![]() ![]() Reynolds' background as a scientist is evident in spades, and i'm happy to report that my right-brained self didn't suffer at all when reading this - concepts were explained carefully and clearly, in a way that didn't make me feel particularly stupid and never felt didactic or condescending. it is certainly an elephantine one fortunately, the size didn't seem unecessary and i was aborbed by the ideas and narrative from beginning to end. Overall, i think this is a pretty good first novel. so i guess it depends on your perspective: do you want your space opera glass to be half-full or half-empty? one writes about factions of humanity trying to come together to fight off threats the other depicts humans turning on each other and how things fall apart. Hamilton's characters run the gamut of loveable to outright villainous Reynolds prefers to write mainly about self-absorbed killers and assholes. on the other hand, Reynolds' interests arise from the basic idea that the universe is a cold, scary place, full of dead things and barely-understood terrors. but Hamilton writes about a future that despite having its ups, downs, and various inequities, is mainly Bright & Shiny, full of possibility. ![]() ![]() both write space operas that come complete with mind-boggling concepts, galaxy-spanning adventures, bizarre aliens, space politics, love stories, and eons-old mysteries. I suppose you could call Alastair Reynolds the Bad Twin of Peter Hamilton. ![]()
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