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Terminal World
Spearpoint, the last human city, is an atmosphere-piercing spire of vast size. Clinging to its skin are the zones, a series of semi-autonomous city-states, each of which enjoys a different—and rigidly enforced—level of technology. Horsetown is pre-industrial; in Neon Heights they have television and electric trains . . .
Following an infiltration mission that went tragically wrong, Quillon has been living incognito, working as a pathologist in the district morgue. But when a near-dead angel drops onto his dissecting table, Quillon's world is wrenched apart one more time, for the angel is a winged posthuman from Spearpoint's Celestial Levels—and with the dying body comes bad news.
If Quillon is to save his life, he must leave his home and journey into the cold and hostile lands beyond Spearpoint's base, starting an exile that will take him further than he could ever imagine. But there is far more at stake than just Quillon's own survival, for the limiting technologies of the zones are determined not by governments or police, but by the very nature of reality—and reality itself is showing worrying signs of instability . . .
Terminal World is a snarling, drooling, crazy-eyed mongrel of a book: equal parts steampunk, western, planetary romance, and far-future SF.
Following an infiltration mission that went tragically wrong, Quillon has been living incognito, working as a pathologist in the district morgue. But when a near-dead angel drops onto his dissecting table, Quillon's world is wrenched apart one more time, for the angel is a winged posthuman from Spearpoint's Celestial Levels—and with the dying body comes bad news.
If Quillon is to save his life, he must leave his home and journey into the cold and hostile lands beyond Spearpoint's base, starting an exile that will take him further than he could ever imagine. But there is far more at stake than just Quillon's own survival, for the limiting technologies of the zones are determined not by governments or police, but by the very nature of reality—and reality itself is showing worrying signs of instability . . .
Terminal World is a snarling, drooling, crazy-eyed mongrel of a book: equal parts steampunk, western, planetary romance, and far-future SF.
490 pages, Paperback
First published March 15, 2010
About the author
Alastair Reynolds
321 books9,715 followersI'm Al, 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 future named after Revelation Space, the first novel, but I've done a lot of other things as well and I like to keep things fresh between books.
I was born in Wales, but raised in Cornwall, and then spent time in the north of England and Scotland. I moved to the Netherlands to continue my science career and stayed there for a very long time, before eventually returning to Wales.
In my spare time I am a very keen runner, and I also enjoying hill-walking, birdwatching, horse-riding, guitar and model-making. I also dabble with paints now and then. I met my wife in the Netherlands through a mutual interest in climbing and we married back in Wales. We live surrounded by hills, woods and wildlife, and not too much excitement.
I was born in Wales, but raised in Cornwall, and then spent time in the north of England and Scotland. I moved to the Netherlands to continue my science career and stayed there for a very long time, before eventually returning to Wales.
In my spare time I am a very keen runner, and I also enjoying hill-walking, birdwatching, horse-riding, guitar and model-making. I also dabble with paints now and then. I met my wife in the Netherlands through a mutual interest in climbing and we married back in Wales. We live surrounded by hills, woods and wildlife, and not too much excitement.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 720 reviews
January 26, 2014
Take a Bladerunner city setting, in the middle of a Mad Max wasteland, throw in a whole heap of Steampunk elements, and maybe a touch of Dark Tower – and still arguably qualify as hard scifi – and you have Terminal World.
This story is different to Reynolds other works in that none of it happens in space – and of course it is in Reynolds words, a “steampunk-influenced” novel. So it’s not really a Space Opera, nor would I categorize it as Steampunk proper. I’m going to call it “Steam Opera.” In any case, it has more steampunk elements than the limited number of steampunk novels I’ve read so far and for the first time, my steampunk itch, which I’ve had a hard time satisfying to date, was well and truly scratched.
I mean we have zeppelins, with guns, plus sky battles. There’s a steam powered cyborg – and it wouldn’t be Reynolds without at least one cyborg. There are Mad Max style savages - and machines that augment themselves with human gore – especially brains. And I could go on. Just when you think Reynolds is done introducing new elements into the story he’ll roll out another monstrosity. Even near the end we’re stilling seeing new “things.” It felt like Reynolds went all out and had fun with it. And it was a lot of fun – and often bizarre.
All the action in the book occurs on a human habitable planet where Venus and Mars are visible to the naked eye and the moon has broken into two halves. One could probably be content thinking for most of the book that this is Earth somewhere around 5280 AD – but if you are paying attention it soon becomes obvious that this is not Earth and that the 5280 timeline has no relationship to our current calendar. Most of humanity lives in the monolithic tower like city of “Spearpoint. Like its name sounds, the city is basically a spear going up into the heavens and the inhabitants live on a spiralling outer ledge that corkscrews up into the mysterious heights. Nobody knows who built Spearpoint, most nobody cares.
Emanating from Spearpoint are “zones” of differing energy states – some “high state” zones where technology works, and some are low state zones where technology ceases to function depending on how low you go. This reminded me very much of Stephen King’s Dark Tower with the “Beams” affecting the states of reality – but this book is the hard scifi version. So there’s a combination of hi tech and lo tech but mostly it’s steampunk technology that is the norm in the book.
Our main protagonist finds himself on a journey that takes him from Spearpoint and into the badlands and as the story progresses the mystery of Spearpoint and the zones and the planet unfolds.
I loved this book from start to finish. I thought the plot pacing was good and I appreciated the continual rolling out of new things to look at and the variety of settings. John Lee was excellent as the audio narrator and he dos a pretti gut Jamaicun accent...Mon.
Highly recommended to both newcomers and existing fans of Reynolds. This one joins my favourites and gets...
5 star Mon. 5 star all de wey.
This story is different to Reynolds other works in that none of it happens in space – and of course it is in Reynolds words, a “steampunk-influenced” novel. So it’s not really a Space Opera, nor would I categorize it as Steampunk proper. I’m going to call it “Steam Opera.” In any case, it has more steampunk elements than the limited number of steampunk novels I’ve read so far and for the first time, my steampunk itch, which I’ve had a hard time satisfying to date, was well and truly scratched.
I mean we have zeppelins, with guns, plus sky battles. There’s a steam powered cyborg – and it wouldn’t be Reynolds without at least one cyborg. There are Mad Max style savages - and machines that augment themselves with human gore – especially brains. And I could go on. Just when you think Reynolds is done introducing new elements into the story he’ll roll out another monstrosity. Even near the end we’re stilling seeing new “things.” It felt like Reynolds went all out and had fun with it. And it was a lot of fun – and often bizarre.
All the action in the book occurs on a human habitable planet where Venus and Mars are visible to the naked eye and the moon has broken into two halves. One could probably be content thinking for most of the book that this is Earth somewhere around 5280 AD – but if you are paying attention it soon becomes obvious that this is not Earth and that the 5280 timeline has no relationship to our current calendar. Most of humanity lives in the monolithic tower like city of “Spearpoint. Like its name sounds, the city is basically a spear going up into the heavens and the inhabitants live on a spiralling outer ledge that corkscrews up into the mysterious heights. Nobody knows who built Spearpoint, most nobody cares.
Emanating from Spearpoint are “zones” of differing energy states – some “high state” zones where technology works, and some are low state zones where technology ceases to function depending on how low you go. This reminded me very much of Stephen King’s Dark Tower with the “Beams” affecting the states of reality – but this book is the hard scifi version. So there’s a combination of hi tech and lo tech but mostly it’s steampunk technology that is the norm in the book.
Our main protagonist finds himself on a journey that takes him from Spearpoint and into the badlands and as the story progresses the mystery of Spearpoint and the zones and the planet unfolds.
I loved this book from start to finish. I thought the plot pacing was good and I appreciated the continual rolling out of new things to look at and the variety of settings. John Lee was excellent as the audio narrator and he dos a pretti gut Jamaicun accent...Mon.
Highly recommended to both newcomers and existing fans of Reynolds. This one joins my favourites and gets...
5 star Mon. 5 star all de wey.
May 12, 2014
Terminal World is my first Alastair Reynolds, a science-fiction writer known for galaxy-spanning space operas, and has a plot and tone pretty much the opposite of space opera:
“Meroka, meet Doctor Quillon,’ Fray said. ‘He is, as you correctly surmised, the new package. I’ve just been telling him you you’re going to do such an excellent job of getting him out of Spearpoint.’
‘Hope you told him it isn’t going to be no joyride… Looking at three hard days to get you out, if all goes to plan, which mostly it won’t. Three days of dirt and worry and less sleep than you’ve ever had in your life. Then we have to find the people Fray’s lined up to take you to Fortune’s Landing, and hope they haven’t changed their minds.’
‘You can throw in danger as well,’ Fray said. ‘Cutter’s ticked off some angels. They’ve got deep penetration agents in Neon Heights, and they’ll be aiming to stop him from leaving town.’”
