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  • Raft

  • Xeelee Sequence, Book 1
  • Written by: Stephen Baxter
  • Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble
  • Length: 8 hrs and 25 mins
  • 5.0 out of 5 stars (5 ratings)

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Raft

Written by: Stephen Baxter
Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble
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Publisher's Summary

Stephen Baxter's highly acclaimed first novel and the beginning of his stunning Xeelee Sequence finally enters the SF Masterwork series!

A spaceship from Earth accidentally crossed through a hole in space-time to a universe where the force of gravity is one billion times as strong as the gravity we know. Somehow the crew survived, aided by the fact that they emerged into a cloud of gas surrounding a black hole, which provided a breathable atmosphere.

Five hundred years later, their descendants still struggle for existence, divided into two main groups. The Miners live on the Belt, a ramshackle ring of dwellings orbiting the core of a dead star, which they excavate for raw materials. These can be traded for food from the Raft, a structure built from the wreckage of the ship, on which a small group of scientists preserve the ancient knowledge which makes survival possible.

Rees is a Miner whose curiosity about his world makes him stow away on a flying tree - just one of the many strange local lifeforms - carrying trade between the Belt and the Raft. And what he finds will change his world....

1992, Arthur C. Clarke Award, Short-listed

©2020 Stephen Baxter (P)2020 Orion Publishing Group

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Very enjoyable!

Slow going at first, it is a fine Coming of Age story in a fascinating environment. The unique nebula setting makes for repeated plays. Especially recommended for Hard sci-fi fans.

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