Scan barcode
elzabetg's review against another edition
3.0
Genberally I look forward to a new Alastair Reynolds book like I look forward to Christmas. I know it's going to be a bit of work to get through but I will generally enjoy it and have good memories.
This did not happen with Inhibitor Phase. I have no idea how they got to the ending. The most interesting characters were Pinky and Probably Rose. I wanted to know a lot more about Probably Rose and once I realized who Pinky was I was excited but the rest of them left me wanting a big way. Miguel de Ruyter/spoiler was tired and annoying. Glass was bossy and annoying. I just couldn't muster any sympathy for either of them. There were other things but when I can't get into the main characters AT ALL it doesn't bode well for the rest of the book.
As usual in a Reynolds/Revelation Space Universe book there are decades of travel in the ubiquitous lighthuggers and reefersleep caskets, planets weird and familiar, episodes of bloody violence and near magical medical restoration (Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."~ Arthur C. Clark), and, of course the Wolves/Inhibitors, bad guys who cannot be defeated without the Deus ex Machina our erstwhile embattled heroes must find (after of course finding the magical macguffin that will unlock said D-ex-M), unlock and release--after of course avoiding the necessarily odd alien guards of previously mentioned D-ex-M through methods both clever and blackmail-ey. As you can see by the time it was over I was just tired.
I have the feeling I am going to need to re-read this book just to see if I can muster more enthusiasm for the RSUniverse.
John Lee is a fantastic narrator. He always does right by these books. As far as I am concerned he is the voice of Revelation Space.
Story: 2.5 stars
Narrator: 5 stars
Total: 3.5 stars
This did not happen with Inhibitor Phase. I have no idea how they got to the ending. The most interesting characters were Pinky and Probably Rose. I wanted to know a lot more about Probably Rose and once I realized who Pinky was I was excited but the rest of them left me wanting a big way. Miguel de Ruyter/spoiler was tired and annoying. Glass was bossy and annoying. I just couldn't muster any sympathy for either of them. There were other things but when I can't get into the main characters AT ALL it doesn't bode well for the rest of the book.
As usual in a Reynolds/Revelation Space Universe book there are decades of travel in the ubiquitous lighthuggers and reefersleep caskets, planets weird and familiar, episodes of bloody violence and near magical medical restoration (Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."~ Arthur C. Clark), and, of course the Wolves/Inhibitors, bad guys who cannot be defeated without the Deus ex Machina our erstwhile embattled heroes must find (after of course finding the magical macguffin that will unlock said D-ex-M), unlock and release--after of course avoiding the necessarily odd alien guards of previously mentioned D-ex-M through methods both clever and blackmail-ey. As you can see by the time it was over I was just tired.
I have the feeling I am going to need to re-read this book just to see if I can muster more enthusiasm for the RSUniverse.
John Lee is a fantastic narrator. He always does right by these books. As far as I am concerned he is the voice of Revelation Space.
Story: 2.5 stars
Narrator: 5 stars
Total: 3.5 stars
bagelman's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
siriuschico's review against another edition
5.0
I spent a larger part of this year with Alastair Reynolds. I have read his Revelation Space series (the second time for his first two books), and I'm now finishing with Inhibitor Phase. I'm a bit exhausted and will leave sci-fi waters for a few months, but it was an exhilarating ride. And after that long time with Alastair, I have fallen into the rhythm. I could complain about his template interaction between formidable but haunted warrior (Neil or Warran) and mechanized femme fatal (Skade or Glass). Or I could complain about his deus ex machina, where solutions always fall from heaven. But I'm not going to do that.
I have already said that I enjoy Raynolds story-telling and Inhibitor space is no different. It contains an epic story about the future of humanity with few powerful characters and little nuggets of pure horror. So for me, five stars again - here you go Alastair, don't eat all in one go.
I have already said that I enjoy Raynolds story-telling and Inhibitor space is no different. It contains an epic story about the future of humanity with few powerful characters and little nuggets of pure horror. So for me, five stars again - here you go Alastair, don't eat all in one go.
ibnu12's review against another edition
4.0
The conclusion to the epic, It's a strange book that seemes to revel in it's author flaws and triumphs. The world building is excellent and so is the scale. The challenges and plot twists are unexpected, and the planets expertly constructed. The social observation is sharp and the moral dilemas clear. But it's also filled with a lot of his trademark flaws including poor charecterization and of-course an abrupt ending that seems to rob much of the drama from the story.
lizziegracereads's review
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
xeno2318's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
skylar2's review against another edition
5.0
This might just be my favorite book in the Revelation Space universe. It's still got the gritty noir feeling of the other books, but Reynolds manages to make the character interactions on par with the Kirk-Spock-McCoy ribbing in Star Trek. Also like many other books he's written, he proves himself a master of revealing just what the reader needs to know but nothing more, letting the plot unfold just slowly enough to be mysterious, but not so slowly as to be excruciating.
The end of Inhibitor Phase wraps up the story nicely but teases the possibility of a follow-on book - I'm hoping that becomes a reality soon!
The end of Inhibitor Phase wraps up the story nicely but teases the possibility of a follow-on book - I'm hoping that becomes a reality soon!
wilsk's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.25