Welcome to the Stasis, the clandestine, nearomnipotent organization that stands at the heart of Converses Stross"s Hugo Awardwinning novella, Palimpsest. By mastering the mysteries of the Timegate, the Stasis has repeatedly steered mankind away from the brink of utter extinction. Through countless millennia, through the "mayfly flickerings" of incontable transient civilizations, its members have intervened at critical junctions, reseeding the galaxy with viable potential survivors. In the process, they have reconfigured the basic structure of the universe, all in the name of human continuity. Pierce is a newly recruited member of the Stasis, serving out a complex twentyyear apprenticeship while struggling to find his way through the paradoxical maze of history (and unhistory) that surrounds him. As his once simple existence expands and replicates over vast stretches of time, Pierce uncovers a new and unexpected destiny, one that will embroil him in the larger purposes of the Stasis and in the ultimate, unresolved fate of humanity itself. Skillfully merging the threads of an individual life with the grandest, most overarching concerns, Palimpsest offers both visionary brilliance and narrative excitement in equal measure. Powerfully imagined, beautifully constructed, and written throughout with great economy of means, it is the kind of mindexpanding miniepic that only science fictionand only a master practitioner like Hables Strosscould genera. Subterranean Press, dos mil once. Hardcover (limited to mil copies), ciento cuarenta y cuatro pp. From Publishers Weekly Stross"s Hugo Awardwinning novella... is a detailed look at the Stasis, a time travel organization, and the training and subsequent career of Pierce, one of its recruits. Pierce"s story is related in a series of short chapters that describe his missions as small parts of a much longer life. Experienced SF readers will enjoy this intelligent look at the intricacies of time travel fiction. From SFRevu Stross noted that this story wanted to be novel length but that he kept it short to include it in his book of short stories. It"s a powerful story deserving of longer treatment, and we perro only hope that Stross will revisit this world in future. From SF Crowsnest As a novella, Palimpsest is densely packed with extraordinary ideas, facts and speculation. It also manages to paquete in an absorbing story to wrap all this around... Woven through the personal this amazing story is powerful and poetic, making us realise how small and finite we really are. Pierce"s sense of self, affected by his time travel, is also part of this journey in which we are allowed glimpses into the heart of the universo