My Top 10 Science Fiction and Fantasy Books for the First Half of 2021 (ish)

Here's the video for my top 10 books I've read this year so far. Almost got it at the right time, but like usual, not quite.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFblcLg8Juo&t=1s

Thanks for checking it out. Please like, subscribe, and don't hold back! Like, why is your title so long and stupid? I'm wondering the same!

Book Review - Chasm City by Alastair Reynolds (Revelation Space Prequel) | Youtubes

Here's another review, this one for Chasm City by Alastair Reynolds, prequel to Revelation Space. These have been fun for me, not sure if that's true for anyone else, but here you go:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QASLr84I_jg&t=608s

As usual, please like and subscribe, comment to tell me what I can do to be not crappy! (*step 1: use better grammar)

Kindle and Audiobook Deals for July 28, 2021 - Sandman 1 (Neil Gaiman) is Free, 5 Wheel of Time Books 1/2 price

My video description has a list of links. Yep, that's how I get you, one more click away, sorry to be that way.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-Mqg_-JW9g&t=1s

Please visit, like, subscribe, tell me to stop making you click multiple links to get to the deals.

Review - Revelation Space by Alastair Reynolds

My preferred genre is fantasy and the more epic the better for me. Shoot, the more volumes the better (okay, I draw the line at some point). But at the same time, I like variety. I'm the type of person who tries everything on the menu at a restaurant (not at the same time of course). 

This doesn't change when it comes to my reading preferences. I don't stray too far from genre, but there's lots of variation from fantasy to science fiction, steampunk to urban fantasy, elfpunk, space opera, scifi-fantasy hybrids, etc. While I have been reading a lot of fantasy lately, it was high time I jumped into some science fiction.

I know, that was way too much of an intro for something so pointless. At the same time, I think people like a personal touch, I know I do. You be the judge.

I've had Revelation Space [US] [UK] on my radar for a long time. Reynolds and Hamilton are the two big go-to names for space opera and until now I hadn't read either of them. Reynolds may possibly be known more for being hard sci-fi, but to be honest, I barely know the difference. Sad, I know, especially with how much I just learned I've been missing out on. 

In earth's distant future, the galaxy is full of different factions of humanity, the Stoners, the Ultras, and the Conjoiners among them. There are alien races such as the Jugglers and the Shrouders.

Dan Sylveste is a Stoner who is on an archaeological dig on the planet Resurgam where they have found artifacts belonging to an ancient alien civilization, the Amarantins. Something caused their distruction, termed The Event, and Sylveste is willing to do what it takes to find out, he is one of a smaller faction who believes understanding The Event is absolutely necessary to prevent it from happening to humanity as well.

At the same time, the crew of the Nostalgia for Infinity enter the picture. The Nostalgia is a lighthugger vessel, kilometers long, full of all manner of technology, weapons, agriculture, and with the ability to almost reach the speed of light due to its Conjoiner engines. 

Volyova is the weapons officer in need of a new gunnery officer since she had to kill the last one who went insane. Then comes Khouri, and this is the part that really got me sucked in. Due to a clerical mistake, she was sent to another system, lightyears away from her husband, after the war on Sky's Edge. Any chance of coming together puts one of the pair 40 years older at best.

While the timeline is vast and the distances lightyear-spanning, the story really only centers around a few characters, or rather groups of characters. There's Sylveste and the various peoples he associates with (mostly unwillingly) and then there's Volyova and her crew. Khouri is at first a third party, but quickly jumps in with the lighthugger crew.

I'd like to say I could begin to describe the technologies and peoples and interconnectedness of the whole thing, but I just can't get close. The technology is very believable, even to the point that you can see it as a logical development. Hence why this is known as hard sci-fi, I guess. The factions of humanity is also completely believable, from those who love all the gadgetry and implant it all over themselves (Ultras), to those who enhance their minds so much with machinery that they reach enlightenment (Conjoiners).

At times I was purely in awe of Reynolds' imagination. I could see the neutron stars (or not see them), the wonder was just captivating, it was like being in space in my mind. I loved that we're dealing with kilometer-long ships that have machines that can manufacture anything you need, guns, ship parts, etc. in a matter of seconds.

