I don't often read short story collections; I loved reading them when I was younger, most notably Clarke and Asimov's, but have gone off them a lot. This book has been languishing on my to-read pile for ages and I finally picked it up as an easy read. I actually found myself enjoying the genre again, it's quite well suited to tube and lunchtime reading and feels like less of a commitment. If a story isn't making sense, or just isn't connecting, it's only a few pages to the next story.

The stories themselves are quite enjoyable and suit Baxter's strengths quite well. There are some elegant ideas, occasionally clumsily told. I think his alternate world writing is much better than the stories where he tries to explain an alien way of life. What's missing compared to the Clark and Asimov story however are the wonderful moments of realisation when it turns out the last 20 pages have been a giant set up for a pun. If Baxter has a sense of humour, it doesn't show much in his writing, and it can be rather depressing to continually read about death and the end of the world. (1 ( )