Coalescent: Destiny's Children Book One - Hardcover

Stephen Baxter

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 057507423X ISBN 13: 9780575074231

Publisher: Gollancz, 2003

Synopsis

COALESCENT is the first of a trilogy of novels that does nothing less than tell the story of mankind's possible evolutions and our role in the Universe. Coalescent charts a radical divergence in our evolution; the development of a human hive entity. It is a divergence that has its roots in the dying days of the Roman Empire. The story is told through twin narratives; one takes us through the falling apart of the Roman control of Britain as seen by one girl, the other covers a man's search for a lost sister. A sister who may be living as part of an ancient and secretive order in Rome. Through these diverse personal stories Stephen Baxter charts a story that has terrifying consequences for what we thought was our place in the world, our perceived natural ascendency in the order of things. Things are going to be very different now ...

About this title

From the Inside Flap

Now, joined by his boyhood friend Peter McLachlan, who arrives in Rome with a dark secret of his own, George uncovers evidence suggesting that the women of the Order have embarked on a divergent evolutionary path. But they are not just a new kind of human. They are a better kind, genetically superior, equipped with all the tools necessary to render homo sapiens as extinct as the Neanderthals. And, chillingly, George and Peter soon have reason to fear that this colony is preparing to leave its overcrowded underground nest. . . .
Stephen Baxter possesses one of the most brilliant minds in modern science fiction. His vivid storytelling skills have earned him comparison to the giants of the past: Clarke, Asimov, Stapledon. Like his great predecessors, Baxter thinks on a cosmic scale, spinning cutting-edge scientific speculation into pure, page-turning gold. Now Baxter is back with a breathtaking adventure that begins during the catastrophic collapse of Roman Britain and stretches forward into an unimaginably distant, war-torn future, where the fate of humanity lies waiting at the center of the galaxy. . . .

Destiny’s Children
COALESCENT

George Poole isn’t sure whether his life has reached a turning point or a dead end. At forty-five, he is divorced and childless, with a career that is going nowhere fast. Then, when his father dies suddenly, George stumbles onto a family secret: a sister he never knew existed. A twin named Rosa, raised in Rome by an enigmatic cult. Hoping to find the answers to the missing pieces of his life, George sets out for the ancient city.

Once in Rome, he learns from Rosa the enthralling story of their distant ancestor, Regina, an iron-willed genius determined to preserve her family as the empire disintegrates around her. It was Regina who founded the cult, which has mysteriously survived and prospered below the streets of Rome for almost two millennia. The Order, says Rosa, is her real family– and, even if he doesn’t realize it yet, it is George’s family, too. When she takes him into the vast underground city that is the Order’s secret home, he feels a strong sense of belonging, yet there is something oddly disturbing about the women he meets. They are all so young and so very much alike.
Stephen Baxter possesses one of the most brilliant minds in modern science fiction. His vivid storytelling skills have earned him comparison to the giants of the past: Clarke, Asimov, Stapledon. Like his great predecessors, Baxter thinks on a cosmic scale, spinning cutting-edge scientific speculation into pure, page-turning gold. Now Baxter is back with a breathtaking adventure that begins during the catastrophic collapse of Roman Britain and stretches forward into an unimaginably distant, war-torn future, where the fate of humanity lies waiting at the center of the galaxy. . . .

Destiny’s Children
COALESCENT

George Poole isn’t sure whether his life has reached a turning point or a dead end. At forty-five, he is divorced and childless, with a career that is going nowhere fast. Then, when his father dies suddenly, George stumbles onto a family secret: a sister he never knew existed. A twin named Rosa, raised in Rome by an enigmatic cult. Hoping to find the answers to the missing pieces of his life, George sets out for the ancient city.

Once in Rome, he learns from Rosa the enthralling story of their distant ancestor, Regina, an iron-willed genius determined to preserve her family as the empire disintegrates around her. It was Regina who founded the cult, which has mysteriously survived and prospered below the streets of Rome for almost two millennia. The Order, says Rosa, is her real family– and, even if he doesn’t realize it yet, it is George’s family, too. When she takes him into the vast underground city that is the Order’s secret home, he feels a strong sense of belonging, yet there is something oddly disturbing about the women he meets. They are all so young and so very much alike.

Now, joined by his boyhood friend Peter McLachlan, who arrives in Rome with a dark secret of his own, George uncovers evidence suggesting that the women of the Order have embarked on a divergent evolutionary path. But they are not just a new kind of human. They are a better kind, genetically superior, equipped with all the tools necessary to render homo sapiens as extinct as the Neanderthals. And, chillingly, George and Peter soon have reason to fear that this colony is preparing to leave its overcrowded underground nest. . . .

From the Back Cover

PRAISE FOR STEPHEN BAXTER

Evolution
“GRIPPING . . . THE PERFECT SCIENTIFIC ROMANCE OF OUR TIME . . . The miracle of Evolution is that it makes the triumph of life, which is its story, sound like the real story.”
–The Washington Post Book World

“EVOLUTION IS A WORK OF OUTRAGEOUS AMBITION. . . . What is astonishing is how successfully he brings to life a wide range of facts and conjectures, and how entertaining as well as informative this book–an episodic novel with evolution as its protagonist–manages to be.”
–The New York Times Book Review

Manifold: Time
“A STAGGERING NOVEL! If you ever thought you understood time, you’ll be quickly disillusioned when you read Manifold: Time.”
–SIR ARTHUR C. CLARKE

Manifold: Space
“BREATHTAKING IN ITS ORIGINALITY AND SCOPE . . . [AN] IMPRESSIVE PARADE OF WONDERS.”
–The Washington Post

Manifold: Origin
“UTTERLY ENGROSSING . . . A book that challenges and provokes . . . Origin leads you to ask questions about sentience and existence.”
–SFX magazine

About this edition

• Publisher: Gollancz
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 057507423X
• ISBN 13: 9780575074231
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 480