Turquoise Days

Revelation Space #1.5B

by Alastair Reynolds

The Pattern Jugglers of planet Turquoise — an alien entity that takes the form of floating organisms on the surface of a planet-wide sea. Turquoise Days is the story of Naqi Okpik, a human scientist who must come to terms with the mysteries of the Jugglers while dealing with an external threat to the planet — a threat to the Jugglers themselves. But are the Pattern Jugglers conscious life forms, and can they protect themselves against this alien menace? Turquoise Days plays out against the same turbulent, far future, deep-space background as Alastair Reynolds's novels — Revelation Space, Chasm City, and Redemption Ark — and novella-length stories "Great Wall of Mars" and "Diamond Dogs."

Turquoise Days, a 30,000-word, 78-page novella, kicks off a new line of quality trade paper-bound chapbooks from Golden Gryphon Press. Each copy is signed and numbered by the author on the limitation page.

Wraparound cover art by Bob Eggleton.

Genres: Science Fiction, Audiobook, Aliens, Fiction

78 pages, Chapbook

First published September 1, 2002

About the author

I'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.

Reviews

[Karl · Rating 5 out of 5]

This signed and numbered chapbook is copy 174 of 500 printed, and is signed by Alastair Reynolds.

Chapbook 01

Turquoise Days, a 30,000-word, 78-page novella, The chapbook is the first in a series from Golden Gryphon Press.

Cover by Bob Eggleton.

[William · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you read no other Reynolds ever, do read Turquoise Days. . . . ***** 10 STARS- Turquoise Days *****

Turquoise Days is truly exquisite, the single finest work by Alastair Reynolds. A creation of heart and mind and love. The novella is beautifully imagined and realised, a water-world of alien mystery, an idyllic and wondrous place of life and awe.

The central character, Naqi, is an academic who explores this world and the floating Juggler bio-mass and related alien life forms, along with her sister, Mina. Her voice is clear and honest and alive, but not without doubts and fears. Her story is perfectly and gently interwoven with the fate of her world and the Jugglers.

The conclusion is poignant and flawless. I cried.

This is the single most beautiful novella I have read since A Second Chance at Eden by Peter F. Hamilton.

If you read no other Reynolds ever, read Turquoise Days.

Here is a sample from the first page:
Turquoise Days
It was the most perfectly warm and still summer night in months. Even the breeze caused by the airship’s motion was warmer than usual, as soft against her cheek as the breath of an attentive lover. Above, yet hidden by the black curve of the vacuum-bag, the two moons were nearly at their fullest. Microscopic creatures sparkled a hundred metres under the airship, great schools of them daubing galaxies against the profound black of the sea. Spirals, flukes and arms of luminescence wheeled and coiled as if in thrall to secret music.

Turquoise Days is magical, wonderful, visionary. A new beautiful world woven from the heart and mind of the author. Fresh and alive and compelling. Rich and mysterious and captivating. A joy.

NOTE: Please, please also read short stories Enloa, Weather, and Zima Blue. Surely his finest works, along with House of Suns.

[David Sven · Rating 3 out of 5]

Turquoise - a water world where a composite of sentient minds, human and alien, have been copied and absorbed into the microscopic bio-organisms that saturate the oceans. Known galaxy wide as The Pattern Jugglers, the organic brain’s manifestations range from a greenish/blue(Turquoise) tinge in the water to greater concentrations in seaweed like fronds to nodes of massive floating forests which are able to “send” or “share” with the whole using the connecting micro-organisms as well as spontaneously generated sprites to act similar to synapses in a brain.

This story doesn't really delve a great deal into the larger concepts of the Revelation Space series mainly concentrating on the Pattern Jugglers, so there’s not a lot there that requires someone to have read the series first to understand.

If you have read the main series then you’ll already be familiar with the Pattern Jugglers, but this still provides added insight by giving us a POV from a human swimmer and their experience communing with the alien minds. I like the concept of swimmers being able to access the Pattern Jugglers like a database in return for having their own minds copied into the whole as well as the possibility of swimmers absorbing abilities from the database and even having another mind copied over and replacing their own consciousness.

But, benign as the Pattern Jugglers appear to be - to reference a quote from another green hulking biomass – Don’t make them angry...you wouldn't like them when they’re angry.

3.5 stars

[useFOSS · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anthologized in
_

[Davorin Horak · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reynolds ima dobre koncepte i jake slike, ali gotovo uvijek likovi budu nezanimljivi, često su sporedni bolji materijal nego glavni. Bolji je u kratkim formama (Diamond Dogs su bolja novela od ove), iako ne mogu reći da mi roman Shadow Captain nije legao, za razliku od romana Revelation Space kojeg sam valjda čitao sto godina. Ne mogu čak reći ni da je Turquise loše napisano. Naprosto kao da gledam jako lijepe slike koje se izmjenjuju, a ono što ih povezuje me uopće ne zanima.

