Raft

by Stephen Baxter

ISBN: 978-1-473-22405-6

First published 1991

245 pages

Publisher: gollancz.co.uk / sfgateway.com

4.5 / 5 Stars

Great book, in the classic sci-fi tradition. This book actually forms part of the Xeelee sequence of books by Stephen Baxter, although it can and should be read as a stand-alone book.

There are so many great concepts to list, the raft is only one of them. The raft is made from a spaceship marooned in another universe.

Other concepts include “belters” mining dead stars, or “boneys” savaging from corpses.

Politics suffuses the book, how do people cope in extreme conditions? What lengths will they go to survive?

And did I mention the whales? Yes, space whales….

Oh and the trees, revolving, space trees. not just trees, but forests….

For those left wanting more, the original short story is here: http://www.infinityplus.co.uk/stories/raft.htm.