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Century Rain

Alastair Reynolds

3.93 · Rating details · 8,859 ratings · 438 reviews

Three hundred years from now, Earth has been rendered uninhabitable due to the technological catastrophe known as the Nanocaust.Archaeologist Verity Auger specializes in the exploration of its surviving landscape. Now, her expertise is required for a far greater purpose.

Something astonishing has been discovered at the far end of a wormhole: mid-twentieth century Earth, pre ...more

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Paperback, 626 pages

Published May 30th 2006 by Ace (first published November 25th 2004)

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· 8,859 ratings · 438 reviews

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Jan 06, 2013 Cecily rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: scifi-future-speculative-fict, miscellaneous-fiction, detective-mystery-crime, favourites

WOW! What a cracking - but crazy - read. I'm still reeling from it. It doesn't get muddled or daft and yet it has everything... really... everything: time travel, spies, archaeology, cyborgs, a love triangle, wars, wormholes, virtual reality, a quest, death and sacrifice, murder mystery (with all the usual clichés lovingly included), nanotech, code-breaking, genocide, bodysnatching/ swapping, bootleg music, ecological disaster, white-knuckle chases, wraith-like horror characters, alternative his ...more

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Jun 06, 2020 ☘Misericordia☘ ⚡ϟ⚡⛈⚡☁ ❇️❤❣ rated it it was amazing

Q:
“Are you Asimov-compliant?”
“No,” the robot said, with a sting of indignation. (c)
Q:
“I didn’t come all this way for nothing,... I’m not going to let a little space-time difficulty spoil my day.” (c) Atta girl.
Q:
“But at least you cared. At least you were ready to do something.”
“This little mess... is all because of people who were ready to do something. People like me, who always know when they’re right and everyone else is wrong. Maybe what we need is a few less of us.” (c)

So, Furies it is. Th ...more

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Mar 14, 2016 Apatt rated it really liked it

Shelves: sci-fi

“That’s the problem, you see. I mean, time travel is definitely involved here, but not in quite the way you’re thinking.”

Time travel—but not as we know it—is the strongest, most imaginative and most remarkable aspect of Century Rain. The other Alastair Reynolds books I have read are all set in the far future*, a future so far flung practically nothing is recognizable except some human characters. Century Rain is quite atypical for Reynolds, it has two plot strands, one ostensibly set in 1959 and ...more

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Jun 24, 2019 Bradley rated it it was amazing

Shelves: space-opera, 2019-shelf, sci-fi, transhumanism, worldbuilding-sf, mystery

This might become one of my favorite Alastair Reynolds novels. Why? Because he manages to turn one hell of a tale out of a kitchen sink worth of ideas. Great characters, from an ex-jazz musician/gumshoe from an alternate-timeline 1959, to a complex archeologist 300 years in the future sifting through the remains of a nanotech-eaten Earth, to wormholes, body-snatching, one hellofacool mystery, with murder, Casablanca vibes, and a nail-biting space battle that reminded me of Iain M. Banks and Neal ...more

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Apr 06, 2017 Karl rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Perhaps Four and one half stars over all, "Century Rain" is a hard science adventure mixed with an old-style murder mystery.

...more

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Dec 27, 2014 B Schrodinger rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: alternate-history, science-fiction, mystery, time-travel

Tagging 'Century Rain' was a harder job that expected. It's kind of an alternate history, but not quite. And it's kind of time travel, but not quite. But I can hang the science fiction and mystery tags with no second thoughts. So do these not quites make a not quite good story? Not at all. And while the book was not groundbreaking, nor did it take me to new undiscovered places and wonders, it was quite fun and held my attention all the way through.

Susan White died under suspicious circumstances. ...more

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Feb 24, 2016 Claudia rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: z-to-a-reynolds, sci-fi

Al Reynolds is an unpredictable writer. This time, instead of his usual dark hard sci-fi, he delivered something entirely different.

