Six million years ago, at the very dawn of the starfaring era, Abigail Gentian fractured herself into a thousand male and female clones: the shatterlings. Sent out into the galaxy, these shatterlings have stood aloof as they document the rise and fall of countless human empires. They meet every two hundred thousand years, to exchange news and memories of their travels with their siblings. Campion and Purslane are not only late for their thirty-second reunion, but they have brought along an amnesiac golden robot for a guest. But the wayward shatterlings get more than the scolding they expect: they face the discovery that someone has a very serious grudge against the Gentian line, and there is a very real possibility of traitors in their midst. The surviving shatterlings have to dodge exotic weapons while they regroup to try to solve the mystery of who is persecuting them, and why - before their ancient line is wiped out of existence, for ever.
House of Suns (GOLLANCZ S.F.)
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'Reynolds injects a good old fashioned sense of wonder into his science fiction by combining a story of epic scale with a series of awe-inspiring revelations, each more breathtaking than the last. The finale is thrilling, moving and humane. This is Reynolds' best novel to date." (Eric Brown THE GUARDIAN )
"Reynolds retains a highly readable style which allows him to dip into solid technology without losing the pace and he fleshes out a convincing background to his world." (Anthony Brown STARBURST )
"A crisper style that recalls hard SF from the '60s and '70s. This nod to the past seems fresh and new." (Dave Golder BBC FOCUS )
"A splendid example of SF as the literature of ideas, and depsite its longueurs is another triumph for Reynolds." (Jes Bickham DEATHRAY )
"The book's final revelations are near perfectly judged. Ultimately it's this that gives his novel real heart and soul - an infinitely rarer commodity than any amount of self-consciously insouciant cool." (Jonathan Wright SFX )
"His writing is solid, his characterisation intriguing; a fine entry for Reynolds." (SCi FI NOW )
"Reynolds has written a hugely entertaining extrapolation of contemporary mores: a far-flung comedy of manners, with fascinating precedents. This is warm hearted science fiction with big ideas that are easy to follow. House of Suns might well be the author's most human novel to date." (INTERZONE )
"Reynolds understands and uses hard science, giving an aura of plausibility to his wildest flights of fancy. As well as visionary brilliance, Reynolds also supplies a knock-your-socks-off ending. A thrilling, mind-boggling adventure." (Lisa Tuttle THE TIMES )
"He remains as devoted as ever to innovative, hard sf, gigantic, family-sized space opera. What ensues is a chase story across vast tracts of both time and space, veering closer to Iain M Banks's territory than Reynolds's earlier books ventured. Like its technology, when it starts moving, it moves at one hell of a clip." (Andrew McKie THE TELEGRAPH )
"As well as being an intelligent writer, he shows that he has an awful lot of heart." (Roz Kaveney TIME OUT )
"I abandoned science fiction years ago, except for the Discworld books, but a friend insisted I read House Of Suns by Alastair Reynolds. I tried it, became hooked, and have now read everything he's written. Alastair Reynolds is an astrophysicist, so he knows his stuff, but what really distinguishes him is a galaxy-sized imagination allied to a real story-telling ability." (Bernard Cornwell )
"Reynolds retains a highly readable style which allows him to dip into solid technology without losing the pace and he fleshes out a convincing background to his world." (Anthony Brown STARBURST )
"A crisper style that recalls hard SF from the '60s and '70s. This nod to the past seems fresh and new." (Dave Golder BBC FOCUS )
"A splendid example of SF as the literature of ideas, and depsite its longueurs is another triumph for Reynolds." (Jes Bickham DEATHRAY )
"The book's final revelations are near perfectly judged. Ultimately it's this that gives his novel real heart and soul - an infinitely rarer commodity than any amount of self-consciously insouciant cool." (Jonathan Wright SFX )
"His writing is solid, his characterisation intriguing; a fine entry for Reynolds." (SCi FI NOW )
