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Galactic North (Revelation Space collection)
Set in the Revelation Space universe-the first short story collection by "one of SF's best and most ambitious novelists." (SFX)
With eight short stories and novellas- including three original to this collection- Galactic North imparts the centuries-spanning events that have produced the dark and turbulent world of Revelation Space.
Centuries from now, the basic right to...more
With eight short stories and novellas- including three original to this collection- Galactic North imparts the centuries-spanning events that have produced the dark and turbulent world of Revelation Space.
Centuries from now, the basic right to...more
Published
(first published October 19th 2006)
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I had encountered Alastair Reynolds’ work for the first time in those huge anthologies edited by Gardner Dozois in the 90-s which attempted to compile the best science-fiction (and occasionally fantasy) novella-length works annually. There, amidst boring and stiffly yawn-inducing works (which had become quite a craze, since the authors had thought that by going heavy on characterisation & dialogues, and light on action, they were “lifting” their works from the genre-ghetto to the level of li...more
Another uneven collection of short stories; this one in Alastair Reynolds's Revelation Space universe.
The first couple, Great Wall of Mars and Glacial, feature characters from his later opus: Clavain, Galiana, and Felka. They provide some backstory mentioned in the later books.
Most of the rest of the tales, while set in the RS universe, are entirely peripheral to the later books. A Spy in Europa, Dilation Sleep, Grafenwalder's Beastiary, and Nightingale I found to be uncomfortably dark. Nighting...more
The first couple, Great Wall of Mars and Glacial, feature characters from his later opus: Clavain, Galiana, and Felka. They provide some backstory mentioned in the later books.
Most of the rest of the tales, while set in the RS universe, are entirely peripheral to the later books. A Spy in Europa, Dilation Sleep, Grafenwalder's Beastiary, and Nightingale I found to be uncomfortably dark. Nighting...more
I actually think the structure required in a short story format works MUCH better for this author than some of the longer books of his I’ve read. (Terminal World, I am looking at you.) The plots and situations he places his characters in are unique and interesting to hash over. BUT with a short story, it is hard for him to get bogged down in unnecessary and unproductive dialogue.
I have not read the other books in the revelation space series, and I really didn’t feel like I needed to in order to...more
I have not read the other books in the revelation space series, and I really didn’t feel like I needed to in order to...more
This one is 5-stars with a qualifier. Not every story is "great" in this collection, and none of them would necessarily hold the same appeal for anyone not already deeply invested in the Revelation Space universe that spans across six other books. But if one has read those six other books, this one offers great back story for some of the best characters in those other novels and lays out the future history that Alastair Reynolds has so carefully constructed. It also comes with no small degree of...more
Great collection of short stories covering concepts and people from the Revelation Space universe, but more suited to people already familiar with the series.
Much of the lore briefly touched upon in the RS universe is fleshed out in greater detail. The origin of the conjoiners is fleshed out, more detail is given to the mysterious 'nest-builders', and the society and culture of the Demarcy worlds is given much more focus.
Reynolds wrote many of these novellas years apart, so some slight inconsis...more
Much of the lore briefly touched upon in the RS universe is fleshed out in greater detail. The origin of the conjoiners is fleshed out, more detail is given to the mysterious 'nest-builders', and the society and culture of the Demarcy worlds is given much more focus.
Reynolds wrote many of these novellas years apart, so some slight inconsis...more
I can't get enough of the Revelation Space universe. I just can't. This future history feels almost as real and detailed and nuanced to me at this point as real history does.
I've already read most of the novels in this series, and with some trepidation moved on to this collection of short stories. So many authors who excel in longer forms do poorly with short stories, and vice versa.
I needn't have worried. Reynolds is, if anything, even more skilled at the short story format; perhaps because i...more
I've already read most of the novels in this series, and with some trepidation moved on to this collection of short stories. So many authors who excel in longer forms do poorly with short stories, and vice versa.
I needn't have worried. Reynolds is, if anything, even more skilled at the short story format; perhaps because i...more
SOMETHING OF A REVELATION
Galactic North is redolent of some of the best space opera from the 50s and 60s. Reynolds’s nicely-honed baroque pulp fiction is brimming with inventiveness and is grandiose in scope. He creates convincing worlds that you will want to explore and technologies that are truly ingenious. His writing style is evocative while remaining clear and controlled. My two reservations are that his characters are rather clichéd and the denouements are sometimes disappointing. The bott...more
Galactic North is redolent of some of the best space opera from the 50s and 60s. Reynolds’s nicely-honed baroque pulp fiction is brimming with inventiveness and is grandiose in scope. He creates convincing worlds that you will want to explore and technologies that are truly ingenious. His writing style is evocative while remaining clear and controlled. My two reservations are that his characters are rather clichéd and the denouements are sometimes disappointing. The bott...more
I just finished Galactic North the other day, and am now looking forward to reading The Prefect. It’s nice to be once again reminded why I enjoyed reading his Revelation Space series. A few of the stories in here I’d read before (was The Great Wall of Mars in Interzone?) but I still enjoyed them second time around. The story Galactic North seemed a bit disjointed, but I still enjoyed the big space and huge breadths of time. All of it: huge Gothic spaceships, weapons like dangerous beasts lurchin...more
...All things considered this collection contains a number of stories that are more than worth reading. Especially of the Revelation Space fans this collection has a lot to offer. I'm not sure if it would make a good introductions to Reynolds' work however. In the frame of his future history most of these stories work pretty well but you get a lot more out of it if you are familiar with the books...
