Xeelee Books in Order

Stephen Baxter has written 16 Xeelee books, published between 1991 and 2019. The first book is Raft (1991) and the newest is Redemption (2019). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
16
Published
1991–2019
Pages on record
4,499 in 13 of 16 books
Reading time
75–112 hours

Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 4,499 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200300 words a minute, covering the 13 of 16 titles with a page count on record.

Xeelee is the character entry linked to Stephen Baxter's Xeelee Sequence and Destiny's Children series, catalogued as hard science fiction. Recorded subjects include neutron stars, time travel, space colonies, human engineering and cosmology. Raft (1991) is the first listed book, followed by Timelike Infinity (1992), Flux (1993), Ring (1994) and Vacuum Diagrams (1997). Coalescent (2003), Exultant (2004) and Transcendent (2005) come later, and Redemption (2019) closes the 16-book list.

How many Xeelee books are there?

Xeelee has 16 books, released between 1991 and 2019.

Xeelee Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 16 Xeelee books in the order they were published, with the release year, the page count where one is on record, and how many independent book listings confirm each title. Catalogue data as of September 2026.

  1. 1
    RaftXeelee Sequence #11991 · 304 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1991304
  2. 2
    Timelike InfinityXeelee Sequence #21992 · 304 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1992304
  3. 3
    FluxXeelee Sequence #31993 · 416 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1993416
  4. 4
    RingXeelee Sequence #41994 · 496 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1994496
  5. 5
    Vacuum DiagramsXeelee Sequence #51997 · 512 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1997512
  6. 6
    Riding the RockXeelee Sequence #62002 · 60 pages · confirmed 2/4
    200260
  7. 7
    CoalescentDestiny's Children #12003 · 544 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2003544
  8. 8
    ExultantDestiny's Children #22004 · 512 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2004512
  9. 9
    Mayflower IIXeelee Sequence #72004 · 100 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2004100
  10. 10
    TranscendentDestiny's Children #32005 · 512 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2005512
  11. 11
    Xeelee EnduranceXeelee Sequence #82005 · confirmed 2/4
    2005
  12. 12
    ResplendentDestiny's Children #42006 · 549 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2006549
  13. 13
    StarfallXeelee Sequence #92009 · 89 pages · confirmed 2/4
    200989
  14. 14
    Gravity DreamsXeelee Sequence #102011 · 101 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2011101
  15. 15
    VengeanceXeelee Sequence #112017 · confirmed 2/4
    2017
  16. 16
    RedemptionXeelee Sequence #122019 · confirmed 2/4
    2019

Do you have to read Xeelee books in order?

You should read the Xeelee books in publication order, the order of the numbered table above. The catalogue does not record whether each Xeelee book also stands alone.

Where to start with Xeelee

Start with Raft (1991), the earliest published title.

What is the newest Xeelee book?

Redemption (2019) is the newest Xeelee book released so far.

Is there a new Xeelee book coming?

No next Xeelee book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.

Awards Xeelee has won

Wikidata records 2 awards and 10 nominations for Xeelee. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.

  • BSFA Award for Best Short Fiction2004Wonfor Mayflower II
  • Philip K. Dick Award2000Wonfor Vacuum Diagrams
  • Locus Award for Best Novella2012Shortlistedfor Gravity Dreams
  • Locus Award for Best Collection2007Shortlistedfor Resplendent
  • Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel2006Shortlistedfor Transcendent
  • Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel2005Shortlistedfor Exultant
  • Locus Award for Best Novella2005Shortlistedfor Mayflower II
  • Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel2004Shortlistedfor Coalescent
  • Arthur C. Clarke Award2004Shortlistedfor Coalescent
  • Locus Award for Best Novella2003Shortlistedfor Riding the Rock
  • Locus Award for Best Collection1998Shortlistedfor Vacuum Diagrams
  • Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel1995Shortlistedfor Ring

Xeelee at a glance

No recent titles
The newest Xeelee title on record dates from 2019, 7 years ago. No later title is catalogued.
Release pace
Xeelee books have appeared about one every 2 years on average.
Length
4,499 pages across the 13 of 16 books with a recorded length, a median of 416 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most Xeelee books, 8 of 16, were published in the 2000s.

What the Xeelee books are about

11 of the 16 Xeelee books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: science fiction is tagged on 9 of 11. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.

More books by Stephen Baxter

The author page linked below lists every book in publication order.