"Reynolds has written a hugely entertaining extrapolation of contemporary mores: a far-flung comedy of manners, with fascinating precedents. This is warm hearted science fiction with big ideas that are easy to follow. House of Suns might well be the author's most human novel to date." (INTERZONE )
"Reynolds understands and uses hard science, giving an aura of plausibility to his wildest flights of fancy. As well as visionary brilliance, Reynolds also supplies a knock-your-socks-off ending. A thrilling, mind-boggling adventure." (Lisa Tuttle THE TIMES )
"He remains as devoted as ever to innovative, hard sf, gigantic, family-sized space opera. What ensues is a chase story across vast tracts of both time and space, veering closer to Iain M Banks's territory than Reynolds's earlier books ventured. Like its technology, when it starts moving, it moves at one hell of a clip." (Andrew McKie THE TELEGRAPH )
"As well as being an intelligent writer, he shows that he has an awful lot of heart." (Roz Kaveney TIME OUT )
"I abandoned science fiction years ago, except for the Discworld books, but a friend insisted I read House Of Suns by Alastair Reynolds. I tried it, became hooked, and have now read everything he's written. Alastair Reynolds is an astrophysicist, so he knows his stuff, but what really distinguishes him is a galaxy-sized imagination allied to a real story-telling ability." (Bernard Cornwell )
Book Description
A spectacular, large-scale space opera - the ultimate galaxy-spanning adventure.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
This excellent novel has a short story prequel, unfortunately absent from this volume: 'The Thousandth Night'. It is available in Gardner Dozois One Million A.D. anthology. As for House of Suns, in my humble opinion, this is Reynolds' best novel to date. Future immortal clones of a person explore the Milky Way and meet to reconvene every 200,000 years. Reynolds has this unique ability to render his science as captivating as the story itself. Read Thousandth Night first!
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By Dave
Format:Paperback
Up to Reynolds' usual high standards. As far as I'm concerned Science Fiction is mainly about ideas and you may rest assured that there's no pseudo science techno babble from the master of hard Science Fiction. Lots of high tech concepts and deeper characters than in the Revelation Space novels. Don't want to give away the plot but well worth reading.
32 of 37 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I have just finished House of Suns and I think that it may be one of the finest pieces of literature I have ever read.
It is quite simply a beautiful novel. It's sci-fi context is irrelevant to its beauty and I almost wish that he had written the novel about contemporary shatterlings travelling the world and gaining experiences. Maybe if the setting had been New York and not Neume then this book would be sitting in the sci-fi best sellers and the generic fiction top ten lists.
This book is a massive shift from the revelation space books. Don't get me wrong, I have read them all, but House of Suns is the sum of all of Mr Reynolds previous writing. It is funny, witty and breathtaking but and this is the killer, it is extraordinarly well written.
As I read it the most obvious comparable author was Haruki Murakami. The way Mr Reynolds takes modern themes such as loss and alienation and mixes them with humour and wonder is sublime.
This is not just good sci-fi this is wonderful story telling.
How do you nominate a book for the Man Booker?
It is quite simply a beautiful novel. It's sci-fi context is irrelevant to its beauty and I almost wish that he had written the novel about contemporary shatterlings travelling the world and gaining experiences. Maybe if the setting had been New York and not Neume then this book would be sitting in the sci-fi best sellers and the generic fiction top ten lists.
This book is a massive shift from the revelation space books. Don't get me wrong, I have read them all, but House of Suns is the sum of all of Mr Reynolds previous writing. It is funny, witty and breathtaking but and this is the killer, it is extraordinarly well written.
As I read it the most obvious comparable author was Haruki Murakami. The way Mr Reynolds takes modern themes such as loss and alienation and mixes them with humour and wonder is sublime.
This is not just good sci-fi this is wonderful story telling.
How do you nominate a book for the Man Booker?
