I've been a fan of Baxter's writing since picking up 'Flux' at a second hand bookstore. His way with
hard concepts never ceases to amaze me. Time is another big picture, big concept novel. Reid
Malenfant opens this gripping yarn as our would-be-hero and rouge. His drive alone pushes this novel
along at a good pace but Baxter throws in ample amounts of hard science and even harder speculation
to give this character driven book that much needed punch.

Time stands out amongst many pretenders in the field. Malenfant takes on NASA and wins; he also drags his ex-wife along for the ride as well as one very loopy pseudo scientist and crackpot. The future is trying to communicate with them, Malenfant is trying to exploit the wealth of an asteroid by using cheap labour in the form of an Octopus and some very strange kids are building something that just could destroy the world.

Like his early work, Time expands our thinking horizons and gives us a good, solid glimpse into a
possible future. Though I have given this book some big praise I will say that unlike 'Flux' and even
'Raft' the book fell just a little (I do mean a little) short of producing that wonder element. At times the
science did just tread water and characters didn't respond in a real enough manner at others. If you
were hyper critical, which I can be, then you will pick up on these points but otherwise 'Time' is one
fine book and a worthwhile read. I read my copy in bed and found I wasn't getting near enough sleep.
If you haven't picked up 'Time' then do so now because 'Space' is now on the shelves and the story
continues, or should I say starts again somewhere else that's the same but not. Such is the Manifold.

Reviewed by Robert Stephenson

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