Athena Posted March 6, 2014 Share Posted March 6, 2014 I placed my order, I couldn't resist .. They're beautiful covers indeed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted March 6, 2014 Author Share Posted March 6, 2014 They are, aren't they? I think it's a good way for me to try some authors I haven't read before, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Signor Finzione Posted March 6, 2014 Share Posted March 6, 2014 Great finds Steve - they look space opera-ish enough to keep you going for a while. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted March 8, 2014 Author Share Posted March 8, 2014 # 16 Revelation Space by Alastair Reynolds 2000 - Gollancz ebook - 585 pages From Amazon: 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 irrecovably altered…. Thoughts: This was a re-read for me. I first read it when it originally came out in paperback twelve or thirteen years ago but never went on to read the rest of the books in the series. I figured it was high time I did that, especially with this recent hankering for space opera, so kind of had to re-read this first to remind myself what was going on. And just as well! This book is hardly anything like I remembered it from that first read, to the point where it was almost like reading a completely different book. Part of that, I think, is because I found it really hard work first time around, and this time I didn't. I genuinely think my reading ability has improved since then - back in those days I read occasionally, now I read all the time, so it must have had some effect. Also, it took me weeks to read back then, as opposed to a few days this time, and I think that helped a lot with keeping the plot, characters, history and - ahem - revelations straight in my head. It's a long, complex book that demands your attention if you want to get the most out of it - basically, the kind I've come to like over the last few years. There are three disparate plot threads at the start of the novel which, inevitably, get drawn together as the book progresses: In 2551, Dan Sylveste - archaeologist and leader of the population of the planet Resurgam - is on the verge of making a significant discovery as to what happened to the planets previous inhabitants, the avian Amarantin, when a coup overthrows and imprisons him. In 2540, Ilia Volyova - member of the triumvirate of Ultras (humans who have adapted themselves to life in space using cybernetics) who command the vast lighthugger vessel called Nostalgia for Infinity - is heading to the planet Yellowstone to try and find a particular person who might be able to cure their captain of the Melding Plague, a virus that attacks nanotechnology. in 2524, in Chasm City on Yellowstone, Ana Khouri - an assassin employed by the bored rich for their entertainment - is hired by a mysterious hermetic. Khouri was a soldier in a war on the planet Sky's Edge when she and her husband were seriously wounded. They were both put into reefer sleep (cryo sleep, effectively) but, by some error, her casket was incorrectly sent light years to Yellowstone, leaving her husband to age and die at Sky's Edge whilst she aged barely a day, and meaning she has nothing left to lose. All space travel in Reynold's universe is sub-light, meaning there's no instantaneous hopping from one place to another. As you can see from the dates, the story moves backwards and forwards in time as it develops each of these stories. It's a clever way of dealing with the years that pass as characters travel, but it's also a little disorienting until you get used to it. Each chapter has a heading of the date and place where it starts, but then it jumps backs and forward to each character with merely a section break in between, so you have to keep tabs mentally as to which time frame you are currently in. It makes sense in the end, but can lead to some confusion, which is ultimately smoothed out once the plot threads converge. Another negative - and the only aspect that I really remember from my first read - is a huge dip in the pacing during the third quarter of the novel. This part of the book is, I think, too long, and contains a lot of padding. In large part I think this is also due to the plots being tied together, meaning that Reynolds couldn't zip around between characters and time frames as he did in the first half of the novel, and it feels like the story stalls somewhat. I think some good editing would have sorted this out. The characters are decent, neither poor nor outstanding. Someone on another forum, when comparing Alastair Reynolds to Iain M. Banks, said "Banks used science to talk about people, Reynolds uses people to talk about science", and I think that's very true. In part, I think that's down to many of them being Ultras - part man, part machine - they do come across as quite dispassionate. This may well have been intentional: the story has the feel of gothic horror mixed in with the sf - the lighthugger like some huge haunted mansion - and you can almost feel the chill of deep space surrounding and pervading it. This all sounds like negatives, so I'll get onto the positives. I find Reynolds' universe very immersive. Initially it feels quite daunting but, once I start reading his books, I get sucked in completely. In Revelation Space he sets up this vast, mind-boggling future history, where mankind has been out among the stars for centuries and developed into factions. At the heart of the book is the quest to find out why we're alone out there. Much evidence has been found of other life forms, but they're all dead and gone. This book weaves a quite ominous and scary reason for this. It also embraces the 'sense of wonder' writing that the best old school sf