In the third Prefect Dreyfus novel, (the first, The Prefect, was reviewed here, and the second, Elysium Fire, reviewed here), we return to the world of the Revelation Space series and the Panoply Prefects (they are very careful to say not-space-police) dedicated to maintaining democracy in the Glitter Band.
Quick recap – In the Revelation Space series, the Glitter Band is a group of thousands of worlds, each running itself as city states around the planet of Yellowstone. Four years after the events of Elysium Fire, the relationship between Panoply and some of the habitats in the Glitter Band has deteriorated since we last visited.
Machine Vendetta begins with Prefect Ingvar Tench taking an unscheduled journey to Transtromer, a minor habitat where she is killed by a mob. As Tench’s mentor and friend, Tom Dreyfus is brought in to investigate her death and the events leading up to it – What was the reason for the trip? Was the visit a mistake on Tench’s part, or was her misadventure deliberate?
As more examination of the events goes on it seems that the incident may be more than a mistake – Ingvar Tench didn’t make errors. Dreyfus feels that the death may be related to Tench’s ongoing secret investigation of Catopsis, sanctioned by Dreyfus after the events of Elysium Fire. Indeed, it may be that the Tench incident is an act by those determined to destroy the democratic condition of the Glitter Band. Insurrection is rising, and the destruction of part of a peaceful jungle-like habitat, Valsko-Venev, seems to have been instigated by Mizler Cranach, seemingly a rogue hyper-pig Prefect, an event which has created distrust towards the Prefects and inspired racist xenophobia as the act is seen as a racist attack.
To complicate this febrile situation further, elements from the past have come back to haunt the characters. Most of all, the ongoing Cold War between the opposing AIs of Aurora and The Clockmaker reemerges. Dreyfus has an additional investment as unknown to many in Elysium Fire he had to make a secret deal with Aurora for the greater good. This is not something Aurora will forget and is prepared to use Dreyfus’s sick wife as a means of getting Dreyfus to do what she wants.
More scarily, there are points where AIs seem to have the upper hand over mere mortals, although they do have limits. Can an insane AI with incredible powers, determined for revenge, be stopped?
Machine Vendetta is a book that builds on what has gone before. What begins as a police-in-space-opera is enhanced by the relationships between the stoic Dreyfus and his colleagues such as boss Supreme Prefect Jane Aumonier, ex-Prefect trainee Thalia Ng and hyperpig Sparver, all of whom make a welcome return in this novel.
You don’t need to have read the previous books – enough of the backstories are given along the way to explain to newcomers – but those who have read the previous novels will appreciate what happens more. This is a book where previous actions have consequences and important and difficult decisions have to be made as a result, some of which are lifechanging.
As the tension builds up in the book, there are actions that impact across the Glitter Band. These action sequences are spectacular, and the sense that more will happen adds to the pressure which builds as the book progresses. In the end, all the desperate elements come together but nicely in a plot worthy of a murder mystery.
This also leads to things being tied up in a definite ending, which I suspect may divide readers a little.
In summary, Machine Vendetta is a solidly entertaining piece of character driven space opera that fans of the previous books will enjoy very much. It is the last in a trilogy that has grown in depth and complexity as the books have gone on, and this leads to a read with a satisfying conclusion.
MACHINE VENDETTA by Alastair Reynolds
Published by Gollancz, January 2024
ISBN: 978-0575 090 804
375 pages
Review by Mark Yon
