Rating: 
Summary: Captivating and Mind-Bending
Review: Here is a book that has many of the qualities that have been lacking in recent science fiction - a strong plot, good characters, good science, and the courage to grapple with big ideas. The story begins with a maverick attempt to mine the asteroid belt and assure humanity's future, and that's small potatoes compared to its ultimate destination - the fate and purpose of the universe. And lest the weight of these ideas seems ponderous, let it be known that this book is also a page turner.
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Summary: Great concepts; a real mind-blower!
Review: Baxter has produced a fast-paced, mind-blowing adventure loaded with concepts and theoretical physics (much of which has basis in fact) that may frustrate those not familiar with quantum mechanics, universal expansion, heat death, and the nature of matter. The characters are better than one expects, though there are many instances where they are merely observers along for the ride. Malenfant alternates between driven and stubborn-he doesn't let things like laws and rules get in his way. Cornelius remains a mystery throughout, and Emma proves to be both a voice of conscience and (when it's obvious Malenfant isn't listening) a voice of moderation. The story's point-of-view alternates from person to person, with the occasional commentary from fringe characters (even Sheena and her offspring, the space faring cephalopods). Much of the plot revolves around the asteroid Cruithne (which does exist) and the mysterious, time-and-reality spanning artifact found on its surface; its purpose is never fully revealed, though it does play a pivotal role in the story. The artifact, along with the sudden evolution of a generation of earth's children into hyper intelligent geniuses, and one of the places Malenfant stops on a universal jaunt near the end, will remind readers-a little too much-- of two of Arthur C. Clarke's best works: Childhood's End and 2001: A Space Odyssey. Baxter may have intended for the "borrowed" plot elements to be a tribute, but he never says so in the brief after word. All that aside, the story is never boring, and there's a trip through endless possible realities that has to be read to be believed, as well as a journey to the end of the universe as we know it. Baxter frequently employs theories about the universe's fate-along with mankind's-that are widely accepted among physicists, and are uniformly pessimistic. One also has to tolerate an unending stream of religion-bashing. And the ending is not to be believed-a strange twist that undermines nearly all that has transpired in the story-but does make sense, when one realizes that it answers one of the plot's fundamental questions: What is humanity's role in the universe? Recommended to people who enjoy hard sci-fi; other beware.
Rating: 
Summary: Too much of a good thing is not that good
Review: This book has interesting ideas. I love science fiction and I read a lot of scientific magazines. This novel gave me the idea that the author picked a bunch of recently published scientific theories and built a story around it. The afterword confirmed what I suspected. As others wrote, the execution is not really great and characters are unidimentional. I also think there were too many scientific ideas that were forcefully connected together with a poor story. A bit more focus might have helped the story. I found the conclusion quite interesting, but the path to get there was not that great. Another reviewer that really like this story mentioned that Baxter reminds him of Robert J. Sawyer. I do not agree. It was my first Bazter novel and I much prefer Sawyer's novels because he focuses on less elements but develop these better.
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Summary: Squids in Space!
Review: For too long Squid have been neglected in Science Fiction circles. This book partially redresses this unfortunate imbalance by featuring genetically enhanced squid, and their journey into space, as one of its story lines. The book bounds along on its scientific roller-coaster ride of ideas. For me this was the main pleasure of the book, but also its ultimate downfall. The breadth of ideas was astounding, as was the pace with which they were delivered. However, with so many ideas present, and some of them being very speculative, (and, on accasion flawed), I felt the fictional `house of cards' eventually collapsed under its own weight. Yes, the characters were one-dimensional, but this is hard sci-fi so it seems churlish to complain. If you want speculative science, you'll find it here in droves. If you remember to take a deep breath as you enter, engage your sense of wonder, and leave your reality check at the door, then I suspect you will enjoy the ride. In summary, not a great book, but one that was packed with interesting ideas and speculation. It was sufficiently enjoyable that I shall try another of the author's works, but this time I will look for something shorter, in the hope that it will have slightly fewer ideas which will therefore be given more time to breathe.
Rating: 
Summary: A Modern Science Fiction Masterpiece!
Review: Manifold: Time is simply one of the best modern science fiction novels that I've had the pleasure to read in a long time. I thoroughly enjoyed it.Manifold: Time tells the story of Reid Malenfant, his ex-wife Emma Stoney, and a mysterious mathematician that unexpectantly walks into their lives with suggestions of grandeur that turns out to be horribly true about our (Earth's) near future. If you read the back blurb of the book, don't be surprised if the story unfolds in a completely different manner. Stephen Baxter has created a hard-hitting, massively entertaining work-out-of-a-sf-novel that will truly leave you gasping for air as its pace plunders ahead. Baxter reminds me of Robert J. Sawyer (of Factoring Humanity and Calculating God fame) in the way that he can seamlessly combine actual science with fully realized characters with sci fi. This is a wonderful read and I HIGHLY RECOMMEND it. In fact, go out and buy it now; for I guarantee it won't disappoint! Enjoy! -Taylor
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Summary: Speculative hard science fiction, WOW!
