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3.94 AVERAGE
3.94 AVERAGE
Reynolds, Alastair. Elysium Fire. Prefect Dreyfus Emergency No. 2. Orbit, 2018.
Elysium Fire is a sequel to The Prefect (2007). It is a finely tuned who-done-it and how-they-done-it mystery set in the huge orbiting habitats of the Glitter Band familiar from Reynolds’ well-established Revelation Space series. All the threads come together nicely in the end in a surprisingly fast-paced conclusion. I won’t delve into the details, but I must say, I really like the multifunctional whip hounds that the prefects use for crowd control, apprehension, investigation, truncheon, sword, scythe, and even handcuffs. Robocop would love one. 4 stars.
Elysium Fire is a sequel to The Prefect (2007). It is a finely tuned who-done-it and how-they-done-it mystery set in the huge orbiting habitats of the Glitter Band familiar from Reynolds’ well-established Revelation Space series. All the threads come together nicely in the end in a surprisingly fast-paced conclusion. I won’t delve into the details, but I must say, I really like the multifunctional whip hounds that the prefects use for crowd control, apprehension, investigation, truncheon, sword, scythe, and even handcuffs. Robocop would love one. 4 stars.
I felt like this one didn't reach the heights of Aurora Rising. It might be the confusion from the names (perhaps purposeful after what the last chapter presents), or it might be the change in characters (Aumonier in particular), or the absence of the Clockmaker.... Or it could be just that Aurora Rising was such a good detective story that this one suffers in comparison. While I thought this illness was connected to the melding plague I cared about the overarching mystery, but when it turned out not to be the plague, I got to say I kind of stopped caring. Also, I didn't care for the repetitions, especially towards the end when for instance in the same chapter we get the explanation of the "experiment" twice! I get it that all major characters need to learn about this, but don't give it twice back to back....
Another of my favourite authors, Reynolds writes complex, adult science fiction. Entertaining, intricate, great characters, interesting premises. Keeps you reading and increases the pace.
Plot Summary
After the events of Aurora Rising, Prefect Dreyfus is soon involved in another emergency. Across the Glitter Band, a loose coalition of independent habitats ruled by democratic anarchy, random, violent deaths are occurring. People's implants are malfunctioning and melting their brains in minutes.
At the start of the book, quite a few people have died, but the connections among them baffle Dreyfus. Rumors are starting to spread, and people are beginning to become fearful. One man, Garlin, is a powerful orator, and is taking advantage of the fear to sow dissent against Panoply (a police-like group).
Dreyfus and the rest of Panoply are caught against trying to do the right thing to solve the crimes and presenting themselves in a positive light in the public eye. Characters from the previous novel show up here: Sparver, Thalia, Aumonier.
Positives
+Less dense plot-wise than other Reynolds books
+Good integration of tech into story without weighing it down
+Focused story
Negatives
+Less scienc-y than other Reynolds books
+Characters operated in silos
I would call Elysium Fire the second book in a series rather than a sequel. There are references to the previous book, Aurora Rising (formerly The Prefect). One character has some minor influence on the plot, and little of this character's backstory is summarized in the second book. However, I think one could pick up Elysium Fire without reading the previous book.
I found this book to be friendlier to the average reader, compared to other Reynolds books! The plot and dialogue were less dense, and less heavy on the science and physics. For me, that lost some of the spark that I love about Reynolds's work, but I can understand trying to reach a wider audience.
I would have liked more Jane Aumonier scenes. If there is another book in this series, I hope it features her more prominently. It was interesting how Thalia featured prominently in the first half, and then it switched off to Dreyfus. I missed Thalia after it switched over the Dreyfus, as it Dreyfus wasn't too interesting to me this time around.
The characters are still lacking in their development. They are close to being full rounded, but there is something still missing.
Elysium Fire was heavier on the detective/police side than the sci-fi side. This would be a good entrance book for someone who might be interested in Reynolds, although I can't say this is one of the best. Since enjoyable though.
My Thoughts on the Ending
I enjoyed the reveals, but I thought the impact of them ended up being very late.
It's a chilling thought for a group of individuals to experiment on children in an illegal manner, AND then get their memories wiped, so they can't incriminate themselves, nor feel guilt. Really messed up!
After the events of Aurora Rising, Prefect Dreyfus is soon involved in another emergency. Across the Glitter Band, a loose coalition of independent habitats ruled by democratic anarchy, random, violent deaths are occurring. People's implants are malfunctioning and melting their brains in minutes.
At the start of the book, quite a few people have died, but the connections among them baffle Dreyfus. Rumors are starting to spread, and people are beginning to become fearful. One man, Garlin, is a powerful orator, and is taking advantage of the fear to sow dissent against Panoply (a police-like group).