[Carla Patterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the setting and characters in this novella. Anytime an author writes well enough to share his/her imagination with their readers, I am happy.

[G. Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful novella set in Reynolds' Revelation Space series. Quick and easy read. Worth the time.

[Oren · Rating 2 out of 5]

The pattern jugglers are not interesting. dunno why Reynolds wrote so much about them

[Alexander Theofanidis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Στον πλανήτη Turqoise (έναν υδάτινο κόσμο που παίρνει το χρώμα του και το όνομά του από τους Pattern Jugglers), έχει να πατήσει ξένο διαστημόπλοιο 100 χρόνια, μέχρι που έρχεται ένα σκάφος των Ultras (και δε μιλάμε για τους οπαδούς της Λάτσιο εδώ). H Νάκι Όκπικ και η αδελφή της, αποφασίζουν να κολυμπήσουν ανάμεσα στους Pattern Jugglers καθώς το πλοίο πλησιάζει, με μοιραία για την δεύτερη αποτελέσματα. Ναι, βλέπω να με κοιτάτε με ύφος «uh?». Οι Pattern Jugglers αποθηκεύουν μοτίβα και πληροφορίες, χωρίς να έχουν ακριβώς συνείδηση… Μερικοί χάνονται μέσα τους, όχι πολλοί, ωστόσο αυτό το ενδεχόμενο είναι πάντα παρόν (όπως στην περίπτωσή μας).

Ωστόσο, τι είναι αυτό το πλοίο προέρχεται; Είναι απειλή;

Παρά το γεγονός ότι είμαι fan του Reynolds και το Turqoiose days φαίνεται να φέρνει οργασμικό παροξυσμό σε πολλούς αναγνώστες, το βρήκα μάλλον άνοστο για τα δικά μου γούστα. Στην αρχή νόμισα ότι έφταιγε η φωνή το John Lee στο Audio και το γεγονός ότι τις περισσότερες φωνές τις έκανε με… ρώσικη προφορά. Αλλά, το διάβασα και σε κανονικό βιβλίο (αυτό που αντιμετωπίζεις με τα μάτια σου εστιασμένα σε κουκκίδες μελάνης πάνω σε νεκρά δέντρα και προβάλλονται παραισθησιακές εικόνες μέσα στο μυαλό σου) και ήταν το ίδιο. Μια χλιαρή νότα από το όμορφο σύμπαν του Revelation Space.

[5t4n5 Dot Com · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this book we go off to the planet Turquoise, so named because it's an ocean planet covered in turquoise oceans.

Within the oceans are the Pattern Jugglers that got a mention in Diamond Dogs , and in this book we get a much deeper introduction to them.

So yeah, a really enjoyable novella adding yet another alien layer onto the growing alien layers of the Revelation Space universe.

Available in the duology, Diamond Dogs, Turquoise Days .

And the next book in the series is Grafenwalder’s Bestiary .

[Esteban Vega · Rating 3 out of 5]

Such a different setting for a Revelation Space novel! So primitive (?) a planet in the far future!

As usual, a Lighthugger is harbinger of doom and that disturbs everything a science colony has planed to better know the Pattern Jugglers. Reminds me a bit about The Songs of Distant Earth by Clarke, mainly because of the tropical setting.

Entertained, a nice pause from the usual stuff from this saga.

[Steve LaForest · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not sure exactly what my rating should be for this novella - but 3 stars is about right. From memory alone (I cannot find any rating I did at the time), 2 stars would be too low, and 4 stars too high.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Bob · Rating 5 out of 5]

It may have only been a novella, but it was a fantastic story, and probably the one or at least one of my own personal favorites from Alastair Reynolds

[Durval Menezes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read it as part of "Diamond Dogs, Turquoise Days", see my review there: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was ok sci fi. It felt like it should have been the sequel to something else though, a beginning book or a series that explained what this other world is all about. I felt a lot of background was missing, to help the reader understand the Pattern Jugglers, snowflake cities, the uses of tapeworms (wtf), messenger sprites, etc. More world building and development would have made this a much better read. By the time we’re finally starting to understand, the story is over.

[JBP · Rating 2 out of 5]

Novella about aliens who live in water and group of scientists who study them. Kind of lackluster tale from Reynolds for me--not that intrigued by story or characters.

[Ehsan Darrudi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect in any respect.

[Kvakosavrus · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good start but silly, banal final