Alastair Reynolds - Blue Remembered Earth

@Caffran

Revelation Space is not Steampunk.... Like, at all. Though I swear Reynolds took a small bit of influence from Warhammer 40,000, because in no other Sci-fi universe are spaceships decorated with "elegant scrollwork" :p Okay, maybe Dune, but 40k took stuff from Dune.

(Another similarity with 40k is the Cojoiners which seem a lot like the Adeptus Mechanius/Tech Priests of Mars)

Alright, aside from my 40k ramblings, I'm about Halfway through Revelation Space right now. After playing through Mass Effect 2 all I want to read at the moment is Space Opera. Enjoying the book immensely, though It is slightly odd to have no FTL travel in a space opera. In this case it fits though. One other thing that I'm noticing is that it is a bit heavy on the expository stuff. I'm the kind of person who really gets into a scifi universe and wants to know everything about it, but do you really have to describe in detail what a frikking doorknob looks like? It's almost like that in some cases. Otherwise I think it is an extremely well thought out universe.

How are the other books in the Revelation Space series? Heard good things about Chasm City, but is Chasm city the only setting in that book? I want to read space opera, not cyberpunk in space.
 
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I would say Chasm City still definitely comes in under the title of Space Opera. Much of the action takes place in Chasm City but a lot also on another planet and there is a second story thread running throughout which takes place in a much earlier time period on an early generation colony ship. With the whole thing being brought together as the plot moves along. Most people rate it as one of the best of the RS books and I would agree. It is actually pretty much stand alone and has little to do with the RS, RA, AG arc of stories. So don't expect it to be continuing from where RS left off. In fact many people (myself included) tend to recommend reading CC first but it's not important (I didn't).
 
I would agree with you there Stephen, I thought it was quite impressive that he managed to create such a sweeping space opera with no FTL. It's not often done; about the only other example I can think of on a similar scale would be Gregory Benford's Galactic Centre series.
 
Finding a way to sustain acceleration at 1 G could be even harder than using/creating some sort of FTL drive though. And are they in cryo the entire time or does time dilation just make the trip seem shorter?

All the characters but Sylveste seem to lack morals, and even Sylveste doesn't have much. But then again the morals of a far future society could be completely different.

One thing I found really confusing was when it described the Nostalgia for Infinity as very aerodynamic/cone shaped, and I was imagining the ship on the front of the book throughout the first few chapters of the story. I had to literally force myself to revisualize everything. Kind of funny looking back though.
 
I think Chasm City's certainly the most accessable of the RS books but i enjoyed them all thoroughly. (The RS series is on my reread list.)

Am i right in thinking that AR intends to return to RS once he's finished this trilogy?
 
I read 'Chasm City' recently and thought it was excellent. I read 'Revelation Space' many years ago and can't remember much about it, so I've bought it again for a re-read.

I saw a poster for 'Blue Remembered Earth' when I got off the tube on the way to work this morning. Good to see an sf novel getting some promotion of that kind for a change.
 
Rodders said:
I think Chasm City's certainly the most accessable of the RS books but i enjoyed them all thoroughly. (The RS series is on my reread list.)

Am i right in thinking that AR intends to return to RS once he's finished this trilogy?
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I'd say The Prefect is even more accessible, even if Chasm City has more depth to it -- a more challenging but also more fulfilling read.

I do hope he returns to the Rev Space universe in future!

By the way, I'm seeing more reviews for Blue Remembered Earth, and it is looking very promising. He's clearly taken his time with this one, delaying the release date, and perhaps it's showing.

Coragem.
 
I finished BRE at the weekend and absolutely loved it, especially the way the plot snowballs from a small story about family politics into something that affects the destiny of the entire solar system. Some great and surprising ideas about telepresence and a ubiquitous surveillance society too.
 
I see this advertised a lot on the trains on the way in to work. I must say that it's very refreshing to see genre outside of movies advertised.
 
Well - today is Audible Credit Day (best day of the month!) and based entirely on this conversation I downloaded Pandora's Star by Peter F. Hamilton. Never read Hamilton and it seemed a logical place to start. Excited to try out a new writer. This one clocks in at just shy of 40 hours unabridged...impressive.
 
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Vertigo said:
I would agree with you there Stephen, I thought it was quite impressive that he managed to create such a sweeping space opera with no FTL. It's not often done; about the only other example I can think of on a similar scale would be Gregory Benford's Galactic Centre series.
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Reynolds is pretty consistent in his slower than light milieu for his tales. I think it adds to the intrigue. A chase in outer space can be a lengthy affair this way with lots of time to consider alternate strategies. The only exception of which I've become aware are the two stories involving long-lived journalist Carrie Clay: "The Real Story" and "Zima Blue". But in this case, it just seems to be a plot device to facilitate some rapid turns about the universe. Reynolds has indicated that he isn't sure he will do more Carrie Clay stories, but hasn't ruled it out.
 
HighWiredSith said:
Well - today is Audible Credit Day (best day of the month!) and based entirely on this conversation I downloaded Pandora's Star by Peter F. Hamilton. Never read Hamilton and it seemed a logical place to start. Excited to try out a new writer. This one clocks in at just shy of 40 hours unabridged...impressive.
Click to expand...

Of course now you'll be required to also traverse the sequel: Judas Unchained. Another 40 hours or so, I imagine.:D But I have to admit, I enjoyed these two tales. His other output, not so much.

To try getting back on topic, has everyone seen the youtube trailer for Blue Remembered Earth?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIbf2RcSgDA
 
Is Reynolds planning on writing any more novels in the Revelation Space universe?

As you can see by my avatar and subtitle thing, I've taken quite a liking to RS lol.
 
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HighWiredSith said:
Well - today is Audible Credit Day (best day of the month!) and based entirely on this conversation I downloaded Pandora's Star by Peter F. Hamilton. Never read Hamilton and it seemed a logical place to start. Excited to try out a new writer. This one clocks in at just shy of 40 hours unabridged...impressive.
Click to expand...

As another Audible member here, I have listed to both and they are very good and very well read. I will be choosing BRE next, although a big part of that choice is that its read by Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, who is excellent when reading Rivers of Loindon and Moon over Soho (choose them next!).

...although, a quick glance on Audible and the 2 reviews there are both slating the narrator!
 
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