Flood is the first novel in a new series by Stephen Baxter. If you want something different in science fiction, read Flood.
Stephen Baxter is the author of dozens of novels and short stories in the hard science fiction category where the science is based on fact instead of fantasy, fact extended and extrapolated but still fact. Read at least two or three of his novels, the first in each series.
Flood is the first novel in a new series and starts with the Earth flooding. Flood covers the period when humans move from land based to aquatic and is a really nice read.
Stephen is an engineer who started writing science fiction novels based on good plausible science. Raft was his first novel in 1991 and the start of the Xeelee series. Flood is from 2008 and is followed by Ark plus there are more novels planned for the future.
Flood is the grand space saga of most science fiction. The novel has only two annoying traits. The novel finishes with bait to hook you into the next book in the series, something I hate. The novel also contains detail that is cute and enjoyable at the start but starts to drag mid way through.
I started speed reading through some of the pages with endless descriptions of drowned cities. 488 pages is a long read and I wanted to see what happened, not to rehash the past.
The characters are beautifully described. If all of Stephen Baxter's writing is like Flood, I will be back for more starting with Ark.
Lily is the main character. Lily and four others are hostages brought together during hostage trades in a world slightly in the future. The first chapter label says 2016 but it was written in 2008. today you could imagine the book becoming true in 2020.
The hostages are rescued and return to a world stating to flood. They drift between projects to study the flooding, projects to survive the flooding, and attempts to save Grace, the daughter of one hostage born in captivity.
The story travels the world and the time span of Lily's life. All the characters are interesting, some are annoying, and some are disastrous, even if only accidentally.
I hope this is made into a movie but not by Hollywood. Hollywood would make it into a shallow action based Tom Cruise
vehicle. It needs a director to think deep and a strong female lead, someone like a younger version of Cate Blanchett.
Worth a read.
First paragraph:
July 2016
Every pothole and every crevice in the road was flooded. As the truck swerved through the streets of Barcelona the water sprayed up over Lily in her pallet under the chassis, stinking oily stuff that worked its way under the parcel tape that covered her eyes and mouth. It was raining too, a hard persistent rain that hammered on the truck's metal roof, adding to the engine's roar and the distant rattle of gunfire.
Author:
Stephen Baxter
First published:
2008
ISBN reviewed:
9780451462718