Dr Dan Sylveste, an archaeologist who has for years been fascinated with the long-dead alien race the Amarantin, is about to discover something that could change the course of mankind. But before he can act on anything his wife is killed and he is captured when a coup sweeps across the planet Resurgam. Meanwhile, an astonishing ship bearing a crew of militaristic cyborgs and a kidnapped Gunnery Officer is bearing down on Resurgam, crossing light years of space to enlist Sylveste¿s help to save their metamorphosing Captain. Only Sylveste, or, more accurately, the software programme containing his father¿s knowledge that he carries in his mind, can save the Captain. None of them can anticipate the cataclysm that will result when they meet, a cataclysm that will sweep through space and could determine the ultimate fate of humanity.
Revelation Space
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Amazon Review
Alastair Reynolds's first novel is "hard" SF on an epic scale, crammed with technological marvels and immensities. Its events take place over a relatively short period, but have roots a billion years old--when the Dawn War ravaged our galaxy.
Sylveste is the only man ever to return alive and sane from a Shroud, an enclave in space protected by awesome gravity-warping defences: "a folding a billion times less severe should have required more energy than was stored in the entire rest-mass of the galaxy". Now an intuition he doesn't understand makes him explore the dead world Resurgam, whose birdlike natives long ago tripped some booby-trap that made their own sun erupt in a deadly flare.
Meanwhile the vast, decaying lightship Nostalgia for Infinity is coming for Sylveste, whose dead father (in AI simulation) could perhaps help the Captain, frozen near absolute zero yet still suffering monstrous transformation by nanotech plague. Most of Infinity's tiny crew have hidden agendas--Khouri the reluctant contract-assassin believes she must kill Sylveste to save humanity--and there are two bodiless stowaways, one no longer human and one never human. Shocking truths emerge from bluff, betrayal and ingenious lies.
The trail leads to a neutron star where an orbiting alien construct has defences to challenge the Infinity's planet-wrecking superweapons.
At the heart of this artefact, the final revelations detonate--most satisfyingly. Dense with information and incident, this longish novel has no surplus fat and seems almost too short. A sparkling SF debut. --David Langford
Review
"Intensely compelling; darkly intelligent; hugely ambitious." --Paul J. McAuley, author of Ancients of Days
"A terrific treat. I was hooked from page one. Billion-year-gone alien wars, killer intelligences--and perhaps the most stunning and original alien artifact in modern science fiction--and all rendered with the authentic voice of a working scientist. Ferociously intelligent and imbued with a chilling logic--it may really be like this Out There." --Stephen Baxter, co-author of The Light of Other Days
"A striking first novel. Revelation Space delivers the goods. Certain to be one of the year's most impressive debut novels, and one of the most significant large-scale epics of the year. Reynolds is the next writer to watch in the resurrection of the conceptually intelligent space opera." --Gary Wolfe, Locus
"Complicated, and very clever and well-written...a spectacular first novel."--Aboriginal SF
"A delight. A refreshing and entertaining reconsideration of some of the genre's oldest tropes. An impressive first novel, quite possibly the space opera of the year. Watch for it at awards time."--Jonathan Strahan, Locus --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
"A terrific treat. I was hooked from page one. Billion-year-gone alien wars, killer intelligences--and perhaps the most stunning and original alien artifact in modern science fiction--and all rendered with the authentic voice of a working scientist. Ferociously intelligent and imbued with a chilling logic--it may really be like this Out There." --Stephen Baxter, co-author of The Light of Other Days
"A striking first novel. Revelation Space delivers the goods. Certain to be one of the year's most impressive debut novels, and one of the most significant large-scale epics of the year. Reynolds is the next writer to watch in the resurrection of the conceptually intelligent space opera." --Gary Wolfe, Locus
"Complicated, and very clever and well-written...a spectacular first novel."--Aboriginal SF
"A delight. A refreshing and entertaining reconsideration of some of the genre's oldest tropes. An impressive first novel, quite possibly the space opera of the year. Watch for it at awards time."--Jonathan Strahan, Locus --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
45 of 48 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
