Revelation Space

Revelation Space - Takes Back Space Opera

Whether you are in the depths of Chasm City, the Rust Belt, the wilds or cities of Resurgam or aboard the lighthugger Nostalgia for Infinity there is one question-who do you trust? It's a cold universe Alastair Reynolds has devised and the secrets that everyone keeps increases the value of trust a hundredfold. Beyond the personal truths that Daniel Sylveste hide about the father whose electronic ghost haunts and possesses him; of Captain Brennan barely alive disappearing under the Melding Plague yet still manipulating the crew of the Nostalgia for Infinity and Anna Khouri one time soldier, one time assassin, now carrying two artificial intelligences in her mind, lie the darkest secrets of the past of the galaxy itself. Secrets that despite the best efforts of aliens with vastly superior technology may yet come to the light of day.
In their day the Amarantin were in many ways similar to the humans of 2561- or were they? Dan Sylveste is on a personal crusade to unveil the truth about this ancient culture and there is little that will stand in his way. Even though he is mindful of the Event, a cataclysm the destroyed all life on their homeworld of Resurgam, Sylveste will push and push until he has the truth- even if the cost is another apocalypse.


Revelation Space is brilliant, complex and a challenging read. Reynolds takes the science that he is familiar with, a large interstellar backdrop and plenty of drama to create something unique. I constantly look forward to reading his work.

2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

Great Idea Poorly Executed

This book took entirely too long to set the stage for the ending. Furthermore, the author spent entirely too much time on Sylvestes problems with politics and too little time delving into his research and studies that led to his conclusions. The disjointed jumping back and forth between characters detracted from my enjoyment of this book.

2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

An OK first novel.

Alastair Reynolds has done pretty well for his first novel. Revelation Space is a long book with a whole lot of content, which may be either bad or good depending on your taste. For me personally, it puts me to sleep. Quality-wise, you'd think that someone who works with the ESA (European Space Association) would know how to spell correctly. Mis-spelled words occur throughout the book. The story has several plotlines that blend together into one. However, many of the elements kept me guessing just what the history of everything was. I think many readers will feel like they're in the dark on this one, looking through a window rather than being part of the action. I would not recommend this book to those who are looking for explosive high-tech, impressive ideas and agreeable representation of the characters. I didn't find myself connecting with any of the characters in the story, and as I said earlier, the radical changes of events in the book had me in the dark on just what was going on. However, if you're looking for a long read that focuses on very imaginative ideas that will again, keep you guessing, this book is for you.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Good start, weak finish.

Culminates to nothingness...

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Beware. The eBook version is full of typos...

I'm about 100 pages into the story and have already come across several typos and errors in the text. I let B&N know, asking for a refund or discount and they said it was the publisher's responsibility. Ace told me it was up to B&N to give me a refund.

1 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

Great book - complex story line.

This is a great book. The story line can become convoluted at times and I sometimes had to back up and recover ground in which I had missed something. However, it does keep you on your feet. The prose is very dense but not unapproachable. I have read more difficult books in terms of language usage but most of those were translations from other languages. Overall, this is a great sci-fi book and I look forward to reading the next in the series!

Excellent book!

Revelation Space is a perfect example of dense, hard science fiction. There is a lot going on in this story and it all ties together very well. Cons - The main character is a bit under-developed despite flash-backs to his history. In fact all the characters take a back seat to the plot and settings. However, the universe Reynolds created is deep, fleshed out, and an excellent stage for his complex plot. I very much enjoyed it and look forward to reading the next 2 in the series very soon.

Wonderful is scope

I was looking for something broad in dimension, a true space opera I've found in the Revelation space trilogy. When an author endeavors on an 800 page book its easy to find minor criticisms. However i found that alistair used this wide canvas to paint a haunting immersive view of a distant universe in crisis. well done!

Meh

I was hopeful for this book given it's somewhat high rating (4 stars). I'm on page 453 of 552 - yes, its a long book - and have just given up and bought something else to read. The writing is decent enough. The story is kind of interesting. Throughout the story, the pace and tone stay about even. This means that as you read the beginning, it ramps up to an exciting level and stays there throughout. After, say, 300 pages, it becomes monotone. I'm looking for a little resolution along the way but what I get is slightly different conflict. The characters are all about equal: I don't hate or love any of them. Morally, I'd say they're all about on equal footing, too. Here at the end when everything is coming to a head, I don't know who I want to succeed, and I see now that it may not even matter. Here on page 453, I just don't care anymore what happens. This is sort of like watching TV when nothing is on. Watching this is better than doing the laundry, but now I'm changing the channel cuz that new show is on and its gotta be better than this.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Fantastically written

I don't usually go for the scifi genre. It's just hard to follow (in most cases) but Alistair does a superb job of writing the imagery so you feel like you're there and keeping you on the edge of your seat. With just enough back story to keep you reading for more info and to see what happens next. I love this book!