Dreyfus and the rest of Panoply are caught against trying to do the right thing to solve the crimes and presenting themselves in a positive light in the public eye. Characters from the previous novel show up here: Sparver, Thalia, Aumonier.
Positives
+Less dense plot-wise than other Reynolds books
+Good integration of tech into story without weighing it down
+Focused story
Negatives
+Less scienc-y than other Reynolds books
+Characters operated in silos
I would call Elysium Fire the second book in a series rather than a sequel. There are references to the previous book, Aurora Rising (formerly The Prefect). One character has some minor influence on the plot, and little of this character's backstory is summarized in the second book. However, I think one could pick up Elysium Fire without reading the previous book.
I found this book to be friendlier to the average reader, compared to other Reynolds books! The plot and dialogue were less dense, and less heavy on the science and physics. For me, that lost some of the spark that I love about Reynolds's work, but I can understand trying to reach a wider audience.
I would have liked more Jane Aumonier scenes. If there is another book in this series, I hope it features her more prominently. It was interesting how Thalia featured prominently in the first half, and then it switched off to Dreyfus. I missed Thalia after it switched over the Dreyfus, as it Dreyfus wasn't too interesting to me this time around.
The characters are still lacking in their development. They are close to being full rounded, but there is something still missing.
Elysium Fire was heavier on the detective/police side than the sci-fi side. This would be a good entrance book for someone who might be interested in Reynolds, although I can't say this is one of the best. Since enjoyable though.
My Thoughts on the Ending
I enjoyed the reveals, but I thought the impact of them ended up being very late.
Spoiler
I enjoyed the twist of Caleb thinking he was Julius, even if it didn't really contribute to much, it did keep me guessing. When they fused together at the end, I wasn't sure exactly what happened. Were they so strong with quickmatter they were somehow able to manipulate real matter? Or were they made up out of quickmatter and not real humans?It's a chilling thought for a group of individuals to experiment on children in an illegal manner, AND then get their memories wiped, so they can't incriminate themselves, nor feel guilt. Really messed up!
I was halfway through this before I realised it was a sequel- partially as I didn't check (this was on my ereader) and partially as it didn't really read like one. There were some things that felt like they had been discussed before (Aurora & the Clockmaker) but apart from that, it didn't matter.
I enjoyed the pace of this, the mystery and how the characters were written.
I enjoyed the pace of this, the mystery and how the characters were written.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I have read a few books by Alastair Reynolds and have found them to be addictive reads, books that left me eager for more of his work. Unfortunately, Elysium Fire did not work for me.
This is the second book in the Prefect Dreyfus Emergency series, and I read it without having read the first. The story works fine as a standalone, although there are references to the first book, but I do feel I would have enjoyed this one more if I’d read the first book. This is due to one simple fact – I never felt a connection to the characters. It’s possible the connection would have existed if I’d read the first book, but it never appeared.
I could have handled a lack of connection, only the story never grabbed me. The mystery of this story was rather dull, and my interest drifted more often than I liked. I’m sure this will work for many, but it just wasn’t for me.
All in all, Elysium Fire didn’t do for me what other books by the author have done.
This is the second book in the Prefect Dreyfus Emergency series, and I read it without having read the first. The story works fine as a standalone, although there are references to the first book, but I do feel I would have enjoyed this one more if I’d read the first book. This is due to one simple fact – I never felt a connection to the characters. It’s possible the connection would have existed if I’d read the first book, but it never appeared.
I could have handled a lack of connection, only the story never grabbed me. The mystery of this story was rather dull, and my interest drifted more often than I liked. I’m sure this will work for many, but it just wasn’t for me.
All in all, Elysium Fire didn’t do for me what other books by the author have done.
Well first off, this was so well done in that I haven't read any of the other novels in this series and had absolutely no trouble. Evidently this is a sub-series of a larger, longer series but even with those strings this read great as a standalone. There were references to the previous book which I will be keeping an eye out for, but didn't rely on you to have knowledge of that book.
It was pacy, and definitely kept you wanting to turn the pages. I wound up reading the last half of this in a few hours because I didn't want to put it down. Each of the characters felt real and tangible, none of them felt idealized and they were all flawed enough that they grew on me.
If this is how Alastair Reynolds writes his other books then I've been missing out.
It was pacy, and definitely kept you wanting to turn the pages. I wound up reading the last half of this in a few hours because I didn't want to put it down. Each of the characters felt real and tangible, none of them felt idealized and they were all flawed enough that they grew on me.
If this is how Alastair Reynolds writes his other books then I've been missing out.