![]() ![]() Reynolds' background as a scientist is evident in spades, and i'm happy to report that my right-brained self didn't suffer at all when reading this - concepts were explained carefully and clearly, in a way that didn't make me feel particularly stupid and never felt didactic or condescending. it is certainly an elephantine one fortunately, the size didn't seem unecessary and i was aborbed by the ideas and narrative from beginning to end. Overall, i think this is a pretty good first novel. so i guess it depends on your perspective: do you want your space opera glass to be half-full or half-empty? one writes about factions of humanity trying to come together to fight off threats the other depicts humans turning on each other and how things fall apart. ![]() Hamilton's characters run the gamut of loveable to outright villainous Reynolds prefers to write mainly about self-absorbed killers and assholes. on the other hand, Reynolds' interests arise from the basic idea that the universe is a cold, scary place, full of dead things and barely-understood terrors. but Hamilton writes about a future that despite having its ups, downs, and various inequities, is mainly Bright & Shiny, full of possibility. both write space operas that come complete with mind-boggling concepts, galaxy-spanning adventures, bizarre aliens, space politics, love stories, and eons-old mysteries. I suppose you could call Alastair Reynolds the Bad Twin of Peter Hamilton. ![]()
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