The story begins with a perspective bait and switch as we follow two employees of a morgue wagon waiting for their 9 to 5 to be over. En route home, they are diverted to pick up a body on a nearby ledge. Surprisingly, it is not just an ordinary body–it is the body of an angel, an advanced human from a more elevated and technologically superior zone. There’s a certain morgue coroner who pays a little extra for unusual specimens, so the two attendants deliver the body to Dr. Quillon. It turns out the angel is just barely alive, having made the one-way journey to warn Quillon the angels are coming for him. Quillon heads to his friend and underworld contact, Fray, a former policeman. Fray’s been expecting trouble ever since Quillon revealed who he is and strongly encourages Quillon to leave the city quickly. Fray provides an escort, Meroka, to lead Quillon out of Spearpoint. She’s a fierce fighter with a tendency to shoot second, cuss first, and has a chip on her shoulder when it comes to anything angelic. The two leap from frying pan to fire as they try to escape Spearpoint. The only possible refuge is the Swarm, the only other large colony of people on the planet. Before they reach Swarm, they’ll have to cross a wasteland, avoiding roving bands of Skullboys and the carnivorous cyborgs, the Vorg. And from there, it gets stranger.
**********************
As always, reviews continued at my home, uncensored zone:
https://clsiewert.wordpress.com/2014/...
and Leafmarks!
“Meroka, meet Doctor Quillon,’ Fray said. ‘He is, as you correctly surmised, the new package. I’ve just been telling him you you’re going to do such an excellent job of getting him out of Spearpoint.’
‘Hope you told him it isn’t going to be no joyride… Looking at three hard days to get you out, if all goes to plan, which mostly it won’t. Three days of dirt and worry and less sleep than you’ve ever had in your life. Then we have to find the people Fray’s lined up to take you to Fortune’s Landing, and hope they haven’t changed their minds.’
‘You can throw in danger as well,’ Fray said. ‘Cutter’s ticked off some angels. They’ve got deep penetration agents in Neon Heights, and they’ll be aiming to stop him from leaving town.’”
The story begins with a perspective bait and switch as we follow two employees of a morgue wagon waiting for their 9 to 5 to be over. En route home, they are diverted to pick up a body on a nearby ledge. Surprisingly, it is not just an ordinary body–it is the body of an angel, an advanced human from a more elevated and technologically superior zone. There’s a certain morgue coroner who pays a little extra for unusual specimens, so the two attendants deliver the body to Dr. Quillon. It turns out the angel is just barely alive, having made the one-way journey to warn Quillon the angels are coming for him. Quillon heads to his friend and underworld contact, Fray, a former policeman. Fray’s been expecting trouble ever since Quillon revealed who he is and strongly encourages Quillon to leave the city quickly. Fray provides an escort, Meroka, to lead Quillon out of Spearpoint. She’s a fierce fighter with a tendency to shoot second, cuss first, and has a chip on her shoulder when it comes to anything angelic. The two leap from frying pan to fire as they try to escape Spearpoint. The only possible refuge is the Swarm, the only other large colony of people on the planet. Before they reach Swarm, they’ll have to cross a wasteland, avoiding roving bands of Skullboys and the carnivorous cyborgs, the Vorg. And from there, it gets stranger.
**********************
As always, reviews continued at my home, uncensored zone:
https://clsiewert.wordpress.com/2014/...
and Leafmarks!
April 4, 2011
I dunnnnno. I am in love with "House of Suns", the other book I've read by this author, so I went into this with high expectations. I honestly didn't understand a lot of what was going on, the world was so confusing, it seemed to contradict itself SO MUCH as time went on. I found it extremely hard to finish, and I was always confused, and the main character was just MEH. I hate to give negative reviews, but I loved House of Suns SO MUCH I really wanted this to be as absorbing and raveful, and it just didn't do it for me. A sci-fi-steampunk-adventure that I would not readily recommend.
HOWEVER, I am looking forward to other works by the author! Just not any sequels to this, haha.
HOWEVER, I am looking forward to other works by the author! Just not any sequels to this, haha.
August 29, 2017
Al R proved once more that he’s such a versatile writer. If I didn’t know he wrote this book, I would have never guessed. Instead of usual space opera, this is a steampunk story, based on what used to be a highly advanced human society, from which is left just a space elevator now home for the survivors of that society, but few thousands of years later.
I’m not very fond of steampunk and the story was a bit too long for what happened in it, but it was a nice reading for vacation and I really enjoyed it. Reynolds delivers a flawless world building, like always, a society structured in different factions, an environment with shifting habitable zones (which I’m still struggling to comprehend) and quite likeable characters. The one thing that let me down was the ending; I expected something more spectacular after such a long journey and a closure of some sort. But it leaves room for a sequel and I really hope that Reynolds will return to this world and deliver a good ending for it.
I’m not very fond of steampunk and the story was a bit too long for what happened in it, but it was a nice reading for vacation and I really enjoyed it. Reynolds delivers a flawless world building, like always, a society structured in different factions, an environment with shifting habitable zones (which I’m still struggling to comprehend) and quite likeable characters. The one thing that let me down was the ending; I expected something more spectacular after such a long journey and a closure of some sort. But it leaves room for a sequel and I really hope that Reynolds will return to this world and deliver a good ending for it.
June 5, 2019
It's really quite amazing how much imagination can be crammed into these books.
It begins like a heist novel exploring a tower-of-babel-like city full of the fascinating inventions and unexplained forced-technological restrictions. The topmost layers allow for the most impressive levels of high-tech used by "angels" that can be real bastards all the way down to the lowest levels that only allow for horse-drawn simple tech. Passing through these zones can be very painful and usually life-threatening. Special drugs to help you acclimatize are in high demand. The heist portion begins with a doctor who used to be a full angel but is now on the run from the rest of his kind, but instead of leaving us here in this city, the novel becomes a full-blown steampunk novel with aerial battles, biological/machine constructs, and a full-out terraforming attempt gone very wrong.
This is Reynolds, of course, so expect fully-thought-out worldbuilding, awesome technologies and reasons for these technologies, a bit of tongue-in-cheek, and a lot of great action when it suits the tale. My only complaint is in a few slow bits in the center, but that was very nicely mitigated by a courtroom battle sandwiched between mutiny, murder, and a thousand-year strife in the skies. The later surprises are rather awesome and better still... CONSISTENT. All those reasons for the technological strata come clear. :)
As a regular SF, it still stands out a full head above most, especially when it comes to ... you get it ... IMAGINATION. ;)
It begins like a heist novel exploring a tower-of-babel-like city full of the fascinating inventions and unexplained forced-technological restrictions. The topmost layers allow for the most impressive levels of high-tech used by "angels" that can be real bastards all the way down to the lowest levels that only allow for horse-drawn simple tech. Passing through these zones can be very painful and usually life-threatening. Special drugs to help you acclimatize are in high demand. The heist portion begins with a doctor who used to be a full angel but is now on the run from the rest of his kind, but instead of leaving us here in this city, the novel becomes a full-blown steampunk novel with aerial battles, biological/machine constructs, and a full-out terraforming attempt gone very wrong.
This is Reynolds, of course, so expect fully-thought-out worldbuilding, awesome technologies and reasons for these technologies, a bit of tongue-in-cheek, and a lot of great action when it suits the tale. My only complaint is in a few slow bits in the center, but that was very nicely mitigated by a courtroom battle sandwiched between mutiny, murder, and a thousand-year strife in the skies. The later surprises are rather awesome and better still... CONSISTENT. All those reasons for the technological strata come clear. :)
As a regular SF, it still stands out a full head above most, especially when it comes to ... you get it ... IMAGINATION. ;)
July 17, 2014
This is an exciting science fiction story with a steam-punk flavor. I like the book because first, it is not transparent to the reader what is about to happen next and second, it is filled with unusual ideas and concepts that are not seen in other stories of this genre. A number of groups of "people" are quite unlike others in the literature; the macabre/terroristic "skull boys", the human-eating "vorg", the airmen in the "swarm", and the "mad machines" bring a variety of personalities--many of them distasteful to the n'th degree. On the other hand, the "angels" are perhaps not as original as the other "people", as they are quite reminiscent of the flying people in China Miéville's steam-punk novel, Perdido Street Station.
The environment of the story is quite original. Much of civilization lives in a single place, "Spearpoint". It is like a city built in layers up to the heavens. The city, as well as the rest of the world, is divided into zones. Most people cannot easily move from one zone to the next, as that brings sickness and even death without some sort of medication. Also, technologies in the upper zones do not work in the lower zones.
The book ends in a way that left me hanging. It is just begging for a sequel. Perhaps one is coming, although I have read that there are no plans for a sequel.
This is a violent novel, with plenty of guns and action. There are a number of important characters, each heroic in nature. The main character is Quillon, an angel who has been transformed to look more like a human and more tolerant of zone changes. He is a physician/pathologist who in the beginning of the story works in a morgue in Spearpoint. Quillon is a true hero, who evolves from one who only worries about himself to a benefactor, a couragious character who does his ultimate best to help others.
I didn't read this book--I listened to the audiobook version. John Lee is the narrator, and he is marvelous. He has a wonderful British accent and a voice that brings out the dripping sarcasm in many of the dialogues. It is a treat to listen to him!