Set up on two levels, Earth in 2266 and an, let’s say, alternate one in 1959, the novel combines a highly technological post-apocalyptic world (which will never cease to amaze me) with a crime-mystery story and a musician-detective which at first I thought it was a combination between Poirot and Holmes, but later discovered that was inspired by inspector Maigret. Th ...more

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Aug 26, 2016 William rated it did not like it · review of another edition

First 40% was different and fun, very good.

My advice: Read the first 40% and then stop when "they leave". Pretend it was a novella and ends well.

Rest of the book was boring, long-winded verbal diarrhea, insulting. 250 pages too long. It's like those 1/2 hour documentaries on Discovery Channel that have been stretched to an hour, to fill space and add more advertising, repeating the same words and footage again and again. Crap.

NOTE: Please, please also read these Reynolds masterpieces:
Turquoise ...more

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Aug 19, 2013 David Sven rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: sci-fi

I learned a new word. Nanocaust. Artificially intelligent nanotech designed to control the weather and reverse global warming stops responding to human commands. More nanotech is designed to combat the rogue elements. They go rogue as well. After eight levels of nanotech are released the micromachines start consuming everything on sea and land for fuel – including us.

This story takes place some 300 years in the future. Nobody lives on Earth. Humanity is divided into two main groups – Threshers I learned a new word. Nanocaust. Artificially intelligent nanotech designed to control the weather and reverse global warming stops responding to human commands. More nanotech is designed to combat the rogue elements. They go rogue as well. After eight levels of nanotech are released the micromachines start consuming everything on sea and land for fuel – including us.

This story takes place some 300 years in the future. Nobody lives on Earth. Humanity is divided into two main groups – Threshers and Slashers. The Threshers control access to Earth and live in a network of structures orbiting Earth called the Tanglewood – reminiscent of the RustBelt or Glitterband in the Revelation Space series. The Threshers reject the use of nanotechnology, seeing it as the evil that destroyed their world. Shortly after the Nanocaust all digital data became corrupted before it could be transferred to hard copy, leaving a vacuum in historical knowledge. To regain some of that knowledge teams are sent back to Earth, braving the elements and the Furies – rogue nanotech clusters - to collect and bring back as much of their lost history as possible.

The Slashers on the other hand embrace nanotechnology and use it to enhance themselves physically and intellectually – in that regard they are almost identical to the Conjoiners, also from the Revelation Space series. The Slashers control the rest of the Galaxy. They have also discovered a network of wormhole portals AKA The Hyperweb – left behind by some unknown alien entity, which allows fast travel throughout the galaxy. Also discovered scattered about the Hyperweb are dyson spheres large enough to contain planets. Nobody has been able to find out what exists inside the spheres...until now.

I loved the background and the world-building. It’s a bit derivative of the Revelation Space Universe – but as I loved that world anyway it wasn’t a negative. I was immediately drawn in at the beginning. Unfortunately, the two main characters of the book were a little bland to what I was expecting. The story had a lot of potential being part ‘50s noir private eye, part borderline horror (view spoiler) and a few interesting plot elements like time travel and alternate history - But there was just too much time spent doing ordinary boring stuff -and the two main characters were rather ordinary I thought. It just didn’t have the same edge I’ve gotten used to from Revelation Space. So the middle felt a little bogged down and the ending a bit rushed.

Still, there were enough cool ideas and concepts to make this an enjoyable read and I’m looking forward to digging into more Reynolds in hope of discovering more of what I like about his writing.

3 stars
...more

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Mar 04, 2013 Chris rated it really liked it

Recommended to Chris by: Timothy

Shelves: scifi

Imagine how good Alastair Reynolds could be if he learned how to write a decent conclusion. However, the fact is that he writes fascinating, compelling stories, develops interesting, empathetic characters, and immerses you in incredibly detailed universes based on concrete possibility based in science.

