
Terminal World by Alastair Reynolds is a standalone story that draws on the steampunk genre without fully embracing it. The novel is set in a world divided into zones of different technological advancements, allowing for a mix of science fiction subgenres and characters. The protagonist, Dr. Quillon, starts off as an intriguing character but gradually loses appeal as the story progresses, leading to some mixed opinions among readers.
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Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings
The book includes themes of violence, dystopian elements, and some unsettling imagery, which may warrant a medium content warning.
From The Publisher:
Alastair Reynolds revolutionized the science fiction genre with his critically-acclaimed Revelation Space novels. Now, the award-winning author presents a future of technological wonders-from every era…
In a far-distant future, Spearpoint, the last human city, is a vast, atmosphere-piercing spire. Clinging to its skin are the zones: semiautonomous city-states, each of which enjoys a different-and rigidly enforced-level of technology.
Following a botched infiltration mission, enforcement agent Quillon has been living incognito, working as a pathologist in a morgue. But when a near-dead angel drops onto his dissection table, his world is wrenched apart.
For the angel is a winged posthuman from Spearpoint's Celestial Levels. And with the dying body comes bad news: Quillon must leave his home and travel into the cold and hostile lands beyond Spearpoint's base. But he can neither imagine how far the journey will take him-nor comprehend how much is at stake…
Ratings (5)
Incredible (1) | |
Loved It (1) | |
Liked It (1) | |
It Was OK (2) |
Reader Stats (7):
Read It (6) | |
Want To Read (1) |
1 comment(s)
This was only okay - it was enjoyable enough to finish, but ti was also a struggle, because I could not care about a single character in this thing. If I should have felt emotion or compassion, then the author failed to deliver, because each person had a purpose, but who cares?
The concept is what made me continue, and the world building, which was intriguing, but the characters were so flat and boring and lifeless, that I could not care less. When one died, I did not even think that it was a bad thing.
I am going to have to say "No' to future Alistair Reynolds books at this time.
About the Author:
Alastair Reynolds is the author of the Poseidon's Children series and the Revelation Space series. Born in Barry, South Wales, he studied at Newcastle University and the University of St. Andrews. A former astrophysicist for the European Space Agency, he now…
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