History YMMV / XeeleeSequence

** "The Unholy Trinity of Dystopias" - [[labelnote:Explanation]]Due to its horrifying nature that is almost unmatched. The Xeelee Sequence is often paired with [[Literature/NineteenEightyFour 1984]] and [[Literature/IHaveNoMouthandIMustScream I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream]] as the unholy trinity of peak Dystopias in places like 1d4chan. This is compared to the "Godfather Trinity of Dystopias" which is [[Literature/NineteenEightyFour 1984]] (again), [[Literature/We We]] and [[Literature/BraveNewWorld Brave New World]], which are the trope codifiers of classical dystopias.[[/labelnote]]

** "Makes 40k Look Like Sesame Street" - [[labelnote:Explanation]]According to sites such as 1d4chan along with versus forums such as Spacebattles.com. The series is best known for being a universe that is more [[CrapsackWorld fucked up]] than [[TabletopGame/Warhammer40000 Warhammer 40,000]] [[DarkerandEdgier by orders of magnitude.]][[/labelnote]]

** "The Interim Coalition of Governance is the Khmer Rouge on Bath Salts" - [[labelnote:Explanation]]The icog has often been described as the Khmer Rouge on steroids due to how similar the tactics are in terms of indoctrination, mass utilisation of child soldiers, mass genocides and just general mass brutality to an insane degree. This can bleed into [[FridgeHorror Fridge Horror]] once you realise that the tactics used by the ICoG have indeed been used in real life.[[/labelnote]]

** "The Interim Coalition of Governance is the Khmer Rouge on Bath Salts" - [[labelnote:Explanation]]The ICoG has often been described as the Khmer Rouge on steroids due to how similar the tactics are in terms of indoctrination, mass utilisation of child soldiers, mass genocides and just general mass brutality to an insane degree. This can bleed into [[FridgeHorror Fridge Horror]] once you realise that the tactics used by the ICoG have indeed been used in real life.[[/labelnote]]

** "The ICoG is the Khmer Rouge on Bath Salts" - [[labelnote:Explanation]]The ICoG has often been described as the Khmer Rouge on steroids due to how similar the tactics are in terms of indoctrination, mass utilisation of child soldiers, mass genocides and just general mass brutality to an insane degree. This can bleed into [[FridgeHorror Fridge Horror]] once you realise that the tactics used by the ICoG have indeed been used in real life.[[/labelnote]]

** "Xeeleestomp" - [[labelnote:Explanation]]Other than how absurdly horrifying the universe is, the Xeelee Sequence is also rather infamous for being ridiculously overpowered that it often 'Xeeleestomps' almost any single faction in literature, which is not surprising given the [[TechnologyLevels scale the universe is set in.]] In versus forums, the term Xeeleestomp is defined [[CurbStompBattle as a match so lopsided that not alliteration of the otherside would even matter in that match up.]][[/labelnote]]

** "Makes 40k Look Like Sesame Street" - [[labelnote:Explanation]]According to sites such as 1d4chan along with versus forums such as Spacebattles.com. The series is best known for being a universe that is more [[CrapsackWorld fucked up]] than [[TabletopGame/Warhammer40000 Warhammer 40,000 by orders of magnitude.]][[/labelnote]]
** "Xeeleestomp" - [[labelnote:Explanation]]Other than how absurdly horrifying the universe is, the Xeelee Sequence is also rather infamous for being ridiculously overpowered that it often 'Xeeleestomps' almost any single faction in literature, which is not surprising given the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kardashev_scale Kardashev Scale scale the universe is set in.]] In versus forums, the term Xeeleestomp is defined [[CurbStompBattle as a match so lopsided that not alliteration of the otherside would even matter in that match up.]][[/labelnote]]

* MemeticMutation: At least on some sites such as 1d4chan. The series is best known for being one of the few universes in media more [[CrapsackWorld screwed up]] than [[TabletopGame/Warhammer40000 Warhammer 40,000.]]

** The [[spoiler: Photino Birds.]] They are essentially the Xeeleeverse's UltimateEvil, seeking to literally [[ApocalypseHow destroy the Universe as we know it]] to propagate their existence. And they [[ItCanThink actively resist the Xeelee leaving the Universe;]] they arrange galaxies to shake the Ring apart.

* MemeticMutation: At least on some sites such as 1d4chan. The series is best known for being one of the few universes more [[CrapsackWorld screwed up]] than [[TabletopGame/Warhammer40000 Warhammer 40,000.]]

* MemeticMutation: At least on some sites such as 1d4chan. The series is best known for being one of the few universes more [[CrapsackWorld screwed up]] than [[TabletopGame/Warhammer40000 ,Warhammer 40,000.]]

* MemeticMutation: At least on some sites such as 1d4chan. The series is best known for being one of the few universes more [[CrapsackWorld screwed up]] than the TropeCodifier of the Grimdark genre itself[[TabletopGame/Warhammer40000 ,Warhammer 40,000.]]

* MemeticMutation: At least on some sites such as 1d4chan. The series is best known for being one of the few universes more [[CrapsackWorld screwed up]] than the TropeCodifier of the Grimdark genre itself[[TabletopGame/Warhammer40000 Warhammer 40,000.]]