At the same time, it can be slow going at times and I think that's the reason I can't quite go to five stars on this one. It's a great read and one I would definitely recommend, but I think I was expecting more after this long of a wait (nothing of which Reynolds could do anything about of course). I know, "manage expectations," but I've been building up to this one for years. The fact that it didn't completely disappoint is actually pretty impressive if you think about it.

I also think the limited characters actually tended to diminish the vastness of the story. With only so few being the focus, it was hard to really think of this as a story with heavy implications for humanity. It felt too closed-off, too intimate for anything to really be at stake.

At the same time, the plotting was quite exceptional, tying in almost everything that's introduced throughout the novel. As you can see from this review, I haven't even begun to discuss it. Chalk that up to a combination of laziness and honest incapacity. 

While I had a few reservations, I will definitely be reading more from Reynolds, I already own Chasm City (more of a prequel), so that will probably be next before I finish this trilogy. I'm happy to have finally read this king of space opera/hard sci-fi (depending on who you talk to) and I feel like I can finally enter the club, almost. Reynolds is a king of this genre for a reason, his imagination is vast and his characters compelling

4 out of 5 Stars (Highly Recommended)

Revelations Space trilogy: (Read in red)
Revelation Space (Amazon)
Redemption Ark (Amazon)
Absolution Gap (Amazon)

Same universe: 
Chasm City (Amazon)
The Prefect (Amazon)
Galactic North [collection] (Amazon)

Review: Pushing Ice, by Alastair Reynolds

Last week I was fortunate enough to sit down with Alastair over coffee and talk about his prodigious body of work as well as his forthcoming novel Terminal World. In honor of the occasion I settled on a reread of Pushing Ice [US][UK], which is a real kicker. Packed with a sense of wonder and mystery akin to more classical works of science fiction, pushing ice will have you wishing it was a trilogy instead of a standalone.

The title of the novel sets the stage, introducing a brilliant and motley crew of space miners whose jobs it is to hook comets and bring them back towards earth - aka, pushing ice. By sheer coincidence, they are the only outfit close enough to reach a moon that is in reality not a moon, but a giant camouflaged machine of extra-terrestrial origin. Racing the Chinese shuttle towards the object, the ship gets sucked into the drive tail of the quickly accelerating moon/machine and dragged to a neighboring solar system... or so they think. Intermittently, the reader is shown glimpses of a distant future where the captain of the ship, Bella Lind, is viewed as the catalyst for human expansion throughout the galaxy.

Pushing Ice is awesome. It is one of those science fiction books that just succeeds in weaving together a multitude of theories and mysteries in such a way as to keep you hooked the whole time. The character dynamics are another high-point of the novel. The interaction between the Captain, Bella Lind, and the rest of the crew is priceless, evincing a depth of understanding of close quarters relationships that transcends genres. So, a la Hunt for Red October, Alastair delivers a compelling drama blended with hard science fiction that will entertain and convince the most skeptical of readers.

Given Alastair's background in all things space, it is no surprise that the more technical scientific aspects of the novel come off seamlessly. Refraining from superfluous facts, the sci fi aspects of the novel are explained in a straightforward workmanlike manner while leaving just enough to the imagination to keep things plausible. Regardless, the focus of the narrative was not on the science but rather on the personal relationships, as explained above.

As usual, I struggle to tell you how much I enjoyed the book without giving away too much and spoiling it for you. In this case, you will have to take my word that the plot twists and turns make for a fantastic ride - so endowed by a unique style and a blend of close quarters drama and hard sci fi. The story arc tends to drag on a bit in the latter half of the novel as the situation of the crew changes dramatically, but the shift felt natural and can even be considered necessary. This isn't cheap military sci fi after all...

For those of you as disappointed with my poor attempt at a recap, I direct you towards a more eloquent review of Pushing Ice. And, for fear of overkill, check out the ever useful annotations in this summary of Pushing Ice - ware the ever present spoilers though...

