The Medusa Chronicles books in order

The Medusa Chronicles is a single novel by Stephen Baxter and Alastair Reynolds, a sequel to Arthur C. Clarke's 1971 short story A Meeting with Medusa. It follows Howard Falcon, the part-human, part-machine explorer from Clarke's story, across centuries of future history.
Series · Hard Science Fiction · Space Opera · Science Fiction

Reading order

# Title Published Author Buy on Amazon
1 The Medusa Chronicles 2016 Stephen Baxter Buy

Clarke’s original story imagined an explorer surviving a disaster that leaves him more machine than human, then traveling into the atmosphere of Jupiter. Baxter and Reynolds pick up that character and follow him through centuries of conflict between humanity and the AIs that increasingly share the solar system.

The book is a love letter to classic Clarke-era science fiction written with a modern scientific vocabulary. Both Baxter and Reynolds are known for large-scale hard SF, and the collaboration gives the story a sweep that honors Clarke’s original while taking it in directions Clarke did not explore.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many books are in the The Medusa Chronicles series?

There are one books in the The Medusa Chronicles series, published in 2016.

What is the first book in the The Medusa Chronicles series?

The first book in the The Medusa Chronicles series is The Medusa Chronicles, published in 2016.

Do I need to read Clarke's original story first?

Reading “A Meeting with Medusa” first helps with context, but Baxter and Reynolds recap enough that the novel works on its own.

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