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A review by beaconatnight
Chasm City by Alastair Reynolds
4.0
For the most part, Chasm City is a simple revenge story, and one whose real premise is explained only late in the plot. Even with the promise of a the titular place being filled with wonders and mystery, it's admittedly not exactly the most fascinating pitch to a novel of such length. But let me tell you, this was a sci-fi blast!
The setting is as awesome as people – granted, the few people that read it – make it out to be. Some aspects of it we already learned from Revelation Space. Sky's Edge had been at war for centuries. Sections of the Yellowstone system, including the planet that holds Chasm City, had been in the fangs of Melding Plague.
Its outbreak about seven years ago not only crippled all technology. From the previous novel we already know that it takes possession of human implants (especially prevailing in the Ultras), turning it into a very deadly human virus. More dangerous, though: in the future there is technology to transform buildings into architecturally very different shapes – and due to the virus the shifting is out of control. It's such a terrifying imagery, like an everlasting horror of earthquakes amidst futuristic skyscrapers.
Sky's Edge too was mentioned in Revelation Space, but since it's only a sideshow (or even less, since no action actually takes place there) our information on the planet is very limited. Here we have its origin story, literally transmitted by the school plot device of a different infection. In the beginning of the plot, the main protagonist and narrator, Tanner Mirabel, caught the so-called Sky Haussmann virus that vividly makes him experience events that happened centuries earlier.
Similarly structured plots commonly bore me, since it often feels as if they mainly distract from the main action and unnecessarily stretch out the length of novels. Surprisingly, I felt very invested in Sky Haussmann's story. From the cult at the beginning of the novel – another touch I quite enjoyed – we know that the man was responsible for horrifying deeds, but for a long time it remains a mystery what exactly it is and what made him do it. Maybe the character is not the most nuanced (he really isn't), but I enjoyed how the villain only slowly enters the stage.
Again similar to the previous novel, there are other players that appear only later on. Actually, the big reveals at the very end tie in to what we learned about the universe so far, and I absolutely loved the continued world-building. It's the kind of canapé that I'm sure will make me come back to the series rather sooner than later. If only because it would be hard to continue when the details (or even the general scheme) fade from your memory.
Alastair Reynolds is famous for going the extra mile to create events that (for the most part) stay true to actual physics. In Chasm City the most impressive example is the idea of an elevator into space. Or more precisely, what happens to people ascending when the thread below is cut. Apparently, it's not as smooth as you might expect, not the least because of the very real possibility of collision between the cars.
There are other ideas I thought were quite fascinating. Sky is member of a fleet that is the last chance of humanity. Not exactly the most original plot thread, but here there are people left in Earth's solar system. This means that research continued long after the fleet left. Had the technology been state-of-the-art at their departure, it will certainly been ancient at arrival. There is also the tough decision of whether they should take the risk and try to update their engines (never change a running system, right?).
And even if we saw it often before, the idea of people sacrificing their lives so that others and their offspring will make it is still highly intimidating to me. In the story it's clearly framed as a class issue. There is the infuriating twist of the sleepers all being treated to very much prolong their lives, and not sharing the secret with the people who sacrifice their lives for them. It's so fucked up, but not exactly hard to believe.
On a similar note, there is a minor point of spacefaring bringing new forms of massive luxury. The best food is produced in space – some are so obscenely rich they can afford to import on this grand scale. More in focus of the actual plot are the measures to prolong life indefinitely. It comes with the philosophical issue of whether you would still value life without death. Turns out, what is required is (only) the fear of death. Or only the simulated fear of death, either by acts that are not actually dangerous or by consuming the vivid experiences of people in war or similar situations. Or by participating in the Game – to remember death by taking human lives. Again, I don't find it too difficult to imagine that similar dynamics would evolve in the real world.
In the final act, there are frankly hilarious twists about the identity of our anti-hero. Of course, it didn't exactly come out of nowhere when it becomes increasingly harder to distinguish between himself and Sky. However, there is still much to discover about who he himself is. He is Tanner Mirabel, but certainly not in the sense we thought he was. Do memories make us? Do memories come with responsibility for the acts they represent? Does a prolonged lifetime give us a (better) chance to redeem for our past evils?
