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List Price: $7.99 | | Publisher: Del Rey
Salesrank: 474713
Released: July 25, 2006 |
| Our Price: $3.00 |
| Used Price: $0.01 |
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| Media: Mass Market Paperback |
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Editorial Review:
Stephen Baxter’s gripping page-turners are feats of bold speculation and big ideas that, for all their time-and-space-spanning grandeur, remain firmly rooted in scientific fact and cutting-edge theory. Now Baxter is back with the final volume in his monumental Destiny’s Children trilogy, a tour de force in which parallel stories unfold–and then meet as humanity stands poised on the brink of divine providence . . . or extinction.
DESTINY’S CHILDREN
TRANSCENDENT
It is the year 2047, and nuclear engineer Michael Poole is still in the throes of grief. His beloved wife, Morag, died seventeen years ago, along with their second child. Yet Michael is haunted by more than just the memory of Morag. On a beach in Miami, he sees his dead wife. But she vanishes as suddenly as she appears, leaving no clue as to her mysterious purpose.
Alia was born on a starship, fifteen thousand light years from Earth, five hundred thousand years after the death of Michael Poole. Yet she knows him intimately. In this distant future, when humanity has diversified as a species and spread across the galaxy, every person is entrusted with the duty of Witnessing the life of one man, woman, or child from the past, recovered by means of a technology able to traverse time itself. Alia’s subject is Michael Poole.
When his surviving, estranged son is injured, Michael tries to reconnect with him–and to stave off a looming catastrophe. Vast reservoirs of toxic gases lie buried beneath the poles, trapped in crystals of ice. Now that ice is melting. Once it goes, the poisons released will threaten all life on Earth. A bold solution is within reach, if only Michael can convince a doubting world. Yet as Morag’s ghostly visitations continue, Michael begins to doubt his own sanity.
In the future, Alia is chosen to become a Transcendent, an undying member of the group mind that is shepherding humanity toward an evolutionary apotheosis. The Witnessings are an integral part of their design, for only by redeeming the pain of every human who has lived and died can true Transcendence be achieved. Yet Alia discovers a dark side to the Transcendents’ plans, a vein of madness that may lead to an unthinkable renunciation.
Somehow, Michael Poole holds the fate of the future in his hands. Now, to save that future, Alia must undertake a desperate journey into the past. . . .
From the Hardcover edition.
Transcendent (Destiny's Children) Reviews:
Stephen Baxter - Transcendent 
2009-07-20 - I haven't read this yet, but the book arrived in good condition and was exactly as described. I look forward to reading it as I have enjoyed other works by Mr. Baxter.
Very disappointing 
2007-03-07 - Global warming soapbox masquerading as science fiction. Like one of the previous reviewers said this guy used to be one of my favourite authors. This whole Destiny's Children series has been a waste of time for me
What is this crap?
2007-01-17 - I have completely turned 180 degrees from being a fan of Baxtor to absolutely loathing the garbage he's been writing in recent years. He had a good run early on, but has totally lost touch with his base. I loved Ring, The Time Ships, Flux, all the way up to Vacuum Diagrams, which seems to have been a turning point in his career--for the worst. This novel, like all of his recent work, suffers from very weak character development, a highly suspect series of plots. In his early stories, the pathetic character development was entirely excusable because his science was rock solid and exciting! I loved his Xeelee stories and the whole dark matter creatures were very engaging. But lately, he's focused too much on personal interests that are completely non-interesting to this reader. His attitude is that of an informed and wizened academic, but he comes across in fictional form as foolishly optimistic that his ridiculous themes are believable.
Throughly enjoyed this one....
2007-01-09 - I'm not sure I understand the naysayers in this group of reviews. I really enjoyed this book - as good as anything a lot of other authors have written, like David Brin, or Greg Bear (also excellent writers!)
Soaring idea shot down with logic errors 
2006-10-17 - OK, I liked the IDEA of the book - the important guy in 2050 who is being studied ("witnessed") by a girl 500,000 years in the future. Of course he is someone important historically (why choose an average Joe?) and she is also undergoing her own private journey. When an author undertakes a vision of the future there are two possible avenues: (1) An entirely new creation, i.e. Dune or (2) a version of the present with similar problems (usually ecological). Baxter has opted for the latter.
I agree with Ray Kurzweil ("The Singularity is Near") that much science fiction is tainted with futures of uneven scientific progress to the extreme - some advances are visionary while others seem stuck in the 19th century. In this case, smart materials and a clean method of energy production have been invented yet cars and planes are banned(!) I mean, there's 200 mpg engines on the books now - wouldn't somebody adopt this new energy source for travel??? Our hero designs spaceships to the stars yet we are helpless with global warming. The world seems sterile, almost depopulated (despite the so-called population boom) and the work done is the type found only in sci-fi (key on a PC for a couple of hours and that's your job). 500,000 years from now folks live for a few hundred years (another not so loud "wow"). You'd think that creatures who could teleport, travel in time and change their bodies at will would have extended their life span a tad longer. Inventions in 2047 include implants for communication, VR and automated public transportation - underwhelming to say the least.
Sometimes an author can pull it off and the hero or heroine remains in the mind months later. This is not the case. The characters here are quite forgettable as are the relationships that seem artificial. Then there is the whole idea of Transcendence and the mythology surrounding it. We can not imagine a future 30 years from now (with smart materials, robotics, bioengineering and nanotech). It is that much harder to project a future 500,000 years in the future. But the problem is not a lack of imagination but a lack of future knowledge. My grade: B-
