Review of “Raft” by Stephen Baxter

This is a review that I’m glad to write because, despite my often scathing criticism of what I consider half-finished books, Stephen Baxter finished the job. I don’t particularly like science fiction that borders on fantasy, but he keeps his wildly speculative physics consistent to the end; of course, he has a lot of leeway. The cover photo gives the reader a hint of what’s coming–flying trees?

The story that unwinds checks all the boxes: simple plot with plenty of action; good character arcs that aren’t too extreme; exposition written into dialogue in a very believable way; no extraneous characters or side plots confusing the story; a romantic subplot; a surprising ending, despite the reader knowing what’s coming; and, best of all, he does it in 245 pages.

The writing style is solid and the story is easy to follow. Furthermore, the author doesn’t seem to grow tired of the story after the half-way point, probably because he kept the length reasonable. Science fiction doesn’t have to require 400 pages to be understandable and believable. This reminds me of books written in the 60s and 70s; tell the story with enough background to make it comprehensible, but don’t share all of the notes that went into the final draft.

I recommend this novel to anyone who is willing to see what others can imagine.