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(1986- ) UK author whose Amaranthine Spectrum sequence, comprising The Promise of the Child (2015), The Weight of the World (2017) and The Tropic of Eternity (2018), is a late but not unwelcome addition to the canon of the Widescreen Baroque Space Opera, with all the conventions typical of such a tale set in an interstellar arena, but conveyed with linguistic exuberance and a sense that the galaxy might still be explored with joy. Echoes of other authors include in particular the work of Jack Vance, especially in Toner's use of an Archipelago of planets – some Terraformed, some transformed into Dyson Spheres – to highlight various outcomes of Homo sapiens's penetration of the galaxy: Immortality is available, and Posthuman civilizations flourish, or do not. A Galactic Empire is at risk. [JC]
born Somerset, UK: 1986
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Amaranthine Spectrum
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Entry from The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (2011-current) edited by John Clute and David Langford.
Accessed 12:01 pm on 12 March 2026.
<https://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/toner_tom>