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“Chasm City” follows Mirabel and his gradually-returning memories around Yellowstone on the hunt for the vengeful Argent Reivich. Discovering that he is afflicted with an artificial virus designed by fanatics of a cult centred around his homeworld’s own Stalin doesn’t help, as episodes ... Read review
InChasm City, Alastair Reynolds revisits thenoiruniverse of his debut SF ... more
blockbusterRevelation Spacewith a suspenseful, convoluted pursuit story. Its dizzying reversals and games of disguise are reminiscent of Iain M Banks at his trickiest.The main nar...
Postage & Packaging: £2.75 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
In Chasm City, Alastair Reynolds revisits the noir universe of his debut SF blockbuster ... more
Revelation Space with a suspenseful, convoluted pursuit story. Its dizzying reversals and games of disguise are reminiscent of Iain M Banks at his trickiest. The m...
Postage & Packaging: £2.75 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
In Chasm City, Alastair Reynolds revisits the noir universe of his debut SF blockbuster ... more
Revelation Space with a suspenseful, convoluted pursuit story. Its dizzying reversals and games of disguise are reminiscent of Iain M Banks at his trickiest. The main narrative stars trained killer Tanner Mirabel, a man hell-bent on revenge, who stalks his enemy Reivich from the world Sky's Edge across a 15-year interstellar gap to the gaudy, poisoned melting pot of Chasm City. Flashbacks reveal the violent events and worse repercussions that so badly twisted Mirabel and others. Virus-induced dreams provide a third story line from inside the head of legendary traitor-messiah Sky Haussmann, who long ago shaped the original colonisation of Sky's Edge and whose real story never got into the history books. Chasm City's complications include spectacular space-elevator sabotage, faulty antimatter drives, hidden aliens, mystery drugs, exotic bio-modification, tailored disease, high-tech weaponry, a new and deadlier form of bungee-jumping, and that traditional SF symptom of decadence: organised hunts with human prey. Violent death is never far off, but our protagonist has deeper worries in that his own motives and memories, even his identity, don't seem to add up quite as they should ... After many chases, captures and escapes, these tangled plot strands are satisfyingly resolved. Masks are stripped away, and webs of lies exposed. Revelations range from the origin of the dread Melding Plague (which once nightmarishly merged Chasm City's people, machines and buildings) to the reason for an irrational fear of alcoves. An enjoyably tense, tortuous SF thriller. --David Langford
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In Chasm City, Alastair Reynolds revisits the noir universe of his debut SF blockbuster ... more
Revelation Space with a suspenseful, convoluted pursuit story. Its dizzying reversals and games of disguise are reminiscent of Iain M Banks at his trickiest. The main narrative stars trained killer Tanner Mirabel, a man hell-bent on revenge, who stalks his enemy Reivich from the world Sky's Edge across a 15-year interstellar gap to the gaudy, poisoned melting pot of Chasm City. Flashbacks reveal the violent events and worse repercussions that so badly twisted Mirabel and others. Virus-induced dreams provide a third story line from inside the head of legendary traitor-messiah Sky Haussmann, who long ago shaped the original colonisation of Sky's Edge and whose real story never got into the history books. Chasm City's complications include spectacular space-elevator sabotage, faulty antimatter drives, hidden aliens, mystery drugs, exotic bio-modification, tailored disease, high-tech weaponry, a new and deadlier form of bungee-jumping, and that traditional SF symptom of decadence: organised hunts with human prey. Violent death is never far off, but our protagonist has deeper worries in that his own motives and memories, even his identity, don't seem to add up quite as they should ... After many chases, captures and escapes, these tangled plot strands are satisfyingly resolved. Masks are stripped away, and webs of lies exposed. Revelations range from the origin of the dread Melding Plague (which once nightmarishly merged Chasm City's people, machines and buildings) to the reason for an irrational fear of alcoves. An enjoyably tense, tortuous SF thriller. --David Langford
Postage & Packaging:refer to website Availability:Check Site.
Advantages: Page-turning brilliance Disadvantages: Finding the time to read the 616 pages quickly enough
On the edge of the chasm that gives the City its name, life is hard. The Melding Plague has turned Man’s technology against him, from the millions of nanotech medichines that swarm through his blood to the once-mighty orbital stations that now form the ironically-named Rust Belt around the plague’s originating planet of Yellowstone. Seven years ago the main planet of the Epsilon Eridani system and its “Glitter Band” were in the midst of a Golden ... ...the recently-arrived Tanner Mirabel. Nothing really shocks this man though; he has after all been ambushed, shot out of orbit and left for dead – and not necessarily in that order either. After sleeping for close-on fifteen years, his memories are understandably hazy, and a short stay at the Hotel Amnesia is very definitely in order. But when Mirabel remembers why it is that he finds himself waking up in a stitched-together space station, a swift ... more
On the edge of the chasm that gives the City its name, life is hard. The Melding Plague has turned Man’s technology against him, from the millions of nanotech medichines that swarm through his blood to the once-mighty orbital stations that now form the ironically-named Rust Belt around the plague’s originating planet of Yellowstone. Seven years ago the main planet of the Epsilon Eridani system and its “Glitter Band” were in the midst of a Golden Age, and their transformation is something of a surprise to the recently-arrived Tanner Mirabel. Nothing really shocks this man though; he has after all been ambushed, shot out of orbit and left for dead – and not necessarily in that order either. After sleeping for close-on fifteen years, his memories are understandably hazy, and a short stay at the Hotel Amnesia is very definitely in order. But when Mirabel remembers why it is that he finds himself waking up in a stitched-together space station, a swift check-out soon follows, and he heads for the surface to continue the pursuit of the quarry that has already brought him more than a dozen light-years.