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
On my continuing mission to find some modern Sci-Fi that I enjoy as much as the classics from the likes of Azimov, Harrison, Pohl, Aldiss and the rest, I have recently been stumbling around rather unsuccessfully. I obviously encountered the incomparable Iain M. Banks back in the late 80's but I have never found anyone else with his depth and scope of imagination.
Until, that is, I happened across Alistair Reynolds while browsing for new (to me) authors. What a find! I suppose this book could be summed up as an ultimately intergalactic space opera action mystery love story, but that doesn't do it justice. The shatterling concept, by itself, is brilliantly original, but the characterisation and galaxy & millennia spanning narrative are simply magnificent. I'm not entirely sure the early life of Abigail Gentian and her subsequent Palatial obsession adds an awful lot to the story, but inasmuch as they pertain to her personality and that of her shatterlings, they are relevant and add depth to the narrative. There are, of course, nuggets gently borrowed from other masterpieces of the genre, but these are in no way derivative; more of a respectful homage to earlier masters.
There is nothing more to add. More Alistair Reynolds - Now!
Until, that is, I happened across Alistair Reynolds while browsing for new (to me) authors. What a find! I suppose this book could be summed up as an ultimately intergalactic space opera action mystery love story, but that doesn't do it justice. The shatterling concept, by itself, is brilliantly original, but the characterisation and galaxy & millennia spanning narrative are simply magnificent. I'm not entirely sure the early life of Abigail Gentian and her subsequent Palatial obsession adds an awful lot to the story, but inasmuch as they pertain to her personality and that of her shatterlings, they are relevant and add depth to the narrative. There are, of course, nuggets gently borrowed from other masterpieces of the genre, but these are in no way derivative; more of a respectful homage to earlier masters.
There is nothing more to add. More Alistair Reynolds - Now!
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By alextorres
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I've read most of Alastair Reynolds's SF novels and enjoyed them all, but "House of Suns" is exceptional, even by his high standards. It is VERY close to being the perfect book: truly a story that you can immerse yourself in. Its power makes you feel as if you are in that world, living the experiences of the characters and feeling their emotions. It is an immense experience!
Reynolds's science is not only tremendously creative, it becomes wholly believable through his skilful writing, so that this extraordinary tale, told over a span of tens of thousands of years, following characters that have been alive for millions of years, becomes as natural as popping down the road for some fish `n' chips!
The stunning science would be no good without a good yarn to tell, and Reynolds excels himself on "House of Suns". Keeping the story in a pacey "first-person" format, he alternates the viewpoint between the two main characters, as well as filling in some introductory background from the perspective of a third person during the preamble to each f the book's parts. Of course, the beautiful twist is that these three people are - it could be said - one and the same, as they are "shatterlings" - cloned versions of the original (but the original also continues as a clone of itself).
The amorous involvement - a taboo, given their cloned origin - between the two central characters adds extra spice to the unfolding tale.
I'm not going to reveal details of the plot - I always view that as a "spoiler" - suffice to say that this is the best SF book I have read for about 30 years! It also scored a first - the emotional intensity of the finale was such that I was close to shedding a tear or two!... Read more ›
Reynolds's science is not only tremendously creative, it becomes wholly believable through his skilful writing, so that this extraordinary tale, told over a span of tens of thousands of years, following characters that have been alive for millions of years, becomes as natural as popping down the road for some fish `n' chips!
The stunning science would be no good without a good yarn to tell, and Reynolds excels himself on "House of Suns". Keeping the story in a pacey "first-person" format, he alternates the viewpoint between the two main characters, as well as filling in some introductory background from the perspective of a third person during the preamble to each f the book's parts. Of course, the beautiful twist is that these three people are - it could be said - one and the same, as they are "shatterlings" - cloned versions of the original (but the original also continues as a clone of itself).
The amorous involvement - a taboo, given their cloned origin - between the two central characters adds extra spice to the unfolding tale.
