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A review by literatureaesthetic
Revelation Space by Alastair Reynolds
4.25
in 'revelation space', we're following 3 seperate pov's: an archeologist consumed by an obsession with discovering the causes of an alien race's extinction, a transhuman dedicated to finding a cure for her ill captain, and an assassin who is sent travelling across the stars on a mission. these three pov's collide, putting the entire universe at risk.
this is the hardest sci-fi i've read to date. it quite often felt like i was reading jargon (especially within the first 150 pages), and the various time jumps took some time to wrap my head around. but i think the challenging nature to this story is what makes it so appealing. personally, i appreciate and admire when a sci-fi book pushes current confines and strives to accomplish something we've never seen before. although this series borrows elements originating from the classics of the genre, it's still something entirely unique. the ideas and concepts introduced in this story were so thought-provoking. even weeks after reading this story, i found myself continuously thinking about the complexity of what was created here.
with this being such a theme heavy story, the character building suffers slightly. rather than focus on fleshing out characters, reynolds is more occupied with developing an expansive backdrop that spans a large time frame, which he then proceeds to use as a tool to explore specific themes regarding the darker/grittier sides of humanity: greed, ruthless and blind ambition, selfishness, unrelenting curiosity and the depths humanity will sink to to satisfy their curiosity.
i think the majority of the flaws in this book (verbose writing, and arguably some issues with character work), stem from the fact that this was reynolds' debut. as a debut, it profits from the avidity of an upcoming author giving voice to new ideas, but lacks some of the polished writing skills that only come with experience.
but, i 100% think the positives outweigh the flaws. this book is a massively ambitious start to a game-changing (for me) sci-fi series. i feel like i've only scratched the surface with what this universe has to offer, so excited to continue!!
this is the hardest sci-fi i've read to date. it quite often felt like i was reading jargon (especially within the first 150 pages), and the various time jumps took some time to wrap my head around. but i think the challenging nature to this story is what makes it so appealing. personally, i appreciate and admire when a sci-fi book pushes current confines and strives to accomplish something we've never seen before. although this series borrows elements originating from the classics of the genre, it's still something entirely unique. the ideas and concepts introduced in this story were so thought-provoking. even weeks after reading this story, i found myself continuously thinking about the complexity of what was created here.
with this being such a theme heavy story, the character building suffers slightly. rather than focus on fleshing out characters, reynolds is more occupied with developing an expansive backdrop that spans a large time frame, which he then proceeds to use as a tool to explore specific themes regarding the darker/grittier sides of humanity: greed, ruthless and blind ambition, selfishness, unrelenting curiosity and the depths humanity will sink to to satisfy their curiosity.
i think the majority of the flaws in this book (verbose writing, and arguably some issues with character work), stem from the fact that this was reynolds' debut. as a debut, it profits from the avidity of an upcoming author giving voice to new ideas, but lacks some of the polished writing skills that only come with experience.
but, i 100% think the positives outweigh the flaws. this book is a massively ambitious start to a game-changing (for me) sci-fi series. i feel like i've only scratched the surface with what this universe has to offer, so excited to continue!!