SF about the end of the universe

October 31, 2005 1:34 PM

What are some recommendations for SF stories/books that deal with the end of the universe (or lack thereof)?

I've read a couple of Hard SF stories/books over the years that discuss how intelligent life deals with the end of the universe. (examples: Baxter's Manifold: Time, Benford's Galactic Center series, Asimov's The Last Question, etc..) What other good ones are out there?

posted by gilgamesh to writing & language (17 comments total)

I forget if we get all the way to the actual end, but Olaf Stapledon's Last and First Men charts far into the future and hits a point where the end of the universe is coming.

Man, I've got to reread that actually. It's been too long.
posted by PinkStainlessTail at 1:37 PM on October 31, 2005

Not sure if this is exactly what you mean, but Marooned in Realtime by Vernor Vinge (I love everything he writes), kind of, sort of deals with this issue. You don't have to read its prequel, The Peace War, to understand the concepts, but it couldn't hurt..
posted by j at 1:41 PM on October 31, 2005

Vinge is awesome. I second him. His main point of fascination being the so called 'technological/cultural/anthropological singularity". The end of the world, but only as we know it. Good stuff.
posted by lyam at 1:46 PM on October 31, 2005

Marooned in Realtime indeed sounds like it's along the lines of what I am looking for. I've read a bunch of other Vinge, but managed to miss that one so far. Keep the recommendations coming...
posted by gilgamesh at 1:55 PM on October 31, 2005

I highly recommend Poul Anderson's Tau Zero, which blew my teenage mind when it was serialized in Galaxy as "To Outlive Eternity" (cover).

Also, I heartily second Olaf Stapledon.
posted by languagehat at 1:57 PM on October 31, 2005

Greg Egan's Diaspora is one of my favorites on this theme.
posted by Voivod at 2:07 PM on October 31, 2005

Douglas Adams had a restaurant there. Neat place.

I'm shocked no one mentioned this yet! C'mon MeFites. I've come to expect so much more from you.
posted by kc0dxh at 2:12 PM on October 31, 2005

The Cities in Flight series by James Blish.
posted by adamwolf at 2:44 PM on October 31, 2005

Tony Daniel's "A Dry Quiet War" is probably my favourite SF short story of all time. It's about the aftermath of a battle fought at the end of time over the fate of the universes. Also a twisted love story. And has the best line about Christ ever.
posted by showmethecalvino at 3:11 PM on October 31, 2005

Stephen Baxter's Xeelee Sequence, in particular, Timelike Infinity. Way way way better than the time/space/origin manifold series.
Greg Egan also has Schild's Ladder which is more end-of-the-universe than Diaspora's escape-the-universe theme, though I liked Diaspora better.
posted by polyglot at 3:19 PM on October 31, 2005

Ha, I was just about to recommend "The Last Question." Carry on.
posted by jenovus at 4:28 PM on October 31, 2005

Oh, goodie, no one's linked to Arthur C. Clarke's 1967 gem, The Nine Billion Names of God, yet.
posted by ikkyu2 at 4:29 PM on October 31, 2005

Just in case anyone want's to read it, though, here it is. I should be more thoughtful.
posted by jenovus at 4:32 PM on October 31, 2005

I should preview too.
posted by jenovus at 4:34 PM on October 31, 2005

Michael Moorcock's Dancers at The End of Time trilogy.
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen at 4:35 PM on October 31, 2005

managed to miss that one so far. (Marooned in Realtime)

It was almost impossible to find, until a few months ago, when it was reprinted. Vernor Vinge is really great.

There's a Greg Bear short story that fits exactly your description, called "Judgment Engine". It is about entities alive around the time of the heat death of the universe. Other Greg Bear might have a similar flavor to what you are intersted in, too, though this fits the question best - maybe "Moving Mars". I also recently read Robert Reed - "The Well of Stars", which in part was about the (attempted) end of the universe and why someone would want to bring it about. It is a sequel to "Marrow", which isn't, but it won't make sense without reading Marrow first. They were both pretty good.
posted by advil at 6:33 PM on October 31, 2005

Here's a couple.

Darwinia by Robert Charles Wilson

The Restaurant at the End of the Universe by Douglas Adams
posted by Axandor at 9:20 AM on November 1, 2005