Book Review: Revelation Space, by Alastair Reynolds

One-line summary: A hard SF space opera about ancient astronauts and infected spaceships.



Gollancz, 2000, 560 pages

Nine hundred thousand years ago, something annihilated the Amarantin civilization just as it was on the verge of discovering space flight. Now one scientist, Dan Sylveste, will stop at nothing to solve the Amarantin riddle before ancient history repeats itself.

With no other resources at his disposal, Sylveste forges a dangerous alliance with the cyborg crew of the starship Nostalgia for Infinity. But as he closes in on the secret, a killer closes in on him because the Amarantin were destroyed for a reason. And if that reason is uncovered, the universe - and reality itself - could be irrevocably altered.

( Old-school science fiction in the new school style )

Verdict: My overall assessment of Alastair Reynolds after two books is: great thematic science fiction, but he just hasn't won me over with his storytelling and characterization. Revelation Space is not bad, and if you like hard SF, epic space operas, and better yet, both together, then I'd recommend it, and I can understand why Reynolds is a favorite with some fans. He tells the kind of stories Asimov and Clarke did, with an updated 21st century viewpoint. But he also suffers from some of their deficiencies: too much science, not enough fiction, characters who are just there to carry the plot, and a style that will probably be dated and "old school" in another generation.

Book Review: Revelation Space, by Alastair Reynolds

One-line summary: A hard SF space opera about ancient astronauts and infected spaceships.



Gollancz, 2000, 560 pages

Nine hundred thousand years ago, something annihilated the Amarantin civilization just as it was on the verge of discovering space flight. Now one scientist, Dan Sylveste, will stop at nothing to solve the Amarantin riddle before ancient history repeats itself.

With no other resources at his disposal, Sylveste forges a dangerous alliance with the cyborg crew of the starship Nostalgia for Infinity. But as he closes in on the secret, a killer closes in on him because the Amarantin were destroyed for a reason. And if that reason is uncovered, the universe - and reality itself - could be irrevocably altered.

( Old-school science fiction in the new school style )

Verdict: My overall assessment of Alastair Reynolds after two books is: great thematic science fiction, but he just hasn't won me over with his storytelling and characterization. Revelation Space is not bad, and if you like hard SF, epic space operas, and better yet, both together, then I'd recommend it, and I can understand why Reynolds is a favorite with some fans. He tells the kind of stories Asimov and Clarke did, with an updated 21st century viewpoint. But he also suffers from some of their deficiencies: too much science, not enough fiction, characters who are just there to carry the plot, and a style that will probably be dated and "old school" in another generation.