Stephen Baxter's epic sequence of Xeelee novels was introduced to a new generation of readers with his highly successful quartet Destiny's Children published by Gollancz between 2003 & 2006 But the sequence of novels began with RAFT in 1991 From there it built into perhaps the most ambitious fictitious universe ever created Beginning with the rise & fall of sub-quantum civilisations in the first nano-seconds after the Big Bang & ending with the heat death of the universe billions of years from now the series charts the story of mankinds epic war against the ancient & unknowable alien race the Xeelee Along the way it examines questions of physics the nature of reality the evolution of mankind & its possible future It looks not just at the morality of war but at the morality of survival & our place in the universe This is a landmark in SF