Review: This story left me in awe. I'm a reader of adventure fiction with the occasional science book and biography thrown in for good balance. The reason I read adventure is because I'm inspired by the great courage, greed (while I don't admire greed, I respect its ability to motivate people) and the need for humans to climb over the next mountain range, or cross vast oceans to places unknown. The human species has wandered all over the planet and settled into every corner of it which could support life. The next steps are the oceans and space, and these places present numerous challenges for the explorers. Because of these challenges I like speculative fiction and science fiction as well. It takes a good imagination to overcome obstacles and Spec. and SF offer some of the best imaginative minds in contemporary fiction. I related to the lead character in this story. I admired the entrepeneurial spirit of failed astronaut Reid Malenfant. Like myself, he was frustrated with the lack passion in the NASA administration and it's need to control space. Malenfants' passion with space travel led him to an unusual but oddly satisfying conclusion. As I read the last ten pages I was dazzled, sad, determined and joyous by the time I reached the very last line of this book. This was not a perfect book. On the other hand, it was a very satisfying read. The characters were not as richly portrayed as they could have been but ultimately they weren't the stars of the book. The focus was on the human species as a whole and the setting was the vast possibilities of space-time. Focusing too much on the characters, for me, would have taken considerable time and the pace of the story would have suffered for it. I sympathized with the characters as much as I needed to and felt for them in their various situations. What more could I ask for? Nothing.I'll be buying the next book, "Manifold: Space", as soon as I catch up on some other reading.
Rating:
Summary: A fun read with a few science glitches
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed this book (although I'm thankful I bought the paperback version rather than the hardback). Some of the reviewers complain about shallow characters, but so much of great sci-fi is about mind-blowing ideas and sweeping vistas, rather than character development. It's brain candy - light entertainment. Witness so many of Larry Niven's highly entertaining novels and short stories, where big ideas overshadow the characters. Having said that, there are a few problems with some of Baxter's plot devices. The Carter Catastrophe, while alarming, is based on faulty logic. Using this reasoning, an individual born at any time in human history might deduce that a population collapse is imminent if he or she observes that the population has been growing exponentially. But clearly we haven't experienced an endless series of population reductions throughout history. And how can we assume that individuals are "randomly assigned" to live in a certain era, let alone as a human being as opposed to a bacterium or a beetle, etc.? Another issue: in the last pages of the novel, Malenfant and Michael are observing the demise of the solar system from a location 5 A.U. outside of the plane of the solar system. However, if the wave front of destruction is traveling out at the speed of light from its origin on the Moon, then our characters wouldn't be able to observe the devastation, since the wave front would in fact PRECEDE the images of the destroyed Moon and the Earth. They would see a perfectly peaceful solar system, and then a sudden flash of light that cooks them in less than a second. I don't know. Maybe they could somehow use wormhole telescopes or something . . . it's just a minor qualm from an excellent novel.
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Summary: Mindboggling for the sake of mindboggling isn't storytelling
Review: Great concept, rotten characters I could care less about. A mind is aterrible thing to waste when you don't have characters, or for that matter writing talent, to pull it off. TIME SHIPS was a much better story.
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Summary: Feynman radio from the future: This book is good.
Review: When you have probabilistic doomsday predictions, intelligent squids, Feynman radios (to pick up signals from the future) etc. - thrown at you, it could easily have been just a lot of weird stuff that seemed pretty far removed from anything you could relate to. Not so in Stephen Baxters "time". Here it all seems pretty logical and inevitable. Surely, some future Malenfant guy will genetically enhance a squid brain, and then let the squid control a spaceship instead of some old computer. And surely the squid will rebel and try to get back to Earth with its giant Oceans and lots of room to breed.... Brilliant stuff and thats just just the prelude! I read all 456 pages in one session. Simply I just had to know what would happen next....
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Summary: This Impressed a Cynic
Review: I'm an avid reader. For 12 years I've consumed an average of 15 sci fi books yearly. I don't suppose that establishes any more than a minimal set of bona fides. Nevertheless: To me, Manifold:Time was extremely entertaining. I just could not set it down. When I did, I could not stop thinking about it. Very absorbing and thought provoking. The sad bit is that all the books I read now will seem shallow pulp until I encounter one of this stature again. It'll probably take Vernor Vinge's next opus to impress me so. Baxter: you blew me away. Thank you!
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