than it turned out to be. Almost the entirety of that supposed teaser applies not to the entire book, but to the end of the book. That’s right–instead of providing the premise, they provide the climax (and some of that description is actually incorrect). Also, the text presents an impression of a book that is heavily sci-fi and suspenseful, which simply isn’t the case. The majority of the book is a combination of George slowly tracking down his sister in parallel with the Order’s origin story in ancient Rome. Which means that most of the book is actually a historical with no sci-fi content whatsoever. There’s also virtually no suspense to the pacing–it’s a slow unfolding of history, location, and plot, with a gradual, immersive pacing and a great deal of information to impart.

Here’s the really frustrating part of that: it’s a good book. Despite the fact that historicals aren’t my thing, I’m not fond of didactic books that spend whole pages on geography and history lessons, and I was really looking forward to the SF/suspense book that I thought I was getting, it totally hooked me in. I loved it.

The characterization is interesting. Regina is the star of the show--her drive to survive, and some of the things she does in order to do so, are fascinating. Note that there’s some dark material in here–the sacking of places by invaders is rarely anything but horrific. I also appreciated the use of Lucia, a member of the Order who doesn’t entirely fit in, as a means to explore the modern-day Order.

The slow unfolding of both stories engaged me despite the fact that I’d really wanted a suspenseful novel and don’t normally read historicals. I found some of the epilogue material, which jumps ahead very far in time, confusing, but that didn’t ruin the rest of the book for me. I just hope that my review allows you to decide whether you’d enjoy the book based on the actual content.

Visit my site for a longer review including premise: http://www.errantdreams.com/2014/06/r... ...more

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Jul 07, 2014 John rated it really liked it

At first this book seems like it might be connected to Baxter's 2006 novel "Emperor," despite the fact that this work predates it by a couple years. And it does, indeed, share Roman Britannia as one of its settings, as well as touching on the conflicts between Roman paganism and the early centuries of the Christian church. But that's where the similarities end. Instead, Baxter invites us to consider the possibility that a large enough human population, if sufficiently isolated, could evolve rapi ...more

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Jul 09, 2014 José Monico rated it did not like it

So I finally get my wish granted. Baxter has a book that is character-centralized, and wholly divided on any grand environment (e.g., theoretical space opera). This is a historical fiction piece divided into contemporary and past narratives. This series is quite comparable to Baxter's Time Tapestry. However, the former is tolerable, in that it is short.
I actually had to go to my bookshelf and see how much of this I had to endure. Unfortunately, my wish wasn't clear enough. Baxter just does not ...more

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Jan 04, 2015 Dan rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: sci-fi

I always find I enjoy Stephen Baxter's books more than most people seem to. This one is very different from his other work but I loved it all the same. Usually Baxter has a decent concept which he then builds a story around. This one is slightly different in that the story sets up the concept, rather than the other way around.

The main story focuses on Regina, a young girl living in Britain as the Roman Empire begins to crumble. We see the story of her whole life as her life of luxury soon turns I always find I enjoy Stephen Baxter's books more than most people seem to. This one is very different from his other work but I loved it all the same. Usually Baxter has a decent concept which he then builds a story around. This one is slightly different in that the story sets up the concept, rather than the other way around.

The main story focuses on Regina, a young girl living in Britain as the Roman Empire begins to crumble. We see the story of her whole life as her life of luxury soon turns into a battle for survival as they travels across Britain, a country swiftly heading into the dark ages, and eventually makes her way to Rome. It's very character driven, something which is unusual for Baxter. There was obviously a lot of research involved here as post-Roman Britain feels very real and there's a real sense of doom as civilisation literally falls apart. Regina is a character created by her circumstances, turning from a spoilt child to a woman who will do anything to keep her family going.

We have alternate chapters set in the contemporary world, although these are considerably shorter. George Poole is something of a loser and he returns home to deal with the death of his father. Whilst sorting through his house he discovers he had a long-lost sister and eventually decides to find her. All he knows it that she is part of the ancient religious Order. But just what is the Order and what is it for? This is the big concept part of the book that is not really revealed until the final quarter of the book. Essentially its an entirely different way for a human society to run.