“Chasm City” follows Mirabel and his gradually-returning memories around Yellowstone on the hunt for the vengeful Argent Reivich. Discovering that he is afflicted with an artificial virus designed by fanatics of a cult centred around his homeworld’s own Stalin doesn’t help, as episodes from the delusional Sky Haussman’s life invade his dreams. It’s tough enough in the city where the social strata imitate the physical – the idle rich of the Canopy and the far-from-idle poor of the Mulch below both holding their own dangers – without having to endure the memories of a pariah. Fate, however, has only just begun playing with Mirabel’s life…
Alastair Reynolds’ first novel impressed me with its careful consideration of the consequences of relativistic travel and its application of technological theory generally. My main concern was that it was something of a slow starter, but I have no such worry here; “Chasm City” draws you in from the very first page. If you haven’t read the debut “Revelation Space” yet, skip it and jump straight to this – although the two books share a common canvas, knowledge of the events in the other is by no means a prerequisite, nor a spoiling hindrance. Reynolds is something of a Turner in the art of painting characters; Mirabel himself, the gung-ho Cahuella, the lithe Zebra and the multi-skilled Dominika in particular stand out in my memory. Plenty of attention is lavished on the backgrounds too; the massive alien hamadryads are particularly well brushed-in as the stories unfold and merge.
If you enjoy the works of Iain M. Banks and William Gibson, then you will love this book. If you’re new to the worlds of science-fiction and cyberpunk, then this is an ideal introduction to the genres. In “Chasm City”, Reynolds develops the considerable promise shown in “Revelation Space”; with his next novel “Redemption Ark” due to be published shortly and more already commissioned from his pen, he is set to cement his position as one of Britain’s leading authors. Start reading now.
Best price on 13 May 2002: £6.99 inc. P&P (Blackwell’s Online Bookshop – http://www.blackwells.co.uk)
Advantages: Better than revelation space Disadvantages: There are two timelines which can leave you fuming when they switch!
...looked back and think that Chasm City is an improvement on the previous book.
The book is quite a nice sized read, maybe I’m biased but I get very frustrated when you’re really getting into a book and it’s only a few hundred pages long. I love devouring books over 500 pages, and this one at 616 is no exception. I daresay you’ll not notice the size though as the action is pretty thick and fast. The one possible gripe I would have with this book (in ... ...moves to Yellowstone and specifically Chasm City the destination of his prey. Somehow during this transition Tanner is infected with a virus engineered by a cult group who worship Sky Hussman. The virus is known to affect the mind of the host and overlay memories of Sky’s life. There are regular interludes where Tanner has flashbacks to Sky’s life which become increasingly vivid and disturbing and culminate toward the end of the book with the present ...
RahimC 18.08.2003
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Chasm City - Alastair Reynolds
Advantages: Fast paced, action packed, complicated Disadvantages: Sometimes too complicated. Lacking some periferal character detail.
...the often rancid, often sterile Chasm City.
Indeed it is a marriage of both Good and Evil, sanity and insanity, the dirty and the clean which septate with dramatic distinction the sometimes confusing shifts in plot, location and time. Much like some sort of cart running away from any form of user screeching around corners to the point, but not over it, of a spillage.
In some ways it is the charm of this that there is little time for stability or ... ...Any criticisms can come in the form of the lack of peripheral character development, as many of them seem just hollow in comparison to Tanner and the other main individuals. And the oddly rigid form of first person narrative which is not wholly successful.
A great and enjoyable read, complicated and fast paced. Much fun will be had for SiFi/Fantasy lovers and those who just want a good Adventure with twists and turns galore! ...
Karath 02.12.2007
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Chasm City - Alastair Reynolds
Advantages: A personal story in a huge galaxy Disadvantages: Pack an inhaler because the twists can leave you breathless
Chasm City is set in the Revelation Space universe. Conforming to a nice traditional earth expansion story, Chasm City is the diseased and corrupt capital of a human empire plagued by factions, pirates and isolation. This is really all you will have missed if you haven't read 'Revelation Space'. Chasm City is a standalone tale about a former soldier, and bodyguard, in pursuit of his former master's assassin. This pursuit takes our anti-hero into ... ...her downtrodden underclass, a seemingly prosperous population of elite drug addicts and ultimately the real rulers.
Alongside this story we are treated to an equally absorbing tale of the launch of earth's colonisation efforts, dominated by an ambitious and unstable young captain
This is a book of twists and shocks with an extrordinary level of detail. Reynolds absorbs you so entirely in his twisted city that at times the reader will almost beg ...
tibejw 25.02.2007
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Chasm City - Alastair Reynolds