had in spades, beginning with the unearthing of an Amarantin artefact and then spiralling outward with discovery after discovery and twist after twist. Reynolds also works in plenty of thrills and spills - when he puts his foot down the novel really gains a snowball effect. Having got through the third quarter slump, I read the last 150 pages in one sitting. It really ends on a high. Best of all, Reynolds does SCALE: huge, vast, wide-eyed, awe-inspiring scale, yet he does this by keeping it intimate with a bare handful of characters. He's got a PhD in astrophysics and worked for the European Space Agency so, when it comes to the science, he knows his stuff. The book has an air of authenticity about it - you can imagine that this is what a distant future among the stars would be like. And he explains the science very well, in terms even I could get my head around. So Revelation Space isn't without its faults but there is enough here that - this time! - I found really exciting. Perhaps I'm more into his writing now, as I've read some of his other books in the meantime. I gave Chasm City a 9/10 - it's one of my favourite sf books that I've read in recent years. House of Suns is a book that has grown in my estimation since I read it - I gave it a 7 at the time, but it's one of those books, like Iain M. Banks's The Algebraist, which has stayed in my mind ever since. I think I underscored it considerably. So I'm not sure how to score Revelation Space now. I enjoyed it a hell of a lot more than first time around, but I'd still recommend starting with Chasm City (it's a standalone novel set in the same universe, and chronologically comes before this one, and it's just a better book all round). I seem to have used words like 'vast' and 'huge' a lot here. I can't wait to read more of this series. 7/10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted March 8, 2014 Author Share Posted March 8, 2014 A bit belatedly, some new additions: The Legacy of Heorot and War Birds are second-hand copies. The Quantum Thief is a birthday gift from Sari - love it, thanks Sari These were birthday gifts from friends. Not sure about The Yard or Bedlam - they haven't had particularly good reviews, has anyone here read them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted March 9, 2014 Share Posted March 9, 2014 Great review ! I look forward to reading some of Alastair Reynolds' books (I have some on the TBR). Thanks for the tip about starting with Chasm City, I'll keep it in mind . Congrats on the new books! I hope you like them . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted March 10, 2014 Author Share Posted March 10, 2014 Thanks I think starting with Chasm City makes a lot of sense. It got me into his books, whereas my original read of Revelation Space had put me off for quite a while (which, in retrospect, was a bit silly). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little Pixie Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 Hurray, new books ! The Norse Myths one looks good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted March 11, 2014 Author Share Posted March 11, 2014 Hurray, new books ! The Norse Myths one looks good. It's excellent! Very small print, though, so I'm only reading it in short bursts Peter F Hamilton gets some further reading recommendations from Amazon: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=594738647278394&set=a.163986473686949.42499.126372347448362&type=1&relevant_count=1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted March 11, 2014 Share Posted March 11, 2014 (edited) Nice ! EDIT: I've liked his page on Facebook ages ago but don't see his posts in my newsfeed. Strange. Edited March 11, 2014 by Athena Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted March 14, 2014 Author Share Posted March 14, 2014 Lovely day today, so I took a trip up into the West End and paid a visit to Forbidden Planet. Hadn't been there for months. Rather cleverly, I forgot to take my wishlist with me, so ended up walking around and around trying to spot books that might have been on it This is nearly always very bad for both my wallet and my TBR list. Fortunately I managed to restrain myself Came away with these two for under a tenner Cordelia's Honor is an omnibus edition of the first two novels in McMaster's 'Vorkosigan Saga', the second of which (Barrayar) won the Hugo for Best Novel in 1992. Beowulf's Children is the sequel to Niven, Pournelle & Barnes's The Legacy of Heorot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted March 14, 2014 Share Posted March 14, 2014 .. but were they on your wishlist? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted March 15, 2014 Share Posted March 15, 2014 I hope you enjoy both books ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted March 15, 2014 Author Share Posted March 15, 2014 .. but were they on your wishlist? Fortunately, yes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted March 17, 2014 Author Share Posted March 17, 2014 # 17 Redemption Ark by Alastair Reynolds 2002 - Gollancz ebook - 656 pages From Amazon: This stunning sequel to Revelation Space begins late in the twenty-sixth century. The human race has advanced enough to accidentally trigger alien machines designed to detect intelligent life--and destroy it. Thoughts: This is the second book in the 'Inhibitor' trilogy and follows on from Revelation Space, beginning some forty years after the conclusion of the first novel. Competing human factions are at war but the Conjoiners, on the brink of victory, make a terrifying discovery. In the vast gulfs of interstellar space a new enemy is lurking and it has but one purpose - to stop the spread of sentient life across the