Time by Stephen Baxter

[samvara]

Fun and dripping with particle physics and attempts to comprehend the universe. Reid Malenfant and his company Bootstrap set forth to launch humanity into space and simultaneously make a massive profit by mining asteroids. He is distracted along the way by a creepy mathematician and eschatologist called Cornelius Taine who can 'prove' that humanity will suffer inescapable extinction within 200 years. The battle is on; to develop space flight; build a device capable of detecting messages from the future and save the future.

Malenfant will also have to negotiate with a genetically enhanced super-squid, NASA and his ex-wife if he is to succeed in the face of all odds. No, this is not a comedy.