Customer Reviews

Vacuum Diagrams

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Baxter's main work is called the "Xeelee Sequence". It is a story of the future of the Universe, which Baxter tells in 4 books: Raft, Timelike Infinity, Flux and Ring.

Vacuum Diagrams is the fifth book of the series. It is not a one-story book, but a set of 21 short stories chronologically placed. The first one is set on year 3,672 and the 21st happens some time after year 4 Million.

The 21 stories are snapshots of the future, logically linked to the main concepts of the Xeelee Sequence. In general, each story presents new and creative sci-fi concepts.

If you have read and enjoyed other works from Baxter, you will surely like this book. If you haven't read him but are a Clarke (or even an Asimov) fan, you will probably enjoy this, too.

Notwithstanding my 5 star rating, I must warn you of two issues I had with this book:
- Its style, with so many short stories, that are linked in time and in concept, can be tiring. On sci-fi terms, its like turning on a hyperdrive to move to a new galaxy, take a look at it and when you're beginning to understand what's it all about, you have to jump again. You are always left wondering about so many details and ramifications of each story. It can frustrating.
- Maybe because of this, I found the book became a little bit tedious when I got to story 18 (Shell). It took me a while to regain my energy and read the last 3 stories.

I don't think it will be fair to get into details about the Xeelee Sequence, but for those who are curious about it, here are some of its main concepts:

- Around 3000 AD, humankind develops new technologies that allow it to travel quickly through space. The solar system is colonized.
- As the human civilization expands, it finds many different and curious forms of life in planets and satellites.
- Eventually, humanity is "conquered" by other galactic races, for some time. However, Man is persistent and resilient and gets its freedom back.
- Through all the time, humankind and the other galactic races are somehow obsessed about the Xeelee, a mysterious, ancient and very powerful civilization that has technologies far beyond what the rest of races have.
- The Xeelee are so developed that they manipulate stars and planets and build a huge "Ring" somewhere in the Universe. The ring has such a gravity field that stars in its vicinity look blue.

These are just some of the basic premises of the Xeelee Sequence. I am surely missing some key elements. Hopefully just with what I wrote here you will be compelled to try any book of the Sequence. If you're into sci-fi, you wont be dissapointed.

PROS: Vast scope of ideas, steeply based in science, epic quality
CONS: Writing style is a bit dry
BOTTOM LINE: Great collection of related stories.

BRIEF SYNOPSIS: A collection of related stories set in Baxter's Xeelee Universe.

The memorable things about Baxter's stories are not so much his characters, nor his writing style, which is a somewhat stiff, but rather his ideas. Each story contained in this collection contains some form of scientific concept that defies any simple comprehension due to sheer scale, large and small. Sometimes travel spans universes, sometimes beings are microscopic in size, and sometimes artifacts are light years wide. Baxter's signature hard science is present here in a big way.

The stories average 14 pages in length but are packed with all these ideas. Many of the stories, spanning 5 million years, reference the same events or reference each other, which is always a secret thrill for a science fiction reader.

One huge plus in Vacuum Diagram's is the Xeelee Sequence Timelins listed at the back of the book. This makes it prerequisite reading for anyone wishing to dive into Baxter's 4 Xeelee novels (in Xeelee Universe order: Timelike Infinity, Raft, Flux and Ring).

I have read several of Stephen Baxter's novels, and this collection of his short fiction (including sections from several of his novels) is by far the best way to be introduced to his ideas. Stephen has a real talent for formulating mind-blowing ideas based on hard science. What he doesn't have a talent for is developing characters. This book gives you an overview of his ideas, without boring you with his characters. It is all plot and exposition. The only way that I would improve this would be to lose the redundant stories about how marvelously adaptable life is.

I hope you read this review first.

When I was halfway through the book I was eager to write a book review. I would have given the book a 2 out of 5. In all fairness, I decided to finish the book, then write the review. I felt the book was disjointed, that the author often became tired of writing and filled pages with random thoughts just to finish his work. At the same time I was amazed at the technology mentioned. This brought the author to a 2 out of 5 instead of a 1 or 0.

