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Century Rain: Totally Space Opera (Paperback)

by Alastair Reynolds (Author)
3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (40 customer reviews)
RRP: Ł7.99
Price: Ł5.99 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
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Product details

  • Paperback: 576 pages
  • Publisher: Gollancz (2 April 2009)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0575083328
  • ISBN-13: 978-0575083325
  • Product Dimensions: 19.6 x 13 x 3.6 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (40 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 71,614 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

Jon Courtenay Grimwood, The Guardian

"Century Rain is a darkly brilliant love story, set in worlds we think we know but don't." --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.


Review

"Century Rain is a darkly brilliant love story, set in worlds we think we know but don't." (Jon Courtenay Grimwood GUARDIAN )

"Further proof that he is shaping up into one of SF's best and most ambitious novelists". (Jonathan Wright SFX )

"This is an intelligent space opera" (Roz Kaveney Time Out )

"Century Rain is an absolute cracker of a novel. Reynolds has always been a consistently bright star in the firmament of British sci-fi but now he has suddenly, perhaps unexpectedly, gone supernova. (OUTLAND OTTAKAR'S )

"Century Rain is an exciting, thought-provoking novel, an audacious synthesis of genre forms. Alastair Reynolds is now in his novelistic prime." (Nick Gevers LOCUS )

While science ficiton and mystery have often been combined, no writer has done so with such intelligence or originality as Alastair Reynolds. In a single novel, he steps from the mean streets to the far future." (Rick Kleffel Interzone )

"Century Rain demonstrates the growing maturity of his talent" (Edge Magazine )

"Leaves you wishing that more science fiction was this good. A genuinely great book." (Brigid Cherry Dreamwatch )

"With Century Rain, Alastair Reynolds continues the coruscating path he has blazed through SF skies. This a whopping 500-pager, brimming with ideas." (Barry Seddon Manchester Evening News ) --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
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Customer Reviews

40 Reviews
5 star:
 (9)
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 (15)
3 star:
 (8)
2 star:
 (5)
1 star:
 (3)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.5 out of 5 stars (40 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars Good first half, poor second half, 5 Jan 2005
By Mr Rafat Ahmad (Middlesex, United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Century Rain (Gollancz S.F.) (Hardcover)
I have read all the books of Alistair Reynolds and unfortunately, Century Rain does not rate highly amongst them.

The first half of the book develops nicely, with characters such as Custine, Caliskan and Niagara just waiting to be developed further. The second half of the book seems to forget about 1950s Paris and only loosely answers the issues left behind there - what happens to Custine and the war babies? These central issues are merely touched upon.

It is fair to say that I felt very disappointed at the end of the book - I was waiting for the twist to come, but alas, it simply did not happen.

Saying all this, I'll still buy Alistair Reynolds's next book - the Inhibitors saga completely captivated me and I know that he can do much better than Century Rain!

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10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Strong SciFi Thriller, 24 Jan 2006
By MrShev "mrshev" (Gloucestershire, UK) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   
This review is from: Century Rain (Gollancz S.F.) (Paperback)
I am not a real Sci-fi fan or reader, so I read this on a recommendation. I really enjoyed it as just a thriller and found this to definitely be a 'just one more chapter...' kind of book - which is no bad thing. The characters are pretty well rounded, feel very real and, on the whole, do what real people would do in the same situation. The plot bustles you from one reality to another in an agreeable way and I found I spent most of the first half of the novel thinking: 'What the hell is going on?'

The Sci-Fi side of it I found very believable - just about unobtainable technology that is essentially theory at the moment - and well implemented and described.

My only criticism (hence the 4 stars) is that it does tail off at the end, the suspense feels labored and formal and there are patches within the book that are quite dull (space journeys for instance). But, overall, I will be reading more of Reynolds work because I really enjoyed this.

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10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic read, 20 Jan 2005
By O. Blacker (London, GB) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Century Rain (Gollancz S.F.) (Hardcover)
Initially, I was a little disappointed, when I read that Century Rain wasn't in the same reality and timeperiod as his previous works of space opéra, which I really enjoyed. Once I started settling into Century Rain, however, that disappointment completely disappeared.

The counterfactual Paris is gripping and credible (and beautifully film-noir), the human future is intriguing and similarly gripping. Reynolds seems to have taken a conscious decision to scatter throughout the book various rather cringeworthy-but-still-funny puns but, as the story progresses, the pace increases.

The ending was, as some other reviewers have commented, a little disappointing, given the rest of the book, but not greatly so and didn't detract from my enjoyment of the book. This is one of the few books I have found myself still reading at 2am when I have work only a few hours later; I would (and have done) recommend it very highly.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Nearly there Alistair!
This was my first Alistair Reynolds book, but definitely not my last. I was gripped from the start by its 'film noir' style exploration of 1959 alternate history Paris. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Nick Phillips

4.0 out of 5 stars Modern Classic
This is a firm favourite of mine amongst the current batch of reissues. It's definitely a modern classic in my book and blends classic Science with the thriller genre as the tale... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Gareth Wilson

2.0 out of 5 stars By far his worst book.
I love his Revelation space series, chasm city, pushing ice and so on but this is a bit rubbish in comparison. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Niall O. Leary

2.0 out of 5 stars Starts ok and goes downhill
While it may be okay to start off with a confused reader, it is less than okay to leave them there. The first part of the book IS the best, with the threat mounting. Read more
Published 7 months ago by A. M. Beaumont

3.0 out of 5 stars A Little bit "Deus ex Machina"
Again Alastair Reynolds shows off his staggering imagination by creating a whole new future universe to encompass an Alternate History/ Detective Thriller/ Potential Space Opera... Read more
Published 13 months ago by Mr. C. J. Cook

4.0 out of 5 stars An interesting change of style for Reynolds
It is the near future. The Earth has been devastated by the Nanocaust, rogue nanomachinery which has destroyed all life on Earth and plunged it into an Ice Age. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Rod Williams

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting concept let down by the plot
From the books I've read by Alastair Reynolds this is the best, However while the premises is interesting, as conflict between two groups trying to save an environmentally damaged... Read more
Published on 12 Aug 2007 by Ettrick 8

3.0 out of 5 stars bit daft but still enjoyable
I enjoyed this book but do think that the Revelation Space books are far better. The plot is just a bit, well, daft. Read more
Published on 10 Aug 2007 by M. Suggit

5.0 out of 5 stars Century Rain
Alastair Reynolds best book yet, and finally one with a well-thought out ending! A thoroughly odd blend of detective novel and hard-core sci-fi thriller, setting it in the... Read more
Published on 3 Dec 2006 by Mr. Adam O. Riddett

4.0 out of 5 stars Mixed
Definitely not like his other books, I agree with the reviewer who said the sections where they're travelling through the worm hole is incredibly boring but I still found the book... Read more
Published on 15 Sep 2006 by C. Jack

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