And then he abandons them. Every single book of his I have read, including Revelation Space, Redemption Ark, Chasm City and Absolution Gap continues with the plot at a breakneck pace, until the fin ...more

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Jul 24, 2011 Emma rated it it was ok

What to say?! This is a truly bonkers book - 500+ pages of wormholes, spaceships, alternate histories, 1950s detective fiction, romance, futuristic science fiction... There is a lot to enjoy in it, and a lot that I did enjoy, but unfortunately my overall impression isn't completely positive. The first two-thirds were good and there was some great, pacily written plot, interesting characters and touches of humour as the portion of the book set in an alternate Paris of 1959 came to its conclusion. What to say?! This is a truly bonkers book - 500+ pages of wormholes, spaceships, alternate histories, 1950s detective fiction, romance, futuristic science fiction... There is a lot to enjoy in it, and a lot that I did enjoy, but unfortunately my overall impression isn't completely positive. The first two-thirds were good and there was some great, pacily written plot, interesting characters and touches of humour as the portion of the book set in an alternate Paris of 1959 came to its conclusion. After that, when the action and main characters transferred to 24th century space, I'm afraid that it all started to unravel and get too much for me.

Not only do I think it was too much for me, but also rather too much for the author. In trying to cover too much ground what Reynolds has ended up with is a book which feels 200 pages too long and yet a bit unsatisfactory. For me, this is because there are pages upon pages of tiresomely tedious description of a chase through space to try to save the world (well, one of the worlds, and one that isn't really real at that!) it is all wrapped up very quickly with loose ends escaping all over the place! Having spent time earlier in the book convincing the reader of an unlikely romance, Reynolds then contrives to allow the lovers to walk away from each other irreparably without a backward glance. Questions and parts of the plot which have been key - and belaboured as such - earlier on are either forgotten or simply swept away. Just why was the main character chosen to undertake the mission? What were the messages being sent through the wireless set all about?

As those of you who read my reviews know, science fiction - both its content and the style of prose it tends, or perhaps needs, to be framed in - isn't really my thing. This is perhaps the main reason for my rather muted enjoyment of this book and I will confess that there was a particular bit of dialogue just over halfway through that made me pause. One of the characters uttered the words "Don't die on me now, not after all we've been through!" and somewhere in the distance the bell tolled for my enjoyment of this book... ...more

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Dec 13, 2019 Tomislav rated it really liked it

Shelves: science-fiction

Alastair Reynolds is a former research astronomer with the European Space Agency, and now prolific hard-sf/space opera writer, best known for his Revelation Space novels and stories, which I have previously read. Century Rain is a 2004 stand-alone novel, and not set in his Revelation Space universe. I read it in paperback. Ironically, even though his fame rests primarily on the Revelation Space series, I have found his stand-alones to be more enjoyable.

Century Rain is not just a story aside from Alastair Reynolds is a former research astronomer with the European Space Agency, and now prolific hard-sf/space opera writer, best known for his Revelation Space novels and stories, which I have previously read. Century Rain is a 2004 stand-alone novel, and not set in his Revelation Space universe. I read it in paperback. Ironically, even though his fame rests primarily on the Revelation Space series, I have found his stand-alones to be more enjoyable.

Century Rain is not just a story aside from the Revelation Space sequence, but actually set in a universe with different physical laws. For example, faster than light travel is possible, through a network of wormholes. In many ways the plot is more typical of time travel and alternate history stories than space opera – although Reynolds does return to his space opera comfort zone by the end.

At the opening, there are two main, seemingly disparate, story lines – One set in the Paris of an alternate 1950s, where the 1940 Nazi invasion of France had failed. Wendell Floyd is an ex-patriot American part-time jazz musician and part-time private investigator living in Paris. Floyd takes a job investigating a death that the police have dismissed as an accident. The other setting is on a 23rd century Earth, devastated by the Nanocaust, with the subsequent relocation of humanity to orbit and to Mars. Archaeologist Verity Auger is leading a high-risk dive to the frozen surface of Earth, looking for cultural artifacts in long lost Paris. Note that Auger’s world is a future based on our own history, not Floyd’s. Obviously, since this is one novel, their paths will converge, but to say how would be a concept and plot spoiler.

