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A review by gerhard
Elysium Fire by Alastair Reynolds
2.0
I think I was so disappointed in this follow-up to The Prefect because the last Alastair Reynolds I read (written with Stephen Baxter), The Medusa Chronicles, is one of my all-time favourite SF books.
The Glitter Band is one of the most intriguing High Concepts in contemporary SF. Together with the Panoply, it reminds me of the Special Circumstances unit in the Culture sequence by Iain Banks – and the associated moral ambiguity and socio-political complexity.
I just felt that the rather humdrum murder mystery at the heart of Elysium Fire, while tangentially linked to one of the founding families of the Glitter Belt, does not delve deeply enough into this wonderfully strange universe (especially considering companion novels like Chasm City.)
Having said that, this is quite an easy read. The tension does ratchet up somewhat towards the end, though curiously the Prefects’ instruments of law and order, the whiphounds, tend to take centre stage moreso than any of the human (or hyperpig) characters, and also elicit more reader sympathy. I wonder if this is a side-effect of us readers always being more interested in the robots in SF.
Will there be another instalment? We’re still no closer to resolving the standoff between Aurora and the Clockmaker, while the Panoply is in a much more precarious position than ever before. So the answer is probably, make that definitely, yes.
The Glitter Band is one of the most intriguing High Concepts in contemporary SF. Together with the Panoply, it reminds me of the Special Circumstances unit in the Culture sequence by Iain Banks – and the associated moral ambiguity and socio-political complexity.
I just felt that the rather humdrum murder mystery at the heart of Elysium Fire, while tangentially linked to one of the founding families of the Glitter Belt, does not delve deeply enough into this wonderfully strange universe (especially considering companion novels like Chasm City.)
Having said that, this is quite an easy read. The tension does ratchet up somewhat towards the end, though curiously the Prefects’ instruments of law and order, the whiphounds, tend to take centre stage moreso than any of the human (or hyperpig) characters, and also elicit more reader sympathy. I wonder if this is a side-effect of us readers always being more interested in the robots in SF.
Will there be another instalment? We’re still no closer to resolving the standoff between Aurora and the Clockmaker, while the Panoply is in a much more precarious position than ever before. So the answer is probably, make that definitely, yes.