It's difficult to give this a genre. If a story is theoretically possible apart from a few minor details is it still science fiction. There's no time travel or aliens (well they are mentioned but not really part of the story) or impossible gadgets or space travel or anything we'd associate with science-fiction. I almost think this is its own genre, a sort of natural science fiction.

Anyway, I really enjoyed this. A wonderful and disturbing concept housed with a great historical story to set it up. Unique and brilliant. ...more

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Nov 29, 2014 Benjamin rated it liked it

There is a big spoiler ahead. It's not fully revealed until late in the book, but it is also revealed on the dust jacket, and so maybe it isn't such a big spoiler after all.

This is an engaging novel with interesting ideas, but they come across pretty heavy-handed in the last few chapters, where a long litany of reasons the Coalescents really, truly are a hive are presented as boring conversations between George and Peter.

One of the things I like best about Baxter's writing is when he takes some ...more

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Nov 06, 2015 Michel Meijer rated it really liked it

I knew I would like this book as it was the second time I read it. The sci-fi part, the natural organisation of people in a hive society really appealed to me although the plausability is questionable (but that is why it is sci-fi). Baxter chose to entwine two stories separated by 1600 years. Of course the plot in the first storyline could only end in the situation of the late one, but I liked it as it balanced the historic details with explaining and the adventures of two individuals. The level ...more

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Nov 20, 2015 Ghoule rated it liked it · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Note : je dévoile des éléments importants de l'intrigue ci-dessous

Oui... et non.

Il n'y a pas à dire, Stephen Baxter sait raconter une histoire. Pour que j'ai décidé de suivre sa plume sur 725 pages, il a fallu que ce soit intriguant, intéressant et maîtrisé comme écriture et comme récit.

Malgré tout, je n'y crois pas. C'est trop gros. Son personnage de Regina qui part de rien dans le fin fond de la Grande Bretagne en ruine alors que l'Empire Romain s'effondre, puis qui rencontre des versions terr ...more

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Dec 29, 2015 Crystal rated it really liked it

3.5 really. the parts i liked, i really liked. the rest is just so slow.

this book consists of 3 parts (4, really, but the last is more of an afterward, consisting of only about 20 pages). the first two parts are back story and build up, telling how and why characters and the cult are how they are. every other chapter is dedicated to the present story, following the main character, george. the chapters in between go back in time to follow the emergence of the cult. when the two converge, is where ...more

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Sep 11, 2016 Jamie Bronstein rated it liked it · review of another edition

It had its moments

This book was way too long and I doubt the main scientific point, which I won't spoil. But there were entertaining moments.

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Aug 09, 2016 Mel rated it liked it

It's a 3.6 ish. Good story, just not a big fan of the writing style.

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Aug 15, 2016 BBFlyer rated it liked it

interesting, but convoluted story about humans becoming a Hive society.

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Sep 13, 2016 Tom Loock rated it really liked it

Shelves: sf, ebook

I can see the objections raised by other readers, but I really liked this one and will read the sequel as my second but next novel.
Recommended for anyone who likes historic novels taking place in the final years of the Roman empire and/or different ways societies can be organized.

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About Stephen Baxter

Stephen Baxter is a trained engineer with degrees from Cambridge (mathematics) and Southampton Universities (doctorate in aeroengineering research). Baxter is the winner of the British Science Fiction Award and the Locus Award, as well as being a nominee for an Arthur C. Clarke Award, most recently for Manifold: Time. His novel Voyage won the Sidewise Award for Best Alternate History Novel of the ...more

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BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/64773.Coalescent?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://images.gr-assets.com/books/1389340160l/64773.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/64773.Coalescent?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Coalescent by Stephen Baxter[/url]

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Preview — Coalescent by Stephen Baxter

Coalescent (Destiny's Children #1)

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