A collection of stories set in Baxter's 'Xeelee' future history, where humans get to fight multiple powerful alien races over short and vast distances, and likewise for timeframes. Starting around the year 3000, it ends way past the year 4000000.

The stories are broken up into several sections dealing with various different time periods and settings.

The average for this book is 3.39, contrast this with the later, and very similar in structure Resplendent, which averages 3.68. There's a linking narrative (which means a boatload of italics, which is incredibly annoying to read, as usual, when it is more than a few lines). A lot more average stories in this volume than the latter, but it will still be of interest for Xeelee and Baxter readers.

Vacuum Diagrams : The Sun-People - Stephen Baxter
Vacuum Diagrams : The Logic Pool - Stephen Baxter
Vacuum Diagrams : Gossamer - Stephen Baxter
Vacuum Diagrams : Cilia-of-Gold - Stephen Baxter
Vacuum Diagrams : Lieserl - Stephen Baxter
Vacuum Diagrams : Pilot - Stephen Baxter
Vacuum Diagrams : The Xeelee Flower - Stephen Baxter
Vacuum Diagrams : More Than Time or Distance - Stephen Baxter
Vacuum Diagrams : The Switch - Stephen Baxter
Vacuum Diagrams : Blue Shift - Stephen Baxter
Vacuum Diagrams : The Quagma Datum - Stephen Baxter
Vacuum Diagrams : Planck Zero - Stephen Baxter
Vacuum Diagrams : The Gödel Sunflowers - Stephen Baxter
Vacuum Diagrams : Vacuum Diagrams - Stephen Baxter
Vacuum Diagrams : Stowaway - Stephen Baxter
Vacuum Diagrams : The Tyranny of Heaven - Stephen Baxter
Vacuum Diagrams : Hero - Stephen Baxter
Vacuum Diagrams : Secret History - Stephen Baxter
Vacuum Diagrams : Shell - Stephen Baxter
Vacuum Diagrams : The Eighth Room - Stephen Baxter
Vacuum Diagrams : The Baryonic Lords - Stephen Baxter
Vacuum Diagrams : Eve - Stephen Baxter

"Cauchy was the ultimate goal. By dragging a wormhole portal around a circuit light years across, the GUTship Cauchy would establish a wormhole bridge—not across space—but across fifteen centuries, to the future."

With sea-squirts.

3 out of 5

Surviving the Cull.

3 out of 5

Wormhole stuffup surfing webs.

4 out of 5

Mercurial alien life relationship.

4 out of 5

Force grown sungirl intelligence.

3.5 out of 5

Lunar escape, virtually, anyway.

4 out of 5

Need to nick some cool stuff. Easier if you do it without blowing up suns though.

3.5 out of 5

Zap gun quantum inseparability trick.

3.5 out of 5

Gravity nullification oops.

3 out of 5

"I squeezed minutely. The wings trembled and the pod jerked. Lipsey and his flitter disappeared. "Try to restrain your monkey impulse to meddle," said the Qax. "You've just traveled half a light second."

Xeelee ship jump jump jumpety jump a Great Attraction, until you have to run away.

Tricking your overlords into blowing up their own sun is pretty cool though.

4 out of 5

Su-su-Susyspace scars.

3.5 out of 5

Violating the Uncertainty Principles needs thinking through _carefully_.

3.5 out of 5

Snowflake Spline splitsville.

3.5 out of 5

Lump it quicksmart, quantum boy. No sugar coating.

3 out of 5

Need a Raft.

3 out of 5

"I have traveled here in an Exaltation of Arks. I have brought you good news of the Integrality—"

3.5 out of 5

Super suit stealer spidered.

3.5 out of 5

Star dimming is for the birds, we are so out of here.

3.5 out of 5

Time to fly, but balloons not quite the tech for hyperspheres.

3 out of 5

Need a special exit from our pocket universe playpen.

3 out of 5

Quantum boy helps rump humans Ring in the new.

3.5 out of 5

Old relationship history.

3 out of 5

http://notfreesf.blogspot.com/2008/04... ( )

Okay, but a bit to much in the old Asimov school with feckless humans always coming up with amazing ways to stay alive, beat the aliens, etc. ( )

Collection of stories about man finding life everywhere they go - and te mysterious Xeelee there too.