Revelation Space - Alastair Reynolds

Revelation Space

By Alastair Reynolds

  • Release Date: 2020-04-21
  • Genre: High Tech Sci-Fi
Score: 4.5
4.5
From 199 Ratings
$9.99 On itunes Buy on Amazon

Description

This highly acclaimed first novel in the Revelation Space universe has redefined the space opera with a staggering journey across vast gulfs of time and space to confront the very nature of reality itself . . .
Nine hundred thousand years ago, something annihilated the Amarantin civilization just as it was on the verge of discovering space flight. Now one scientist, Dan Sylveste, will stop at nothing to solve the Amarantin riddle before ancient history repeats itself. With no other resources at his disposal, Sylveste forges a dangerous alliance with the cyborg crew of the starship Nostalgia for Infinity. But as he closes in on the secret, a killer closes in on him. Because the Amarantin were destroyed for a reason, and if that reason is uncovered, the universe and reality itself could be irrevocably altered . . .
"[A] tour de force... Ravishingly inventive." -- Publishers Weekly

Reviews

  • The Beginning of the Revelation Space Series

    4
    By Prairie_Dog
    “Revelation Space” is a novel by noted author Alastair Reynolds. It was published in 2000, and begins a series of three novels known as the Inhibitor Trilogy. It is also the first work in his larger Revelation Space Series. The book would have to be considered space opera, and is set in the far future. There are colonized star systems, in spite of humanity never having developed faster than light travel. Nanotechnology and other advanced materials are commonplace. The remains of civilizations of other alien species have been found, but only the Pattern Jugglers and Shrouders appear as extant species. Both are enigmatic, and entirely dissimilar to humanity. This novel begins with three narratives, the first involves Dan Sylveste, who is an archaeologist studying an extinct civilization on the planet Resurgam. The second involves Ilia Volyova aboard the Nostalgia for Infinity, a starship which can accelerate to near lightspeed. The third focuses on Ana Khouri, a soldier who we encounter on the planet Yellowstone. These three stories come together in the Delta Pavonis system. This is one of those novels where the author just throws you into the universe and allows you to discover what’s going on as the narrative progresses. I found that the beginning of the novel was interesting, but I sort of lost steam in the middle of the book. However, I powered through and found the ending to be both interesting and exciting. I’m definitely going to try out the second novel “Redemption Ark.”

  • Great hard-science fiction

    5
    By JWBrown
    Very reminiscent of Adrian Tchaikovsky’s work - which his why I got it, and plan to continue reading Reynolds books, this one is quite good. My only complaint is the way names are handled - for someone like me who isn’t good with names, it can be difficult to follow characters until you’re well into the book. Using sometimes first, sometimes last names, 3 main characters with the same last name, titles sometimes used alone, or group names, it can be confusing.

  • Great book!

    5
    By Maverz
    Enjoyed the world building and way the author connected all the pieces together. I’ve read a lot of different science fiction books and I believe this is worth the time. Very interesting story but also a lot of good science.

  • Average

    3
    By Graphite Tiger
    Average. Some mildly interesting concepts, but no more than other hard SF novels. It didn’t become interesting at all until about page 600. Riddled with terrible and predictable dialogue. I had to bail out at the halfway mark.

  • Technically Brilliant - Difficult to Read

    3
    By No Ad Gamer
    The author is exceptionally creative and scientifically founded, an astrophysicist… no wonder. Worth reading for SciFi buffs, but a difficult real. Where was his editor? Looooong paragraphs, and jumping around too much between story lines/characters. Story segments not often clearly marked, sometimes 3 in two pages. This could be cleaned up, easily, to make a smoother ride. Here’s a book where 3-4 times an illustration would have been nice. The character development was superb in some cases and lacking in others. The romance was a nice touch, a little more of that would have made it more real. The cities and galaxy are sad and gray, which is also too bad, but true to the current social trend for apocryphal world views … which is not to my liking, or view of the Universe. Goodness does seem to win in the end … which is good. 3 1/2 stars.

  • Revelation Space

    5
    By DGSomer
    Very good. Much better than expected.

  • Cosmic Literature — Whole Other Level

    5
    By AncalagonBD
    This is a 'hard science' space opera/thriller. The characters are developed to an awesome scale. It’s a small cast of characters whose actions will likely set off a reaction chain, and there is a powerful air of inevitability to this whole situation, but you still want them to win. Beautiful literature that made me look up at the night sky with a new sense of awe. One of the best books I have ever read — well done Mr. Reynolds!

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