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Warning, this review is non-spoilery, but quite negative. If you're a Reynolds fan, you are as welcome to a differing opinion as I am to mine.
Over the weekend, I finished reading Zima Blue and Other Stories by Alastair Reynolds. To be fair, I only picked this up because he is to be the guest of honor at Minicon, and I thought I should give him a try. Interestingly, I was then sitting at home, the book was on my stack, and a friend noted the author and said "Yeah, I had to stop reading him. Too depressing."
In nutshell, I have to say that this is the last book of his that I intend to read. He's too depressing.
Going to a deeper level, of the various stories here, they all tended to end on something of a downer. Sometimes this can be good, as in "Beyond the Aquila Rift", which delves into just how alien alien worlds can be. However, it's not generally so good, and the entire volume reads as a combination of a mishmash of events and a catalog of missed opportunities. I was happy when I finished the last story, not because it was happy (it was NOT), but because I didn't have to read any more of his stories.
His protagonists lack a certain positivity that seems to be inherent in the characters that I like. In most of my favorite stories, characters will overcome adversity. In these stories, the characters surrender to it. The depression is offset by some decent physics... though Reynolds does seem to have something of a black hole fetish (taking appreciation of super massive bodies to a whole new level). However, this offet is offset by his utter lack of understanding of evolutionary biology. It is ridiculous to assume that evolution will halt once humans start living in space, especially as evolutionary changes increase in the face of stressors.
( So, a quick rundown of the stories: )
In conclusion, this is a good book to read and be able to say "Yes, I've ready Alastair Reynolds" and then change the subject. It's also good if you've just been dumped, gotten fired, or had a friend die and need something other than alcohol to drive you to your own person nadir. However, it's excellent if you have the need of an approximately rectangular solid 9.1 x 6.3 x 1.2 inches (or 2.31E8 x 1.6E8 x 3E8 nanometers, if you're a Reynolds fan).
Of course, if you have a decent wooden plank and saw, you can make your own.
Over the weekend, I finished reading Zima Blue and Other Stories by Alastair Reynolds. To be fair, I only picked this up because he is to be the guest of honor at Minicon, and I thought I should give him a try. Interestingly, I was then sitting at home, the book was on my stack, and a friend noted the author and said "Yeah, I had to stop reading him. Too depressing."
In nutshell, I have to say that this is the last book of his that I intend to read. He's too depressing.
Going to a deeper level, of the various stories here, they all tended to end on something of a downer. Sometimes this can be good, as in "Beyond the Aquila Rift", which delves into just how alien alien worlds can be. However, it's not generally so good, and the entire volume reads as a combination of a mishmash of events and a catalog of missed opportunities. I was happy when I finished the last story, not because it was happy (it was NOT), but because I didn't have to read any more of his stories.
His protagonists lack a certain positivity that seems to be inherent in the characters that I like. In most of my favorite stories, characters will overcome adversity. In these stories, the characters surrender to it. The depression is offset by some decent physics... though Reynolds does seem to have something of a black hole fetish (taking appreciation of super massive bodies to a whole new level). However, this offet is offset by his utter lack of understanding of evolutionary biology. It is ridiculous to assume that evolution will halt once humans start living in space, especially as evolutionary changes increase in the face of stressors.
( So, a quick rundown of the stories: )
In conclusion, this is a good book to read and be able to say "Yes, I've ready Alastair Reynolds" and then change the subject. It's also good if you've just been dumped, gotten fired, or had a friend die and need something other than alcohol to drive you to your own person nadir. However, it's excellent if you have the need of an approximately rectangular solid 9.1 x 6.3 x 1.2 inches (or 2.31E8 x 1.6E8 x 3E8 nanometers, if you're a Reynolds fan).
Of course, if you have a decent wooden plank and saw, you can make your own.