The environment of the story is quite original. Much of civilization lives in a single place, "Spearpoint". It is like a city built in layers up to the heavens. The city, as well as the rest of the world, is divided into zones. Most people cannot easily move from one zone to the next, as that brings sickness and even death without some sort of medication. Also, technologies in the upper zones do not work in the lower zones.
The book ends in a way that left me hanging. It is just begging for a sequel. Perhaps one is coming, although I have read that there are no plans for a sequel.
This is a violent novel, with plenty of guns and action. There are a number of important characters, each heroic in nature. The main character is Quillon, an angel who has been transformed to look more like a human and more tolerant of zone changes. He is a physician/pathologist who in the beginning of the story works in a morgue in Spearpoint. Quillon is a true hero, who evolves from one who only worries about himself to a benefactor, a couragious character who does his ultimate best to help others.
I didn't read this book--I listened to the audiobook version. John Lee is the narrator, and he is marvelous. He has a wonderful British accent and a voice that brings out the dripping sarcasm in many of the dialogues. It is a treat to listen to him!
March 8, 2014
This is the second book in Alastair's "Terminal" trilogy. The first instalment, "Terminal Soul", tells the story of how the schism amongst the angels, the most advanced society in the technologically zoned city of Spearpoint, culminates in a plot to infiltrate the lower civilisations in that vast metropolis and establish hegemonial rule. "Terminal World" picks up where "Terminal Soul" left off, and after a few pages of "previously on 'Terminal'"-type exposition, launches into a densely told adventure romp which sends our beloved angelic secret agent from the first book, now disguised as human coroner Quillon, into yet another series of adventures. The book leaves off with the mystery of Spearpoint almost explained, and prepares the ground for the triumphant finale in "Terminal Beginning", in which our uneasy band of musketeers (Quillon, Meroka, Curtana, and Kalis), after epic quests and against seemingly insurmountable odds, succeed in rebuilding the first of the ancient Terminals.
Or so it could have been. But.... I made it all up. There is no trilogy, and, incongruous though it may sound, "Terminal World" is a standalone novel, and not sandwiched between two others. And because it is not, Alastair's exposition in the first few pages does not work. In a sequel, his intro would feel like a writer's unloved duty to remind the reader of the previous novel's plot. In a standalone novel, his exposition becomes an absurdly condensed narrative that crams a whole book's worth of story into the space of a few pages, impatient to send the protagonist on his quest and start the novel proper.
So that was a bit annoying. But the rest was ok. What I criticised about Revelation Space was not an issue here - characters were lively, had some depth, interacted in complex ways, and, above all, engaged in rich and colourful dialogue.
So well done, Alastair! These guys actually talk. But I am unsure what it is they actually do. Quillon is ejected from Spearpoint, gets captured by a band of psychotic "Mad Max"-types, threatened to have his brain fed to a group of insane cyborgs, and then rescued from this unpleasant prospect by a civilisation based on a large group of constantly travelling airships. These guys he promptly persuades to return back to Spearpoint to deliver badly-needed medicine, and as his journey comes full circle, the reader hardly remembers what was so pressing for him to leave there in the first place.
So in the end, I thought the plot was a bit thin. It is not nearly as bizarre as my slightly unkind summary suggests, but you'd be forgiven if you could not quite see the point of the whole adventure. Still, if you are minded to ignore this perhaps pedantic quibble, you are in for what has been called a "right rollicking read".
Unlike many readers of the novel, however, I was not disappointed with the ending. I think this novel needs a prequel much more badly than it does a sequel. Sure, not everything is explained to the last detail and handed to us on a silver platter, but I think the nature of this world is pretty clear. If it is not, just remember the title of the novel: "Terminal World". If the word before "world" is an adjective, this means "the last world". But the last of what? You get the answer if you think the word before "world" is a noun.
Or so it could have been. But.... I made it all up. There is no trilogy, and, incongruous though it may sound, "Terminal World" is a standalone novel, and not sandwiched between two others. And because it is not, Alastair's exposition in the first few pages does not work. In a sequel, his intro would feel like a writer's unloved duty to remind the reader of the previous novel's plot. In a standalone novel, his exposition becomes an absurdly condensed narrative that crams a whole book's worth of story into the space of a few pages, impatient to send the protagonist on his quest and start the novel proper.
So that was a bit annoying. But the rest was ok. What I criticised about Revelation Space was not an issue here - characters were lively, had some depth, interacted in complex ways, and, above all, engaged in rich and colourful dialogue.
So well done, Alastair! These guys actually talk. But I am unsure what it is they actually do. Quillon is ejected from Spearpoint, gets captured by a band of psychotic "Mad Max"-types, threatened to have his brain fed to a group of insane cyborgs, and then rescued from this unpleasant prospect by a civilisation based on a large group of constantly travelling airships. These guys he promptly persuades to return back to Spearpoint to deliver badly-needed medicine, and as his journey comes full circle, the reader hardly remembers what was so pressing for him to leave there in the first place.
So in the end, I thought the plot was a bit thin. It is not nearly as bizarre as my slightly unkind summary suggests, but you'd be forgiven if you could not quite see the point of the whole adventure. Still, if you are minded to ignore this perhaps pedantic quibble, you are in for what has been called a "right rollicking read".
Unlike many readers of the novel, however, I was not disappointed with the ending. I think this novel needs a prequel much more badly than it does a sequel. Sure, not everything is explained to the last detail and handed to us on a silver platter, but I think the nature of this world is pretty clear. If it is not, just remember the title of the novel: "Terminal World". If the word before "world" is an adjective, this means "the last world". But the last of what? You get the answer if you think the word before "world" is a noun.
January 24, 2015
5 Stars
Terminal World by Alastair Reynolds is a science fiction and steampunk blast of an adventure. Alastair Reynolds is one of my very favorite authors today. Normally he writes intelligent, hard science space operas that tend not to be easy reads. Terminal World is not one of those novels. This is an adventure that takes place in an incredible post apocalyptic world. The novel appears to takes place on earth. Much of the story is set on the city of Spearpoint, a massively huge tower that is enormous. It is a city standing up.
The world is now broken into and ruled by different levels or zones. Call these zones, areas that reality is slightly different whether it is varied by physics, chemistry, or more. These zones can be fatal to humans from different areas. Without going into great details here, Reynolds does an amazing job at world building and helping us understand this freaking sweet idea.
Quillon, our main protagonist carries this whole novel. He is a doctor of pathology. He is an aberration. Quillon is an angel(a futuristic human adaption that has allowed man to change his morphology to include a lighter skeletal system and of course wings. These people have multitude of machines in their bodies that allow them to be…angels) who has had genetic modifications done to him that allows him with the help of drugs to survive at lower zone levels. I loved his character, his maturity, and of course his humanity.
As others have said this is a Mad Max type of world that we are treated to many awesome types of creatures and fauna. The adventure spans the globe. The swashbuckling feel is palatable especially since we spend a great deal of time aboard world spanning dirigibles.
I was shocked by how much that I loved reading this book. Once again Alastair Reynolds has shown me why I consider him one of my very favorite authors. This book would appeal to all lovers of steampunk and light science fiction. One should not let his heavy science fiction book log intimidate you from reading this blast…
Terminal World by Alastair Reynolds is a science fiction and steampunk blast of an adventure. Alastair Reynolds is one of my very favorite authors today. Normally he writes intelligent, hard science space operas that tend not to be easy reads. Terminal World is not one of those novels. This is an adventure that takes place in an incredible post apocalyptic world. The novel appears to takes place on earth. Much of the story is set on the city of Spearpoint, a massively huge tower that is enormous. It is a city standing up.
The world is now broken into and ruled by different levels or zones. Call these zones, areas that reality is slightly different whether it is varied by physics, chemistry, or more. These zones can be fatal to humans from different areas. Without going into great details here, Reynolds does an amazing job at world building and helping us understand this freaking sweet idea.
Quillon, our main protagonist carries this whole novel. He is a doctor of pathology. He is an aberration. Quillon is an angel(a futuristic human adaption that has allowed man to change his morphology to include a lighter skeletal system and of course wings. These people have multitude of machines in their bodies that allow them to be…angels) who has had genetic modifications done to him that allows him with the help of drugs to survive at lower zone levels. I loved his character, his maturity, and of course his humanity.
As others have said this is a Mad Max type of world that we are treated to many awesome types of creatures and fauna. The adventure spans the globe. The swashbuckling feel is palatable especially since we spend a great deal of time aboard world spanning dirigibles.
I was shocked by how much that I loved reading this book. Once again Alastair Reynolds has shown me why I consider him one of my very favorite authors. This book would appeal to all lovers of steampunk and light science fiction. One should not let his heavy science fiction book log intimidate you from reading this blast…
August 10, 2011
I wanted to give this four stars. Or even three. Engaging idea and good story telling. But Reynolds must have averaged a technical error every other page. It was hard to stay in a story with so many details out of whack.
