Reactions: Engrossed, 🤯
Novel by Alastair Reynolds

Revelation Space is the first in a series of related books within the same universe. I read the standalone novel Chasm City recently, and I’m glad I did. It’s an important “world building” novel that makes Revelation Space make much more sense. Note: Chasm City is a delightful, hard-boiled detective mystery set in a complex space opera setting. Go read that first!

One of the things I love most about Reynolds’s writing is how easy it is to read, despite the complex plots, themes, characters, and science the words portray. He really knows how to tell a story that demands that you read onto the next chapter before you set it down, chapter after chapter after chapter. In that way, it’s almost like a Dan Brown novel that compels you forward. 

Before becoming an author, Reynolds was an astronomer and astrophysicist. And his novels are all the better for it. The science is all based on theoretical astrophysical theories, but he advances them 500 years into the future. The only downside is that on a few occasions in the book, you get inundated with a full page or two of super hardcore science essay – one notable example being how a neutron star works at the subatomic level. It doesn’t happen often enough to make the book unreadable. But there were times when the plot was moving so quickly and was so intense that a two-page diversion into a science explainer felt distracting and obstructive. But, like I said, it’s not overwhelming and I suppose it’s to be expected from an astrophysicist turned author.

The plot is almost impossible to summarize without spoilers. Much like Chasm City, there is a scientific mystery, explorers seeking answers, and various bad actors. And there’s enough literary subterfuge that I was constantly left guessing who some of the bad actors might be or what their intentions were until the very end. Very skillfully done!

One thing I appreciate about Reynolds’s writing is that I feel like I intimately know the characters. There are a half a dozen or more key characters and each one comes to life really vividly. From the main character’s obsession to the assassin’s militaristic dedication – their motivations and personalities are all so clearly brought to life l and visualizable. Good characterization is an absolute must for me in any fiction, but especially in sci-fi. Reynolds does not fail on this front.

The epic sci-fi world building of a post-Earth humanity in Revelation Space and Chasm City is staggering in its scope and remarkable in its realism. Add to that a the level of scientific detail, and you have one of most compelling universes I’ve ever read. (Note: Ian M. Banks did something similar in his “Culture” universe, but it takes you books and books before you get a fuller picture of that universe. Reynolds does it in a single book.)

I can’t wait to read the next two books in this series. I highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys sci-fi.