Coffee with Alastair Reynolds

One of the great perks of following author blogs is catching them as they pass through your home town, which in my case is New York City (drop me an email if you live in the area). A comment and an email generally suffice to get a book signed, and sometimes you even get an hour at a Starbucks to ask all the questions you can think of. That's what happened last week when Mr. Reynolds and his charming wife were kind enough to grant me an hour of their time. It was a great and memorable experience.

A brief note before you read the recap. The conversation wasn't recorded and I didn't take notes or anything silly like that, so any errors in fact can, and should, be blamed on me.

The most interesting part of the whole conversation centered around Mr. Reynolds forthcoming novel, Terminal World: he reads the reviews. He can't help it, or so he says. One of the things which surprised him most about those few early reviews already floating around the web is that they missed the central point/theme/issue (it was rather unclear which). Without having read Terminal World, I can't even venture an educated guess as to what that point is, but I plan on keeping an eye out when I get my hands on that sucker.

To flesh out the issue a bit, we talked about his influences. He mentioned that he has read, and re-read three times, The Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolf. I recently finished Mr. Wolf's masterpiece, and I cannot agree more. The aspect of the book which Mr. Reynolds praised was its emphasis on making the reader think. For those of you familiar with the Book of the New Sun, you know as a reader that you must parse truth from fiction, exaggeration from reality. It takes work, which naturally immerses you in the story. So, my suggestion is to keep an open mind when you read Terminal World, don't accept every fact as a given. You have been warned.

Mr. Reynolds was fairly forthcoming about his next project, lamenting along the way the lag between writing a book and finding it in the hands of readers. He says the trilogy - three books for the novices reading this- will be set in three distinct time periods. First, starting roughly in 2150 the first novel will cover approximately 100 years. The second will cover a thousand years and the last, you guessed it, will cover 10000 years - it will thus come as no surprise that the working title for the books in 11k. Given that there was significant mention of NASA and space exploration, I can imagine the first book in the trilogy will deal with humanity reaching for the stars. Interestingly, and I am paraphrasing here, he also mentioned that it would be a new take on space exploration. By sheer coincidence, I had just finished reading James Blish's Cities in Flight, which Mr. Reynolds suggested had also been an influence on his next project.

Well, those were the meaty parts of our discussion. The rest dealt mostly with his writing habits and conference talks. He does a lot of both... most recently at Boskone, he was on an all-star panel discussing The Singularity. Did I mention that he also writes a lot? All in all, my 45 minutes of being a nervous fan were both fun and intellectually stimulating. Alastair is as down to earth as they come and isn't scared to answer questions honestly.

And so, I wish upon all of you a similarly fun fanboy experience. And cheers Mr. Reynolds, thanks for the chat.

Lastly, I just reread Pushing Ice, which I cannot recommend enough for any fan of science fiction.

Chapter One: Terminal World, by Alastair Reynolds

Spearpoint, the last human city, is an atmosphere-piercing spire of vast size. Clinging to its skin are the zones, a series of semi-autonomous city-states, each of which enjoys a different - and rigidly enforced - level of technology. Horsetown is pre-industrial; in Neon Heights they have television and electric trains ...Following an infiltration mission that went tragically wrong, Quillon has been living incognito, working as a pathologist in the district morgue. But when a near-dead angel drops onto his dissecting table, Quillon's world is wrenched apart one more time, for the angel is a winged posthuman from Spearpoint's Celestial Levels - and with the dying body comes bad news. If Quillon is to save his life, he must leave his home and journey into the cold and hostile lands beyond Spearpoint's base, starting an exile that will take him further than he could ever imagine. But there is far more at stake than just Quillon's own survival, for the limiting technologies of the zones are determined not by governments or police, but by the very nature of reality - and reality itself is showing worrying signs of instability ...

Terminal World by Alastair Reynolds is going to be good. Don't take my world for it, read the blog-o-sphere's resident sci-fi expert's review of Terminal World. The hardcover U.S. edition will be out in March, but if you can't wait head over to Mr. Reynold's massively popular blog and read the first chapter of Terminal World there. And if anyone even so much as whispers that sci-fi is dead, I might just have to kick some teeth in. Nuf said.