Rating: 
Summary: A classic, in any sense of the word
Review: Though being an ardent sc-fi fan, I have never read Time Machine by H.G.Wells, so when I started this book, I approached it with a bit of trepidation. I thought I was stepping into the deep end, and I would be hopelessly lost. I was wrong. and more wrong, I could not have been, this book, though a "sequel", is independant in it's thoughts and it's scope. It's writing explodes into your mind, titilating your imagination.
though the notion of parallel universes, would be known to any sci-fi reader worth his salt, never has it been explored, exploited and executed into a story so well. Though the scientific premise of this story is sound and invigorating, Baxter never lets it to dominate, he keeps in mind that this is a book and above all, it is meant to be read and to entertain. The story continues as he explains and educates, the plot progresion is one of the most seamless I have seen in a sci-fi novel. If this book shows anything of Baxter's promise, it is that if he continues like this, in time his name would be remembered with the likes of Asimov, Clarke and Heinlien. Buy this book, you will and can not regret it.
Rating:
Summary: Just one readers opinion
Review: This is one of the best books I've ever read in my life. I'm very much interested in science fiction books and time travelling and "The Time Ships" was in my opinion a very real conception of the time travelling theme. Baxter's way of describing it made me believe every word of it though I don't actually think that any person will ever be able to travel through time. I identified myself with the main character and enjoyed every moment of the adventure. For me Baxter is a genius who gave me a very interesting reading experience and much inspiration for my own literary purposes or studies about time (I'm working on one at the moment). H.G.Wells would have liked it! Thanks to Stephen Baxter for writing the book!
Rating: 
Summary: Picks where Wells left off.
Review: Baxter has written a fine sequel to H.G. Well's THE TIME MACHINE. Wells time traveler ends the book by intending to return to save Weena. Baxter sends him off, but because of factors unknown e begins a series of loops through time that expand Wells' original into a work of immense satisfaction. Baxter's other efforts are well thought out extrapolations of current science. This is an extension of the science of an earlier era that manages to blend in today's space-time theory. Baxter's THE TIME SHIPS manages to propagate the style of Wells' work and, to me, expands upon the original, making it are more completed whole. Highly recommended for any Time Travel fan. The best of THE TIME MACHINE sequels (and I thought Jeter's was great). Hard to beat.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting book!
Review: For the real SCIENCE-fiction fan (note that upper case letter), you don't want to miss this one. This is among the best time travel sci-fi novel ever written!
Rating:
Summary: Up and down the time-line
Review: An absolutely great read. From some of the lower-rated reviews listed here, I was expecting to be disappointed, but to my surpise I was treated to a ripping yarn as well as an intellectual exhibition revolving around the Time Traveller of HG Wells' "The Time Machine." A direct sequel to that great novel, the Time Traveller is certainly represented as a man of his times (19th century and all points future and past)--sometimes brutish yet often compassionate, free-thinking yet capable of prejudice, a scientific genius yet a man of action.
The book is a fantastic journey up and down and down and up the time-line, filled with marvelous touches on the grand and minute levels. I enjoyed the descriptions of the effects of time travel, and thrilled to the cosmic finale that quite honestly lost me save for the fact that man's individuality can survive the re-writing of the birth of the universe.
For anyone who enjoys time-travel novels, this one (long but fast moving) will satisfy on many levels. This is why I read science fiction--to be entertained, awed, educated, and moved.
Rating: 
Summary: Morlock Night
Review: The other reviews agree with my opinion of the book, so no needfor me to rehash. However, for those who wish to pursue books in thisvein, consider the book MORLOCK NIGHT by K.W.Jeter (yes, he also wrote sequel books to Bladerunner).
Rating:
Summary: More breath than breadth
Review: Not a terrible book. But not a terribly good one either. The language is a fair imitation of the original, and some of the book is brilliant. Unfortunately the last third of the book bogs down in the mire of philosophical speculation, physics mayhem, and general tedium. The attempt is to describe the transhuman, and it fails. The up side of this is that the reach of this book most certainly exceeds its grasp. There is much that is entertaining, and much fascinating, but the book ultimately fails in its final stages, failing to make a statement about humanity, the characters, the situation, the story, or anything at all.
Rating: 
Summary: The Consequences of Re-Painting on Too Large A Canvas
Review: Although the idea of picking up where H.G. Wells left off is aspectacular idea, Time Ships attempts to repaint over too large acanvas to sustain a coherent and plausable story. Baxter tries too hard to adhere to some major plot-points of The Time Machine while taking the story in a new direction. In particular, turning the sloth-like, animalistic Morlocks into a super-intellgent race of advanced beings is utterly unconvincing. Amazingly, despite their hyper intelligence, the Morlocks maintain the identical, primitive physical appearance of Wells' creatures. Furthermore, having a Morlock as a sidekick for this 520 page book lacks the requisite chemistry. Another problem with the story is that the plot has the same 20th century arrogance that the book attempts to mock and satirize. Even though the Morlock sidekick has the knowledge of over 600,000 years of science and history, all the physics needed to save the characters was discovered in the first half of the 20th century. Having a being from the year 600,000 actively relying on the primitive teachings of Godol and Einstein for salvation seems rediculous at best. Finally, (and this may seem a bit xenophobic), the author spends far too much time dwelling on side-alley's and street names of his native England. Several pages are devoted to minute details of a city most of the readers have never been to, nor will ever know to the familiarity of the author. Frankly, if I were born and raised in London, I doubt I'd know half the places Baxter refers to. Overall, I found Time Ships to be a disappointment that lacked the introspective insight into the human condition and turned time travel into an infinite and sometimes meaningless jaunt from one reality to another. On the positive side, Baxter has done a very skilled job of adapting his writing style to that of H.G. Wells and accurately portrayed the perceptions and reactinos of a 19th century time traveler. I suggest reading the original by H.G. Wells.
Rating:
Summary: You just have to read this book.
Review: The following quote is not mine, but it bears repeating:
"This book reminds me why I started reading science fiction." The story, written to commemorate the 100th anniversary of H G Wells's "The Time Machine", picks up where the original finishes, with the time traveller heading back to the future in order to rescue Weena. However, it soon becomes apparent that the future has changed as a result of the time traveller's initial journey. Not a unique concept to anyone who has seen "Back to the Future", perhaps, but rather a shock to a Victorian citizen such as the time traveller. Full marks to Baxter for conveying his reaction so well. Without giving away too much of the plot, the book whisks us on an intriguing journey through alternate futures and pasts. A future in which a Dyson sphere surrounds the Sun; a 1938 in which the First World War rages; a Jurassic in which a nuclear bomb explodes; a present in which the remote ancestors of a group of humans have conquered the stars. Baxter extends (dare I say "improves on"?) the original in a convincing way, and maintains the viewpoint and style of the time traveller throughout. Quite deliberately, the book reads like the original, and much of the technology works in a way that Wells might have anticipated. The Time Ships could so easily seem contrived, but in Baxter's hands it has an extra appeal that makes it exciting to read. What a brilliant story; keenly constructed, compellingly told. This is an entertaining book by any standards, and that's surely the main reason we read fiction - to be entertained. I'd never read any Baxter before, but I will certainly read more in the future
Rating:
Summary: Wells is perfectly updated in this hard science fiction.
Review: The traveller from Well's "The Time Machine" heads back to the future in search of his beloved Eloi, but finds a different future instead. With a Morlock by his side, he careens through time looking for his lost love.
Maybe it was the constraints of writing in the style of the original book, or maybe it was inspiration, but this is Baxter's best book, and a worthy contender for the '96 Hugo. A very enjoyable hard science fiction novel.
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