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3.94 AVERAGE
3.94 AVERAGE
I enjoyed the heck out of this book. Its just as fun as the first book was. Its a fun detective procedural that has secrets to reveal throughout its entire length. It kept a good pace, and didn't try to hard to pay fan service to the first book, or the larger revelation space universe.
I have only two complaints:
1) The stakes seem considerably lower in this book. It felt kind of odd for a second book. The story feels almost less important that the first does in the grand scheme.
2) I read the audiobook version, and John Lee read a couple of characters with different voices than he did in the first book. Not a big deal, but it kind of irritated me a little bit.
I have only two complaints:
1) The stakes seem considerably lower in this book. It felt kind of odd for a second book. The story feels almost less important that the first does in the grand scheme.
2) I read the audiobook version, and John Lee read a couple of characters with different voices than he did in the first book. Not a big deal, but it kind of irritated me a little bit.
TL:DR: A reasonable sequel to [b:The Prefect|89195|The Prefect (Prefect Dreyfus Emergency, #1)|Alastair Reynolds|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327988786l/89195._SX50_.jpg|3102565], definitely worth a read if you enjoyed that, but also definitely not as good. DO NOT READ THIS BOOK, OR REVIEW BEFORE The Prefect! Spoilers abound!
TL: Elysium Fire picks up almost directly after the, now renamed, [b:Aurora Rising|35830705|Aurora Rising (Prefect Dreyfus Emergency, #1)|Alastair Reynolds|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1501066815l/35830705._SY75_.jpg|3102565] (nee The Prefect). It's slightly more just-after the short story [b:Open and Shut|37835151|Open and Shut|Alastair Reynolds|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/book/50x75-a91bf249278a81aabab721ef782c4a74.png|59519304] (in which we learn that Jane Aumonier is recovering nicely from her decapitation). Elysium Fire takes place in 2429, two years after the events in The Prefect, and a considerable portion of the cast have come along for the ride, specifically Dreyfus, Ng, Bancal, Aumonier and, rather bizarrely (I thought), Aurora. It continues the "< href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Police_procedural">police procedural in space" theme and contains very similar elements including the use of flashbacks (although they're full-on flashbacks, not just retellings of historical events) and about a millionty different characters.
The story starts from the perspective of a child in a bedroom, and the story oscillates between that child's perspective on past events and those of the "current day", which has Panoply (the Glitter Band equivalent to a federal police force, concerned mostly with ensuring that the instruments of society continue to function) dealing with several crises including a secessionist demagogue pushing habitats out of Panoply's protection and a spate of deaths involving the seemingly random inside-out cooking of Glitter Band residents! Both plots hook successfully, and the narrative is well told without the curse that often comes with this kind of narrative, the "don't swap now I need to know what's going on here" problem.
Whilst I did enjoy this book, it did feel very much like The Prefect 2.0, but with annoyances. I find this quite surprising because Reynolds had 10 years between the two books to mature, but I felt like The Prefect was better written! My major gripe with this book was that several of the characters appeared to have had personality-transplants between the two books - this was especially jarring when read back-to-back. Sparver and Thalia in particular, both individually and in terms of their relationship just seemed...wrong, based on what they went through in The Prefect. Sparver's petulance in the first half of the book just feels terribly wrong, and the justification for it that pops up half-way through very much does nothing to actually justify it. Second in line: Aurora. This is edging into spoiler territory, so I don't want to say much, but I felt that she was a very different entity to the Aurora from The Prefect, I don't care what's going on between her and the Clockmaker, it doesn't explain what we see here, and I definitely don't think that the interactions between Dreyfuss and Aurora make sense at all!
That leads in to my other main issue: the "villain" of this story is very much a capital-v stereotypical Filler Villain. A lot of work went into trying to justify things and a very (perhaps too) convoluted plot tries to make them more relatable, but it doesn't work, and with that, the ending lacks any real emotional punch and the whole filler-villain thing is emphasised as the main protagonist for the third (final?) Dreyfus book is teased at the end.
That's a lot of whining, so I feel like I should make it clear that I was quite happy with this book! It's still a 3-star "liked it" kinda deal, but it's well short of the 4-star quality of The Prefect.
TL: Elysium Fire picks up almost directly after the, now renamed, [b:Aurora Rising|35830705|Aurora Rising (Prefect Dreyfus Emergency, #1)|Alastair Reynolds|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1501066815l/35830705._SY75_.jpg|3102565] (nee The Prefect). It's slightly more just-after the short story [b:Open and Shut|37835151|Open and Shut|Alastair Reynolds|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/book/50x75-a91bf249278a81aabab721ef782c4a74.png|59519304] (in which we learn that Jane Aumonier is recovering nicely from her decapitation). Elysium Fire takes place in 2429, two years after the events in The Prefect, and a considerable portion of the cast have come along for the ride, specifically Dreyfus, Ng, Bancal, Aumonier and, rather bizarrely (I thought), Aurora. It continues the "< href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Police_procedural">police procedural in space" theme and contains very similar elements including the use of flashbacks (although they're full-on flashbacks, not just retellings of historical events) and about a millionty different characters.