Reynolds should have ridden in a hot-air balloon--if not a dirigible--before writing a story centered on the care and use of same. "...as the ground cools, we'll lose lift." Really? At four "leagues" (see below) altitude (60,000+ feet!?) in an unpressurized vessel, the crew is occasionally breathing oxygen. No, they're dead.
Folks are all worried about obtaining fuel, but never a word about their source of "sun gas." And yet, without propulsion, one dirigible almost immediately starts to sink because it's losing gas. And there are hundreds of craft in this lighter-than-air fleet. Since it's apparently hydrogen (even though only at the end of the book does it burn) (and they don't have ready supplies of water or electricity) no clue where it comes from. But hundreds of dirigibles--one "half a league" long--have supposedly been floating around for centuries.
Reynolds apparently used "leagues" without reference to the conventional meaning: three miles. Maybe he tossed it in as a convenient undefined-long-distance term. Things happen which only make sense if "leagues" on this non-earth earth are shorter than a statute mile: kilometer or less works best . . . except for how tiny that makes the planet. Sloppy.
He thinks winters at the equator are cooler than summers. Absent monsoon and sea breezes (no seas here), they're not.
"One of the Moon's two halves..." I hope he meant two round moons at half phase, but that's not the way he words it. A hemispherical moon could not maintain that shape long. Anything more than single digit "leagues" would soon assume a spherical shape, especially after hundreds of years. And two of them shouldn't be in stable orbits--much less stable in the same orbit.
That said the whole thing would be more satisfying if the protag weren't so stupid--not to mention being a slow learner. And him an "angel" and a doctor. The female Huck Finn companion was nicely done.
And the story doesn't end so much as taper off to nothing.
Reynolds should have ridden in a hot-air balloon--if not a dirigible--before writing a story centered on the care and use of same. "...as the ground cools, we'll lose lift." Really? At four "leagues" (see below) altitude (60,000+ feet!?) in an unpressurized vessel, the crew is occasionally breathing oxygen. No, they're dead.
Folks are all worried about obtaining fuel, but never a word about their source of "sun gas." And yet, without propulsion, one dirigible almost immediately starts to sink because it's losing gas. And there are hundreds of craft in this lighter-than-air fleet. Since it's apparently hydrogen (even though only at the end of the book does it burn) (and they don't have ready supplies of water or electricity) no clue where it comes from. But hundreds of dirigibles--one "half a league" long--have supposedly been floating around for centuries.
Reynolds apparently used "leagues" without reference to the conventional meaning: three miles. Maybe he tossed it in as a convenient undefined-long-distance term. Things happen which only make sense if "leagues" on this non-earth earth are shorter than a statute mile: kilometer or less works best . . . except for how tiny that makes the planet. Sloppy.
He thinks winters at the equator are cooler than summers. Absent monsoon and sea breezes (no seas here), they're not.
"One of the Moon's two halves..." I hope he meant two round moons at half phase, but that's not the way he words it. A hemispherical moon could not maintain that shape long. Anything more than single digit "leagues" would soon assume a spherical shape, especially after hundreds of years. And two of them shouldn't be in stable orbits--much less stable in the same orbit.
That said the whole thing would be more satisfying if the protag weren't so stupid--not to mention being a slow learner. And him an "angel" and a doctor. The female Huck Finn companion was nicely done.
And the story doesn't end so much as taper off to nothing.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 15, 2011
I've enjoy reading Reynolds space opera, even though they do tend to all blur into one book, however his latest novel is a departure from the usual spaceship chasing galaxy spanning stuff. This is much more of a steampunk book, veering a little into fantasy - not necessarily a bad thing, but not what people may be expecting.
Two things really let this book down for me; firstly I just couldn't find the characters motivations believable, particularly the main character of the doctor who's obsessions with protecting the other characters just had no real justification in the plot and came out of nowhere very quickly at odds with what we know about him (not exactly a caring type). The plot bounced along driven by this urge to protect the other characters which I just couldn't get behind and in the end divorced me from engaging fully with the story.
My second problem is that Reynolds dialogue is pretty poor. Usually that doesn't matter too much - there's lots of space opera to watch instead, but here the story is essentially character driven and the dialogue really let it down particularly at the end.
Not really one to recommend unless you're a fan. Try one of his other's instead.
Two things really let this book down for me; firstly I just couldn't find the characters motivations believable, particularly the main character of the doctor who's obsessions with protecting the other characters just had no real justification in the plot and came out of nowhere very quickly at odds with what we know about him (not exactly a caring type). The plot bounced along driven by this urge to protect the other characters which I just couldn't get behind and in the end divorced me from engaging fully with the story.
My second problem is that Reynolds dialogue is pretty poor. Usually that doesn't matter too much - there's lots of space opera to watch instead, but here the story is essentially character driven and the dialogue really let it down particularly at the end.
Not really one to recommend unless you're a fan. Try one of his other's instead.
January 13, 2021
Second Reynolds after House of Suns. This one felt like he was phoning it in by comparison with the first. Still a decent s-f novel with a great concept. If you look at all of his concepts, they tend to be perfect set-ups. The backs of his books often read better than the books themselves.
I do think he weaves in a lot of ideas, but I did not feel that the world was fully explored. I did not care about the characters and the pacing dragged. A lot of people may be easily immersed in the futuristic setting, taking place on a sky-piercing tower, with multiple civilizations distributed throughout its levels, each constricted to a different level of technology. You can go a lot of directions with such a concept, but the central thrust of the narrative, the main conflict, while it worked in a cinematic sense, seemed to lack the tension I was hoping for.
If I compare it to House of Suns, the leading concept is more central to this plot than that other. In HoS, the experience of reading the book is heightened by the subtlety of the world building, how one gets the sense of an endless variety of forms within the fictional universe. There is less of that feeling here, much less, and it is a straightforward exploration of an intriguing world.
Long-winded, slightly repetitive in plotting, and with fewer memorable characters. Nonetheless, Reynolds is a powerhouse s-f writers. Clearly one of the best, but is not exempt from occasionally boring me. How could he have improved it, you ask? The simple answer would be detail. It feels a little like Mad Max, which I liked, but non-stop action only serves to turn the brain off. I wanted a discussion of scientific speculations, woven with the tried-and-true themes, lots more atmosphere. Instead, we got one action set-piece following another.
I do think he weaves in a lot of ideas, but I did not feel that the world was fully explored. I did not care about the characters and the pacing dragged. A lot of people may be easily immersed in the futuristic setting, taking place on a sky-piercing tower, with multiple civilizations distributed throughout its levels, each constricted to a different level of technology. You can go a lot of directions with such a concept, but the central thrust of the narrative, the main conflict, while it worked in a cinematic sense, seemed to lack the tension I was hoping for.
If I compare it to House of Suns, the leading concept is more central to this plot than that other. In HoS, the experience of reading the book is heightened by the subtlety of the world building, how one gets the sense of an endless variety of forms within the fictional universe. There is less of that feeling here, much less, and it is a straightforward exploration of an intriguing world.
Long-winded, slightly repetitive in plotting, and with fewer memorable characters. Nonetheless, Reynolds is a powerhouse s-f writers. Clearly one of the best, but is not exempt from occasionally boring me. How could he have improved it, you ask? The simple answer would be detail. It feels a little like Mad Max, which I liked, but non-stop action only serves to turn the brain off. I wanted a discussion of scientific speculations, woven with the tried-and-true themes, lots more atmosphere. Instead, we got one action set-piece following another.
February 11, 2023
So I don't know what to say about this one. I liked it but I could barely articulate why. I didn't really like the set-up of Terminal World, and I certainly paid very little attention to the mechanics of the zones and how they shift around. I'm not even going to jump into the question of whether or not this is scifi or fantasy, but this is clearly an attempt to sketch out a semi-plausible steampunk future.
Anyway, even without following along closely the ending was still meaningful and mostly enjoyable. The only thing I didn't particularly like was the whole "chosen one" vibe about it, although that's essentially dismissed in the final moments.
The story as a whole though was very entertaining, with excellent characters and a steadily engaging plot throughout. I actually loved the pacing too, you'd get a bit of a sense of a secret (or find out that someone is keeping one) and never had to wait too long before both the reader and the blissfully ignorant characters were enlightened. I loved that approach, it created real tension but the story didn't rely on that to make or break the whole story. And it's so much better than having the audience wait patiently while obvious hints are ignored by otherwise intelligent characters.
So. There you go. I suppose I can articulate what I did and didn't like about the story after all.
Anyway, even without following along closely the ending was still meaningful and mostly enjoyable. The only thing I didn't particularly like was the whole "chosen one" vibe about it, although that's essentially dismissed in the final moments.
The story as a whole though was very entertaining, with excellent characters and a steadily engaging plot throughout. I actually loved the pacing too, you'd get a bit of a sense of a secret (or find out that someone is keeping one) and never had to wait too long before both the reader and the blissfully ignorant characters were enlightened. I loved that approach, it created real tension but the story didn't rely on that to make or break the whole story. And it's so much better than having the audience wait patiently while obvious hints are ignored by otherwise intelligent characters.
