Chasm City

by Alastair Reynolds
Chasm City
book data
384 ratings, 4.01 average rating, 43 reviews (more data...)
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published
May 27th 2003 by Ace

binding
Paperback, 704 pages

isbn
0441010644   (isbn13: 9780441010646)

description
In a city overrun by a virus that attacks both man and machine, an agent pursues a lowlife postmortal-and uncovers a centuries-old atrocity that histo...more






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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 498)



D_Davis
D_Davis marked it as to-read
11/02/08

bookshelves: science-speculative-fiction, to-read, unfinished
Read in October, 2008
So - I only have a 100 pages left of this, but I cannot bring myself to finish it. I just don't care about it anymore.

***

As I approach the end, or at least the final 1/4, of this book, I am once again reminded of why I don't read space opera. While the book is entertaining, and competently written, it just doesn't offer much of anything beyond a compelling plot.

There is nothing for me to sink my teeth into. Space opera, like sword and sorcery fantasy, just doesn't really have mu...more
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Kim
Kim rated it: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars
08/28/08

Read in August, 2008
recommended to Kim by: Ryan
Set several hundred years in the future, people are now capable of copying their memories to computers, changing their appearance, and artificially prolonging their lifespans. As such, they tend to get bored easily and hang on to grudges for very long amounts of time. This book had a convoluted plot of mistaken/hidden/changing identity. The story was interesting and held my attention easily, but at times it felt rather contrived. For my tastes, there was a bit too much of people holding othe...more
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Silvercharmer
Silvercharmer rated it: 5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
08/08/07

bookshelves: alastair-reynolds, best-books-ever, scifi-fantasy, space-opera
Read in January, 2006
recommends it for: Sci-fi fans, sci-fi writers
This is the first alastair Reynolds book I read, and I was so blown off my ass I couldn't think straight for a few days. This guy has the perfect toolkit for writing science fiction: a background in astrophysics, an amazing imagination, a strong sense of character and a compelling plot with a deserving ending. What attracts me most to his writing is his uncanny grasp of human nature and human behavior, and what it would evolve into when projected into the future, when technological advancements ...more
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Bill
Bill rated it: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars
11/05/08

bookshelves: science-fiction
Read in November, 2008
This was pretty big novel. After about 500 pages, it seemed that perhaps it was a little too big.

The story definitely has a noir feel to it. Imagine crossing Blade Runner with, say, The Bourne Identity. Unfortunately, as one reviewer also put it, it was getting rather repetitive with all the gun pointing and expository speeches.
I had gotten tired of it and was seriously considering putting it down and moving on. But, Reynolds' writing is very easy to digest, and I decided it wouldn't
tak...more
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Dwheeler11
Dwheeler11 rated it: 5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
11/29/08

Has a copy to sell/swap — Read in November, 2008
I loved this book. Reynolds successfully combines Sci-Fi, cyberpunk, fantasy and thriller/mystery - I didn't want to put the book down. It took me 400 pages to get an inkling of what was really happening, and another 80 til I figured out the truth (just before protagonist). If you like Neal Stephenson, China Mieville, Peter Hamilton, William Gibson et al, you'll be sure to like this one.
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Heather
Heather marked it as to-read
06/21/08

bookshelves: sci-fi, to-read
Haven't read it yet. I read Revelation Space and Redemption Ark and liked both of those a lot. My understanding is that Chasm City parallels Revelation Space.

The guy next to me on the plane when I was finishing Redemption Ark had read a couple of Reynolds' books, Revelation Space and what must surely have been Chasm City, since he complained about how repetitive Reynolds seemed to be.

I think I convinced him to give Redemption Ark ...more
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Oscar
12/01/08

bookshelves: imaginative-fiction, owned
Read in November, 2008
recommends it for: lovers of dark sci-fi and cyberpunk
This was my first encounter with Reynolds, picking up this book second hand as part of my ongoing quest of exploring science fiction.

It turns out Chasm City was a very pleasant read, and Reynolds an interesting writer. The main assets of the book were the dark, gritty setting and the pace of the story. Also interesting were the moral problems and implications of being able to transplant memories and identities. This was the driving force behind the story.