I'd heard this debut novel was similar to both Iain Banks' and Dan Simmons' universes, and I was pleased to note that this was true - though only on a surface level. There's a very strong sense that the author sees the novel form as a vehicle for exploring science fact. It isn't hard to accept that this man is a hard scientist in his actual life, and even easier to accept that he's a passionate man in his imagined one. I don't think I have ever read science fiction that marries 'hard' sci-fi with a convincing narrative quite so assuredly. I was initially gripped by the solidity of his universe, but as the manifold plot lines began to unfold that all seemed to take a background role to the lives and motivations of his characters. I was never less than completely engrossed, and I put this down to Reynolds' keen eye for what is actually interesting in the sci-fi form. The primary 'revelation' for this reader was Reynolds' ability to create a dystopian future that is, intrinsically new. From Lighthugger ships and their nauseatingly intimidating weapons, through to the stupendous alien artefact we come to see a central to the story, there is always an underlying sense of purpose and symmetry. If you've read Banks, Simmons, Hamilton or even Sagan (and were impressed) then buy this book. It is that rare thing: an original science fiction universe; one you recognise but have never visited. Hard science fiction for non-'hard' sci-fi fans.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
By S. Hastie
Format:Paperback
"Revelation Space", first published in 2000 and shortlisted for the BSFA Award and the Arthur C. Clarke Award, is the first novel written by Alastair Reynolds. Set in the Revelation Space universe, it is the first book in a trilogy.
It's the 26th century and humanity has slowly expanded into space, colonizing worlds, exploring nearby star systems and inevitably splintering into different factions, some of which are at war. There are some strange and intriguing entities in "Revelation Space" such as the Pattern Jugglers and the Shrouders, but space is nonetheless a very lonely and empty place, too empty. Remnants of long extinct civilizations have been discovered, but there is no sign of living intelligent extraterrestrial life. A mystery that is at the core of the story.
On Resurgam, a planet on the outskirts of human expansion, Dan Sylveste is leading a team of archaeologists excavating the remains of the Amarantin, an extinct 900,000 year old civilization that was wiped out by a cataclysmic event. Aboard the decaying Nostalgia for Infinity, a ship capable of interstellar travel at near light-speed, Ilia Volyova and her crew of ultra-humans are searching for Dan Sylveste, because they believe he will be able to help cure their captain of a deadly technological plague. In Chasm City on the planet Yellowstone, the contract assassin Ana Khouri is hired for a job she hopes will lead her to her long lost husband but she needs to find a way aboard the Nostalgia for Infinity.
Alastair Reynolds weaves with skill the stories of these three groups of unpredictable characters, each having their own motivations and goals. Their interpersonal relations are filled with maneuvering, machinations, subterfuge and conflict, their backstories adding even more layers of complexity.... Read more ›
It's the 26th century and humanity has slowly expanded into space, colonizing worlds, exploring nearby star systems and inevitably splintering into different factions, some of which are at war. There are some strange and intriguing entities in "Revelation Space" such as the Pattern Jugglers and the Shrouders, but space is nonetheless a very lonely and empty place, too empty. Remnants of long extinct civilizations have been discovered, but there is no sign of living intelligent extraterrestrial life. A mystery that is at the core of the story.
On Resurgam, a planet on the outskirts of human expansion, Dan Sylveste is leading a team of archaeologists excavating the remains of the Amarantin, an extinct 900,000 year old civilization that was wiped out by a cataclysmic event. Aboard the decaying Nostalgia for Infinity, a ship capable of interstellar travel at near light-speed, Ilia Volyova and her crew of ultra-humans are searching for Dan Sylveste, because they believe he will be able to help cure their captain of a deadly technological plague. In Chasm City on the planet Yellowstone, the contract assassin Ana Khouri is hired for a job she hopes will lead her to her long lost husband but she needs to find a way aboard the Nostalgia for Infinity.
Alastair Reynolds weaves with skill the stories of these three groups of unpredictable characters, each having their own motivations and goals. Their interpersonal relations are filled with maneuvering, machinations, subterfuge and conflict, their backstories adding even more layers of complexity.... Read more ›
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
By Philip Brown
Format:Paperback
I love this book, like some people, I was bored by the first few pages, they didn't cut it for me. But I stuck at it and realised this book is a gem. The way Reynolds uncovers the plot piece by piece is beautiful.