So. There you go. I suppose I can articulate what I did and didn't like about the story after all.
March 19, 2010
Terminal World was one of my top 5 expected novels of 2010 and it was good but not awesome and the weakest novel I read from Mr. Reynolds as execution goes - I did not like The Prefect and Century Rain as much as the others mainly because I thought the mystery/thriller part in each was too detrimental to the sense of wonder part, but they were well done overall, while Terminal World reads like a draft that needs a lot of editing and tightening. When heroes discuss/declaim before shooting the villains in what's supposed to be a surprise attack that is just sloppy writing regardless of the author...
The other problem is the main hero Quillon who just does not have the weight to carry an ambitious novel like TW - again the author tried to compensate with stronger characters like Fray, Meroka, Curtana and even Ricasso, but they are all supporting characters that seem to come and go as the script requires rather than in a natural way.
There are lots of moments of brilliance which show how awesome the novel could have been and the ending is excellent though in many ways I would have loved the novel to start then so to speak...
An A- and a moderate disappointment
The other problem is the main hero Quillon who just does not have the weight to carry an ambitious novel like TW - again the author tried to compensate with stronger characters like Fray, Meroka, Curtana and even Ricasso, but they are all supporting characters that seem to come and go as the script requires rather than in a natural way.
There are lots of moments of brilliance which show how awesome the novel could have been and the ending is excellent though in many ways I would have loved the novel to start then so to speak...
An A- and a moderate disappointment
August 10, 2012
I broadly enjoyed reading this book, but my big gripe is that the story just stops, in the middle of dramatic events, without explaining what happens to the characters, without explaining the real nature of the world - in particular the "zones" which limit technology and make up the entire premise of the book. There are vague hints, which is fine, but much of it is left entirely unexplained, including the fate of the protagonists. It's written as if there was supposed to be a sequel, but Reynolds has apparently given up on it as a bad lot and has no plans to write any more.
I enjoyed the steampunkish setting, and the city of Spearpoint was also fascinating, though we don't get to see much of it before traipsing off on a rather tedious travelogue of less interesting parts of the world.
The bulk of the novel then takes place confined to airships. One character, referring to the airship-based fiction popular amongst these airborne denizens, says to another: '"Will you read these stories?" "I don't like them", Nimcha explained, "they're stupid. They're about things that don't matter"'. I couldn't help agreeing, and wondered why Mr Reynolds had wasted his time and mine.
I enjoyed the steampunkish setting, and the city of Spearpoint was also fascinating, though we don't get to see much of it before traipsing off on a rather tedious travelogue of less interesting parts of the world.
The bulk of the novel then takes place confined to airships. One character, referring to the airship-based fiction popular amongst these airborne denizens, says to another: '"Will you read these stories?" "I don't like them", Nimcha explained, "they're stupid. They're about things that don't matter"'. I couldn't help agreeing, and wondered why Mr Reynolds had wasted his time and mine.
July 10, 2011
It's a good book!
The goodreads aggregate review of about 3.5 stars is spot on if you're just reading the planetary adventure with mad max airship battles at face value.
If you pick up on the sub-surface story about the setting, you can find another half star enjoyment, so maybe 4 stars?
If you let references to other science fiction about a similar setting inform your reading journey, another half star. Like, 4.5 stars?
And if you like the literary storytelling experiment, it can help your enjoyment even more... but I've read it before, so the initial delight at discovering the different levels wasn't quite so impactful this time.
Full review on my podcast, SFBRP episode #561:
Luke revisits Terminal World by Alastair Reynolds, and tells Juliane about the four different levels of understanding available to discover and enjoyment to be had.
https://www.sfbrp.com/archives/2328
A previous full review on my podcast, SFBRP #133.
The goodreads aggregate review of about 3.5 stars is spot on if you're just reading the planetary adventure with mad max airship battles at face value.
If you pick up on the sub-surface story about the setting, you can find another half star enjoyment, so maybe 4 stars?
If you let references to other science fiction about a similar setting inform your reading journey, another half star. Like, 4.5 stars?
And if you like the literary storytelling experiment, it can help your enjoyment even more... but I've read it before, so the initial delight at discovering the different levels wasn't quite so impactful this time.
Full review on my podcast, SFBRP episode #561:
Luke revisits Terminal World by Alastair Reynolds, and tells Juliane about the four different levels of understanding available to discover and enjoyment to be had.
https://www.sfbrp.com/archives/2328
A previous full review on my podcast, SFBRP #133.
February 3, 2014
fun, fun, fun.
it's a noir mystery set in a wyrd, steampunky alternate universe...
...until you get to a nicer part of town.
the one with electricity.
imaginative and engaging.
this is how to have your sci-fi—and get your steampunk, too.
outstanding.
it's a noir mystery set in a wyrd, steampunky alternate universe...
...until you get to a nicer part of town.
the one with electricity.
imaginative and engaging.
this is how to have your sci-fi—and get your steampunk, too.
outstanding.
July 31, 2014
Alastair Reynolds has impressed me with his intellectual sorta-hard-SF space operas, but left me a bit cold in terms of characters and storytelling, the grand scope of his plots dwarfing the human elements. He's a bit like a colder Charles Stross who is not trying quite as hard as Stross does to impress you with his cleverness, even though he's very clever.
Terminal World is a departure from his usual space operas - it's set on one world, that vaguely resembles Earth but isn't, in a post-apocalytic far future. The setting is kind of steampunkish, but steampunk done in a hard-SF way, and more post-human than the usual pseudo-Victorian frippery.
Quillon is a doctor living in a city called Spearpoint. Spearpoint is, as its name implies, a towering sliver of civilization stretched up into the atmosphere, surrounded by a wasted, cold and drying planet. Spearpoint is divided into "zones" that determine what technology works there. At the highest levels are the Angels, who still enjoy advanced technology, while at lower levels are places like Neon Heights, Steamville, and Horse Town. Some places, electronics stop working. Other places do not even allow internal combustion. And there are some zones where even humans can't survive.
At first, the characters seem mostly uninterested in how this state of affairs came to be, because apparently it's been like this for thousands of years, and is now the accepted status quo. Indeed, we learn that despite the obvious remnants of what was once a great, highly technological civilization, most people have little awareness of history or a world beyond their own.
It turns out Quillon is an Angel, or a former Angel. Angels can't normally survive in the low-tech lower levels, but he was part of a special infiltration project that went wrong and left him isolated among hostile humans (or "post-humans" as the Angels call them). When the Angels come after him, he goes on the run. His flight eventually takes him out of Spearpoint altogether, and across the wastelands which are occupied by Reaver-like "Skull-boys" and a rival civilization known as SWARM that exists entirely in the air, aboard a great fleet of zeppelins.
So, Reynolds manages to give us sky pirates and zeppelin battles, and a world-saving adventure that does not really uncover the secret behind Spearpoint and its world, but gives us a few glimpses. At times this felt like one of his epic space operas, albeit confined to a single planet, and at other times, it was more like a steampunk adventure. (Zeppelin battles!)
I liked Terminal World - it feels complete, even with a somewhat vague ending. Clearly Reynolds could write more books set in this world, but it doesn't seem like he plans to.
Alastair Reynolds is probably one of the smartest and best writers of hard SF and space opera today, the kind of SF that actually uses physics and big ideas. Unfortunately, his writing still lacks an essential something to make him one of my favorites - it's as if there is always a certain lofty distance between author and creation that one can sense in his work. His characters are intelligent and interesting, but they are largely plot puppets. Still, this was going to be "three strikes and you're out" but it was more of a base hit, so I'll keep reading him.
Terminal World is a departure from his usual space operas - it's set on one world, that vaguely resembles Earth but isn't, in a post-apocalytic far future. The setting is kind of steampunkish, but steampunk done in a hard-SF way, and more post-human than the usual pseudo-Victorian frippery.
Quillon is a doctor living in a city called Spearpoint. Spearpoint is, as its name implies, a towering sliver of civilization stretched up into the atmosphere, surrounded by a wasted, cold and drying planet. Spearpoint is divided into "zones" that determine what technology works there. At the highest levels are the Angels, who still enjoy advanced technology, while at lower levels are places like Neon Heights, Steamville, and Horse Town. Some places, electronics stop working. Other places do not even allow internal combustion. And there are some zones where even humans can't survive.
At first, the characters seem mostly uninterested in how this state of affairs came to be, because apparently it's been like this for thousands of years, and is now the accepted status quo. Indeed, we learn that despite the obvious remnants of what was once a great, highly technological civilization, most people have little awareness of history or a world beyond their own.
It turns out Quillon is an Angel, or a former Angel. Angels can't normally survive in the low-tech lower levels, but he was part of a special infiltration project that went wrong and left him isolated among hostile humans (or "post-humans" as the Angels call them). When the Angels come after him, he goes on the run. His flight eventually takes him out of Spearpoint altogether, and across the wastelands which are occupied by Reaver-like "Skull-boys" and a rival civilization known as SWARM that exists entirely in the air, aboard a great fleet of zeppelins.
