Rating: 
Summary: Avoid the jacket cover
Review: I read half the jacket before I forced myself to stop; it was hard because it was so interesting. I'm sorry I read so much because this is definately the worst jacket I've seen. Though some of its excitement was spoiled, I'm not sorry at all for taking out this book and am looking forward to reading more of Stephen Baxter's books. This book is very good, ranking up among my very favorites of Clarke, Asimov, and Heinlein. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Sensational hard core sci fi and extremely well written.
Review: I really enjoyed this! Too few sci fi novels pay this much attention to (1) science; (2) characters and (3) story. I recommend Moonseed without reservation and will seek out Titan and Voyage by the same author.
Rating: 
Summary: Velikovski not dead , he strike again
Review: I think "Time ships" or "anti-Ice" or "Voyage" was better. This book is slow and the scenario is not credible. But may be there is more in it than at first look. No comet but something nuclear ?
Rating:
Summary: Impossible to put down!
Review: I'm not really a fan of hard science fiction, but this book is an incredible read. Never has the "Last Days of Man on Earth" theme been treated with such hope and optimism. An absolute "must read!"
Rating: 
Summary: An Ethnocentric 2001 Wannabe
Review: If you want to read a negative, ethnocentric, racist, unoriginal book, this is the book for you. According to the author, Stephen Baxter, no one exists on earth except for people in England, Scotland, Russia and parts of the United States. And, only white people exist in this book. Even the character living in Japan is Irish, not Japanese. I believe mention is made of one person of African descent, but only of this person's death.If you want to find out how mean, selfish, and prejudiced white people are on earth, please read this book. All the main characters stereotype and prejudge others. The protagonist hates Russians and makes negative comments about them and Russia. Gee, I wonder if these are Mr. Baxter's true feelings... The plot is a standard Arthur C. Clarke wannabe. I'm sorry I ever purchased this book.
Rating:
Summary: Overall, a big letdown
Review: Just to explain, 1 star=poor, 2=fair, 3=good, 4=very good, 5=excellent I thought this book was fair. Baxter certainly writes about science convincingly and with a thorough knowledge of subject. The concept in the story was intriguing, but that's not enough in this case. I found none of the characters to be sympathetic enough to really care about any of them. I think this is really indicative of Baxters biggest failing; he doesn't write about people well. Sure, the science and exposition work well enough to convey a grand concept, but ultimately, people have to pull me into a story. There are some good sections in the book, but much of the story is page upon page of basically mundane things like a space launch to the moon, or about how many craters there are on the moon. I get it already, Stephen, the moon has A LOT of craters! A serious criticism I have is that all the science that Baxter is praised for seems to go to fantasy once the characters get to the moon. I find it hard to believe that anyone could survive a thousand mile an hour wind-storm, let alone scraping along the surface of the moon in a lunar orbiter at thousands of miles an hour and surviving for several minutes. I was very disappointed with this book, mainly because for the first 400 pages or so, things are set up carefully and in excrutiating detail at times; then the last 250 pages we suddenly get huge leaps in time of one year, ten years, etc. To me, when things finally started to get interesting, the author glossed over them. It would have been fascinating if we'd had much more about how the two main characters survived on the moon for weeks or months, instead of getting a "One year later" cop out. Sorry Baxter, this book was not good.
