Revelation Space (2000) (edit title/settings)

• Rated 5 stars

“dark and enthralling sci-fi. Liked the idea about the Inhibitors :P”

• Rated 4 stars

“

This is the second book by Reynolds that I've read. I picked it up because I liked the previous one so much. Revelation Space did not disappoint me.

The story revolves around a puzzling archeological discovery which may result in the destruction of all of mankind. Since mankind is already spreading amongst the stars of the galaxy, this threat is a pretty impressive one, and there are powerful and mysterious forces at work whose motivations are not revealed until the very end of the story.

Reynold's story is crammed with well imagined people and places, and the plotting is paced quickly enough to keep readers interested. If I have a complaint it's that the ending is too dependent on a deus ex machina contrivance. However, it's not really a big problem.

There seem to be one or two sequels to this story, which I'll probably read in the future.

• Rated 4 stars

“In some respects you really have to stick with these (including Redemption Arc) but its certainly worth the effort in the end, loking forward to the ending... I hope it has a nice clean one though”

• Rated 4 stars

“I was highly pleased when I finished reading 'Revelation Space' - not blown away, but very happy I took the time to read through this.

Many reviewers pointed out flat characters and a messy storyline. Maybe I've read more than my share of bad SF, but I found it was the case on neither account. The characters of Sylveste, Pascale, Khouri and Volyova can never truly be assigned a stereotype, and they sometimes acted in irrational ways that I found perfectly consistent with their backgrounds. The story does take time to evolve, but when it does, it poses a clever and interesting enigma that is satisfactorly unravelled at the end.

Storytelling-wise, this is not an earth-shattering novel; but it's a fine yarn. It reminded me of Clark's 'Rendezvous with Rama', in that much of the suspense and interest of the story lies in a mysterious alien artifact. This artifact generates a genuine sense of wonder and satisfaction at the originality of the concept.

Throughout the novel, Reynolds has sewn incredible concepts of far-future technology. These are too numerous to recount, but the descriptions of the strange life aboard the ship Nostalgia for Infinity was very satisfying in a 'Golden Age of SF' sense. Also of great interest are the (rare) aliens that populate Reynolds' universe: their evolution, motives and forms are quite refreshing and truly alien.

It might be a mistake to pick up this book hoping for a strong character-driven story. The characters are stronger than most SF novels, but they DO act in ways that further the plot instead of making absolute sense. But if you're interested in a genuinely original take on the future of mankind, as well as a thought-provoking reflection on life in the Universe, you could do much worse than pick up this book. ”

• Rated 3 stars

“Revelation Space is a mix of hard science fiction, epic space opera, and an old-fashioned gothic novel like Wuthering Heights.

Although this is a thick book, there are really only two plot lines which converge about midway through the book. One involves a scientist who is trying to solve the archaeological riddle of an outlying alien civilization which was destroyed. The other story line follows the journey of an enormous spooky spaceship with only a few crew members who are looking for a way to heal their captain, an ancient man whose cybernetic devices have been corrupted by some kind of nanotechnology plague (as has much of the ship's technology). I enjoyed the sequences on the ship the most, they are wonderfully atmospheric.

Reynolds draws more interesting characters than most hard science fiction writers do, but I kept wishing he wasn't quite so slow to reveal their motivations. To build suspense, he holds back on revealing their motivations and their loyalties to each other, but after a while, this makes them all seem a little too vague. I'm not sure the question of why they act the way they do is ever adequately resolved.

The prose style is quite dense and this is a very slow read. I'm still processing the ending, but to me it was confusing. This is Reynolds' first book, and I will eventually try others because his ideas are interesting and his style is promising, but I hope that in later books, he finds a way to make his narrative more compact. It's a very visual work that might actually make a better film than a novel.”

• Rated 4 stars

“This book is one of two things. Either brilliant or really, really annoying! I had great trouble putting it down and I've spent a couple of nights reading for hours and hours. It has short chapters (or passages), so there's no lack of spots where you can stop reading and put the book away, except... Every damned chapter (or passage) ends with a cliff hanger!
But I loved it. It kept turning up new twists and turns that I wasn't expecting and I'm already about a hundred pages into the next one in this series.”

• Rated 0 stars

“An extraordinarily imaginative novel, working from a premise derived from the work of the great Gregory Benford: that there exist mechanisms designed to suppress the emergence of intelligent life capable of traveling among the stars.

Reynolds excels at physical extrapolation. His characterizations are adequate or better, and his style is well matched to his material. Clearly, his universe-setting is capable of supporting several more novels, which I expect are already in print or soon will be. This is a major new talent, from whom I expect great things, in profusion.”

• Rated 5 stars

“This book and its successors are truly some great space opera. Reynolds writes vividly, bringing to life his characters and settings. I really felt like I was on his "lighthugger" space ships with the characters.”

• Rated 3 stars

“Just read and it is a fantastically imagined universe. I did think though the character interaction was simplistic. Things seem to work out a little to simply. But for a good scifi read I recommend it. ”

• Rated 5 stars

“This is the book that got me into sci-fi. It's absolutely amazing, and something everyone should experience.”