Elysium Fire

[Vertigo]

In case any Reynolds fans haven't noticed there is a sequel - Elysium Fire - to The Prefect (and maybe more, who knows) being published next January which I'm very much looking forward to; I thought the Prefect was great and one of my favourite of his books set in the Revelation Space universe.

One word of warning though, before that (in November) The Prefect is being re-published under a different name - Aurora Rising. As far as I can tell this is exactly the same book with no changes other than the title.

 

[Rodders]

I adore AR's Revelation Space books and will definitely pick up a copy of this. the Prefect was very good, but not my favourite of his.

 

[Bugg]

One word of warning though, before that (in November) The Prefect is being re-published under a different name - Aurora Rising. As far as I can tell this is exactly the same book with no changes other than the title.

I've had to point this out to a couple of people on Facebook - they thought it was a brand new book. I don't see what was wrong with the original title but hey ho. I guess he wants a consistency to the titles for what is now the 'Inspector Dreyfus' series. I always thought Inspector Dreyfus was Clouseau's boss, so I will now have Herbert Lom in my head when I'm reading those books

 

[Vertigo]

I've had to point this out to a couple of people on Facebook - they thought it was a brand new book. I don't see what was wrong with the original title but hey ho. I guess he wants a consistency to the titles for what is now the 'Inspector Dreyfus' series. I always thought Inspector Dreyfus was Clouseau's boss, so I will now have Herbert Lom in my head when I'm reading those books

Exactly the same thoughts go through my mind. Surely Reynolds must have thought of that when he chose the name? Maybe, even though it's not comic, it was chosen as a sort of homage to the Pink Panther.

 

[Rodders]

Picked up my copy yesterday.

I’m really looking forward to getting back to Yellowstone.

 

[Rodders]

Okay, so I put this off so that I could finish Neal Asher’s superb Transformation trilogy. (I think I may even be avoiding it to a certain degree. Started it so day and it feels great to be back in Yellowstone.

 

[Onyx]

I found it pretty flat. Alastair Reynolds is not the guy to be writing police procedurals.

 

[Vertigo]

I found it pretty flat. Alastair Reynolds is not the guy to be writing police procedurals.

The new one flat or the original one?

 

[Onyx]

The new one flat or the original one?

I think I enjoyed Elysium less, but I read the Prefect back when Revelation Space was still new and shiny to me, so maybe they share the same issues?

Too much of the complications in the plot come from political policy for my liking. The rules of the Glitter Band just end up seeming absurd.

 

[Rodders]

I finished it this morning. It was enjoyable enough although I didn't think that the big "reveal" was too shocking.


For me, it was good to revel in the RS universe again, but I do prefer the dank and gritty post plague universe to the glitter band. I hope that Alistair returns there soon.

 

[Leonie M. Smith]

I finished Elysium Fire last week and enjoyed it, but I figured out the big reveal fairly early on. That's unusual for me! It didn't spoil my enjoyment of the story, though. It was good to get back to Yellowstone.

 

[Brian G Turner]

I finished Elysium Fire last week and enjoyed it, but I figured out the big reveal fairly early on. That's unusual for me! It didn't spoil my enjoyment of the story, though. It was good to get back to Yellowstone.

Hi @Leonie M. Smith and welcome to the chrons forums.

 

[Leonie M. Smith]

Hi @Leonie M. Smith and welcome to the chrons forums.

Thanks Brian!

 

[Ray Zdybrow]

I haven't read The Prefect/Aurora Rising. I finished Elysium Fire on Sunday night (Ah! The old days!), and it had been hard work. The story is good, but all the characters (with the exception of Young Julius) were two-dimensional. There was too much stuff about the whiphounds. Reynolds seems to have a thing about weapons, so maybe no surprise, but thought they were silly. I imagined them as a cross between MS Office's Clippy, and Zebedee from The Magic Roundabout. I did like the very end of the book though... directly after the campy gesturing battle!

 

[Star-child]

I really didn't care for it. RS is very exotic, in part because the complicated civilizations are shown from the outside. With EL he shows us behind the curtain of the Glitter Band and the complex democracy seems basic and trite. Like a book about Bletchly Park that spends all its text describing how the phone system works.

I love Reynolds, but he has some real limitations when it comes to more basic material. EL doesn't have a grand enough scope for Reynolds' abilities to shine.

 

[Rodders]

As much as I adored the RS Books and The Prefect, this one I found to be something of a struggle to read. I enjoyed it, but it wasn't anywhere near as good as his previous efforts. I hear that he is returning to the RS universe soon and I really hope that he returns to form.

 

[Vertigo]

Yes I struggled a little with this one. Okay but not brilliant.