Description:

Returned to the Earth of 2037 by the Firstborn, mysterious beings of almost limitless technological prowess, Bisesa Dutt is haunted by the memories of her five years spent on the strange alternate Earth called Mir, a jigsaw-puzzle world made up of lands and people cut out of different eras of Earth's history. Why did the Firstborn create Mir? Why was Bisesa taken there and then brought back on the day after her original disappearance?

Bisesa's questions receive a chilling answer when scientists discover an anomaly in the sun's core-an anomaly that has no natural cause is evidence of alien intervention over two thousand years before. Now plans set in motion millennia ago by inscrutable watchers light-years away are coming to fruition in a sunstorm designed to scour the Earth of all life in a bombardment of deadly radiation.

Thus commences a furious race against a ticking solar time bomb. But even now, as apocalypse looms, cooperation is not easy for the peoples and nations of the Earth. Religious and political differences threaten to undermine every effort.

And all the while, the Firstborn are watching...

### From Publishers Weekly Set in the same universe as Clarke's *2001* and its sequels, Clarke and Baxter's second and final Time Odyssey book (after 2004's *Time's Eye*) will especially appeal to fans of hard SF who appreciate well-grounded science and humans with a can-do attitude to problem solving. In 2037, the same day the enigmatic alien Firstborn return Bisea Dutt, the heroine of *Time's Eye*, to her home in London, the city grinds to a halt as a sun storm sends a massive surge of energy to Earth, temporarily destroying the world's electronic infrastructure. This surge presages another, much larger sun storm, due to hit in 2042, which will utterly annihilate life across the globe. Against all odds, the nations of Earth come together to construct a huge space umbrella that will shield the planet from the worst of the barrage. The answer to why the sun's activity is being manipulated to wipe out life on Earth must wait, given the day-to-day difficulties and politics of the construction project. The five-year sweep of events, the plethora of characters and the cuts from Mars to Earth to the moon during the climactic sun storm give the story a movie montage feel, but the focus on the enormously challenging task at hand will keep readers turning the pages. *Agent, Scovil, Chichak, Galen. (Mar. 1)* Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. ### From Bookmarks Magazine Two giants—Clarke, one of the greatest SF writers, and award-winning *Evolution* (2003) author Baxter—have collaborated on an insidious vision of the future that’s sure to thrill fans of *2001: A Space Odyssey* and other SF classics. It may help to first read *Time’s Eye*, which provides the back story to the aliens’ cruel experiments and desire to wipe out Earth, but each book stands alone. Convincing characters, including a British astronomer and doomsday physicist, lead the collective countdown to destruction. The authors’ scientific details (why the Earth’s shield must be made of glass manufactured on the moon, for instance) complement the plot. But it’s the climax, although flawed, that’s sure to blow your mind. *Copyright © 2004 Phillips & Nelson Media, Inc.*

From Publishers Weekly

Set in the same universe as Clarke's 2001 and its sequels, Clarke and Baxter's second and final Time Odyssey book (after 2004's Time's Eye) will especially appeal to fans of hard SF who appreciate well-grounded science and humans with a can-do attitude to problem solving. In 2037, the same day the enigmatic alien Firstborn return Bisea Dutt, the heroine of Time's Eye, to her home in London, the city grinds to a halt as a sun storm sends a massive surge of energy to Earth, temporarily destroying the world's electronic infrastructure. This surge presages another, much larger sun storm, due to hit in 2042, which will utterly annihilate life across the globe. Against all odds, the nations of Earth come together to construct a huge space umbrella that will shield the planet from the worst of the barrage. The answer to why the sun's activity is being manipulated to wipe out life on Earth must wait, given the day-to-day difficulties and politics of the construction project. The five-year sweep of events, the plethora of characters and the cuts from Mars to Earth to the moon during the climactic sun storm give the story a movie montage feel, but the focus on the enormously challenging task at hand will keep readers turning the pages. Agent, Scovil, Chichak, Galen. (Mar. 1)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From

Two giants—Clarke, one of the greatest SF writers, and award-winning Evolution (2003) author Baxter—have collaborated on an insidious vision of the future that’s sure to thrill fans of 2001: A Space Odyssey and other SF classics. It may help to first read Time’s Eye, which provides the back story to the aliens’ cruel experiments and desire to wipe out Earth, but each book stands alone. Convincing characters, including a British astronomer and doomsday physicist, lead the collective countdown to destruction. The authors’ scientific details (why the Earth’s shield must be made of glass manufactured on the moon, for instance) complement the plot. But it’s the climax, although flawed, that’s sure to blow your mind.

Copyright © 2004 Phillips & Nelson Media, Inc.

From Publishers Weekly

Set in the same universe as Clarke's 2001 and its sequels, Clarke and Baxter's second and final Time Odyssey book (after 2004's Time's Eye) will especially appeal to fans of hard SF who appreciate well-grounded science and humans with a can-do attitude to problem solving. In 2037, the same day the enigmatic alien Firstborn return Bisea Dutt, the heroine of Time's Eye, to her home in London, the city grinds to a halt as a sun storm sends a massive surge of energy to Earth, temporarily destroying the world's electronic infrastructure. This surge presages another, much larger sun storm, due to hit in 2042, which will utterly annihilate life across the globe. Against all odds, the nations of Earth come together to construct a huge space umbrella that will shield the planet from the worst of the barrage. The answer to why the sun's activity is being manipulated to wipe out life on Earth must wait, given the day-to-day difficulties and politics of the construction project. The five-year sweep of events, the plethora of characters and the cuts from Mars to Earth to the moon during the climactic sun storm give the story a movie montage feel, but the focus on the enormously challenging task at hand will keep readers turning the pages. Agent, Scovil, Chichak, Galen. (Mar. 1)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From

Two giants—Clarke, one of the greatest SF writers, and award-winning Evolution (2003) author Baxter—have collaborated on an insidious vision of the future that’s sure to thrill fans of 2001: A Space Odyssey and other SF classics. It may help to first read Time’s Eye, which provides the back story to the aliens’ cruel experiments and desire to wipe out Earth, but each book stands alone. Convincing characters, including a British astronomer and doomsday physicist, lead the collective countdown to destruction. The authors’ scientific details (why the Earth’s shield must be made of glass manufactured on the moon, for instance) complement the plot. But it’s the climax, although flawed, that’s sure to blow your mind.

Copyright © 2004 Phillips & Nelson Media, Inc.

Returned to the Earth of 2037 by the Firstborn, mysterious beings of almost limitless technological prowess, Bisesa Dutt is haunted by the memories of her five years spent on the strange alternate Earth called Mir, a jigsaw-puzzle world made up of lands and people cut out of different eras of Earth’s history. Why did the Firstborn create Mir? Why was Bisesa taken there and then brought back on the day after her original disappearance? Bisesa’s questions receive a chilling answer when scientists discover an anomaly in the sun’s core-an anomaly that has no natural cause is evidence of alien intervention over two thousand years before. Now plans set in motion millennia ago by inscrutable watchers light-years away are coming to fruition in a sunstorm designed to scour the Earth of all life in a bombardment of deadly radiation. Thus commences a furious race against a ticking solar time bomb. But even now, as apocalypse looms, cooperation is not easy for the peoples and nations of the Earth. Religious and political differences threaten to undermine every effort. And all the while, the Firstborn are watching …