So, Reynolds manages to give us sky pirates and zeppelin battles, and a world-saving adventure that does not really uncover the secret behind Spearpoint and its world, but gives us a few glimpses. At times this felt like one of his epic space operas, albeit confined to a single planet, and at other times, it was more like a steampunk adventure. (Zeppelin battles!)
I liked Terminal World - it feels complete, even with a somewhat vague ending. Clearly Reynolds could write more books set in this world, but it doesn't seem like he plans to.
Alastair Reynolds is probably one of the smartest and best writers of hard SF and space opera today, the kind of SF that actually uses physics and big ideas. Unfortunately, his writing still lacks an essential something to make him one of my favorites - it's as if there is always a certain lofty distance between author and creation that one can sense in his work. His characters are intelligent and interesting, but they are largely plot puppets. Still, this was going to be "three strikes and you're out" but it was more of a base hit, so I'll keep reading him.
July 20, 2011
Well, I did manage to finish this one. Alastair Reynolds is a very imaginative writer, certainly, but sometimes he comes up with a situation that just seems completely unworkable to me. There was the ice world with gigantic cathedrals trundling around and around, and now this: a future Earth with mysterious, shifting "zones" where different levels of technology suddenly cease to work.
Okay, so some people live on the side of this mysterious gigantic black artificial mountain, Spearpoint, which has a spiral up the side, and is huge enough to have streets, businesses and houses on it. A city clings to this spiral. But there are these shifting "zones", where different levels of technology are the limit: Horsetown, at the bottom, relies on gas lanterns and horses, while Neon Heights has electricity and, well, neon, I guess. But these "zones" can suddenly shift, and destroy a bunch of stuff. And folks get sick if they cross from zone to zone.
Yet people still live there. Meanwhile, somewhere on Earth, apparently, they're still able to create motors and learn medicine, and make big guns...out where the zones spread out. I guess Spearpoint would be a steady customer, but I'm not sure how they'd pay for anything.
Which brings us to the Swarm. That's a huge fleet of dirigibles, with airmen and "citizens", full families, flying around all the time. There's also the Skullboys, transported from the set of Mad Max right into this story, and the Vorgs, a vicious mix of organic body parts and Terminator leftovers. None of which have any visible means of support or reason for existence, really.
So, I was expecting some really clever techno-mumbo-jumbo explanation and solution to this mess...but no. Reynolds offers up about half of a real explanation and a hint of a future solution, which leaves me worrying that he's thinking "sequel". Which makes me think: "Run away!"
Okay, so some people live on the side of this mysterious gigantic black artificial mountain, Spearpoint, which has a spiral up the side, and is huge enough to have streets, businesses and houses on it. A city clings to this spiral. But there are these shifting "zones", where different levels of technology are the limit: Horsetown, at the bottom, relies on gas lanterns and horses, while Neon Heights has electricity and, well, neon, I guess. But these "zones" can suddenly shift, and destroy a bunch of stuff. And folks get sick if they cross from zone to zone.
Yet people still live there. Meanwhile, somewhere on Earth, apparently, they're still able to create motors and learn medicine, and make big guns...out where the zones spread out. I guess Spearpoint would be a steady customer, but I'm not sure how they'd pay for anything.
Which brings us to the Swarm. That's a huge fleet of dirigibles, with airmen and "citizens", full families, flying around all the time. There's also the Skullboys, transported from the set of Mad Max right into this story, and the Vorgs, a vicious mix of organic body parts and Terminator leftovers. None of which have any visible means of support or reason for existence, really.
So, I was expecting some really clever techno-mumbo-jumbo explanation and solution to this mess...but no. Reynolds offers up about half of a real explanation and a hint of a future solution, which leaves me worrying that he's thinking "sequel". Which makes me think: "Run away!"
June 14, 2010
This is easily Reynolds' weakest novel to-date. It opens with one of Neal Stephenson's favourite technical crimes - a protagonist switch. Grrr! It would have been more difficult to pull off but the novel could have opened with the intended main protagonist finding an angel on his pathology bench. Instead there is a long scene from the point of view of two characters who are never heard from again - and you know from the outset that they are going to disappear once they've delivered the angel. So, not a good start.
A chase ensues not too long after but I had an odd reaction to it; I felt like I was reading a distillation of the generic "hero and heroine on a train are chased by pursuers intent on their murder" scene from umpteen Hollywood movies. I suppose it just felt old hat.
Things get more interesting later, but then airships turned up and I spent considerable time trying to get Philip Reeves' Mortal Engines books out of my head. I wasn't really successful until the approaching denouement. Then the denouement failed to explain enough of what had been going on. Now, Reynolds routinely ends matters with revelations of bigger mysteries and unexplored realms, but this time too many things were left unresolved for my taste - and sequels are not Reynolds' favourite things.
There is much to admire in terms of the SF setting and characters but this is a very disappointing effort, particularly coming immediately after the excellent House of Suns.
PS. Did I mention that there's a guy who's had his memories over-written - again!
A chase ensues not too long after but I had an odd reaction to it; I felt like I was reading a distillation of the generic "hero and heroine on a train are chased by pursuers intent on their murder" scene from umpteen Hollywood movies. I suppose it just felt old hat.
Things get more interesting later, but then airships turned up and I spent considerable time trying to get Philip Reeves' Mortal Engines books out of my head. I wasn't really successful until the approaching denouement. Then the denouement failed to explain enough of what had been going on. Now, Reynolds routinely ends matters with revelations of bigger mysteries and unexplored realms, but this time too many things were left unresolved for my taste - and sequels are not Reynolds' favourite things.
There is much to admire in terms of the SF setting and characters but this is a very disappointing effort, particularly coming immediately after the excellent House of Suns.
PS. Did I mention that there's a guy who's had his memories over-written - again!
October 23, 2024
Mani vienmēr ir interesējusi šī autora daiļrade, taču reti sanāk lasīt viņa darbus. Spearpoint ir milzīga būve uz kuras laiku gaitā ir izveidojušās dažādas pilsētvalstis. No eņģeļiem debesīs līdz mežonīgajiem rietumiem tās piekājē. Kas un kādēļ ir uzbūvējis šo ēku jau sen ir aizmirsts. Pat par katastrofu, kura sadalīja pasauli zonās klīst vien leģendas. Viens ir skaidrs pirms vairāk nekā pieciem gadu tūkstošiem notika trakas lietas.
Galvenais varonis Quillon nav tas par kuru viņš izliekas, savas darba dienas vadot morgā. Pagātne viņu panāk, kad morgā tiek piegādāts eņģeļa līķis. Quillon saprot ir laiks pamest Spearpoint.
Sāksim ar pozitīvo. Pasaule ir labi izveidota, nu tā, ka aizrauj ar pirmajām lapaspusēm. Debesskrāpis, kas iesniedzas stratosfērā, kur dažādās tā lokācijās valda nedaudz savādāki fizikas likumi. Ja vienā vari šaut ar lāzeriem, tad citā tehnoloģijas griesti ir loks un bulta. Un ne jau tādēļ, ka cilvēki dumjāki. Galvenā varoņa ceļojums izved lasītāju cauri visām šīm vietām un nedaudz paceļ noslēpumu plīvuru, pārāk neapgrūtinot ar detaļām, lai ļasīšana nepārvērstos par senu hroniku atstāstu. Godīgi sakot, tieši pasaules dēļ es turpināju lasīt.
Varoņi ir labi izveidoti bet ne vairāk, jau no paša sākuma ir skaidrs, ka te visi ir lielākoties labie pret ļaunajiem. Tādu pustoņu īsti nebija, jā bija pašlabuma meklētāji, bet viņus motivēja nauda un vara, nevis tur kaut kādi morāli ētiskie spriedumi. arī rīcības un motīvi bija visnotaļ klišejiski. Nebija jēgas īsti nevienam pieķerties un jau no sākta gala bija skaidrs, ka diez vai no galvenās blices kāds mirs.
Pats sižets ir diezgan primitīvs kvests, kur Quillon bēgšanas laikā, šim parādās misija un visa grāmata ir viena vienīga draugu meklēšana un brīnumaina misijas turpināšana. Šī daļa bija visgarlaicīgākā. Iedomājaties tūkstošgadu vecu naidu spēj izkliedēt viens dakteris no tās pašas naidīgās teritorijas un visi pēkšņi ir gatavi nenosakāma nākotnes miera labā upurēt savas dzīvības. Saprotu, žanrs ir fantāzija ar zinātniskās fantastikas piešprici, bet varēja jau pacensties.
Lieku 6 no 10 ballēm, izlasīju, nenožēloju, beigas nepatika, sižets iestiepts.
Galvenais varonis Quillon nav tas par kuru viņš izliekas, savas darba dienas vadot morgā. Pagātne viņu panāk, kad morgā tiek piegādāts eņģeļa līķis. Quillon saprot ir laiks pamest Spearpoint.