The story starts from the perspective of a child in a bedroom, and the story oscillates between that child's perspective on past events and those of the "current day", which has Panoply (the Glitter Band equivalent to a federal police force, concerned mostly with ensuring that the instruments of society continue to function) dealing with several crises including a secessionist demagogue pushing habitats out of Panoply's protection and a spate of deaths involving the seemingly random inside-out cooking of Glitter Band residents! Both plots hook successfully, and the narrative is well told without the curse that often comes with this kind of narrative, the "don't swap now I need to know what's going on here" problem.
Whilst I did enjoy this book, it did feel very much like The Prefect 2.0, but with annoyances. I find this quite surprising because Reynolds had 10 years between the two books to mature, but I felt like The Prefect was better written! My major gripe with this book was that several of the characters appeared to have had personality-transplants between the two books - this was especially jarring when read back-to-back. Sparver and Thalia in particular, both individually and in terms of their relationship just seemed...wrong, based on what they went through in The Prefect. Sparver's petulance in the first half of the book just feels terribly wrong, and the justification for it that pops up half-way through very much does nothing to actually justify it. Second in line: Aurora. This is edging into spoiler territory, so I don't want to say much, but I felt that she was a very different entity to the Aurora from The Prefect, I don't care what's going on between her and the Clockmaker, it doesn't explain what we see here, and I definitely don't think that the interactions between Dreyfuss and Aurora make sense at all!
That leads in to my other main issue: the "villain" of this story is very much a capital-v stereotypical Filler Villain. A lot of work went into trying to justify things and a very (perhaps too) convoluted plot tries to make them more relatable, but it doesn't work, and with that, the ending lacks any real emotional punch and the whole filler-villain thing is emphasised as the main protagonist for the third (final?) Dreyfus book is teased at the end.
That's a lot of whining, so I feel like I should make it clear that I was quite happy with this book! It's still a 3-star "liked it" kinda deal, but it's well short of the 4-star quality of The Prefect.
It has been ten years since Alastair Reynolds has played in his Revelation Space universe. In that time he delivered the Blue Remembered Earth trilogy about a generation starship, complete with elephants and a few standalone novels including the steampunk-esque Terminal World and the rollicking space pirate adventure Revenger. But with Elysium Heights he is back on familiar turf (for Reynolds fans) – a direct sequel to 2007’s The Prefect, now to be rereleased under a new title Aurora Rising.
Elysium Fire is once again set about a hundred years before the events in Revelation Space. The Prefects keep order across the Glitter Band, a loose collection of thousands of habitats orbiting the planet of Yellowstone and its iconic Chasm City. Prefect Tom Dreyfus, the protagonist of The Prefect, and his team are also back in action trying to solve a sequence of mysterious deaths and deal with an agitator keen to encourage habitats in the Glitter Band to seceded from oversight by the Prefects. At the same time, the war between two implacable artificial intelligences (Aurora and The Clockmaker) left running at the end of the previous book still rages in the background.
It has been a long time since The Prefect was published and while going back and rereading it would definitely help, Reynolds assumes only a passing familiarity with the events in that book. On its own, Elysium Fire is an engaging, science fiction police procedural, with the stakes constantly being raised on all of the characters. Reynolds’ universe is deep and complex and his return to it does not feel forced. Rather he uses this book to deepen it further. And given the renaming of the first book in this series and the callbacks to the unresolved events in that book, it is not likely Reynolds will be leaving this universe any time soon.
Elysium Fire is once again set about a hundred years before the events in Revelation Space. The Prefects keep order across the Glitter Band, a loose collection of thousands of habitats orbiting the planet of Yellowstone and its iconic Chasm City. Prefect Tom Dreyfus, the protagonist of The Prefect, and his team are also back in action trying to solve a sequence of mysterious deaths and deal with an agitator keen to encourage habitats in the Glitter Band to seceded from oversight by the Prefects. At the same time, the war between two implacable artificial intelligences (Aurora and The Clockmaker) left running at the end of the previous book still rages in the background.
It has been a long time since The Prefect was published and while going back and rereading it would definitely help, Reynolds assumes only a passing familiarity with the events in that book. On its own, Elysium Fire is an engaging, science fiction police procedural, with the stakes constantly being raised on all of the characters. Reynolds’ universe is deep and complex and his return to it does not feel forced. Rather he uses this book to deepen it further. And given the renaming of the first book in this series and the callbacks to the unresolved events in that book, it is not likely Reynolds will be leaving this universe any time soon.
Pretty interesting, but completely ignored a major plot line established at the end of the last book. This little detour (Prefect Dreyfuss Emergency) didn't add a lot to the Revelation Space series.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Another of my favourite authors, Reynolds writes complex, adult science fiction. Entertaining, intricate, great characters, interesting premises. Keeps you reading and increases the pace.
A worthy sequel to "The Prefect" but also an excellent stand-alone, although you might miss a few nuances if you haven't read the earlier book. It also helps if you've read some of Reynolds' other books in the Revelation Space universe, but nothing critical will be missed if this is your first Reynolds book. Having said that, however, the reading is much enhanced if you've read the other books, and the tale does re-introduce characters, environments and other elements seen in those books to great effect. The story moves along briskly, and the tension is ratcheted upward satisfactorily. There are multiple POVs here, but I found sufficient coverage given to all. I hope there are more tales to come in this series and in this universe.
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A