book data
384 ratings, 4.01 average rating, 43 reviews
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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)
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
***
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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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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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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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
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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4 comments
Has a copy to sell/swap
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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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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
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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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
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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Has a copy to sell/swap
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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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science-fiction (on 29 people's shelves)
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scifi (on 7 people's shelves)
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