Raft

by Stephen Baxter

Book Overview

Stephen Baxter's highly acclaimed first novel and the beginning of his stunning Xeelee Sequence. A spaceship from Earth accidentally crossed through a hole in space-time to a universe where the force... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0451451309
• ISBN13: 9780451451309
• Release Date: January 1992
• Publisher: Ace
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 7.0" x 1.0" x 4.3"

Customer Reviews

Science Fiction is Incredible Ideas Made Plausible

Raft is a sustained feat of the scientific imagination, a supreme exploration of the 'What If' questions, in this case, 'What If' the crew of a lost spaceship, trapped by tremendous gravitational forces, colonised this weird pocket in the universe and somehow survived. The book leaps from one unbelievable premise to another, but with such deft and agile balance that the story come alive. A fabulous adventure and an essentially truthful celebration of the human spirit, adaptability and will to survive against all odds.

A great example of Hard SF

I first heard of Raft in an SF encyclopedia about extensive time lines in science fiction series. Raft is the first book in a series of 5 that span the life of the universe, from the big bang all the way to the end. The series is called "The Xeelee Sequence" and was written by Stephen Baxter, a British science fiction author whose earlier work like Raft is fairly scarce in the U.S. The books that make up the Xeelee Sequence, Raft, Timelike Infinity, Flux, Ring and Vacuum Diagrams, were written and published in this order (with the exception of Vacuum Diagrams which is a collection of short stories with some that were written and published before the appearance of Raft) but take place at different times on the time line. Ex.: Raft which was written a published before the others takes place over a million years after it's sequel, Timelike Infinity. This pattern continues with the rest of the Xeelee Sequence. Raft Takes place in an alternate universe where the force of gravity is one billion time stronger than in this one. Humans have accidentally, it appears, stumbled into this universe and somehow managed to survive. The main character, Rees, is a mine rat who lives in the belt which orbits around a collapsed star where they extract the iron ore. The story is of the Rees' search for the reasons humans are in this universe and not in one where it's easier to survive. On his journey Rees stumbles across many horrific and and amazing discoveries. Raft is one of the most imaginative books I've ever read. Baxter's universe is filled with nebulae where the breathable air is so tightly packed towards their cores that there are miles of space where a person could safely float around without a spacesuit. There is also native life in these nebulas, some of which is hunted by the Boneys; the most frightful class of survivors in the entire nebula. Baxter is, in my mind, the most under appreciated SF author in the U.S., but I don't know about his success in his native Britain. I encourage you to read his other books if you are a SF fan.

Very Intriguing

A very weird book indeed, situated in a universe where gravity is 10 billion times greater than on Earth. Stars are born and die in months, and a ship has its own gravity. Definitely a worhtwhile read. Adam

An imaginative adventure of human survival in a dense nebula

A fasinating and imaginative adventure of human survival inside a dense gravitational nebula. An interesting and entertaining hypothesis on the evolution of the human species trapped in an inhospitable environment. Baxter's nebula is a mind boggling tapestry of unbelievable concepts, like the human mining of a collapsed star to a planet covered with human skin, stitched together by a convincing plot. A definite must read for sci-fi fans