Full Random Comments Review
Full Random Comments Review
I actually had it recommended to me that I should read this before I read Absolution Gap, and once I read that book, I'll come back and edit this as to whether that was a good idea. Anyway...
Galactic North isn't a novel, it's a collection of short stories, and one that takes place over the entire sweep of the Revelation Space universe. The first story begins before the invention of the lighthuggers that allow humanity to spread through the cosmos, and the last story takes place over basically th...more
Galactic North isn't a novel, it's a collection of short stories, and one that takes place over the entire sweep of the Revelation Space universe. The first story begins before the invention of the lighthuggers that allow humanity to spread through the cosmos, and the last story takes place over basically th...more
One day I will eventually get around to re-reading Alastair Reynolds Revelation Space books so that I can post thorough reviews but the truth is, at the moment they are such a distant memory that I couldn't do them justice from half-remembered scenes and a clear understanding of the implications of the climax of each novel. They are complex books that really do require a re-read. Until then, I'm afraid you are going to have to make do with this collection of eight short stories and novellas set...more
If you like the Revelation Space universe, this is a must read. This collection of short stories span a number of years of Reynolds's work, so it's interesting to see the evolution of the ideas in that space. Reynolds didn't update the stories for consistency with each other or with the novels (Revelation Space, Chasm City, etc), so it's sort of like reading the History of Middle Earth books. Great stuff!
Update Summer 2009: Damn, there is something about this book that makes me pick it up and th...more
Update Summer 2009: Damn, there is something about this book that makes me pick it up and th...more
Much better than the Dr. Freud-wouldn't-touch-this-with-a-10-foot-pole cover might lead you to believe--but then again, it would almost have to be, wouldn't it? Sometimes a spaceship flying into an asteroid is just a spaceship flying into an asteroid.
Anyway, Reynolds apparently works in a style called "hard sci-fi." (Stop it, please, just stop it. Seriously!). That basically means that, because he has a Ph.D. in astronomy, he feels obligated to eschew phasers and light sabers and whatever. In th...more
Anyway, Reynolds apparently works in a style called "hard sci-fi." (Stop it, please, just stop it. Seriously!). That basically means that, because he has a Ph.D. in astronomy, he feels obligated to eschew phasers and light sabers and whatever. In th...more
These were pretty good, not great. Although I would probably attribute that to my preference for novels over short stories. I really wanted to read and learn more about the Revelation Space universe, and these stories did just that.
My favorites were probably Glacial, A Spy in Europa, and Galactic North. Some of these stories are a bit dark, and most of them have some kind of crazy twist at the end. I thought Reynolds ended these well with a short afterward where he talks about who has influenced...more
My favorites were probably Glacial, A Spy in Europa, and Galactic North. Some of these stories are a bit dark, and most of them have some kind of crazy twist at the end. I thought Reynolds ended these well with a short afterward where he talks about who has influenced...more
Having already read the Revelation Space trilogy and wanting more background on the universe and some of the characters in that universe I was a bit let down by this book.
First off - I didn't initially realize that this was just a compilation of short stories when I picked it up - I just figured it was just another narrative in the Revelation Space Universe.
The first and even the second story help to re-enforce that image as both were related to each other and the first story filled in some of t...more
First off - I didn't initially realize that this was just a compilation of short stories when I picked it up - I just figured it was just another narrative in the Revelation Space Universe.
The first and even the second story help to re-enforce that image as both were related to each other and the first story filled in some of t...more
I'm not sure short stories are really Alastair Reynolds's strong point. The Revelation Space series of novels are some of my favourites, featuring long and complex interweaving plots which slowly reveal themselves throughout several novels. Without the time to build up to that sort of situation, these short stories all felt as if they were lacking something; some felt as if they never really got going. That said, it was interesting to learn more about certain characters and factions from the nov...more
This collection of short stories helps to wrap up the Revelation Space trilogy. I really felt the last book in the Revelation Space Trilogy was a letdown and seemed like the author didn't know how he wanted to finish the story. I was hoping this was the ending I was looking for.
