Originally published in Godlike Machines, and also available in the collection, Beyond the Aquila Rift.

The story starts with an escapee from a mental hospital in Siberia desperately trying to reach the local town.

The escapee was one of three cosmonauts sent to investigate an alien vessel that had appeared in the solar system years before.

The story bounces back and forth between the escapee trying to reach someone in town and when he was a cosmonaut at the alien vessel.

Quite a good twist in the tail of this one as well.

Another good novella from Alastair, a master of short fiction as well as the super long stuff too.

Next up on Alastair’s timeline will be Sleepover.

Alastair’s Page

#scifi #alastairreynolds

A rather strange mix of steampunk and sci-fi with a hint of fantasy thrown in.   All in all, a rather good mix.

This is another one of Alastair’s trilogy in a single novel book, so if you aren’t in for a long haul then don’t bother.   But if you don’t mind a thousand Kindle Loc points of reading to get through this’ll keep you going.

While i didn’t find it anything like the normal page turners that Alastair generally puts out, i did keep coming back to it twice a day for a little read and soon got through it.

So, while not the greatest thing that Alastair has ever written, and personally wishing he’d just stick to the sci-fi that he’s so brilliant at, it’s still a fairly good read.

Next book in Alastair’s timeline is Troika.

Alastair’s Page

#scifi #alastairreynolds