I'll keep an eye out for h...more
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Elze
Elze rated it: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars
07/08/08

Has a copy to sell/swap — Read in April, 2005
recommends it for: People who like noir / cyperpunk settings, outcast / maverick protagonists
It's an entertaining story, but even though it's set in the same universe as "Revelation Space", I found it very different in character, and not as good. The noir and gross-out factors in "Chasm City" were a bit too much for me; the detective story element a bit too central to the plot for my taste. I missed the universe-spanning mysteries of "Revelation Space". That's not to say it's not an engaging story -- it is. It's just the ideas in it were not of the same sco
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korty
korty rated it: 5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
10/24/07

My favorite Reynolds book. Far future space opera meets hard-boiled detective fiction. The settings are vivid and have a dark, oppressive atmosphere that tickle those special hard-to-reach spots in my brain. The planet Yellowstone and its orbiting Glitter band is one of my favorite SF creations, and I was thrilled to learn that his new upcoming book The Prefect will be returning to that world. It pains me to have to wait for it.
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Tirant
Tirant rated it: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars
07/17/07

bookshelves: justfinished
Read in June, 2007
recommends it for: hard scifi fans
Aside from a confusing, and somewhat bizare ending, this was a fairly interesting book. The main twist is telegraphed well in advance, but the flashbacks which explain it are interesting, possibly more so than the rest of the book. The grim dark future is explained well, and the fairly firm scientific backing of the book makes it easier to comprehend the bizare and complicated world of nanotechnology gone amuck.
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Jon
Jon rated it: 3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars
09/15/08

One of these days the outsider-wanders-into-weird-world -and-plays-detective formula is going to get old to me. This book failed to be the straw that broke me of that premise. However, being dense with interesting ideas and framing them in this kind of formula has caused points to be lost, even if there is a twist. Bad singularity!
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Garth
Garth rated it: 3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars
10/29/07

Read in October, 2007
recommends it for: people who read occasional sci-fi and want something good
Not and avid reader of Sci-Fi I had a hard time putting this book down. The physics of interstellar travel were great...no worm holes, but hundred years of travel with multiple generations aboard a starship. There were some good tricks in this book, and the storytelling through multiple layers of characters (or not) was very compelling.
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Roly
Roly added it
02/06/08

Read in November, 2006
very entertaining science fiction story which is used by the author as a vehicle to extrapolate current technology and science to where his imagination can take it and all within the bounds of possible future science. Compelling charcters with witty and humourous dialogue and a not so obvious mind bending twist at the end
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Aaron
Aaron rated it: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars
11/24/08

Awwwwwwwsome
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Chet
Chet rated it: 5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
03/02/08

Read in March, 2008
recommends it for: Hard SF fans
A hit man travels through space at sub-light speed to chase his target. Except, the hit man is not who he thinks he is! Oh, yeah, and there's this virus, and weird aliens, and a bizarre world. Chasm City is easy to read considering its depth.
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Evlgamer
Evlgamer rated it: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars
04/16/08

bookshelves: epic-or-hard-sci-fi
This entry surprised me a bit, with a comparitivly limited focus, at least in terms of the revelation space story universe. Still it turned out very well, and it was enjoyable to stay focused on a single protagonist on a single planet.
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Thomas
Thomas rated it: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars
04/18/08

Read in January, 2004
Vivid and inventive, the depth of creation in Reynold's Revelation Space universe is astounding. This book literally dragged me through it, wanting the next discovery, the nxt cool thing, the next appalling surprise. Warning! Grisly!
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Ken
Ken rated it: 3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars
08/07/08

Read in August, 2008
Excellent world-building, but in the end I found the main characters unlikeable and somewhat unbelievable. Seems like it should have been a comic book rather than a novel (except for that excellent world-building ... hmm).
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Joshua
Joshua rated it: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars
07/03/08

Has a copy to sell/swap — Read in July, 2008
Fantastic book. Great, interwoven story with believable hard SF and psyochological settings. Great character development. This was an outstanding story - one of the better space operas I've read in the last 5 years.
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Will
Will rated it: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars
12/17/07

Read in November, 2007
this one is a little different from Alastair Reynolds' Redemption trilogy- much more personal and psychological. Has an interesting aspect of combining personalities in one person with different results.
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