While it does answer some questions, it still leaves far too much unanswered and incomplete. It was worth the read due to its short length.
While it does answer some questions, it still leaves far too much unanswered and incomplete. It was worth the read due to its short length.
This is a collection of stories set in the Revelation Space universe. Many such short story collections by well known or up-and-coming authors are collections of unfinished ideas or abandoned projects which weren't published before the author was famous, because they didn't deserve publication. That's not the case with this collection. Each of the stories stands well by itself within the universe already established by the main novels, and together they round out the reader's understanding of th...more
With eight short stories and novellas--including three original to this collection--Galactic North imparts the centuries-spanning events that have produced the dark and turbulent world of Revelation Space.
Listen to Galactic North on your smartphone, notebook or desktop computer.
Listen to Galactic North on your smartphone, notebook or desktop computer.
Reynolds' writing is fast and captivating. I got sucked into the setting without any trouble, more so because I've read the Revelation Space novels before this collection of stories. Good stories with some very nice twist endings, themes including emergent intelligence, eidetic learning and much more that Reynolds concocts with such excellence. So far, I really liked each book he has written, so if you're into his thing, this will not disappoint.
Alastair Reynolds remains one of the best and most visionary sci-fi writers around, though I kind of wish he'd take a step out of the conjoiner/ultra universe and do something new. Century Rain and Pushing Ice were good in this way but pretty much all of his books are set in the same future history. That's getting a little old and I think he needs to branch out more.
For those who enjoy short sci fi and the author's Revelation Space universe. The stories run more or less in chronological order, with the earliest stories providing important background on some of the factions featured later on in this novels. I like the way Reynolds does space opera, and I like short stories, so I plowed through this book in a couple of days.
Sep 11, 2010
Adrian Sud
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Anyone who has read Revelation Space
Shelves:
colonialone-hall
If you enjoy the Revelation Space series, this collection is a must read, for "Great Wall of Mars" alone. Each of the stories is phenomenal in their own right, but Great Wall provides the much needed background and character development for Clavain which gives meaning to his later actions and self-recriminations in the events of the Revelation Space novels.
Jun 04, 2010
Silvercharmer
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
alastair-reynolds,
scifi-fantasy
Considering I am currently writing my own series of shorts/novellas for an epic universe, I'm a sucker for collections like this. A couple of the stories, such as "Grafenwalder's Bestiary" are pretty great reads, others like "Great Wall of Mars" are fun reads for people who have read the "Revelation Space" novels and get to see glimpses of characters in those novels as they were before we met them. It's also neat to see the evolution of this universe, as several of these stories predated the nov...more
Jan 06, 2011
Amaya Ells
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Sci-fi fans of any sort
Shelves:
sci-fi
This was an amazing collection of short stories each better than the one before. The last story, Galactic North was the most amazing, you have to read it to understand how amazing. As for Reynolds I believe he deserves a place in Sci-fi as high as that of Larry Niven or Frank Herbert as his works in this book alone have amazed me in the same way theirs did (though thankfully an easier read than most of Herbert's work).
Read it, its worth it.
Read it, its worth it.
This is a compilation of short stories from the "Revelation Space" universe. They're imaginative, and improve the development of that universe, but I didn't find some of them particularly engaging.
It's worth reading if you're a fan of the "Revelation Space" series (I am), but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone not already a fan.
It's worth reading if you're a fan of the "Revelation Space" series (I am), but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone not already a fan.
Unlike a lot of short story collections, this one has each story set in the same universe (of the 'Revelation Space' series). Also, many of the stories flesh out some of the backgrounds of characters in the later books, which made for a good read.
It makes me want to read more stories that fill in the gaps of the various characters in the books. The past always seemed so muddy for many of the characters (if not for whole societies), so it was nice to see those past times and events first-hand, in...more
It makes me want to read more stories that fill in the gaps of the various characters in the books. The past always seemed so muddy for many of the characters (if not for whole societies), so it was nice to see those past times and events first-hand, in...more
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These are short stories spanning both space and time in the Revelation Space universe. This collection would not be a good introduction to Reynolds or Revelation Space but is a very strong collection for those already familiar with Reynolds and his universe. An extremely well written collection.
Many of the stories are really excellent, though they illustrate a darker side of the Revelation Space universe; the concepts put forth by Reynolds in his other books are taken to logical and interesting conclusions. An excellent opportunity to give thought to where those concepts might ultimately lead.
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Alastair Reynolds, former scientist and now full-time writer. Most of what he writes is science fiction, with a strong concern for scientific verisimilitude (although he is prepared to break the rules for the sake of a good story). He has lived in England, Scotland and the Netherlands where he worked as an astrophysicist for the European Space Agency until 2004, but now makes his home back in his...more
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