∎ Download Revelation Space Alastair Reynolds 9780441009428 Books

Revelation Space Alastair Reynolds 9780441009428 Books

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Revelation Space Alastair Reynolds 9780441009428 Books

Alastair Reynolds' novel "Revelation Space" manages a complex, intelligent plot that occurs over 30 years in separate parts of the galaxy bringing them together for an explosive climax.

While Reynolds' novel does have its flaws (it might be hard for some people to keep track of the various subplots that often occur years apart but are placed next to each other as if they are occurring at the same time. It might have been helpful to have chapter titles telling us WHEN and WHERE each portion takes place), his ambitious story, his imagination and characters carry the day.

SPOILERS:

Archaeologist Dan Sylveste discovers the reminants of an ancient civilization that humans have named the Amarantin. These bird-like creatures lost the ability to fly developing more like bipeds with time and eventually returned to flight reaching the starsQ briefly before their civilization was destroyed. Sylveste who survived an encounter with another alien civilization at the edge of space called The Shroud came back a changed man. Sylveste desperately seeks the reasons WHY the civilization was destroyed from what appears to be an outside force convinced that it may be coming for humanity as well.

Ana Khouri a former soldier and assassin takes on an assignment unwillingly to infiltrate the cyborg crew of the Nostalgia for Infinity. Her assignment--KILL Sylveste before he discovers anymore about the Amarantins, saves the ill captain of the ship and, perhaps, bring humanity one step closer to destruction.

END OF SPOILERS:

As mentioned Reynolds book tends to jump around quite a bit. The paperback edition of the book doesn't help as some of the chapter breaks between various subplots appear to be missing with the paragraphs running together (maybe it's just my copy). Still, Reynolds' ambitious and imagintagive story captures your interest but you may have to devote yourself a bit more here compared to lighter science fiction novels out there. In many respects, the sprawling storyline reminds me of Frank Herbert's "Dune" when it was first introduced in that the book challenges the reader to stay with a less conventional narrative.

Despite the fact that the structure of the story with the subplots that occur decades apart may take some getting used to, "Revelation Space" demonstrates Reynolds imagination as a world building storyteller. I would recommend reading the first three or four chapters online if you can to see if this will be a novel for you. The book could have been edited by abo it 100 pages and not siuffered for it.


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Revelation Space Alastair Reynolds 9780441009428 Books Reviews

This book had potential at every turn. The premise was very interesting to me and what kept my turning the 500+ pages night after night, but the payoff...well... didn't pay off. I kept hoping, but in the end, felt robbed.

Is the author detailed? Very much so. His handling of relative time and travel at near-light speed was done quite well. His descriptions of places were detailed and, in the case of the Infinity, bordered on visceral. But his characters all talked in the same voice with only one character overusing in the same Russish expletive, allowing a reader to know who is speaking without having to retrace the steps of the conversation to figure it out.

Some concepts made no sense, such as the interior of the lighthugger being covered in grime and knee-deep in effluent. You know, the same ship that can create robotic servitors of any kind at will and has an army of janitor rats (kind of a clever idea, that). How did the cache weapons get aboard a trading ship? I think I found that out on the wiki - not even a cursory explanation within the book. So many questions with woefully inadequate answers.

Finally, the most annoying aspect of the book was the author's almost compulsive need to let the reader know that he knows how to use the dictionary and thesaurus apps on his iPad. Sure, you could get the meaning of most words from the context in which they were used, but it still slows down the flow of the book. And... EVERYONE talked like that. Seriously? Khouri was a soldier then an assassin but speaks using the same archaic words that super-scientist Sylveste uses?

Then - the supremely-oddly-placed Hithchikers-esque quips? While some made me chuckle, they certainly did not fit with anything in the rest of the book.

All in all, I think the author's universe and his concepts are compelling, but the overall style of the books make it hard to say I'd read the rest of the some 4,000 pages in the series.
I'm a hard SF guy, and I enjoyed the beginning of this book.
Actually, most of it.
The characterization is good.
The author leaves enough things unexplained to keep those hooks in.
There's so much going on that it can get a little confusing, but he recognizes that and throws in some well-placed review sections at times.

But it just kept getting weirder and weirder.
When I was done, I decided that I was glad to have read it, but that's enough Rev Space for me -- I won't be doing the follow ons.
I'm going to start by saying that this book would make an amazing movie series; it was made for visual media. I love how well thought out the universe and the science behind it was thought out. The plot was interesting, and when we get to truly understand the scope of this story it is amazing. Reynold's knowledge of science really comes through and makes this story and world almost tangible. The characters are authentic and very realistic. I dream of books completely populated by morally grey characters, and this book delivered on that.

However, this story was not without flaws. I think this may be up to personal preference, but I found the plot to be too complexed for the style in which it was delivered and the plot devices the author chose. There is constant movement in this story, and the bite-sized bits of information we're given come too infrequently. The result is a story that is hard to get into. The characters are interesting; however, the thick shroud (see what I did there...) of mystery that surrounds them for the majority of this book made it impossible for me to get invested in any of them. The last issue I had was how cumbersome the writing was. I was never at any point eager to pick this book up again, even after I got into the plot.

I am interested in this plot, I will definitely be picking up the next one in the series....... eventually.....
Alastair Reynolds' novel "Revelation Space" manages a complex, intelligent plot that occurs over 30 years in separate parts of the galaxy bringing them together for an explosive climax.

While Reynolds' novel does have its flaws (it might be hard for some people to keep track of the various subplots that often occur years apart but are placed next to each other as if they are occurring at the same time. It might have been helpful to have chapter titles telling us WHEN and WHERE each portion takes place), his ambitious story, his imagination and characters carry the day.

SPOILERS

Archaeologist Dan Sylveste discovers the reminants of an ancient civilization that humans have named the Amarantin. These bird-like creatures lost the ability to fly developing more like bipeds with time and eventually returned to flight reaching the starsQ briefly before their civilization was destroyed. Sylveste who survived an encounter with another alien civilization at the edge of space called The Shroud came back a changed man. Sylveste desperately seeks the reasons WHY the civilization was destroyed from what appears to be an outside force convinced that it may be coming for humanity as well.

Ana Khouri a former soldier and assassin takes on an assignment unwillingly to infiltrate the cyborg crew of the Nostalgia for Infinity. Her assignment--KILL Sylveste before he discovers anymore about the Amarantins, saves the ill captain of the ship and, perhaps, bring humanity one step closer to destruction.

END OF SPOILERS

As mentioned Reynolds book tends to jump around quite a bit. The paperback edition of the book doesn't help as some of the chapter breaks between various subplots appear to be missing with the paragraphs running together (maybe it's just my copy). Still, Reynolds' ambitious and imagintagive story captures your interest but you may have to devote yourself a bit more here compared to lighter science fiction novels out there. In many respects, the sprawling storyline reminds me of Frank Herbert's "Dune" when it was first introduced in that the book challenges the reader to stay with a less conventional narrative.

Despite the fact that the structure of the story with the subplots that occur decades apart may take some getting used to, "Revelation Space" demonstrates Reynolds imagination as a world building storyteller. I would recommend reading the first three or four chapters online if you can to see if this will be a novel for you. The book could have been edited by abo it 100 pages and not siuffered for it.