I was browsing the sci-fi section in the local library and came across an old paperback with a familiar name on the spine: Stephen Baxter. I’m most familiar with Baxter’s collaboration with the late Arthur C. Clarke on the Manifold trilogy, but have enjoyed a few of his solo works as well. This one looked to be a bit older (there was a quote on the cover from Clarke hailing Baxter as “a major new talent”), but I figured it was worth a try.

Ring finds humanity in the Third Millennium traveling through space, having learned some fantastic tricks of physics (including controlling wormholes that access the future) from alien races. Having also achieved “anti-senesence” technology (i.e. they can stop aging), a group of explorers decide to undertake a million-year trip at relativistic speeds, keeping a wormhole open the whole way so that they can communicate from the future back to the past.

What unfolds is a fascinating story of space and time, on a scale of megayears. Baxter is at his best when he’s dealing with the hard science, describing the aging process of stars, but he holds his own, too, with the softer side - imagining what a hyperspace trip across the universe might feel like from the perspective of the solitary human piloting the ship, recognizing that even millions of years of “progress” won’t change human nature.

If you’re into hard sci-fi, Ring is worth picking up, a very enjoyable read. ( )

The end of the Xeelee sequence of novels. very good tie up of the series.
As with all Stephen Baxter, the characterisation is somewhat lacking, but for me the rest of the book more than made up for it. Some interesting concepts for the characters, such as the 5 million year old AI, or the immortality experiments going on made it a worthwhile read just for those. However the big thing about this book being that it brings together all other threads that had been hinted at or suggested in other novels and gives it some meaning.
I couldn't however recommend this book unless you have a reasonable background in physics, or at least a computer nearby and the willingness to do some research on some of the physics theory he relies upon. None of it is really needed for the plot, but it otherwise would make it hard reading. Then again the physics he delves into is one of the greatest strengths of this book and if you're not following it I imagine you wouldn't get anything out of this book.

So overall, highly recommended if you like your science fiction heavy on the science and don't worry too much about the characters. Stay clear if you need to empathise with your characters ( )

A truly horrible book. It claims to be "very, very hard SF", but almost all important features of the plot are completely implausible. A lot of buzzwords are thrown around, and basic understanding of certain principles is demonstrated, but real understanding of the fundamentals is completely lacking. The characters are completely flat and have no depth or complexity. The dialogue is easy to read, but not realistic at all. Most aspects of the book simply didn't make sense. I'm still not sure why I forced myself to read the whole thing. ( )

Hard-SF novel of epic proportions.

The fourth book in a four book sequence that has really got me into Baxter, and contemporary hard SF in general. A group of humans have discovered that something is wrong with the sun, and send an expedition five million years into the future to find out what went wrong. Much is learned about the enigmatic and powerful Xeelee, and their enemy, the dark matter photino birds.

I found this book an excellent one, much like the others in the sequence, though I wouldn’t like to compare between them. There are some chapters that contain a couple of pages of complex stellar physics that for the most part goes over my head, but I can pick up some of it, and it doesn’t detract from the story. Stephen Baxter writes great epic science fiction, with believable science, but also written in a way that is easy to follow. Ring links in with the other three books in the series quite well, and it’s quite interesting spotting the references. A great book and a great series, highly recommended. Now all I need to do is read the book of short stories that goes with it! ( )