galaxy. The Conjoiners have realised that they cannot defeat this new foe and are preparing to flee and leave the rest of humanity to perish. This was Alastair Reynolds' third novel (Chasm City was published in between) and, reading this straight after Revelation Space, it's quite noticeable how his writing style was developing at the time. For a start, the characterisation in this book has more zip about it, with both returning characters and new: the young trader, Antoinette, whose pledge to 'bury' her father in the atmosphere of a gas giant in disputed space dumps her in the middle of a war; Xavier - her boyfriend - a mechanic with a crew of genetically enhanced apes (yeah, you read that right ); and Scorpio, the hyperpig crime lord heading for a nasty demise. Best of all are Nevil Clavain, an old man and former Demarchist who defected to the Conjoiners a long time ago but now questions his loyalties, and Skade, leader of the Conjoiners - she's one of the best antagonists I've encountered for a while. Another plus is that I didn't find there were any dead spots in this one. Generally, the pacing is a lot better - but that's not to say it's perfect. The one problem of note that I had with this book is that it has two or three build ups to what Reynolds makes you think are going to be huge events - and then they kind of just get swept over in a couple of paragraphs. Whereas Revelation Space had one yawning gap in its pacing and then floored the accelerator for a thrilling climax, Redemption Ark brushes over the climax to its own story and concentrates instead on setting up the sequel. There are a couple of odd choices made, almost as if Reynolds didn't feel he could do justice to the situations he had spent so long setting up. I don't mind things being left to my imagination, but I do like a good pay-off when the excitement is built up this way, and I know Reynolds can do it, too - he writes great action scenes, and his descriptions are vivid and thrilling. Such a shame. This still manages to contain its fair share of thrills, though, and the slightly larger cast of characters keeps things moving. And, much as I wanted a big climax to the story, the set up for the sequel makes for a most tantalising ending. Reynolds is, I think, a good editor away from being magnificent. 8/10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted March 17, 2014 Share Posted March 17, 2014 Great review ! It's a shame about the payoff. I'm glad you enjoyed the book though . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timstar Posted March 17, 2014 Share Posted March 17, 2014 Good review Steve, I'm still not sold on this series, so much other SF to catch up on as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted March 18, 2014 Author Share Posted March 18, 2014 You could always try one of the stand-alones instead Forgot to mention: over the weekend, as a breather between Reynolds novels, I read a couple of short stories from the first New Space Opera anthology. I liked the first one, Saving Tiamaat by Gwyneth Jones, but the second, Verthandi's Ring by Ian McDonald, was almost like reading a foreign language I barely understood a word of it Also read a handful of myths from The Penguin Book of Norse Mythology. It's fantastic, love it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 Nice to hear your comments! Do you plan to dip in and out of the New Space Opera? I've just received the book and plan to be reading it at some point, I'll keep your comments in mind . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted March 18, 2014 Author Share Posted March 18, 2014 Yeah, I'll just read a story from it every now and then. I'm generally not a reader of short stories but, when I do read them, I don't like to read a lot one after the other - I usually try to let each one sink in for a while before reading the next one . . . Providing I understand it, of course! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timstar Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 Yeah, I'll just read a story from it every now and then. I'm generally not a reader of short stories but, when I do read them, I don't like to read a lot one after the other - I usually try to let each one sink in for a while before reading the next one . . . Providing I understand it, of course! Yeah that's what I do, have a short story book on the go that I pick up, usually between books, sometimes in the middle of a boring one Great when you just need something short and punchy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 Yeah, I'll just read a story from it every now and then. I'm generally not a reader of short stories but, when I do read them, I don't like to read a lot one after the other - I usually try to let each one sink in for a while before reading the next one . . . Providing I understand it, of course! Oh you should read some of Virginia's .. taken from her 'selected' .. selected for maximum headaches that is Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted March 18, 2014 Author Share Posted March 18, 2014 Oh you should read some of Virginia's .. taken from her 'selected' .. selected for maximum headaches that is I'll do that if you read the Space Opera ones Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 I'll do that if you read the Space Opera ones .. if you're having trouble with some of them then I have no chance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted March 19, 2014 Author Share Posted March 19, 2014 .. if you're having trouble with some of them then I have no chance Phew! That means I don't have to read Virginia, then Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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