* MemeticMutation: At least on some sites such as 1d4chan. The series is best known for being one of the few universes more [[CrapsackWorld screwed up]] than the TropeCodifyer of the Grimdark genre itself[[TabletopGame/Warhammer40000]].

** The [[spoiler: Qax]]'s BigDamnVillains moment, where they [[ColonyDrop toss a star]] at the photino birds and unleash their Spline fleet in a "baryonic blitzkrieg".

* CrowningMomentOfAwesome:

* ScienceMarchesOn: Virtually inevitable given Baxter's heavy reliance on speculative physics. For example, recent results from the Large Hadron Collider appear to have refuted at least the simplest variants of supersymmetry, rendering the science behind the Susy drive depicted in 'The Quagma Datum' far more dubious.
** On what refers to cosmology, The Great Attractor not only has turned out to be much less massive than what was thought when the novel was written but also there is an even more large mass concentration behind, being it the thing that is moving our galaxy towards it [[spoiler: [[http://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/info/press-releases/kocevski-1-06/ Imaging]] has found a ''very'' massive galaxy cluster there, but with no traces of looped cosmic strings so far]]. Also, cosmic microwave background studies suggests the formation of structure in the Universe was caused by density fluctuations left from cosmic inflation or even the Big Bang itself, with [[spoiler: cosmic strings as the ones used by the Xeelee as building blocks]] having had (at best) a very limited role.

** Even though [[GoryDiscretionShot not many details are given]], the atrocities committed by the Protestant mercenaries during the Sack of Rome in 1527 in ''Coalescent'' are nauseating. They include [[RapeAsDrama a man being forced to rape his daughter]], [[GroinAttack another being castrated and forced to eat his own testicles]], and [[spoiler:six members of the Order being gang-raped by Clemens and his men, one of them dying from the abuse she receives]]. Then there's the revelation that [[spoiler:those six women stayed behind to [[HeroicSacrifice get captured and divert attention from the rest of the Order]].]]

** The Qax from the future destroying [[spoiler: the past Governor of Earth]] and taking charge. The sheer [[NoNonsenseNemesis callousness and brutality he displays]] while killing [[spoiler: the Governor with a starbreaker beam]] is very frightening, especially when he implies the [[spoiler: the Governor will [[AndIMustScream spend the last hours of his existence in agonising pain, feeling his sentience, his very existence, slip away bit by bit as he decays into the sludge which carries him.]] And poor Jasoft was ForcedToWatch as the first actually evil character in the novel kills the closest thing he (as a collaborator) has to a friend and colleague.]]

** On what refers to cosmology, The Great Attractor not only has turned out to be much less massive than what was thought when the novel was written, but also there is an even more large mass concentration being the thing that is moving our galaxy towards it [[spoiler: [[http://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/info/press-releases/kocevski-1-06/ Imaging]] has found a ''very'' massive galaxy cluster there, but with no traces of looped cosmic strings so far]]. Also, cosmic microwave background studies suggests the formation of structure in the Universe was caused by density fluctuations left from cosmic inflation or even the Big Bang itself, not [[spoiler: cosmic strings as the ones used by the Xeelee as building blocks.]]

** On what refers to cosmology, The Great Attractor not only has turned out to be much less massive than what was thought when the novel was written, but also there is an even more large mass concentration being the thing that is moving our galaxy towards it [[spoiler: [[http://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/info/press-releases/kocevski-1-06/ Imaging has found a ''very'' massive galaxy cluster there, with no traces so far of looped cosmic strings]]. Also, cosmic microwave background data suggests the formation of structure in the Universe was caused by density fluctuations left from cosmic inflation or even the Big Bang itself, not cosmic strings [[spoiler: as the ones used by the Xeelee as building blocks.]]

* TearJerker: The end of ''Mayflower II'', one of the stories in ''Resplendent''. The immortal protagonist, guardian of the titular generation ship, has lost everyone dear to him, watched the onboard society unravel and then the inhabitants devolve over generations. [[spoiler: Then two of the main characters of ''Exultant'' (who are now married with a baby) show up to rescue the pitiful descendants of the original crew and tell the protagonist he's done his job well. Finally able to rest, he sees the face of the lover he left behind before the voyage. It's left ambiguous whether it's a hologram the visitors left for him or just a hallucination, because it doesn't matter.]]

* TearJerker: This troper outright wept at the end of ''Mayflower II'', one of the stories in ''Resplendent''. The immortal protagonist, guardian of the titular generation ship, has lost everyone dear to him, watched the onboard society unravel and then the inhabitants devolve over generations. [[spoiler: Then two of the main characters of ''Exultant'' (who are now married with a baby) show up to rescue the pitiful descendants of the original crew and tell the protagonist he's done his job well. Finally able to rest, he sees the face of the lover he left behind before the voyage. It's left ambiguous whether it's a hologram the visitors left for him or just a hallucination, because it doesn't matter.]]

* WhyDontYaJustShootHim: The [[AliensAreBastards Qax]] could have saved themselves a lot of trouble if they had simply exterminated humanity.