The relationship between Floyd and Auger is a fascinating one, which grows very slowly through shared peril, and has a noir tone that persisted to the end. As I hinted earlier, this plot moves from alternate history to space opera, with a lot of science fictional concepts in play. In a shorter novel, I would feel Reynolds was attempting too much – but the page count is in the 600s, so there is time for it. Overall, I enjoyed the novel quite a bit, and recommend it. ...more

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Sep 21, 2020 Charles rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Portal/time travel/space opera/alt-world/detective mystery mashup. (Whew!)

Wordsmithing was good. I laughed several times over the dialog. I dearly wanted at the end for Floyd to tell Auger (the co-protagonists with an unconsummated love), We'll Always Have Paris .

Technically it was well done, the author has always had a firm grasp of the 'science' in science fiction. The 1959 alt-Paris major setting needed a little work. Nobody stepped in dog sh*t deposited in the middle of the sidewalk. The ...more

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Jun 14, 2013 Nicky rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: speculative-fiction

I reread this with my sister for the first time in about ten years. It’s a book I’ve always thought fondly of; I enjoyed it, as a teen, but my sister adored it. It’s actually the book that got her back into reading after years of not caring for it at all. I enjoyed several of Reynolds’ other books, too, but haven’t read any of them for… actually, far too long. So how did it measure up?

Pretty darn well. The hard SF aspect I enjoyed less than I used to (though I also grasp it better than I used to I reread this with my sister for the first time in about ten years. It’s a book I’ve always thought fondly of; I enjoyed it, as a teen, but my sister adored it. It’s actually the book that got her back into reading after years of not caring for it at all. I enjoyed several of Reynolds’ other books, too, but haven’t read any of them for… actually, far too long. So how did it measure up?

Pretty darn well. The hard SF aspect I enjoyed less than I used to (though I also grasp it better than I used to, I think), but the politics I enjoyed more, and followed a lot better. I was still lamentably slow about a couple of points (let’s just say that close reading is a good idea before you ask the author about something which turns out to be incredibly obvious), but I’m more politically engaged now, so that aspect was more interesting to me than before.

I expected it to be mostly about Verity Auger for me; I remembered her as badass, and I didn’t remember much about Floyd at all. But despite myself, I found myself drawn into both stories, and hooked by the way the two stories converged; at one point I had to go grab my sister and yelp about how badly I needed a happier ending. And while there’s plenty of space for more story, at the end of Century Rain — there’s a whole complex past and present sketched out that Reynolds could play with, not to mention the future of the characters — it’s also a satisfying end, if bittersweet. The characters are ready for a new stage of their lives, while their immediate arcs have come to an end.

And can I still see the world going the way it does in Century Rain — the climate change, the increasingly desperate solutions, the loss of information because digital libraries are so vulnerable? Yes; those aspects remain perfectly relevant. It doesn’t seem to have aged badly, which sometimes hard SF can because of the science and the predictions it makes about the future.

Definitely enjoyed it — and more than I expected to, I think!

Originally posted here. ...more

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Feb 24, 2011 Jason rated it it was amazing

Shelves: read-2011, e-books, current-favorite-5-stars

5 stars

This fairly long novel is a true testament to the fact that sometimes the whole is greater than the sum of it's parts. This is an accessible hard science book mixed together with an early detective noir story.

  As for the science it reaches for some very big concepts and contains many intriguing technologies. It however is lite compared to that of the wondrous science from the Revelation Space series. The world building however, is top notch and the back story of the war between the Thr 5 stars

This fairly long novel is a true testament to the fact that sometimes the whole is greater than the sum of it's parts. This is an accessible hard science book mixed together with an early detective noir story.

