140 books
—
1,152 voters
Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read.
Start by marking “Century Rain” as Want to Read:
Century Rain
by
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
Something astonishing has been discovered at the far end of a wormhole: mid-twentieth century Earth, pre ...more
Get A Copy
Paperback, 626 pages
Published
May 30th 2006
by Ace
(first published November 25th 2004)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Reader Q&A
To ask other readers questions about
Century Rain,
please sign up.
Popular Answered Questions
This question contains spoilers…
(view spoiler)
Heavenfall
This answer contains spoilers…
(view spoiler)
Community Reviews
Showing 1-30

Start your review of Century Rain

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

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
“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

“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
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

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

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

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
Susan White died under suspicious circumstances. ...more

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
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

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
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

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 ...more
This story takes place some 300 years in the future. Nobody lives on Earth. Humanity is divided into two main groups – Threshers ...more

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
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

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.
...more

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 ...more
Century Rain is not just a story aside from ...more

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
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

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 ...more
Pretty darn well. The hard SF aspect I enjoyed less than I used to (though I also grasp it better than I used to ...more

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 ...more
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 ...more

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 ...more
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 ...more

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
...more

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
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

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
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

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)!

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
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

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

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

...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

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
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

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 ...more
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 ...more

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
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

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
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

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
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
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
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
News & Interviews
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...
14 likes · 5 comments
1 trivia question
More quizzes & trivia...
“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
More quotes…