[FitzChivalry]

I heard some good things about this author, his first book is Revelation Space.
Anyone read it?
Any opinions?

[Rob B]

I personally haven't read him, but he is touted as being one of THE NEXT BIG AUTHORS (along with Peter Hamilton and Ken Macleod) of British Science Fiction.

However, a review was posted to our site Here (http://www.sffworld.com/authors/r/reynolds_alastair/reviews/revelationspace.html).

[Hobbit]

Yup - think Mr Reynolds is going to be big. Hmm..originally Welsh, now lives in the Netherlands working for the European Space Agency. BIG ideas - thought the first book Revelation Space was a little over long but good. Reminicent of Stephen Baxter's work - not quite as action packed as Peter Hamilton, but I can see how the references come about. If you like big spaceships, alien artifacts etc etc you'll like it. I have his second novel Chasm City 'in the pile' to read, which has been suggested to be better. Definitely one to watch.

Hobbit

[Lord Soth]

I now i keep going on about this book but....


Very much like Ian Banks Sci-fi books with alot of the concepts and the ending being similair. But still very good. Check out Chasm City. My only disaapointment is that I think it could have been so much darker.

[James Barclay]

Revalation Space is a good first novel and he's clearly got a good deal of talent. I found some of it a little inchoate but there's more to recommend than criticise.

I've heard Chasm City is better but haven't got to it yet.

[fluffy bunny]

reading revalation space at the mo- will get back to you when it's done

[ezchaos]

Geez, this is an old thread!
I read Revelation Space recently, and I really liked it-I'd say it's one of the best new science fiction books I've read in a year or two. However, It could have been a hundred or so pages shorter, IMO. The thing I liked the most about the story was the universe Reynold's has created. The different groups of space faring peoples were cool, too. Reynolds is a talent to watch (I hope I don't sound like a blurb-of-praise that you see on the back of books). I'll definitely be reading Chasm City when it comes out in paperback.

[fortytwo]

Strange how things go, on another thread a couple of weeks ago someone mentioned how disappointed they were with Revelation Space. I'd only bought the book that morning!
Now I'm a little happier seeing as so many of you are more positive about it.
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[Sammie]

Revelation Space is in the ''to read'' pile.

I read ''Chasm City'' last year, and thought it was pretty good, though not the best. (Apparently it didn't matter that i read them in the wrong order *shrug*)

[Rumfuddle]

Unlike most of you I've read Chasm City but not Revelation Space.
I'd like to mention his short stories first though as I've read most of them and I think they're better than the one novel I read. They're visually rich, hard SF adventure stories which always have a satisfying sting in the tail. I found Galactic North, for instance, blew my mind like a powerful drug ( good SF like this being the being the best, and safest, drug around ) a century spanning space opera packed with some of the weirdest cyber-human and alien imagery you're likely to come across, all in thirty odd pages. And the bells and whistles all feel right as (as Hobbit already mentioned) he's a scientist.
Unfortunately he doesn't seem to be able to sustain this energy across 600 pages (Chasm City) - is it that publishers just demand fat books of their authors (especially SF/Fantay authors) these days? It must be what the average reader wants. Though look at another newish British SF author who with SALT gave us an excellent epic tale in just 250 pages or so. I think CHASM CITY just drags on in places, it would've been better at half the length.
You can find some of his short stories free at infinity plus.