Alistair Reynolds

[Lady of Winterfell]

Well, its been awhile since I read the trilogy, but I definitely enjoyed Redemption Ark and Absolution Gap. I think the second one was my favorite of all three. I can't really remember any specific details, but I would say that they are definitely worth reading.

 

[adomol]

I'm working my way through the whole Revelation Space series in chronological order including the short stories. Over all its been outstanding. Just finished Nightingale... spooky story!

Some of the shorts remind me of the old Outer Limits tv series.

 

[clovis-man]

Well, its been awhile since I read the trilogy, but I definitely enjoyed Redemption Ark and Absolution Gap. I think the second one was my favorite of all three. I can't really remember any specific details, but I would say that they are definitely worth reading.

Emphasis mine. I totally understand. The tales can be complex and often mysterious. For that reason among others, I have kept all of his books, so I can re-read them when I feel the need.

 

[Bugg]

Well, its been awhile since I read the trilogy, but I definitely enjoyed Redemption Ark and Absolution Gap. I think the second one was my favorite of all three. I can't really remember any specific details, but I would say that they are definitely worth reading.

It's funny you should say that - I'm about halfway through my re-read of Revelation Space and thoroughly enjoying it but, weirdly, I can barely remember any of it from my first read - it's almost as if it's a completely different book from the one I read 10+ years ago. I think, maybe because I found it hard work the first time, I managed to push it all out of my memory.

Thanks for the replies

 

[Bick]

Yes, thanks for the feedback. The difficulty remembering the plot is not so surprising, given its complexity - I had to stop and get the plot straight in RS several times while reading. It did all come together nicely at the end though.

 

[Lady of Winterfell]

Emphasis mine. I totally understand. The tales can be complex and often mysterious. For that reason among others, I have kept all of his books, so I can re-read them when I feel the need.

It's funny you should say that - I'm about halfway through my re-read of Revelation Space and thoroughly enjoying it but, weirdly, I can barely remember any of it from my first read - it's almost as if it's a completely different book from the one I read 10+ years ago. I think, maybe because I found it hard work the first time, I managed to push it all out of my memory.

Thanks for the replies

Yes, thanks for the feedback. The difficulty remembering the plot is not so surprising, given its complexity - I had to stop and get the plot straight in RS several times while reading. It did all come together nicely at the end though.

It always makes me feel better to know I'm not the only one who can't remember things from the books I read. It can be quite frustrating, especially for those books that I know I enjoyed. But in a way it is good; when I decide to re-read it, at least I know I will like it and the story will seem new. I do plan on re-reading the trilogy at some point.

I'm working my way through the whole Revelation Space series in chronological order including the short stories. Over all its been outstanding. Just finished Nightingale... spooky story!

Some of the shorts remind me of the old Outer Limits tv series.

I loved Chasm City. The only one from his Revelation Space books I have left to read is The Prefect, which is sitting on my shelf and I think I will pick it up soon.


I'm not a big fan of short stories, but I enjoyed his books so much I decided to give them a try. I prefer his novels, but I think my favorite short story (or probably more accurate, novella) was Turquoise Days. I was really impressed/fascinated by the Pattern Jugglers.

 

[ralphkern]

I do love his Future History style of story telling. Like you Lady Winterfell, normally I'm not a fan of short stories, but I find AR's add to the bigger picture of his universe as a whole. I think Galactic North could, and perhaps should, be rewritten to tie it in more closely to the overall story arc though. It was written well before the others and to a certain extent underpins all the others.

 

[clovis-man]

The only one from his Revelation Space books I have left to read is The Prefect, which is sitting on my shelf and I think I will pick it up soon.

I predict you'll really like this one. It sort of gets to the beginnings of the whole "Glitter Band" world.

 

[Lady of Winterfell]

How would you say it stacks up to Chasm City? That is the one I read most recently, and sticks out the most. Just curious.

 

[clovis-man]

How would you say it stacks up to Chasm City? That is the one I read most recently, and sticks out the most. Just curious.

That would be hard for me to say. Chasm City was the first Reynolds book I read, so I went into it with no previous frame of reference. But there were some little conundrums (IIRC) that only became clear when I read the other three in the series. With The Prefect, since it's action takes place before any of the other tales, there aren't any mysteries. However, there are segments that have you saying to yourself, "Oh, yeah. That'll change once such and such happens". But if you haven't read the volume that addresses said change, it's no problem. It really does live up to its name as a "stand-alone".

 

[ethelredtheunredey]

gone way off boil recently. Blue Remembered earth was just dull. However you can't take Chasm City or Pushing Ice away from the man

 

[Bugg]

Finished my re-read of Revelation Space. I enjoyed it a hell of a lot more this time around, although I do think it grinds to a halt in its third quarter (probably why I found it hardgoing first time around). The last 150 pages or so really pick up, though, and I read them in one sitting this time. I didn't really remember much about it, apart from the boredom of that third quarter, so I'm very happy I re-read it.

Now I'm about a quarter of the way through Redemption Ark. First time I've read this one

 

[Lady of Winterfell]

Enjoy, and let us know what you think!

 

[adomol]

Anybody else think a series covering the Dawn War would be exciting??

 

[Bick]

I like the idea, though books that lack a human perspective might be less immersive than those that have one. I suspect it would be hard to do successfully.

 

[Rodders]

I'd love to read about the Dawn War. I'd also like to know about the origins of the Plague (although I suspect that they two are connected).

I just want him to return to the RS universe.

 

[Bugg]

Enjoy, and let us know what you think!

I really enjoyed it I liked some of the new characters a lot, especially Clavain and Skade (maybe 'like' is the wrong word in Skade's case! ), and Antoinette and Xavier, and Scorpio. I thought it was very exciting in places, and the pacing was good, imo - although I was a little unsure as to why he made a big build up to certain events and then skipped over them. The end was very tantalising, meaning I jumped straight into Absolution Gap, which I'm currently about a third of the way through

 

[Gramm838]

gone way off boil recently. Blue Remembered earth was just dull. However you can't take Chasm City or Pushing Ice away from the man

I completely agree, and BRE could almost be a variation on Pushing Ice.

Some more back history about Clavain's early days could be something worth reading about, though

 

[Lady of Winterfell]

So glad to hear you enjoyed it Bugg!

Some more back history about Clavain's early days could be something worth reading about, though

There is a bit of backstory on Clavain in the short stories Great Wall of Mars and Glacial, which can be found in his Galactic North book. It's worth picking up if you enjoy the Revelation Space books.

 

[clovis-man]

There is a bit of backstory on Clavain in the short stories Great Wall of Mars and Glacial, which can be found in his Galactic North book. It's worth picking up if you enjoy the Revelation Space books.

Quite worthwhile, actually. Gives a nice glimpse into the conjoiner/demarchist dichotomy.