Proxima books in order

Proxima is a two-book series by Stephen Baxter about humanity's first attempts to colonize a planet orbiting Proxima Centauri, the nearest star to our sun. The books follow both the colonists on the hostile alien world and a parallel story involving the politics and conflicts of a divided solar system.
Series · Hard Science Fiction · Space Opera · Science Fiction

Reading order

# Title Published Author Buy on Amazon
1 Proxima 2013 Stephen Baxter Buy
2 Ultima 2014 Stephen Baxter Buy
3 Proxima Dreaming - Stephen Baxter N/A
4 Obelisk 2016 Stephen Baxter Buy

Proxima and its sequel Ultima follow a group of reluctant colonists sent to Per Ardua, a world very different from Earth where survival requires adapting to alien ecology rather than terraforming. Baxter draws on current scientific thinking about what a planet orbiting a red dwarf would actually be like.

The solar system politics running alongside the colonist story draw on the Xeelee Sequence’s concerns with human conflict on a large scale, though Proxima is set much earlier in Baxter’s future history. The two books are closely linked and best read together.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many books are in the Proxima series?

There are four books in the Proxima series, published between 2013 and 2016.

What is the first book in the Proxima series?

The first book in the Proxima series is Proxima, published in 2013.

What is the planet like in the Proxima series?

Per Ardua, the planet, orbits close to Proxima Centauri and is tidally locked, meaning one side always faces the star and the other is in permanent darkness. Life exists in the habitable zone between them.

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