SummaryNow, joined by his boyhood friend Peter McLachlan, who
arrives in Rome with a dark secret of his own, George
uncovers evidence suggesting that the women of the Order
have embarked on a divergent evolutionary path. But they
are not just a new kind of human. They are a better kind,
genetically superior, equipped with all the tools necessary
to render homo sapiens as extinct as the Neanderthals. And,
chillingly, George and Peter soon have reason to fear that
this colony is preparing to leave its overcrowded
underground nest. . . .
Stephen Baxter possesses one of the most brilliant minds in
modern science fiction. His vivid storytelling skills have
earned him comparison to the giants of the past: Clarke,
Asimov, Stapledon. Like his great predecessors, Baxter
thinks on a cosmic scale, spinning cutting-edge scientific
speculation into pure, page-turning gold. Now Baxter is
back with a breathtaking adventure that begins during the
catastrophic collapse of Roman Britain and stretches
forward into an unimaginably distant, war-torn future,
where the fate of humanity lies waiting at the center of
the galaxy. . . . Destiny's Children
COALESCENT George Poole isn't sure whether his life has reached a
turning point or a dead end. At forty-five, he is divorced
and childless, with a career that is going nowhere fast.
Then, when his father dies suddenly, George stumbles onto a
family secret: a sister he never knew existed. A twin named
Rosa, raised in Rome by an enigmatic cult. Hoping to find
the answers to the missing pieces of his life, George sets
out for the ancient city. Once in Rome, he learns from Rosa the enthralling story of
their distant ancestor, Regina, an iron-willed genius
determined to preserve her family as the empire
disintegrates around her. It was Regina who founded the
cult, which has mysteriously survived and prospered below
the streets of Rome for almost two millennia. The Order,
says Rosa, is her real family-- and, even if he doesn't
realize it yet, it is George's family, too. When she takes
him into the vast underground city that is the Order's
secret home, he feels a strong sense of belonging, yet
there is something oddly disturbing about the women he
meets. They are all so young and so very much alike.
Stephen Baxter possesses one of the most brilliant minds in
modern science fiction. His vivid storytelling skills have
earned him comparison to the giants of the past: Clarke,
Asimov, Stapledon. Like his great predecessors, Baxter
thinks on a cosmic scale, spinning cutting-edge scientific
speculation into pure, page-turning gold. Now Baxter is
back with a breathtaking adventure that begins during the
catastrophic collapse of Roman Britain and stretches
forward into an unimaginably distant, war-torn future,
where the fate of humanity lies waiting at the center of
the galaxy. . . .
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