  As for the science it reaches for some very big concepts and contains many intriguing technologies. It however is lite compared to that of the wondrous science from the Revelation Space series. The world building however, is top notch and the back story of the war between the Threshers and the Slashes told through out this is fabulous.

  The detective noir of an alternate 1950's Paris is good but really only touches on themes of old school mysteries. Without being political Reynolds paints this alternate Earth minus WWII by choosing not to comment on why the divergence from our history has come to pass.

  Floyd and Auger are one of the best complimenting pairs that I have read about in quite some time. Their relationship grew in a real way and you really felt it as it changed. They had great playful dialogue, deep meaningful actions, and they genuinely ended up caring about each other. They seemed to both be genuine articles and good, albeit flawed people.

  With all respect intended this book played out to me like a hard science version of a Dan Brown novel. That is probably why I just could not put it down. Like all great thrillers the reader needs to feel invested in the lives of the characters for them to truly work. That is exactly what Alastair Reynolds has done here, and it made everything else work. This is a thrill ride filled with chases, shootings, stabbings, freakish child like killers, nano everything, worm holes, spaceships, nukes, and so much more. Reynolds has to me created a future classic science fiction novel that is quite accessible to readers that might be put off by hard science.

  In case you could not tell by my review, I loved this book. I highly recommend this as a good starting point for those not familiar with Alastair Reynolds or his Revelation Space Series. ...more

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Dec 06, 2016 Gabrielle rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery, own-a-copy, sci-fi, favorites, recommended-for-jason, reviewed, speculative-fiction, read-in-2016, noir, goodreads-made-me-do-it

Paris, noir murder investigation, time-travel, archaeology. Gimme, gimme, gimme!!! I do so love it when a writer takes all my favorite things and puts them into a book I can devour excitedly. A part of me is always a bit frustrated I wasn’t there early enough to write it myself, but what can you do? I opt to simply enjoy the ride.

In 2266, a nano-robot apocalypse has forced humans off their home planet; Verity Auger is an archaeologist who digs up evidence of the past civilisation from an eerily Paris, noir murder investigation, time-travel, archaeology. Gimme, gimme, gimme!!! I do so love it when a writer takes all my favorite things and puts them into a book I can devour excitedly. A part of me is always a bit frustrated I wasn’t there early enough to write it myself, but what can you do? I opt to simply enjoy the ride.

In 2266, a nano-robot apocalypse has forced humans off their home planet; Verity Auger is an archaeologist who digs up evidence of the past civilisation from an eerily deserted Paris. After one of her research expeditions goes wrong, she is recruited by a secret agency who wants to send her back to Paris. Like way, way back… Her storyline is intertwined with Wendell Lloyd’s, a jazz musician/private detective who works in 1959’s Paris. But then again, it’s not quite the 1959’s Paris we know from our history books… In this slightly off City of Lights, Lloyd investigates what seems at first like a suicide, but the deeper he digs, the more he realizes there is much more to this case than anyone could have anticipated.

It’s impossible to summarize the plot more than this without giving it away, and this book is simply too awesome to spoil. Alastair Reynolds is an astrophysicist, and it shows: the sciency bits are well-written and make sense. But don’t make the mistake of thinking this is dry just because the author is a big nerd: his prose is evocative and lush. I was pleasantly surprised and very excited by the style of “Century Rain”; it’s a real pleasure to read a gorgeously written book that doesn’t underestimate the reader’s intelligence! I could see the story unfold before my eyes and many scenes kept me on the edge of my seat, manically turning the pages. Of course, this book requires patience. No exposition is given about Verity's world until very, very late, so you just have to roll with a few weird words without fully knowing what they mean for quite a while, but that turns out to be part of the perfect pacing! And when the explanations do happen, they are as disturbing as they are familiar - and well worth the wait!