A solid read.

Mr. Reynolds is not for everyone. But this seris is one of the best pieces of transhuman fiction I`ve ever read. His pacing is excellent and the characters solid. A good page turner.

An OKAY book

My opinion of this book is that it's decent. It won't make you say, "Wow! that was great!" but it also won't make you want to tear out your hair with exasperation. The characters were ok but, I never really cared about any of them. The descriptions of the main ship where all the action took place were very uneven. I'm a careful reader, I love detail - and I couldn't tell what was going on in that stupid ship. The author had good ideas but he didn't really develop them. He had this great character - "Sun Stealer" but then he didn't do anything with it. He just used it to move the other characters around. I really wanted to know about Sun Stealer, but I was given almost nothing. Well, nothing worth having.

Excellent start to an entertaining trilogy.

Alastair Reynolds begins the Revelation Space series with this book, the tale of an obsessed archaeologist--on the brink of discovering the secret to why humans haven't discovered any other living alien civilizations--and the cyborg Ultras who are trying to retrieve him for their own reasons. The segments following the Ultras, on their huge Conjoiner ship with less than ten people on it, are worth it for the haunted mood Reynolds creates, and the conflict between Volyova and Kouri is interesting. I actually enjoyed the way he intercut between the storylines. Admittedly, there was one section I had to re-read to understand what was going on. Otherwise, this was an enjoyable space opera (with a little hard sci-fi thrown in) and a great start to a series that gets even better.

Can't Wait to Read More

I strongly recommend this book for anyone interested in an operatic journey into hard sci-fi. Forget the fast food or the two-course suppers, this is a futuristic banquet. Assuming you've read any comments above, I'll skip the synopsis and say instead that this book was exceptionally well-constructed, consistently engaging and a refreshing challenge for the intellect. Be prepared for noirish landscapes too complex to see at once, for moral ambiguities at every turn, and for bracing characters so cold they make space seem toasty and warm. Among his finest creations is Ilia Volyova, the Infinity's determined and paranoid Triumvir, who emerges as the novel's most reliable character. No Star Trek fluff here, Ilia is an archetype expressing what space-faring humans may very well become - isolated, tough and completely single-minded. The other characters embody these traits in a variety of ways, making for an ongoing clash of interests and plenty of tension. Reynolds also has a wonderful grasp of suspense - the sort that makes you throw your head back and roar with impatience - always a thrill. I hope that in future novels, Reynolds will expend more of his masterful storytelling skills to fully elaborate the visual aspects of his imagination. Often I found myself longing for more specific sensory detail, provided more readily, especially regarding smaller focal points like character description. On the grand scale, however, his details are divine. 4 stars and I can't wait to read his next work. ('Chasm City')

Dark and thrilling Space Opera

I just got done reading in my humble opinion the best sf novel of the year,Revelation Space. Reynolds has estabished himself with this grand and mostly chilling space opera set in the 26th century.He has the ability to tell diverse storylines and have them come together in cohensive and gripping fashion.Dan Sylveste, a obessive scientist on the colony world of Resurgam seeks to find the answers for why the planet's original inhabitants,the Amarantins a avian race was wiped out eons ago. But Sylveste doesn't know it but he and his simulation of his dead, father calvin are being seek by cyborg crew of starship Nostalgia for Infinity to cure their captain who suffers from nanotech plague.Sylveste isn't aware that one of the crew,a lady assasin, Khouri is contracted to kill him!The tension of this novel is so palpable you can almost cut it with the knife.Reynolds also knows his plot twists, as he illustrates that in the future technology changes but human nature doens't as he gives scenes of machivellian manuvers among the crew of Nostlagia.Characters in this epic novel also are not what they appear to be like the brave and sometimes ruthless Volyoya who seeks to save her captain from the nanotech plague. Khouri the assasin who must kill Sylveste in order to be reunited with her husband.The deadly Sajaki who agendas on the ship no one knows.Reynolds how to create memorable worlds and aliens like engimatic intelligence called the Shroud and how those who enters it are changed. The atmosphere of the creepy ship, Nostlagia very memorable as the crew battle each other and deadly stowaway called Sun Stealer.Reynolds also gives a answer why there are few intelligent civilizations found in the universe.the reason will terrify you!The author's ability in universe-building puts him in the same league as David Brin, Greg Bear, and frank herbert as he tells a epic saga that transcences space and billions of years in the history of the universe.Reynolds also knows how tell a story with hars science in a way that doesn't confuse the reader or take away from the human element of story.Reynolds knows how write action sequences as he describes in relish as the ship battles the defenses of the machine planet,Cerberus and terrifying escape from the menace of the Sun Stealer.This was the best space opera I've read since Peter Hamilton's Reality Dysfunction series and bodes well for Reynolds future in the genre!

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