Steph Reviews Proxima by Stephen Baxter

Publisher: Roc Hardcover
Series: Proxima #1
Format Read: Paperback
Source: From the publisher for an honest review
Release Date: November 4, 2014
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Blurb from goodreads:

Mankind’s future in this galaxy could be all but infinite....

There are hundreds of billions of red dwarf stars, lasting trillions of years—and their planets can be habitable for humans. Such is the world of Proxima Centauri. And its promise could mean the never-ending existence of humanity.

But first it must be colonized, and no one wants to be a settler. There is no glamor that accompanies it, like being the first man on the moon, nor is there the ease of becoming a citizen of an already-tamed world. There is only hardship...loneliness...emptiness.

But that’s where Yuri comes in. Because sometimes exploration isn’t voluntary. It must be coerced...

Steph's Thoughts:

I am a science fiction geek, so I thought this book would be right up my alley. I was not really wrong.

It did take me a couple of chapters to really get into Proxima but once I did, I liked it. I liked Yuri, he is a mysterious man. He is out of his element no matter where he is because he was in a cryo-chamber for around 80 years. He is practical and makes the best of any situation he is put into. I didn’t like Mardina as much as Yuri. She is practical but never truly embraces life on Per Ardua and she is always kind of bitchy to Yuri.

The story jumps back and forth between Per Ardua (Proxima Centauri) and characters on Mercury and Earth. The other characters did not catch my attention the way that Yuri and Mardina did. I much preferred to read about them, rather than the others. I tended to skim over those parts in order to get back to Yuri but that could be just me. I tend to do that in any book with more than one story line. I latch onto one group over another.

The only real problem I had with this book was the life forms on Per Ardua. I had a hard time visualizing them, but it did not interfere with my overall enjoyment of the story. I had a few problems with some of the science parts when it came to understanding some things. I was a little confused on how some things were supposed to work but maybe I will chalk it up to being tired at the time I was reading it. Overall, I liked the book and will probably read the sequel.