Rating: 
Summary: Solid and believable...well, most of it anyway
Review: Moonseed is a SF drama documenting the release on Earth of a planet-devouring nanovirus. The "Moonseed" infection starts in Scotland and induces an extremely ancient volcano to erupt again. Then the Moonseed continues spreading, apparently unstoppable as it heads down through the Earth's crust and towards the mantle where it would wreak complete havoc. So begins the desperate race to save humanity. The geology and space travel aspects of this novel are thoroughly grounded in research, allowing Baxter to achieve tenability on top of the entertainment, unlike other sci-fi authors who are merely entertaining. Or even worse, unbelievable AND unentertaining (*cough* The Millennial Project *cough)! It's a hefty novel at over 650 pages, but it seemed much shorter to me due to the quick and continuous plot development. Being an engineer and amateur astronomer, my attention didn't wander during the more technical passages. In fact, I was captivated during Baxter's description of the voyage to the Moon and the sojourn there. If you're not technically inclined, perhaps 5-10% of the book may be heavy going. Fortunately, the other 90-95% is easily understood and enjoyed by the layman. Thanks to the novel's level of science, I somewhat believe now that we could return to the Moon for under $2 billion if need be. I have a much better grasp now of the power of "Act of God" disasters like volcanoes and earthquakes. Areas that did not seem convincing to me: politics (funding without adequate explanations), speed of infrastructure failure (far too rapid), harenodynamics (wacky alternate method of landing on the Moon), Henry's solution (I won't spoil it here), and a few others. Also the Moonseed itself is not satisfactorily researched during the course of the book, although the ending implies that humanity is on its way to discovering its secrets. The overall tone of the novel is somewhat pessimistic. I think the gloominess adds to the prose and makes it more believable; previous reviewers have construed it as evidence of Baxter's nihilism. Whether you appreciate the dark mood or not, there certainly are quite a few morbid scenes in the novel that are more for dramatic effect than enriching the plot. Characterization of the main players is decent (I really got to like Henry!) but there seems to be a bit of unnecessary quarreling. Geena seems to be in perpetual PMS. Minor characters are generally flat and underdeveloped. Overall, recommended for sci-fi buffs and readers with an interest in end-of-the-world scenarios.
Rating:
Summary: Solid and believable...well, most of it anyway
Review: Moonseed is a SF drama documenting the release on Earth of a planet-devouring nanovirus. The "Moonseed" infection starts in Scotland and induces an extremely ancient volcano to erupt again. Then the Moonseed continues spreading, apparently unstoppable as it heads down through the Earth's crust and towards the mantle where it would wreak complete havoc. So begins the desperate race to save humanity. The geology and space travel aspects of this novel are thoroughly grounded in research, allowing Baxter to achieve tenability on top of the entertainment, unlike other sci-fi authors who are merely entertaining. Or even worse, unbelievable AND unentertaining (*cough* The Millennial Project *cough)! It's a hefty novel at over 650 pages, but it seemed much shorter to me due to the quick and continuous plot development. Being an engineer and amateur astronomer, my attention didn't wander during the more technical passages. In fact, I was captivated during Baxter's description of the voyage to the Moon and the sojourn there. If you're not technically inclined, perhaps 5-10% of the book may be heavy going. Fortunately, the other 90-95% is easily understood and enjoyed by the layman. Thanks to the novel's level of science, I somewhat believe now that we could return to the Moon for under $2 billion if need be. I have a much better grasp now of the power of "Act of God" disasters like volcanoes and earthquakes. Areas that did not seem convincing to me: politics (funding without adequate explanations), speed of infrastructure failure (far too rapid), harenodynamics (wacky alternate method of landing on the Moon), Henry's solution (I won't spoil it here), and a few others. Also the Moonseed itself is not satisfactorily researched during the course of the book, although the ending implies that humanity is on its way to discovering its secrets. The overall tone of the novel is somewhat pessimistic. I think the gloominess adds to the prose and makes it more believable; previous reviewers have construed it as evidence of Baxter's nihilism. Whether you appreciate the dark mood or not, there certainly are quite a few morbid scenes in the novel that are more for dramatic effect than enriching the plot. Characterization of the main players is decent (I really got to like Henry!) but there seems to be a bit of unnecessary quarreling. Geena seems to be in perpetual PMS. Minor characters are generally flat and underdeveloped. Overall, recommended for sci-fi buffs and readers with an interest in end-of-the-world scenarios.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best books I have ever read!
Review: Moonseed was a great book. The science is right, the theories are excellent and well written. This was the first Stephen Baxter book I read, and I now own almost all his books. He is that good. He is very intelligent, and he does his homework. The plot is a little far out, but the way he writes it, it could be happening right now. I loved this book, and if you are into good sci-fi with real science, you will, too!
Rating:
Summary: One of the best books I have ever read!
Review: Moonseed was a great book. The science is right, the theories are excellent and well written. This was the first Stephen Baxter book I read, and I now own almost all his books. He is that good. He is very intelligent, and he does his homework. The plot is a little far out, but the way he writes it, it could be happening right now. I loved this book, and if you are into good sci-fi with real science, you will, too!
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