I'm not going to reveal details of the plot - I always view that as a "spoiler" - suffice to say that this is the best SF book I have read for about 30 years! It also scored a first - the emotional intensity of the finale was such that I was close to shedding a tear or two!... Read more ›
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By M. Riches
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This really should have been an amazing book, this is the first I have read from Reynolds and probably won't be my last simply due to his terrific ideas. His imagination is astounding, probably the most creative per page count book I have read so far. There are some issues however, his preference for absolute realism (no faster than light) had it's advantages but it also comes with some drawbacks, the main being that so much time passes, civilisations rise and fall in the space of a few sentences, there is no real emotional attachment to what happens in the time frame of events we watch unfold. So the Line (civilisation) could be wiped out, what does it matter... not a fat lot in the great scheme of things, unfortunately this is what the no faster than light travel made me feel. Of course some well fleshed out characters could counter balance this, no such joy here either, the main 2 characters are really quite dull despite being in love, some more emotional attachment, friction between the two wouldn't have gone amiss. I understand that they are clones of the same person but I thought there would be multiple facets of this personality manifesting in the clones. Many of the supporting characters were much more interesting.
The game Palatial was brilliant, I just wish it had more bearing on events later. There is an interesting character early on who dies far too soon... massive info dumps at the end of the book left me more confused than anything. Synchromesh, stasis, time dilation etc was really well written and used.
Overall a very up and down book, brilliant ideas let down by poor characterisation and lack of emotional attachment. I'm not sure how to resolve the issue of no faster than light though.
The game Palatial was brilliant, I just wish it had more bearing on events later. There is an interesting character early on who dies far too soon... massive info dumps at the end of the book left me more confused than anything. Synchromesh, stasis, time dilation etc was really well written and used.
Overall a very up and down book, brilliant ideas let down by poor characterisation and lack of emotional attachment. I'm not sure how to resolve the issue of no faster than light though.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
very good
A pan galactic love story, who old have thought that? Well worth a read whilst waiting for Poseidon's second chapter.
Published 18 days ago by J. Wells
4.0 out of 5 stars
Another excellent read from Alastair Reynolds
I found this a little more difficult at the start than some of the other works I've read by this author. Well worth persevering though, great concepts and well rounded characters.
Published 3 months ago by Timraven
5.0 out of 5 stars
House of Suns
One of the best Sci-Fi books I've read in a good while. Not too concerned with the nuts and bolts of the science but a good storyline which keeps up the pace throughout
Published 7 months ago by Paul T
5.0 out of 5 stars
Intrigue in the Distant Future
This was the first Reynolds novel I read outside his "Revelation Space" series, and it was just as enjoyable as they were. Read more
Published 9 months ago by just another customer
5.0 out of 5 stars
House of Suns by Alastair Reynolds
House of Suns This beautiful story by Alastair Reynolds is a must for SF fans. FTL dominates here and continues right through to the story's end. Read more
Published 10 months ago by James 42
4.0 out of 5 stars
Epic in scale and masterpiece.
Alister Reynolds ability to use time as an active part of a story makes for an incredibly compelling read. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Andy Constable
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Cosmic Feast
Alastair Reynolds operates on a galatic scale. His characters are mind-bogglingly huge, his plots all-encompassing, his scenarios know no bounds. Read more
Published 13 months ago by R. P. Griffiths
5.0 out of 5 stars
A very good story-teller
The book is excellent. The story keeps jumping from the past to the present, which generally I don't like, but it is well done in this case and provides a back-story that knits... Read more
Published 13 months ago by Glen C
4.0 out of 5 stars
Could've been great, still very good
Campion and Purslane are shatterlings (clones) of the Gentian Line. Unlike other members of the Line, they are lovers, and travel the galaxy together. Read more
Published 15 months ago by Steve D
4.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent, easy Sci-Fi
6 million years ago Abigail Gentian cloned herself a thousand times and sent her copies out into the galaxy to collect knowledge and experience and share in all that they could... Read more
Published 15 months ago by Sera69
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