Strong and realistic female characters in sci-fi are not exactly a dime-a-dozen, but here we have Verity. Very intelligent, driven, stubborn – but also too dedicated to her job to find enough time for her marriage or children. Her mind is sharp, but she has a very short fuse and her impulsive reactions have a way of complicating things… I liked her just as much as she annoyed me, which is really perfect. You know early on that her storyline will inevitably cross Lloyd’s, and I couldn’t wait to see how the disillusioned jazz-loving detective would deal with the hot-tempered archaeologist.

This book really impressed me and I can't recommend it enough and not just to sci-fi fans: everyone who loves a good story and great writing needs to get a copy of this genre-bending book! 5 stars and a well-earned spot on my "favorite" shelf! ...more

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Sep 16, 2011 Adrian rated it it was amazing

I've recently become a big fan of Alastair Reynolds, and with good reason! His currently released clutch of Science Fiction stories are inventive, well written, suspenseful, surprisingly close to actual scientific theory and generally really rather good. Despite his great writing style, it's always worth noting that, while many of his stories work as stand alone reads, they really are best when tied into the overarching world, and the explanations of his plethora of inventive new technological m I've recently become a big fan of Alastair Reynolds, and with good reason! His currently released clutch of Science Fiction stories are inventive, well written, suspenseful, surprisingly close to actual scientific theory and generally really rather good. Despite his great writing style, it's always worth noting that, while many of his stories work as stand alone reads, they really are best when tied into the overarching world, and the explanations of his plethora of inventive new technological macgubbins can seem very stuffy and over-long if your not the type to care about how finely and realistically crafted his work is (I think those in the know call it "hard Sci-Fi", but I don't know if I'm in the know, so I really don't know, y'know?).

Century Rain is a bit different for several reasons. Firstly, it's a complete stand-alone story, with no links or mention of his other works. Secondly, its premise involves flip-flopping (note: not the technical term) between gritty film noire land and slick sci-fi in a move that might sound schizophrenic but actually works really well.

I don't want to give anything away (beyond what's on the blurb at least), but the marrying of these two very distinct worlds and the clashing personalities they contain is done brilliantly, with a deft touch that stops it ever becoming unnatural. The characters are a brilliantly written band of wildly varied people (something Reynolds is a bit of a master at), the story full of intrigue and mystery, and both settings are so well-realised as to be characters in their own right. He never overdoes the technological descriptions, which might upset fans of the awesome ideas the Revelation Space arc is stuffed with, but really improves the atmosphere and feel of the overall read.

Personally, I can't recommend this enough. It's a fantastic, gripping book that is both clever and enjoyable without ever being overwhelming, and a great change of style and pace to other sci-fi and detective stories. First class! ...more

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Jun 23, 2014 Heather rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: sci-fi-contemporary

This is my first Reynolds book. I was very impressed by the idea of this book and the science behind it. While during a few parts I felt like it was a little over my head, he mostly keeps it understandable for all readers. It was a very interesting plot and I enjoyed that it never felt boring even though it's a longer book.

While his idea and concept for the story were great, he lacked in several areas. The characters were fairly flat - which was tolerable in the older sci-fi books but I rather ...more

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Dec 30, 2011 Brett rated it it was ok

This book started off really, really well. There are two PoV characters, one from an alternate 1959 France, and one from the 23rd century. The buildup was excellent. When I was slightly more than halfway done, I was sure this was at least a 4 star novel.

Unfortunately, as soon as the two protagonists get together the novel loses steam. I didn't find the central relationship credible. Even worse, as the main mysteries of the plot are revealed, it's clear they don't make sense. People (and groups o ...more

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Oct 18, 2014 Liviu Szoke rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: sci-fi-reads, 2011-reads

I read this wonderful book back in 2011, without knowing that Alastair Reynolds will become my favorite SF writer. Think about a noir-alternate universe-postapocaliptic-hard SF novel. Oh, and I forgot about the horrible scary children-fighters who hunt the main character at some point, so this novel takes some horror turnings, as well. If some romanian publisher will translate this book, I am sure that many readers will become very happy (the same like me, of course)!

