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dream_seeker's review against another edition
3.0
World-building: 5/5
Story line: 5/5
Plot progression: 3/5
Character building: -5/5
Character development: non-existent
Before you pick up an Alastair Reynolds book, you should be absolutely certain what you are looking for. If you enjoy books with carefully crafted characters that are realistic and undergo development, stop right here; this author is not for you. The characters are like two-dimensional stick figures. They exist just to push the plot along. You know how some books are clearly about the character(s)? Reynolds' books are not among them. Chasm City is among the worst ones, because we clearly have a group of very different characters, with different backgrounds and motivations, but that doesn't come through. The characters are not even true to their basic nature- I always kept thinking "that's so unlike a mercenary/merchant/druglord etc etc etc." In fact, in Chasm City, the reptilian population is much better described than the characters.
If you don't care much about the protagonists, and are looking for some some cool sci-fi feast for your imagination, Reynolds is truly one of the most magnificent authors I have come across. The world-building is phenomenal. Reynolds is not satisfied with "here's a planet and here are its inhabitants". He will talk about how that planet was formed and why the inhabitants evolved to be the way they are. Millennia of evolution are so skillfully conveyed that the description never gets overwhelming. He painstakingly describes the architecture of space-ships and buildings; I am hardly an engineer, yet it is so easy to imagine his creations. What made Chasm City really enjoyable for me was that Reynolds revealed a lot of background and details about things that were introduced in Revelation Space. This extends to the planetary history, cultural nuances and quirks of the inhabitants.
Revelation Space, in many ways, was a very straightforward story. Chasm City is slightly more complex, but the plot is well thought out. Reynolds is very clear what the purpose and outcome of the tale is. In fact, I felt in many places he wrote the players to act out of character just to fit the narrative- "the story needs to go from point A to point B, which can only happen if this guys does X, never mind that it would be against his nature/professional training to do so". You can tell I'm really sour about the character development thing.
Something I have sensed in all the Reynolds books I have read: he rushes to finish them. The story progresses at a certain pace, and then suddenly everything moves to climax in the last chapter. This, in my opinion, is grave injustice to the plot. It stands out in Chasm City, because, as mentioned earlier, this is a complex tale. You have 80-85% of the book where characters are trying to figure out what's going on. You have people with a mission, with existing loyalties, convictions etc. And you have spent a lot of time trying to understand what motivates a certain character. Then suddenly, everyone comes together and agrees on a particular outcome. Explanations are rushed through, unexpected alliances are formed, people forget what drove them in the first place, and the story ends.
*potential spoiler begins*: Chasm City uses a lot of flashbacks to weave the story. Flashbacks from at least three different perspectives. And in the last few pages, we are rushed through all flashbacks just so that the story can end. It is mental whiplash. *End of potential spoiler*
The book manages to avoid plotholes until the very end. There are a few questions which remain unresolved. But otherwise it is a very airtight story, and that is another sign of a good author.
All-in-all an interesting book. Good enough to keep me engaged, bad enough to not make feel sad when I got done with it, so there's that!
Story line: 5/5
Plot progression: 3/5
Character building: -5/5
Character development: non-existent
Before you pick up an Alastair Reynolds book, you should be absolutely certain what you are looking for. If you enjoy books with carefully crafted characters that are realistic and undergo development, stop right here; this author is not for you. The characters are like two-dimensional stick figures. They exist just to push the plot along. You know how some books are clearly about the character(s)? Reynolds' books are not among them. Chasm City is among the worst ones, because we clearly have a group of very different characters, with different backgrounds and motivations, but that doesn't come through. The characters are not even true to their basic nature- I always kept thinking "that's so unlike a mercenary/merchant/druglord etc etc etc." In fact, in Chasm City, the reptilian population is much better described than the characters.
If you don't care much about the protagonists, and are looking for some some cool sci-fi feast for your imagination, Reynolds is truly one of the most magnificent authors I have come across. The world-building is phenomenal. Reynolds is not satisfied with "here's a planet and here are its inhabitants". He will talk about how that planet was formed and why the inhabitants evolved to be the way they are. Millennia of evolution are so skillfully conveyed that the description never gets overwhelming. He painstakingly describes the architecture of space-ships and buildings; I am hardly an engineer, yet it is so easy to imagine his creations. What made Chasm City really enjoyable for me was that Reynolds revealed a lot of background and details about things that were introduced in Revelation Space. This extends to the planetary history, cultural nuances and quirks of the inhabitants.
Revelation Space, in many ways, was a very straightforward story. Chasm City is slightly more complex, but the plot is well thought out. Reynolds is very clear what the purpose and outcome of the tale is. In fact, I felt in many places he wrote the players to act out of character just to fit the narrative- "the story needs to go from point A to point B, which can only happen if this guys does X, never mind that it would be against his nature/professional training to do so". You can tell I'm really sour about the character development thing.
