''Destiny's Children'' is a science-fiction series by Stephen Baxter. It takes place within his larger series, the ''

Xeelee Sequence The ''Xeelee Sequence'' (; ) is a series of hard science fiction novels, novellas, and short stories written by British science fiction author Stephen Baxter (author), Stephen Baxter. The series spans billions of years of Future history, fictiona ...

''. Like his previous '' Manifold Trilogy'', the books are not direct sequels to one another, but are instead thematically linked by the appearance of concepts, themes, and sometimes characters in multiple books. Examples of this include: * A

coalescence Coalesce, coalescence or coalescent can refer to: Chemistry and physics * Coalescence (chemistry), the process by which two or more separate masses of miscible substances seem to "pull" each other together should they make the slightest contac ...

is visited in all three novels. * The Kuiper Anomaly, a tetrahedral artifact that appears in the

Kuiper belt The Kuiper belt ( ) is a circumstellar disc in the outer Solar System, extending from the orbit of Neptune at 30 astronomical units (AU) to approximately 50 AU from the Sun. It is similar to the asteroid belt, but is far larger—20 times ...

, is discovered in ''Coalescent'', mentioned briefly in ''Exultant'', and finally explained in ''Transcendent''. * The characters George Poole, Michael Poole, and Rosa Poole appear in both ''Coalescent'' and ''Transcendent''. * Each book deals in some way with the future evolution of humans, both physically and sociologically. For example, ''Coalescent'' discusses the ability of humans living with limited space and resources to evolve a society that resembles insect hives. ''Transcendent'' deals with several post-human forms that are found to have evolved to adapt planets that they colonized. The theme is present in ''Exultant'' insofar as the novel deals with humanity as evolved to fight a war that has lasted tens of thousands of years. * Each book further deals in some way with the existence and identity of God. For example, ''Exultant'' suggests that there was consciousness present before the universe began that selected this universe for its ability to sustain life. ''Transcendent'' discusses a group of humans that have transcended to a higher consciousness as becoming a god, and uses established theology to attempt to dissect the Transcendent's motives. Books in the series: *''

Coalescent ''Coalescent'' is a science-fiction novel by Stephen Baxter. It is part one of the '' Destiny's Children'' series. The story is set in two main time periods: modern Britain, when George Poole finds that he has a previously unknown sister and ...

'' (

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

) - Arthur C. Clarke Award nominee, 2004 *'' Exultant'' (

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

) *'' Transcendent'' (

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

) - John W. Campbell Memorial award nominee, 2006 *'' Resplendent'' (

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

)

References

Book series introduced in 2003 Science fiction book series Stephen Baxter series Xeelee Sequence Fiction set in the Kuiper belt {{2000s-sf-novel-stub