Chasm City by Alastair Reynolds

Chasm City is the follow up to Alistar Reynolds first book Revelation Space. The book's opening pages are satisfyingly dark and tense, but unfortunately the author fails to capitalise on this and the story ends up being far lighter than I had the summary had implied on the back of the book. The Canopy dwellers also seem very reminiscent of the Culture and other similarities exist between Reynolds and Ian Banks writing, but there is enough original content satisfy those looking for a new experience especially for those that enjoy hard science SF. Although this book is far lighter on the hard science than Revelation Space. For those that have read his first book Chasm City returns to Yellowstone and Sky's Edge; concentrating its story around the melding plague, and revealing far more history than previously supplied. In doing so Reynolds successfully adds depth to his universe. One of the clever things about these books is that they can be read in any order both giving hints at what's in the other. It also retains the same outrageously slippery plot which truly has you guessing right to the end as the original. This is a exceedingly well written book and even with it's hard science, as a relative new comer to the genre I found it easy and compulsive reading. Well worth checking out.