Manifold: Space by Stephen Baxter

In Stephen Baxter’s second book in the Manifold series, Space, he again introduces some mind boggling ideas. Ideas like the entirely plausible Galactic reboot. A Galactic what? You say, don’t ask, read the book.
In this book, Fermi’s paradox (“If there are billions upon billions of stars and many of these must have planets, the universe should be teeming with life. So why haven’t aliens been here?”) is shown to be untrue. In this universe life is abundant and aliens have been here time and time again. Geological and extra solar evidence shows that on a long timescale they keep coming. Now another lot are arriving soon and behind them another, which is bad news, since it is becoming clear that the ones that visited the solar system in the distant past simply asset stripped everything they could get their tentacles on and wrecked Venus, and the moon destroying all life there in the process. Now these latest ones will probably do the same to the Earth.
It is an Alien eat Alien universe and only the strong will survive.
But Malenfant is still around so there is hope yet.
Another great read with action and events piling on top of each other in a most satisfactory way.