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science fiction
Series · science fiction
Proxima
The Proxima series by Stephen Baxter has 2 books and is best read in publication order, starting with Proxima (2013).
- Books
- 2 books
- First published
- 2013
- Status
- completed
- Last checked
Start here: Proxima (2013) — then read straight through in publication order.
Reading order
The order the books were released — the default way to read the series.
About the Proxima series
A two-book hard-SF story of interstellar colonization gone strange, built around a habitable world orbiting Proxima Centauri and the mysterious alien-built "Hatch" structures found scattered across it. Proxima (2013) follows Yuri Eden, a reluctant colonist shipped off to found a settlement on the tidally-locked, hostile planet Per Ardua, alongside soldier Stef Kalinski, whose scientific curiosity about the enigmatic Hatches on the planet's surface sets the deeper mystery of the series in motion -- artifacts that turn out to be a kind of instantaneous transportation network built by a vanished, incomprehensibly advanced species. Ultima (2014) follows the consequences of that discovery to their logical, reality-bending extreme, opening up parallel alternate-history versions of human civilization -- including one where Rome never fell -- connected via the same Hatch network, and forcing the characters to reckon with what kind of universe they actually live in.
It's Baxter in full big-idea mode: colonization-era hardship and genuinely alien artifact mystery in the first book giving way to reality-spanning, multiverse-scale speculation in the second, in the tradition of his Xeelee and Manifold work but built around one continuous two-book story rather than either sequence's more fragmented structure.
Frequently asked questions
How many books are in the Proxima duology?
Two: Proxima (2013) and Ultima (2014).
What order should I read Proxima and Ultima in?
Proxima first, then Ultima. It's a single continuous two-book story, with Ultima directly following the events and characters set up in Proxima.
What is Proxima about?
Reluctant human colonists settle a hostile, tidally-locked planet orbiting Proxima Centauri, where they discover mysterious alien-built structures called Hatches -- artifacts belonging to a vanished, far more advanced civilization.
Is Proxima/Ultima connected to Stephen Baxter's other series?
No -- it shares no characters or continuity with the Xeelee Sequence, Destiny's Children, the NASA Trilogy, the Manifold trilogy, Time's Odyssey or The Long Earth, though it shares Baxter's recurring interest in big cosmic-scale ideas.
Is the Proxima/Ultima story finished?
Yes, it's a complete two-book story concluding with Ultima (2014).
If you like the Proxima series
Reading order last verified .