Sci-Fi readers come and talk to me about Alastair Reynolds please.

[bran]

I read Pushing Ice about a month ago, and I was so disappointed by it that I feel strangely let down. I know all authors have good books and bad books, but this one just seemed so lacking in so many areas that it's hard to belive it was written by the same person who wrote Revelation Space, Redemption Ark and Chasm City.

Come and tell me to buck up please.

I'll ask DH about this - he reads Alastair Reynolds.

Who else do you like? I can probably get him to recommend other hard SF for you?

I like Richard Morgan too, although as I've read more of his I've found them a bit same-y. I've read a bit of Peter F. Hamilton and Neal Asher, and I really like William Gibson. I find Iain M Banks a little too depressing.

I'm wondering whether I should read more Alastair Reynolds. So far I've read Revelation Space, Redemption Ark, Chasm City, Pushing Ice and Diamond Dogs, Turquoise Days, and I've liked all except Pushing Ice. Now that I have plenty of time to read really big books I would like to read more of him, but I'm reluctant to invest so much time if it's going to be as pants as Pushing Ice. I'd be interested to hear what your DH thinks of Century Rain and Absolution Gap.

I've forwarded a link to this thread to MrNQC.

Have you tried Neal Stephenson? I'm not that keen on hard SF, but I do like him ... guess he's not that hard, though ...

Yes, I've read a few of Neal Stephenson's books too, and enjoyed them. I get him terribly cofused with Willian Gibson, they must have a very similar style because of the books I've read by both I can't remember who wrote which ones. For instance, I could have sworn that Virtual Light and Diamond Age were written by the same person.

Did you read his more recent trilogy? It's only kinda SF, and quite surreal, but well written. I think it's called Quicksilver. Very very big books ... all set in 1600s London.

I haven't read it. The blurb on Amazon seems to imply that it's an alternative history, which is a style that I usually find baffling as I don't know much about real history. Although I did quite like Fatherland, which is sort of alternative history.

Oh I can't wait 'til I get the new Banks and I'm so glad it's another Culture one.

Have you tried Charles Stross? Second China Mieville, though I still prefer Stross (Atrocity Archives, Singularity Sky, Jennifer Morgue.... loads more).

I've read loads of Neal Stephenson, but I do find they fade into each other (and into Richard Morgan, too!). DH loves them both and remembers much better.

Ok, DH says:

Absolution Gap is excellent, very similar to the other ones you liked. He liked Pushing Ice, but agrees that it's different from the ones you liked. Century Rain is different again, he finds it more poignant and wistful, but thinks that may be down to his mindset while reading it.

The people he would recommend who are closest to what you want are:

• early John Courtney Grimwood, e.g. Lucifer's Dragon, and Neo Addix
• Greg Egan, particularly Axiomatic is a good short story collection to get into. He has a similar style.
• Ken McCleod - he's a big fan of him, and suggests Newton's Wake.

Hope this helps!

Oh, and the Engines of Light trilogy, starting with Cosmonaut Keep, has a similar style, and he really likes them.

I just thought of David Wingrove, who DH says he did consider, but says there isn't much science there. I quite like his giant series, although it gets a bit mystical as it goes on.

Re: John Courtney Grimwood, avoid The Arabesk.

Oh, and Charles Stross is also very good, he says, already recommended, but still. He recommends Halting State (which I've read! it's quite jokey, but fun).

Oh yes, I've read Newton's Wake, it was good. I haven't read the Engines of Light series, but I will try it. I will rush to check out the other authors too. Thanks to Mr NQC.

littlelapin, did you not find there was a lack of depth in Pushing Ice? In his other books there are always very complicated motivations behind characters which gradually come to light, and sub-plots that suddenly all tie together and make sense. In Pushing Ice everything stayed as it first appeared to be, which completely threw me as his other books made me reassess my assumptions all the way through the story. The engineer was stuck in a teenage flounce through the whole book, in fact all the interpersonal relationships were a bit immature or 2-dimensional. There was no motivation for why the asteroid trap thing collected alien species.

Perhaps I had just looked forward to it too much, and was expecting too much from it. If I had read it at 5.30 am on a train then the plot would probably have been more than complicated enough.

I've read Accelerando by Charles Stross, and while I did enjoy it I kept getting a bit confused about what was actually going on. It was a little choppy or something, or mayby it just wasn't gripping enough and my attention wandered and I missed bits.

I've just remembered why I went off Ken Mcleod, it's because I read Star Fraction after Newton's Wake and really hated it. I might give him a second chance.

DH agrees that Star Fraction isn't that great - but says the Engines of Light series is good.

He says Singularity Sky is better than Accelerando, for Stross.

I'm not sure Halting State is right for you - DH points out that it's not really hard SF. I found the emotional stuff not very well done, all the characters were essentially indistinguishable, imo. (The computery bits were well done, although I'd describe the novel as a whole as choppy - DH wouldn't.)