Sāksim ar pozitīvo. Pasaule ir labi izveidota, nu tā, ka aizrauj ar pirmajām lapaspusēm. Debesskrāpis, kas iesniedzas stratosfērā, kur dažādās tā lokācijās valda nedaudz savādāki fizikas likumi. Ja vienā vari šaut ar lāzeriem, tad citā tehnoloģijas griesti ir loks un bulta. Un ne jau tādēļ, ka cilvēki dumjāki. Galvenā varoņa ceļojums izved lasītāju cauri visām šīm vietām un nedaudz paceļ noslēpumu plīvuru, pārāk neapgrūtinot ar detaļām, lai ļasīšana nepārvērstos par senu hroniku atstāstu. Godīgi sakot, tieši pasaules dēļ es turpināju lasīt.
Varoņi ir labi izveidoti bet ne vairāk, jau no paša sākuma ir skaidrs, ka te visi ir lielākoties labie pret ļaunajiem. Tādu pustoņu īsti nebija, jā bija pašlabuma meklētāji, bet viņus motivēja nauda un vara, nevis tur kaut kādi morāli ētiskie spriedumi. arī rīcības un motīvi bija visnotaļ klišejiski. Nebija jēgas īsti nevienam pieķerties un jau no sākta gala bija skaidrs, ka diez vai no galvenās blices kāds mirs.
Pats sižets ir diezgan primitīvs kvests, kur Quillon bēgšanas laikā, šim parādās misija un visa grāmata ir viena vienīga draugu meklēšana un brīnumaina misijas turpināšana. Šī daļa bija visgarlaicīgākā. Iedomājaties tūkstošgadu vecu naidu spēj izkliedēt viens dakteris no tās pašas naidīgās teritorijas un visi pēkšņi ir gatavi nenosakāma nākotnes miera labā upurēt savas dzīvības. Saprotu, žanrs ir fantāzija ar zinātniskās fantastikas piešprici, bet varēja jau pacensties.
Lieku 6 no 10 ballēm, izlasīju, nenožēloju, beigas nepatika, sižets iestiepts.
February 27, 2011
One would think, in a sci-fi adventure, involving many chase scenes and travel sequences through an ever-changing landscape constantly fraught with danger for a ragtag group of protagonists, that it would not be possible for a story to be stuffy and dry. And yet it is in this book. The premise is fascinating, a far future (on Mars) where technology works to a varying degree depending on location, and human lifespans are much shorter. (Or the Martian year is longer. People are also way taller.) I felt a little gypped based the back cover of this - Spearpoint is NOT the last city. There are several of them, controlled by 3 different factions. I do like the space elevator concept. I liked the concept of Quillan - a human/machine hybrid adapted to live in an area where no machines could thrive. However, he was ostensibly the narrator but not all that into sharing thoughts, knowledge, or feelings, AND he was not at all curious about the world around him. The characters also kept circling around to the same locations - like a low budget tv show with limited funds for set building. Every time characters spoke with one another, the dialogue scenes went ON and ON and ON. Great swathes of dialogue with no forward momentum, plotwise or in regards to character development. I felt like vast sections of this book could have been edited much more effectively. I think this would have been much better as a short story or a novella - maybe something a quarter of the length. It felt like the author was trying to make arbitrary word counts, or was perhaps being paid by the word. I listened to this in audiobook format. If I had read this as a regular book, I would have done a lot of skimming. As it is, one disk (out of 15) had a bunch of errors so I had to skip it - and I could not tell that I had missed anything in the story. Not good.
I REALLY enjoyed House of Suns, so this was disappointing. I got the feeling that the author was much more comfortable telling a story against the vast backdrop & infinite worlds of space, and felt confined with a setting of only one planet, and then only one section of one planet.
I REALLY enjoyed House of Suns, so this was disappointing. I got the feeling that the author was much more comfortable telling a story against the vast backdrop & infinite worlds of space, and felt confined with a setting of only one planet, and then only one section of one planet.
March 17, 2025
Did not mean for this read to take so long.
Oh well…
Imagine a Mad Max setting (post-apocalypse, sandy world), but with a bit more advanced tech leftovers scattered around from previous generations (like in Nausicaa), flying gondolas; a steampunk era Horizon Zero Dawn.
That’s what it’s like, and I liked it. Unlike the usual Alastair books, it wasn’t too wordy. Good pacing (only interrupted by life being busy), and a lot of mystery on what exactly is going on… and that feeling lingers after you finish the book.
“So what the fuck was going on??”
I couldn’t tell you that part. Stuff happened thousands of years ago, and is bad now. Some space stuff? Probably. Something happened, and that caused more stuff to happen.
Don’t get me wrong, you can connect the dots and kind of get an idea of what happened, but Alastair usually explains everything at the end. This time the ending was just really abrupt. Very abrupt! Felt like there should have been another 100 pages or so to the story.
Oh well…
Imagine a Mad Max setting (post-apocalypse, sandy world), but with a bit more advanced tech leftovers scattered around from previous generations (like in Nausicaa), flying gondolas; a steampunk era Horizon Zero Dawn.
That’s what it’s like, and I liked it. Unlike the usual Alastair books, it wasn’t too wordy. Good pacing (only interrupted by life being busy), and a lot of mystery on what exactly is going on… and that feeling lingers after you finish the book.
“So what the fuck was going on??”
I couldn’t tell you that part. Stuff happened thousands of years ago, and is bad now. Some space stuff? Probably. Something happened, and that caused more stuff to happen.
Don’t get me wrong, you can connect the dots and kind of get an idea of what happened, but Alastair usually explains everything at the end. This time the ending was just really abrupt. Very abrupt! Felt like there should have been another 100 pages or so to the story.
January 4, 2026
Not my favorite Reynolds. I mean, the characters were fun and there was certainly enough action, but maybe I just can’t think of him as a writer of steampunk rather than New Space Opera.
September 15, 2016
8.5/10
In Terminal World Reynolds brings something more different from his usual space opera stories as in this on he has managed to combine a post-apocalyptic, steampunk world along with angels, hybrid robots and much more, into an entertaining story with lots of action and some pretty good twists.
In a destroyed Earth in the far future Spearpoint is the last human city; a city so tall that each level is separated to different societies, with some having food, medicine and electricity, while others might not have anything at all.
For nine years Quillon is working as a doctor in a morgue in Neon Heights among humans, hiding his true identity, but when another “angel” falls from the Celestial Levels, the highest level, half-dead from the zone shift he will reveal to him that his life is in danger and he will be forced to leave the city.
However, outside the city a very different, and stranger, world awaits him that hates anything non-human, and that will set him in an adventure that will make his survival more difficult; and also against machinations and betrayals that might put in danger even the whole humanity.
Reynolds’ writing in this book is much “easier” than his other works, but that of course doesn’t make it also a bad thing as with all that “weird” stuff he has managed to make a pretty good story, although I must admit that it drags a bit at some points. The characters are also pretty good and I really liked Quillon and Meroka’s dynamic style in the story.
Overall I must say that the book left me satisfied in the end and, even though it doesn’t have such deep meanings as some of his other works, it’s definitely a really entertaining story that it’s worth to look it up.
Ελληνική κριτική:
In Terminal World Reynolds brings something more different from his usual space opera stories as in this on he has managed to combine a post-apocalyptic, steampunk world along with angels, hybrid robots and much more, into an entertaining story with lots of action and some pretty good twists.
In a destroyed Earth in the far future Spearpoint is the last human city; a city so tall that each level is separated to different societies, with some having food, medicine and electricity, while others might not have anything at all.
For nine years Quillon is working as a doctor in a morgue in Neon Heights among humans, hiding his true identity, but when another “angel” falls from the Celestial Levels, the highest level, half-dead from the zone shift he will reveal to him that his life is in danger and he will be forced to leave the city.
However, outside the city a very different, and stranger, world awaits him that hates anything non-human, and that will set him in an adventure that will make his survival more difficult; and also against machinations and betrayals that might put in danger even the whole humanity.
Reynolds’ writing in this book is much “easier” than his other works, but that of course doesn’t make it also a bad thing as with all that “weird” stuff he has managed to make a pretty good story, although I must admit that it drags a bit at some points. The characters are also pretty good and I really liked Quillon and Meroka’s dynamic style in the story.
Overall I must say that the book left me satisfied in the end and, even though it doesn’t have such deep meanings as some of his other works, it’s definitely a really entertaining story that it’s worth to look it up.
Ελληνική κριτική:
April 3, 2012
This is a steampunk novel from an author known for SF. In the towering city of Spearpoint, Quillon is working as a pathologist in the district morgue. When a winged angel from the Celestial Levels ends up on his dissection table, it starts a chain of events that causes Quillon to embark on a journey into the hostile lands beyond Spearpoint. The main conceit at play is that the world (and Spearpoint) is divided into several different zones in which only certain kinds of technology can exist. Traveling from one zone to another, if you're heading from a more advanced zone to a less advanced zone, renders any more advanced tech unworkable. In Spearpoint itself the zones range from high-tech, to electricity, to steam-powered, to "Horsetown". It's a strange set-up that naturally doesn't hold up to close scrutiny but there you are.
