I have to admit that I'm pretty jaded when it comes to
Science Fiction. I grew up reading my way through the
library shelves, moving from Asimov and Clarke to Pohl and
Zelazny. I have pretty high expectations these days since my
time for reading is limited so I often find my way back to
one of the classics of my youth instead of reading some of
the work that is currently being put out. So, it's a treat
when I find something that I really like from a more recent
author. This was the case when I picked up Alastair
Reynolds' collection of stories GALACTIC NORTH.
When I started the first story in the collection, "Great
Wall of Mars", I was a bit worried at first that I was
stumbling into a sophomoric and stereotypical piece of pulp.
The start to the first story is a bit rocky, but the reader
is paid back 10-fold if they make it past the initial
concerns. This turned into an engaging and nicely crafted
story that sets the stage for further adventures in the
series. While I have no evidence to support my theory, I'm
sure that Mr. Reynolds must have been a Rod Serling fan.
Most of the stories could have easily been part of the
original Twilight Zone series if the budget and
special effects had been up to the task.
While the settings are classic Sci-Fi, the stories are
character driven and interesting. These are people that you
want to know more about, not just the snapshot of their
lives related in the story. There is a bit of mystery, the
macabre and the fantastic in each. Serling's influence is
shown in the morality play payoff -- we want the bad guys to
get theirs, and we want the good guys win, and for the most
part Reynolds delivers on our desires. This was a fun read
that will take you back to the days when Pohl, Clarke and
Niven were new to your eyes.
Set in the Revelation Space universe-the first short
story collection by "one of SF's best and most ambitious
novelists." (SFX)
With eight short stories and novellas-
including three original to this collection- Galactic
North imparts the centuries-spanning events that have
produced the dark and turbulent world of Revelation
Space.
Centuries from now, the basic right to expand
human intelligence-beyond its natural limits-has become a
war-worthy cause for the Demarchists and Conjoiners. Only
vast lighthugger starships bind these squabbling colonies
together, manned by the panicky and paranoid Ultras. And the
hyperpigs just try to keep their heads down.
The rich get
richer. And everyone tries not to think about the worrying
number of extinct alien civilizations turning up on the
outer reaches of settled space...because who's to say that
humanity won't be next?
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