A super good time travel novel without all the annoying paradoxes within which some writers seem to get themselves messily tie up in knots.
I can’t really say much more without ruining the story. So i’ll just say, even if you don’t usually enjoy the temporal sci-fi stuff, read this, it’s good.
Next up in Alastair’s literary journey is Polished Performance.
Bye for now.
Available in Made to Order: Robots and Revolution — Anthology.
A really good story set aboard a sleeper ship that is flown and managed by robots while all the wealthy humans sleep the long cold sleep.
But something goes wrong with the cooling system for the sleepers and the robots become worried that they’ll be core wiped to cover up the mess when they get to their destination. Thus begins the cunning plans of the robots to avoid annihilation.
Next up in Alastair’s literary journey is Plague Music, which is actually a Revelation Space story set in Chasm City.
Bye for now.
This trilogy is twaddle. I gave it a good a go but gave up on book two, didn’t get around to reading this.
Hopefully Permafrost will have Alastair back to grown up books and may he never attempt young adult stuff ever again, he really isn’t very good at it.
Bye for now.
I tried, i really did, but i just can’t take any more and i’ve given up on this stupid trilogy. It’s all too much young adult for me and, worse than that, it’s not even very good young adult. It’s just totally unbelievable nonsense.
A child is playing silly games with grown ups, the grown ups know the child is playing silly games with them but they keep letting the child have its way even though the child is probably going to get them killed. Yeah, right!
Alastair should stick with what he does best, sci-fi for intelligent grown ups.
So, unfortunately, my quest to read everything by Alastair Reynolds has come to an end. I’m not reading the rest of this trilogy unless someone pays me £1000.
So, skipping ahead, the next book in Alastair’s literary arsenal is Permafrost. Let’s hope he’s back to normal and it’s as good as his usual stuff.
Bye for now.
Not the greatest story Alastair has ever told. It’s all very young adult-ish stuff, and it’s really not anything like what i love about Alastair’s usual sci-fi.
But, i suppose, every writer may wish to have a try at some YA stuff occasionally. I just really hope that Alastair doesn’t ever do it again, thank you.
I mean, let’s be serious, a child who isn’t even old enough to leave home, escapes and takes on the system’s most feared and devastating pirate? Really? And adults just fall over themselves to do her bidding?
But, as i’m committed to reading the whole of Alastair’s writings, i must continue with this farcical trilogy and see where it leads.
So next up it will be Shadow Captain.
Bye for now.
Available in Belladonna Nights and Other Stories.
What happens when we finally become virtually immortal and we’ve done everything we wanted to do and we’ve gotten completely bored with life? Play Russian roulette with portal doors, setting them for a 1 in 1000 random chance of them killing you when you use them. And when you really get fed up you dial it up to a 1 in 10 chance of them killing you.
But maybe you have friends who don’t want you to die quite so soon, friends that want you to give life another chance.
Good story.
Next up from Alastair will be the Revenger Trilogy, beginning with Revenger. But first i’m going to have to read a few other books from other writers. Back with Alastair soon.
Bye for now.
Available in Belladonna Nights and Other Stories.
A really good sleeper ship story. The drive’s blown and there’s no way of slowing the ship down when it reaches its destination planet, they’re just going to sail right on past.
But then one of the crew has a great idea to find some purpose to the whole trip. Except things just don’t turn out like they hoped they would have.
Next up from Alastair is Death’s Door.
Bye for now.
Available in Belladonna Nights and Other Stories and The Best Science Fiction of the Year: Vol 4.
Another of Alastairs proxy body stories. This time a caretaker is stranded on an automated sailing ship and needs help. It comes in the form of a proxy robot, and the caretaker isn’t too taken with it’s driver’s attitude.
But, more is soon revealed as we go through the story and attitudes change.
A really good little story. And maybe a good reminder to all of us not to judge people on their first impressions, sometimes you can be very wrong.
Next up from Alastair in Providence.
Bye for now.
Available in Belladonna Nights and Other Stories and The Best Science Fiction of the Year: Vol 3.
Really good. If you enjoyed The Medusa Chronicles for it’s wonderful exploration of the Jovian atmosphere and it’s ecosystem, then you’ll really enjoy this as well.
It’s also got a nice hint of Enemy Mine sprinkled in with it.
Next up is Different Seas.
Bye for now.
Available in Belladonna Nights and Other Stories.
This is quite impossible to do a review of without loads of spoilers. So i’ll just say it’s a really good little story and well worth a read.
Next up from Alastair will be Holdfast.
Bye for now.