Baxter taught maths, physics, and information technology before becoming a full-time author in 1995.
Writing Strongly influenced by science fiction pioneer
H. G. Wells, Baxter has been vice-president of the international
H. G. Wells Society since 2006. His fiction falls into three main categories of original work plus a fourth category, extending other authors' writing; each has a different basis, style, and tone. Baxter's "
Future History" mode is based on research into
hard science. It encompasses the
Xeelee Sequence, which consists of nine novels (including the ''
Destiny's Children trilogy and Vengeance/Redemption duology that is set in alternate timeline), plus three volumes collecting the 52 short pieces (short stories and novellas) in the series, all of which fit into a single timeline stretching from the Big Bang singularity of the past to his Timelike Infinity (1993) singularity of the future. These stories begin in the present day and end when the Milky Way galaxy collides with Andromeda five billion years in the future. Baxter signed a contract for two new books, Proxima
and Ultima'', both of which are names of planets, and they were released in 2013 and 2014, respectively. in
Dortmund, Germany, March 1997 A second category in Baxter's work is based on readings in evolutionary biology and human/animal behaviour. Elements of this appear in his future histories (especially later works like the ''Destiny's Children
series and Flood
/Ark
), but here it is the focus. The major work in this category is Evolution'', which imagines the evolution of humanity in the Earth's past and future.
The Mammoth Trilogy, written for young adults, shares similar themes and concerns as it explores the present, past, and future of a small herd of
mammoths found surviving on an island in the
Arctic Ocean. A third category of Baxter's fiction is
alternative history, based on research into history. These stories are more human, with characters portrayed with greater depth and care. This includes his
NASA Trilogy, which incorporates research into
NASA and its history; and the ''Time's Tapestry
series, which features science-fictional interventions into our past from an alternative-history future. The novel Anti-Ice'' is an earlier example of Baxter's blending of alternate history with science fiction. A more recent work in this direction is the
Northland Trilogy, an alternate prehistory that begins with
Stone Spring, set ten thousand years ago in the
Stone Age, followed by
Bronze Summer and
Iron Winter, set in alternative versions of the
Bronze Age and the
Iron Age. In 2009, Baxter became a judge for the
Sidewise Award for Alternate History, the first former winner among the panel. Another category, outside of the main body of Baxter's independent work, is sequels and instalments of science-fiction classics. His first novel to achieve wide recognition (winning three literary awards) was
The Time Ships, an authorised sequel to H. G. Wells'
The Time Machine. The
Time Odyssey series, a trilogy co-authored with
Arthur C. Clarke, is connected to Clarke's four
Space Odyssey novels. The trilogy consists of ''
Time's Eye, Sunstorm, and Firstborn. Another novel is based on a synopsis written by Clarke, The Light of Other Days. Baxter has also published a Doctor Who novel, The Wheel of Ice. The Massacre of Mankind'' is an authorised sequel to H. G. Wells'
The War of the Worlds. In 2010, Baxter began working on a new series with
Terry Pratchett. This collaboration produced five books,
The Long Earth,
The Long War,
The Long Mars,
The Long Utopia and
The Long Cosmos. Baxter has written non-fiction essays and columns for such publications as
Critical Wave and the British SF Association's
Matrix. ==Other activities==