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Nov 23, 2012 John Boettcher rated it it was amazing

One of my favorite three of Reynold's books, even though it is a stand alone book that is in no way connected with his wonderful Revelation Space series.

This book combines two story lines in a quite entertaining way, implementing elements of mystery, crime solving, space and time travel, different worlds, strange characters and creatures, and a great plot. Character development is well above par and while not a character study by any stretch of the imagination, hardly any of Reynolds books are, ...more

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Jun 18, 2011 Josh rated it it was ok

I would give this one two and a half stars. It definitely isn't among Reynold's best works. I think the concept was good, but it wasn't actualized as well as it should have been. It is kind of Reynold's take on a time travel story, although it isn't true time travel as we are used to it. The problem is that those differences detract rather than stand out, in my opinion.

Alastair Reynolds is known for having a TON of different ideas. He has written a plethora of short stories all set within diff ...more

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Jun 04, 2008 Nicky rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: speculative-fiction, welsh-writing, robots

I can't remember why I first picked up this book, but I read it twice very soon after getting it (and believe me, it's another of those on the "to read again" list). There's something of the detective novel in it, and it's certainly sci-fi -- not quite sure if it goes into cyberpunk, because I'm no good with genres. There are two parallel stories in this that converge, and the best you can hope for is a bittersweet ending. I read the whole book in about half a day because I really didn't want to ...more

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Dec 26, 2010 Rob rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: random-comments-review

...I don't think Reynolds quite managed to really connect the noir and science fiction elements of the story. Century Rain is an interesting novel, one that certainly succeeds in creating a dark atmosphere, but when it comes to the right mix of elements I think it falls short of the level of Chasm City or The Prefect. The novel simply has too many problems to be called good. I still enjoyed reading it, its not a book I would consider putting away after a few chapters, but it won't end up at the ...more

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Sep 24, 2017 Kostas rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction, hard-sci-fi, detective-hardboiled-noir

9/10

Moving away for the first time beyond the Revelation Space universe, Alastair Reynolds creates in Century Rain one of his most ambitious and strangest novels of his career, combining the alternative history and the time-travel into an incredible detective, interstellar thriller, that - through his enchantingly scientific writing - takes us into unknown galaxies, and into an amazing adventure that doesn’t fail impress once again.

In the distant 23rd century, the evolutionary development of nan ...more

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Dec 29, 2017 Casey rated it really liked it

Shelves: sci-fi, 2000s

Century Rain is a sci-fi detective story. If you have read other books of Reynolds, it is in the style of Chasm City. However, Century Rain is a completely stand-alone book and does not take place in the Revelation Space universe.

Wendell Floyd, in 1959 Paris, a private detective, is asked to investigate a murder. The police have written off the death of a young woman as either suicide or accident, but the woman's landlord is convinced it was murder. Floyd and his partner note some odd items in h Century Rain is a sci-fi detective story. If you have read other books of Reynolds, it is in the style of Chasm City. However, Century Rain is a completely stand-alone book and does not take place in the Revelation Space universe.

Wendell Floyd, in 1959 Paris, a private detective, is asked to investigate a murder. The police have written off the death of a young woman as either suicide or accident, but the woman's landlord is convinced it was murder. Floyd and his partner note some odd items in her apartment, as well as odd habits, and they think she might have been a spy.

Verity Auguer, in 2266 Tanglewood (a colony close to Earth), an archaeologist, has made a terrible mistake that will soon have her standing trial. She is given a special deal by a powerful agency. She will have to travel down a hyperweave to a copy of Earth, E2, to retrieve important documents left by a murdered historian, Susan White.

The povs of Floyd and Auger intertwine. They are chased by dangerous child-like creatures who want to stop them from succeeding.

The concepts in Century Rain, as in any Reynolds novel, are really interesting. The idea of another sentient organism creating copies of worlds is fascinating. Century Rain really isn't a time-travel story, and it's not a straightforward hard-boiled detective plot either. It's a sci-fi story at its core, with those elements overlaid.

