Table of Contents
Preface 7
Introduction: An Ordered Family Portrait 9
Alien Worlds
1 A World beyond Expectation 18
2 A World Obscuring 26
3 A Tempestuous World 34
4 A Glimmer of Atmosphere 40
5 A World in Reverse 47
Towards Earth
6 A Flash from Darkness 56
7 A World You Can't Set Your Watch By 64
8 A Contrasting Sibling 73
9 A World Like Ours? 82
Birth
10 An Unseen Embryo 92
11 A World through the Blur 99
12 An Ember Spat from a Fire 108
13 A Lonely Planet 116
14 A Dreich World? 124
Life
15 A Cursed World 132
16 A World that's Just Right? 141
17 A World Bombarded 149
Death
18 A Dark Cloak of Death 158
19 A World Torn Asunder 163
20 A Diamond Born from Death 171
Epilogue: Yet More Worlds 180
Appendix: The Twenty Worlds 186
References 191
Acknowledgements 203
Photo Acknowledgements 204
Index 205