Hearthspace

Stephen Baxter

Sep 2025 · Sold by Gollancz

About this ebook

In the far future, humanity exists where it never belonged . . .

Thousands of years ago, a human expedition was launched to the Hearth - the celestial birthplace of millions of planets, ranging from Earth-like worlds to hellscapes of pressure and heat. The descendants of the massive colony ship have since spread themselves across the Hearth. In time, humanity forgot its beginnings.

But when Commander Ulla Breen, on her first tour aboard a patrol sail-ship, is attacked by an unknown enemy, she and her fellow crewmembers face slavery, punishment and death - as do their home planets. Because someone else has seen the richness of the inner Hearth and plan to take it for themselves. Worse still, this new enemy is disturbingly familiar, and knows more about the history of the Hearth than even Ulla and her crew.

Faced with a complete upheaval of all she knew, Ulla and her companions must survive long enough to come up with a plan - one which will unite all the disparate elements of the Hearth - and uncover the reason humanity came to Hearthspace in the first place . . .

Hearthspace is a dark, compelling, and expansive science fiction novel from Stephen Baxter, perfect for readers of Arthur C. Clarke, Peter F. Hamilton, and Alastair Reynolds.

Ratings and reviews

An interesting concept, but the two major societies are barely explored, unlike the [spoiler] slave ship which is the actual center of the story. Additionally, while I enjoy Stephen Baxter's overly expositive writing in prior works, here it is downright repetitive. There are also amateurish inconsistencies throughout the story. Characters and details contradict several times, most egregiously the origin story of the generation ship itself. This is one thing I have never seen in Baxter's writing. I found myself wondering while reading if somehow the publisher had released an unedited, rough draft version to Google Books?

About the author

Stephen Baxter is the pre-eminent SF writer of his generation. With Terry Pratchett he has co-authored the Long Earth novels. Published around the world he has also won major awards in the UK, US, Germany, and Japan. Born in 1957 he has degrees from Cambridge and Southampton. He lives in Northumberland with his wife.Visit Stephen Baxter's website at www.stephen-baxter.com.