The beginning of the story moves along a fast clip and keeps you interested. But once Quillon is beyond Spearpoint, the story slows down considerably. There are a few moments when things get re-invigorated, but they don't last until perhaps the last 70 pages of the book when events once again move at quicker pace. It was interesting enough to keep reading, but just barely. The middle is a slog. And Quillon's not the most captivating character either. My biggest complaint is that the book lacks suspense for 95% of the story.
Some weeks ago I came across another reader who whole-heartedly recommends the author's book "House of Suns" but had warned me not to bother with this one.
The beginning of the story moves along a fast clip and keeps you interested. But once Quillon is beyond Spearpoint, the story slows down considerably. There are a few moments when things get re-invigorated, but they don't last until perhaps the last 70 pages of the book when events once again move at quicker pace. It was interesting enough to keep reading, but just barely. The middle is a slog. And Quillon's not the most captivating character either. My biggest complaint is that the book lacks suspense for 95% of the story.
Some weeks ago I came across another reader who whole-heartedly recommends the author's book "House of Suns" but had warned me not to bother with this one.
July 14, 2021
A decent novel. Worth a reading, not a second one.
April 26, 2010
It’s more-or-less exactly a year since I read an Alastair Reynolds novel for the first time, and now here I am, looking at his latest book. Once again, I had a great time reading him – though I can’t shake the feeling I like the idea of Terminal World (and here I’m referring to the underlying structure of the story, rather than the novel’s setting, which is a fine creation) more than I like how that idea plays out in actuality.
At some point in the future, after even the word ‘science’ has been forgotten by many, there is Spearpoint, a giant vertical city divided into ‘zones’, each of which, by some quirk of reality, has a limit to the technology that will function within its boundaries; the further up you go, the more advanced is the technology that becomes feasible. Passing through a zone boundary places great strain on a human body, and ‘antizonal’ drugs are needed for survival (though they’re not a panacea; they just mean you don’t die as quickly).
In the zone of Neon Heights (whose level of technology is equivalent to that of a couple of decades or so before our time), an angel (highly advanced human, that is) falls from the levels above, and is taken to the district pathologist, Quillon. This apparent accident has been engineered just to get a message to Quillon; the pathologist is himself an angel, who was modified to see if the human zones could be infiltrated – and now the angels are coming after him.
In short order, Quillon is given a female bodyguard/courier, Meroka; covertly escorted from Spearpoint; and sets off across the lawless face of Earth to the safety of another human settlement. Capture, intrigue, rescue and discovery all ensue.
The thing that struck me first of all about Terminal World was that Reynolds is a great writer of pace; especially at the beginning, he keeps the plot moving with merciless efficiency. Unfortunately, the pace flags a bit towards the middle, though it does crank up again towards the end. I also found the characterisation rather sketchy (Meroka, for example, never seemed to me to become much more than a ‘tough female bodyguard’, and Quillon felt too much like someone the story happens to, rather than a fully rounded character).
But… Reynolds does something particularly interesting in this novel, which is to take a world with a puzzle at its centre (i.e. what happened to create the zones?) and make that puzzle a tangent to the main story. In other words, this isn’t a straightforward tale of Uncovering the Secret of the World – but, you know, that’s not to say it doesn’t happen… As I said at the beginning, I like the idea of this technique, but I’m not sure how well the mix actually works; in a way, it seems to work against the forward momentum of the story. Still, despite these reservations, I enjoyed Terminal World; it’s a good read.
At some point in the future, after even the word ‘science’ has been forgotten by many, there is Spearpoint, a giant vertical city divided into ‘zones’, each of which, by some quirk of reality, has a limit to the technology that will function within its boundaries; the further up you go, the more advanced is the technology that becomes feasible. Passing through a zone boundary places great strain on a human body, and ‘antizonal’ drugs are needed for survival (though they’re not a panacea; they just mean you don’t die as quickly).
In the zone of Neon Heights (whose level of technology is equivalent to that of a couple of decades or so before our time), an angel (highly advanced human, that is) falls from the levels above, and is taken to the district pathologist, Quillon. This apparent accident has been engineered just to get a message to Quillon; the pathologist is himself an angel, who was modified to see if the human zones could be infiltrated – and now the angels are coming after him.
In short order, Quillon is given a female bodyguard/courier, Meroka; covertly escorted from Spearpoint; and sets off across the lawless face of Earth to the safety of another human settlement. Capture, intrigue, rescue and discovery all ensue.
The thing that struck me first of all about Terminal World was that Reynolds is a great writer of pace; especially at the beginning, he keeps the plot moving with merciless efficiency. Unfortunately, the pace flags a bit towards the middle, though it does crank up again towards the end. I also found the characterisation rather sketchy (Meroka, for example, never seemed to me to become much more than a ‘tough female bodyguard’, and Quillon felt too much like someone the story happens to, rather than a fully rounded character).
But… Reynolds does something particularly interesting in this novel, which is to take a world with a puzzle at its centre (i.e. what happened to create the zones?) and make that puzzle a tangent to the main story. In other words, this isn’t a straightforward tale of Uncovering the Secret of the World – but, you know, that’s not to say it doesn’t happen… As I said at the beginning, I like the idea of this technique, but I’m not sure how well the mix actually works; in a way, it seems to work against the forward momentum of the story. Still, despite these reservations, I enjoyed Terminal World; it’s a good read.
January 20, 2017
This book is a weird, weird read. I'm pretty sure there's two ways to read this. One is pretty much as a fantasy novel, with airships and odd magic and everything, and one is as a science fiction novel. But to read it as science fiction, you have to be able to figure out the (extremely speculative) science behind this on your own; no one in the book knows all of it, and the vast majority know none of it. It's odd to read a science fiction book that leaves the science as an exercise for the reader, but also weirdly fun. Reynolds sprinkles clues throughout the book, and if you want to, you can pick them up and put them together yourself. He's not gonna tell you.
This whole book is kind of like that. It's a post-post-post apocalyptic story, where the apocalypse happened in the extremely distant past, and at the start of teh book, no one has any idea what happened or even that an apocalypse happened. They're figuring it out as they go along, with exactly as much ease as you'd expect from people trying to solve an ancient puzzle from few clues while dealing with a much more immediate crisis. And you're figuring it out along with them, although you have quite a few advantages they don't.
So I found reading this delightful fun, but I also had to take breaks to try to figure out what was happening and if it was even possible for the world to work like this. This book requires a lot of thinking if you want to read it as science fiction.
But if you're reading it as fantasy, it's just a story, and it's a pretty good one. I loved some of the side characters -- Curtana, the airship captain, and Meroka, the lesbian mercenary/smuggler with a grudge, were probably my favorites. But probably my favorite part of the story itself was how each character comes into this story with their own set of cultural biases and blind spots, and the story requires every single one of them to change, to change their minds, to change their beliefs, to accept something alien or impossible to them. In that, it's weirdly hopeful, for a post-apocalyptic story, because of them manage to make that change, manage to make progress -- to become more than they were, or get closer to who they need to be, or get closer to the truth.
So I thoroughly enjoyed this, on both a science fiction and a fantasy level. (I'm taking off one star, though, because the pacing is uneven, and there were a couple of plot points where I was like, nope, this is not happening, this is STUPID and also RIDICULOUS. I worked through it, and it all came out okay, but still.)
This whole book is kind of like that. It's a post-post-post apocalyptic story, where the apocalypse happened in the extremely distant past, and at the start of teh book, no one has any idea what happened or even that an apocalypse happened. They're figuring it out as they go along, with exactly as much ease as you'd expect from people trying to solve an ancient puzzle from few clues while dealing with a much more immediate crisis. And you're figuring it out along with them, although you have quite a few advantages they don't.
So I found reading this delightful fun, but I also had to take breaks to try to figure out what was happening and if it was even possible for the world to work like this. This book requires a lot of thinking if you want to read it as science fiction.
But if you're reading it as fantasy, it's just a story, and it's a pretty good one. I loved some of the side characters -- Curtana, the airship captain, and Meroka, the lesbian mercenary/smuggler with a grudge, were probably my favorites. But probably my favorite part of the story itself was how each character comes into this story with their own set of cultural biases and blind spots, and the story requires every single one of them to change, to change their minds, to change their beliefs, to accept something alien or impossible to them. In that, it's weirdly hopeful, for a post-apocalyptic story, because of them manage to make that change, manage to make progress -- to become more than they were, or get closer to who they need to be, or get closer to the truth.
So I thoroughly enjoyed this, on both a science fiction and a fantasy level. (I'm taking off one star, though, because the pacing is uneven, and there were a couple of plot points where I was like, nope, this is not happening, this is STUPID and also RIDICULOUS. I worked through it, and it all came out okay, but still.)
May 21, 2012
This was a long read for me, but ultimately enjoyable. A good mix of steampunk and rustic science fiction, with a different twist on angels.
Reviewed for Bitten by Books. http://bittenbybooks.com.
Reviewed for Bitten by Books. http://bittenbybooks.com.
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September 16, 2025More than 6 but not quite 7 out of 10.
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