I would have liked more historical background in Paris. A few more details in the clothing, buildings, and food would have greatly shaped E2. Since E2 is technologically behind, I wasn't sure exactly how to picture it. Would 1959 Paris looked like the early 1940s instead? Although it's clear how E2 historically diverged, how the culture and people were affected wasn't discussed very well.

Granted, Reynolds's focus is about the science, so I'm not surprised he didn't go into those cultural details I would have really liked. They would have greatly helped the story.

The divide between the Threshers and the Slashers made me think of the Demarchists and the Conjoiners from the Revelation Space universe. For some reason I kept thinking of the Slashers as an alien race rather than human until near the end of the book.

The romantic relationship between Floyd and Auger wasn't written great. A main complaint that I typically have with Reynolds's works is that his characters fall flat, becoming background to the scientific and technical observations. There did appear to be some effort to develop the relationship, but really the characters barely had any time to spend alone with each other without some huge crisis occurring.

Not as strong as Chasm City, but if you are looking for a sci-fi story with a mystery, this might be a good fit. I don't think this is the best introduction to Reynolds's work, and would recommend the first-time reader to one of the Revelation Space universe books. ...more

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Sep 30, 2019 Ria rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Verity Auger is an archaeologist of sorts, a specialist in her field at exploring Earth after the Nanocaust.
When a field trip goes badly wrong she is chosen to lead another dangerous mission, a back door in a transit system that takes her back to mid twentieth century earth to recover the effects of a murdered agent before it falls into enemy hands.
Aided by a detective on a baffling case they try to retrace Susan White's footsteps before her murder to find out what she knew but they are being fo ...more

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Jun 23, 2019 Anthony O'Connor rated it really liked it

Another solid, thought-provoking and entertaining read from Alastair Reynolds. Despite having one of the more batshit crazy premises I've ever read - featuring a nanomachine holocaust, alternate earths, wormholes, evil children, alternate history, space battles, jazz, French people - the whole caper actually traces a pretty traditional arc, albeit a satisfying one.

In terms of his other books, it wasn't quite on the level of Chasm City, Revelation Space or the Prefect, but still well worth your t ...more

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Mar 10, 2019 Geoff marked it as unfinished · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction

This is an interesting take on the alternate Earth trope, but after awhile I just got bored.

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Nov 12, 2020 Victor Tanasa rated it liked it · review of another edition

It was headed to the favorites shelve until the main characters met about halfway through the book, when Floyd and Auger lost their credibility and started doing things for the sake of the plot. Their romance felt forced and Floyd didn't behave like a man that was thrust 300 years into the future.

Alternate 1950's Paris was a blast and I greatly enjoyed the chapters spent there. The novel's present, while also well done, was a bit under par of what I expect of Alastair Reynolds.

A worthy, if a tad ...more

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About Alastair Reynolds

Alastair Reynolds

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I'm Al, now a Goodreads author. I used to be a space scientist, and now I'm a writer, although for a time the two careers ran in parallel. I started off publishing short stories in the British SF magazine Interzone in the early 90s, then eventually branched into novels. I write about a novel a year and try to write a few short stories as well. Some of my books and stories are set in a consistent f ...more

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Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “We are not makers of history. We are made by history.” So, this January, as we celebrate Martin Luther King...

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“Enjoy it, kid. Enjoy feeling that you can make a difference.' Floyd flashed him a smile. 'It won't last for ever.” — 11 likes

“Niagara made a careful gesture, like some religious benediction: a diagonal slice across his chest and a stab to the heart. ‘A slash and a dot,’ he said. ‘I doubt it means anything to you, but this was once the mark of an alliance of progressive thinkers linked together by one of the very first computer networks. The Federation of Polities can trace its existence right back to that fragile collective, in the early decades of the Void Century. It’s less a stigma than a mark of community.” — 1 likes

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