Chasm City gave me all that I expect from a science-fiction novel. Big ideas, a fun action-driven plot, surprising reveals, and phenomenal world-building. And certainly much promise for other stories set in the same universe. It certainly makes me want to continue with the Inhibitor Sequence series soon.
Rating: 4/5
The setting is as awesome as people – granted, the few people that read it – make it out to be. Some aspects of it we already learned from Revelation Space. Sky's Edge had been at war for centuries. Sections of the Yellowstone system, including the planet that holds Chasm City, had been in the fangs of Melding Plague.
Its outbreak about seven years ago not only crippled all technology. From the previous novel we already know that it takes possession of human implants (especially prevailing in the Ultras), turning it into a very deadly human virus. More dangerous, though: in the future there is technology to transform buildings into architecturally very different shapes – and due to the virus the shifting is out of control. It's such a terrifying imagery, like an everlasting horror of earthquakes amidst futuristic skyscrapers.
Sky's Edge too was mentioned in Revelation Space, but since it's only a sideshow (or even less, since no action actually takes place there) our information on the planet is very limited. Here we have its origin story, literally transmitted by the school plot device of a different infection. In the beginning of the plot, the main protagonist and narrator, Tanner Mirabel, caught the so-called Sky Haussmann virus that vividly makes him experience events that happened centuries earlier.
Similarly structured plots commonly bore me, since it often feels as if they mainly distract from the main action and unnecessarily stretch out the length of novels. Surprisingly, I felt very invested in Sky Haussmann's story. From the cult at the beginning of the novel – another touch I quite enjoyed – we know that the man was responsible for horrifying deeds, but for a long time it remains a mystery what exactly it is and what made him do it. Maybe the character is not the most nuanced (he really isn't), but I enjoyed how the villain only slowly enters the stage.
Again similar to the previous novel, there are other players that appear only later on. Actually, the big reveals at the very end tie in to what we learned about the universe so far, and I absolutely loved the continued world-building. It's the kind of canapé that I'm sure will make me come back to the series rather sooner than later. If only because it would be hard to continue when the details (or even the general scheme) fade from your memory.
Alastair Reynolds is famous for going the extra mile to create events that (for the most part) stay true to actual physics. In Chasm City the most impressive example is the idea of an elevator into space. Or more precisely, what happens to people ascending when the thread below is cut. Apparently, it's not as smooth as you might expect, not the least because of the very real possibility of collision between the cars.
There are other ideas I thought were quite fascinating. Sky is member of a fleet that is the last chance of humanity. Not exactly the most original plot thread, but here there are people left in Earth's solar system. This means that research continued long after the fleet left. Had the technology been state-of-the-art at their departure, it will certainly been ancient at arrival. There is also the tough decision of whether they should take the risk and try to update their engines (never change a running system, right?).
And even if we saw it often before, the idea of people sacrificing their lives so that others and their offspring will make it is still highly intimidating to me. In the story it's clearly framed as a class issue. There is the infuriating twist of the sleepers all being treated to very much prolong their lives, and not sharing the secret with the people who sacrifice their lives for them. It's so fucked up, but not exactly hard to believe.
On a similar note, there is a minor point of spacefaring bringing new forms of massive luxury. The best food is produced in space – some are so obscenely rich they can afford to import on this grand scale. More in focus of the actual plot are the measures to prolong life indefinitely. It comes with the philosophical issue of whether you would still value life without death. Turns out, what is required is (only) the fear of death. Or only the simulated fear of death, either by acts that are not actually dangerous or by consuming the vivid experiences of people in war or similar situations. Or by participating in the Game – to remember death by taking human lives. Again, I don't find it too difficult to imagine that similar dynamics would evolve in the real world.
In the final act, there are frankly hilarious twists about the identity of our anti-hero. Of course, it didn't exactly come out of nowhere when it becomes increasingly harder to distinguish between himself and Sky. However, there is still much to discover about who he himself is. He is Tanner Mirabel, but certainly not in the sense we thought he was. Do memories make us? Do memories come with responsibility for the acts they represent? Does a prolonged lifetime give us a (better) chance to redeem for our past evils?
Chasm City gave me all that I expect from a science-fiction novel. Big ideas, a fun action-driven plot, surprising reveals, and phenomenal world-building. And certainly much promise for other stories set in the same universe. It certainly makes me want to continue with the Inhibitor Sequence series soon.
Rating: 4/5