I kept reading. I'm too cheap to spend 8 bucks for a book and not finish it. I'm glad I didn't throw the book away. When I finally finished I was stunned. This is the first book I've read by Stephen Baxter, but it will definitely not be the last.
I've read science fiction all my life. I was underwelmed by authors such a Ray Bradbury and exceedingly impressed by Zindell. None have ever gone as far as 'Vacuum Diagrams'. This book is an epic masterpiece encompassing the history of man as a footnote. The bigger picture covers 30 billion years and an ancient race trying to save the universe. I don't want to blow the story line so I'll just say, "If you like SciFi and Tech and you're not a dumby, read this book."

I've long finished the book and have done something I NEVER do. I read it for a second time.

I can't wait to read more books by this author. I hope they are as good as this one.

It was absolutely unbelievable. Baxter had me convinced that it actually happened. This man's storytelling ability is unparalled. I am an avid Clarke and Asimov fan, but this tops the cake, even better than his previous masterpiece Ring, if you never read another book the rest of life, read this one.

Not for Stephen Baxter the piffling concerns of most science fiction this is a man who goes for the big picture. A set of stories which reveal the past and future history of not just mankind but the whole universe itself until the stars dim and go out!

I confess I have found some of his books pretty hard going (Raft, Flux etc) but this is much more digestible, a lot more fun and you don't need a Phd in quantum mechanics to enjoy it.

I truly enjoy science-based science fiction, and Stephen Baxter is one of the few writers who applies the latest discoveries and theories in particle physics to his novels. The only drawback is his story telling. Which leaves much to be desired. He can tell you about cosmic strings and inspire awe in you and a new way of looking at humanity and technology, but he really doesn't have a good grasp of the art of keeping a reader interested in the characters or the plot development. What carries his stories, (I have read 6 of his novels thus far)is his grand visions of the galactic struggles and technological advances. His visions of aliens are the most realistic and logical. They don't just have horns and an extra eye and limb, they are truly fundementally different from carbon based life forms. Some aren't even made of baryonic matter, they are made of Dark Matter. What's also great is that by the end of his novels you actually can grasp "Dark Matter" vs "Baryonic Matter". I recommend Stephen Baxter despite his shortcomings as a story teller just on the merits of his science based stories. Hopefully he'll improve in his future novels.

10/18/06
3.7/5.0 stars

Overall this is a descent book that mostly flows pretty nicely, and it's a pretty easy read besides some of the physics. From what I've read on other people's reviews this book is a collection of short stories that spans time(from the beginning to the end of the universe), so you are usually introduced to a new set of characters each chapter, but that didn't really bother me. the book starts out around 3000 AD and describes mankind's exploration of the solar system and the strange but interesting life that they encounter. The first few stories are very good which gave me high hopes for the rest of the book, but towards the middle the quality of the stories start to decline, especially the story about an experiment that involves abstract mathematical concepts about an unhappy AI being trapped in a miniature universe. He doesn't do a good job explaining the basics of the mathematics involved in certain stories. Although he does give simple definitions for some of the physics terms he uses, and that helps a lot, there are some terms and concepts he made no attempt to really explain to the layperson either because he doesn't feel like describing in depth the mathematics and physics involved in a way you can understand or he doesn't fully understand it himself, after all he is talking about complex mathematics and physics scientist's may be contemplating thousands of years from now. Some times he briefly mentions some things that seem like they'd be pivotal to the epic of mankind. For instance, he says that humans spread out through the galaxy and conquered many alien species yet he doesn't tell any stories about that other than just mentioning it. Instead he tells a couple of tales that seem sort of irrelevant like the tale about a group of people who tend a giant tree(I recommend that you skip this story). Any way some of the middle stories aren't that great in my opinion but it starts to pick up again towards the end of the book.

This compilation of Baxter's short stories comprising the Xeelee Sequence is awesome in scope, but at times too heady. For me the book began to pick up steam with the last few stories, when there is a nice balance between plot and science lesson. This is real HARD SF! Baxter knows his physics and quantum mechanics, and uses them bravely throughout the book. It's not an easy read, but, if anything, will leave you contemplating its many themes and ideas.

I don't think I'm going to be able to finish this. Perhaps this is some new writing style but I find it tiresome and it makes me long for better use of my time. I've read earlier Baxter that was a lot better, these stories are rambling, incoherent, hallucinatory. There's a gee-whiz wowzo quality that makes me wonder if what I'm reading is intended to be made into a video game. If I had bought a physical book I would take it to a store and trade for some old Silverberg. Thumbs down.