Keep and eye on the dates underneath each chapter, story lines interupt each other and they are usually from different places at a different time. You have to create a timeline in your head with all these storylines on it. This may be confusing for some, but by the last third of the book Reynolds has tied them all together.
This is a beautifully written book, one of the best things about it is the lack of beauty described. Don't expect elegant space ships with nice gleaming curves, because there aren't many in this book.
Great read, recommended to all Science Fiction fans!
19 of 21 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
Alastair Reynolds has produced an amazing masterpiece (an incredible debut!) blending the extrapolations of hard science with unforgettable characters set in a possible and disturbing future five centuries from now. This is a thinking person's novel, not light reading to be finished overnight. The conceptions from nanotechnology, astrophysics, genetic engineering, and computer science will stimulate you and keep you thinking long after finishing the book. It is so well written, that despite its length I was left wishing it would continue for a few hundred pages more. The vast panorama of intergalactic history and conflict, spanning billions of years, and the original ideas the author presents establish him as one of the most powerful voices of modern science fiction, in the tradition of Arthur Clarke, A.E. van Vogt, Jack Williamson, and a very few others. Although the power of this novel emerges primarily from the dizzying vistas of the future and the alien artifacts and civilizations it paints in cataclysmic brush strokes, it also features outstanding characters not easily forgotten: Khouri, the soldier assassin, and Ilia Volyova, the dynamic Triumvir on the starship Infinity, are easily two of the strongest female characters in sf literature, and the pathos of Dan Sylveste will long linger in memory as well. This novel is a first rate masterpiece of the calibre of Clarke's CHILDHOOD'S END, Williamson & Gunn's STAR BRIDGE, and A.E. van Vogt's VOYAGE OF THE SPACE BEAGLE. Highly recommended!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
1.0 out of 5 stars
Who wrote this?!?!?
Seriously, the description and plot summary for this book is so badly written I can't even begin to explain. You spelled the protagonist's name wrong and you only used it twice. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Shiny_Llama
5.0 out of 5 stars
An addictive and engrossing read!
Having enjoyed Alastair Reynold's Blue Remembered Earth (Poseidons Children 1) last year, it was just a matter of time before I returned to the beginning. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Kate
4.0 out of 5 stars
Very revealing.
Yes this book is fiction, but i'm not so sure it can be labelled science fiction, I would say fiction based on science future fact. Read more
Published 4 months ago by mike
5.0 out of 5 stars
A must read
Brilliant book a must read kept me captivated throughout. I've heard him on the radio and frankly was not impressed with him but the book was so highly recommended I had to give it... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Mr. R. L. Davies
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good story, badly written
Cheesy expository dialogue, intensely unlikable characters, unnecessary mega info dumps, repetetiveness, I'm not sure how I managed to finish this book but maybe it's a sign of how... Read more
Published 6 months ago by Jon
5.0 out of 5 stars
very intense and very detailed
Very intense, and very detailed. Amazingly tight storyline. I did find it quite difficult to read, purely because it is so intense. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Aberter
5.0 out of 5 stars
Awesome
This book was bought for me by my wife after it was recommended to her by an enthusiastic waterstones assistant. Read more
Published 10 months ago by GearGimp
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Harder Class of Space Opera
I had heard great things about Alastair Reynolds from several friends, and so decided to begin at the beginning, with his debut novel. Read more
Published 11 months ago by David Ford
1.0 out of 5 stars
The worst SF I've read since the 80s
I'm sad to say that I've given up on this after 250 pages. I never give up on books, but this was so excruciatingly boring and badly written that it comes as some relief to bin... Read more
Published 11 months ago by Jonny
5.0 out of 5 stars
Stunning sci-fi adventure
This book simply blew me away (metaphorically). More accessible than the ramblings of Banks, more concise than Peter F Hamilton, yet no less amazing in scope, technology,... Read more
Published 11 months ago by Stunt Goat
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