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rileedawg's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
matosapa's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
cunningba's review against another edition
4.0
Another uneven collection of short stories; this one in Alastair Reynolds's Revelation Space universe.
The first couple, Great Wall of Mars and Glacial, feature characters from his later opus: Clavain, Galiana, and Felka. They provide some backstory mentioned in the later books.
Most of the rest of the tales, while set in the RS universe, are entirely peripheral to the later books. A Spy in Europa, Dilation Sleep, Grafenwalder's Beastiary, and Nightingale I found to be uncomfortably dark. Nightingale is longer, better developed, and more engrossing, but with a quite morbid twist at the end. Weather falls into the dark category too, but has the interesting feature of revealing a secret of the Conjoiner drives.
The story Galactic North itself starts not quite 200 years in the future, but finishes, leaving us hanging, somewhere near the Restaurant at the End of the Universe. It recalls other of Reynolds's time numbing car chases across spacetime, but perhaps exceeds them all in scale.
The Afterword is refreshing. Reynolds is aware of and blunt about the flaws in his stories. He provides some interesting personal history of their writing and his influences.
Not a book for everybody. Had I not read most of the other Revelation Space books, thing probably would not have fit together as well and I might have rated it more like 2 stars.
The first couple, Great Wall of Mars and Glacial, feature characters from his later opus: Clavain, Galiana, and Felka. They provide some backstory mentioned in the later books.
Most of the rest of the tales, while set in the RS universe, are entirely peripheral to the later books. A Spy in Europa, Dilation Sleep, Grafenwalder's Beastiary, and Nightingale I found to be uncomfortably dark. Nightingale is longer, better developed, and more engrossing, but with a quite morbid twist at the end. Weather falls into the dark category too, but has the interesting feature of revealing a secret of the Conjoiner drives.
The story Galactic North itself starts not quite 200 years in the future, but finishes, leaving us hanging, somewhere near the Restaurant at the End of the Universe. It recalls other of Reynolds's time numbing car chases across spacetime, but perhaps exceeds them all in scale.
The Afterword is refreshing. Reynolds is aware of and blunt about the flaws in his stories. He provides some interesting personal history of their writing and his influences.
Not a book for everybody. Had I not read most of the other Revelation Space books, thing probably would not have fit together as well and I might have rated it more like 2 stars.
pigsflew's review against another edition
4.0
If you enjoy the Revelation Space series, this collection is a must read, for "Great Wall of Mars" alone. Each of the stories is phenomenal in their own right, but Great Wall provides the much needed background and character development for Clavain which gives meaning to his later actions and self-recriminations in the events of the Revelation Space novels.
hybridhavoc's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
brian9teen's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
4.0
johnbreeden's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this mix of 8 short fictions based in the Revelation Space universe created by Alastair Reynolds. As I listened to these stories on audiobook, it's a bit more challenging to tear them apart from one another and do a story-by-story review. What I can say is that these stories, spanning from our near future into the vastness of time, revolve around various aspects of the RS universe. For me, each helped me better understand the history (I've only read Revelation Space itself) and the various groups and technologies I first saw in that book. So, I'm simply going to do a most / least favorite.
Most Favorite:
"Nightingale" * with a close second in "Grafenwalder's Bestiary"
This story was exciting, but what made me really enjoy it was the absolute twist of the ending and the It was relevant in the idea of a society split in two by conflict that is trying to bring itself together - but I won't explain how that might be a spoiler for the ending.
Least Favorite:
"Galactic North" * but probably not the story's fault
I honest doubted every second of the story. I have to go spoiler mode to explain why.
So, I have to give these stories their due. I loved how they collectively built on pure hard SF, did an amazing job in world-building for the existing RS cannon, and how they mixed in other genres, such as horror and mystery. I will definitely be reading more.
Most Favorite:
"Nightingale" * with a close second in "Grafenwalder's Bestiary"
This story was exciting, but what made me really enjoy it was the absolute twist of the ending and the
Spoiler
horror elements of its plot.Least Favorite:
"Galactic North" * but probably not the story's fault
I honest doubted every second of the story. I have to go spoiler mode to explain why.
Spoiler
I was waiting the entire time for the ending to reveal that all of the action was merely an illusion designed to pry the password from her head. Even as I saw threads of stories set in the relative future that they wouldn't have known, I couldn't push the idea that it was all trickery. Even with the ending, I couldn't convince myself.So, I have to give these stories their due. I loved how they collectively built on pure hard SF, did an amazing job in world-building for the existing RS cannon, and how they mixed in other genres, such as horror and mystery. I will definitely be reading more.
techno's review against another edition
Didn’t get into the story, then found out it’s the 7th book in a series.
walden2ite's review against another edition
4.0
An interesting collection of stories from the Revelation Space universe. Should be read after the main series.