Something I have sensed in all the Reynolds books I have read: he rushes to finish them. The story progresses at a certain pace, and then suddenly everything moves to climax in the last chapter. This, in my opinion, is grave injustice to the plot. It stands out in Chasm City, because, as mentioned earlier, this is a complex tale. You have 80-85% of the book where characters are trying to figure out what's going on. You have people with a mission, with existing loyalties, convictions etc. And you have spent a lot of time trying to understand what motivates a certain character. Then suddenly, everyone comes together and agrees on a particular outcome. Explanations are rushed through, unexpected alliances are formed, people forget what drove them in the first place, and the story ends.
*potential spoiler begins*: Chasm City uses a lot of flashbacks to weave the story. Flashbacks from at least three different perspectives. And in the last few pages, we are rushed through all flashbacks just so that the story can end. It is mental whiplash. *End of potential spoiler*
The book manages to avoid plotholes until the very end. There are a few questions which remain unresolved. But otherwise it is a very airtight story, and that is another sign of a good author.
All-in-all an interesting book. Good enough to keep me engaged, bad enough to not make feel sad when I got done with it, so there's that!
jewels_c_'s review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
4.25
pigsflew's review against another edition
5.0
This is probably my favorite novel of the Revelation Space universe. By this point, Reynolds has polished his character writing ability; Sky is possibly the most disturbed character I have ever felt a personal affinity for in a novel. The novel follows an unusual path, starting with a character who appears intrinsically good, exploring his forgotten past life of near maniacal selfishness and cruelty, and pulls him back out of it to, if not redemption, then at least the defeat of his own inner demons. Reynolds saves redemption for later.
The twist at the ending is not so much a twist as a revelation that the character has been struggling against for the entire length of the novel; so it doesn't come as a surprise when it happens. The intriguing part is watching the main character deal with the information as he allows himself to finally understand and accept it.
An excellent read, that I would recommend to anyone.
The twist at the ending is not so much a twist as a revelation that the character has been struggling against for the entire length of the novel; so it doesn't come as a surprise when it happens. The intriguing part is watching the main character deal with the information as he allows himself to finally understand and accept it.
An excellent read, that I would recommend to anyone.
billymac1962's review against another edition
4.0
This was pretty big novel. After about 500 pages, it seemed that perhaps it was a little too big.
The story definitely has a noir feel to it. Imagine crossing Blade Runner with, say, The Bourne Identity. Unfortunately, as one reviewer also put it, it was getting rather repetitive with all the gun pointing and expository speeches.
I had gotten tired of it and was seriously considering putting it down and moving on. But, Reynolds' writing is very easy to digest, and I decided it wouldn't
take that much effort to suck it up and take in the rest of it. Besides, I had to see where those Sky episodes were going.
I'm glad I stuck with it.
This novel takes a very grim turn torwards the end. And for me, that's not a bad thing. A dash of horror with my SF dish, please, I always say.
It'll be a while before I decide if I want to read another large Alastair Reynolds novel. While I'm glad I read it, I'm also glad that I can now move on to my next read.
The story definitely has a noir feel to it. Imagine crossing Blade Runner with, say, The Bourne Identity. Unfortunately, as one reviewer also put it, it was getting rather repetitive with all the gun pointing and expository speeches.
I had gotten tired of it and was seriously considering putting it down and moving on. But, Reynolds' writing is very easy to digest, and I decided it wouldn't
take that much effort to suck it up and take in the rest of it. Besides, I had to see where those Sky episodes were going.
I'm glad I stuck with it.
This novel takes a very grim turn torwards the end. And for me, that's not a bad thing. A dash of horror with my SF dish, please, I always say.
It'll be a while before I decide if I want to read another large Alastair Reynolds novel. While I'm glad I read it, I'm also glad that I can now move on to my next read.
rileedawg's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
thedadsie's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
11corvus11's review against another edition
4.0
I'm not sure exactly what I think of this massive book. I read this one after the first instead of going in publication order because I read multiple readers suggest reading it second because it elaborated on things and made the other books easier to understand. For me, it read mostly like a separate story from Revelation Space. It's also very very centered around a toxically masculine revenge story and all the women exist as sexual exploits and/or to support the protagonist in ways outside their own interest.
All of that said, I did enjoy this book. This author is so incredibly creative and is a good writer overall, despite the flaws. Like the first book in the series, I've never read anything quite like this. I read a lot of science fiction so that's saying something. I like that there is a mixture of space opera, hard sci-fi, and cyberpunk among other elements. I like that the story kept taking twists and turns and unexpected directions. The big reveals, of which there are multiple, are all pretty interesting even when they were predictable. The world building is excellent. Overall, I will definitely be reading the rest of the books in the series. I think I'm going to take a break for the moment though.
All of that said, I did enjoy this book. This author is so incredibly creative and is a good writer overall, despite the flaws. Like the first book in the series, I've never read anything quite like this. I read a lot of science fiction so that's saying something. I like that there is a mixture of space opera, hard sci-fi, and cyberpunk among other elements. I like that the story kept taking twists and turns and unexpected directions. The big reveals, of which there are multiple, are all pretty interesting even when they were predictable. The world building is excellent. Overall, I will definitely be reading the rest of the books in the series. I think I'm going to take a break for the moment though.