Absolution Gap (Revelation Space) - Softcover

Reynolds, Alastair

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0441012914 ISBN 13: 9780441012916

Publisher: Ace Books, 2005

Synopsis

Alastair Reynolds continues his Revelation Space series with this "first-rate work of science fiction, a thoroughly modern space opera full of dangers and marvels to match"(SF Site).

The Inhibitors were designed to eliminate any life form reaching a certain level of intelligence--and they've targeted Humanity. War veteran Clavain and a ragtag group of refugees have fled into hiding. Their leadership is faltering, and their situation is growing more desperate. But their little colony has just received an unexpected visitor: an avenging angel with the power to lead mankind to safety--or draw down its darkest enemy.

And as she leads them to an apparently insignificant moon light-years away, it begins to dawn on Clavain and his companions that to beat one enemy, it may be necessary to forge an alliance with something much worse...

About this title

Review:

With Absolution Gap, Alastair Reynolds completes the star-spanning Inhibitors trilogy in which the previous books were Revelation Space and Redemption Ark. The Inhibitors are a mechanical plague, mindlessly but very resourcefully wiping out space-going civilisations that come to their notice. Their latest target is humanity, which lost a round in Redemption Ark. One small human faction now has stealth weapons and technologies that can almost fight Inhibitor assault to a standstill, but running away still seems the only long-term option.

From the same cryptic source as that supertechnology, filtered through a young girl's mind, comes the urgent message to make an interstellar trek to Hela, barren moon of the gas-giant Haldora. Hela is home to an obsessive religion fuelled partly by mind viruses and partly by the miracle of Haldora. This unpredictable, unbelievable event happens in an eyeblink, but more and more often. For the devout this increasing frequency is a signal of the End Times, which is why a group of vast mobile cathedrals lumbers forever around Hela--to keep Haldora at the zenith for best observation of its marvels. And on this last circuit, with a madman in command, the greatest cathedral of all plans an impossible short cut over the mysterious, delicate bridge spanning an immense rift in Hela's surface: Absolution Gap.

There's a lot of action with both familiar and enjoyably exotic weapons; there's suffering, deceit, loss and triumph; there's a hideous revenge straight out of Jacobean tragedy, a series of awesome revelations and the last voyage of the lightship Nostalgia for Infinity that was so strangely transformed in Revelation Space. Ultimately, behind the enigma of Haldora, a dreadful choice awaits: whether or not to bargain with powers that may be the answer to the Inhibitors--but may be something worse. Alastair Reynolds makes his huge story compellingly readable, with characters we care about, and gives impressive descriptions of beauty and cataclysm. This is very superior space opera. --David Langford

Review:

Praise for Absolution Gap

"Comparisons to Dune abound...At a time when large-scale SF is flourishing, Absolution Gap is a good as it gets, and should solidify Alastair Reynolds' reputation as one of the best hard SF writers in the field."--SF Site

"A book of great fascination, rich description, and memorable action."--Locus

"Reynolds writes a lean and muscular prose where the intense action scenes are leavened with the kind of bright, shining, mind-boggling science talk that characterizes the best of post-modern space opera."--Science Fiction Weekly

"Alastair Reynolds continues his rise to the top of SF...Revelation, Redemption, Absolution...Reynolds provides them all."--The Guardian (UK)

"Fulfills all the staggering promise of [Reynolds'] earlier books, and then some...a landmark in hard SF space opera."--Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"An entertaining science fiction tale...The story line contains several brilliantly developed concepts...an intriguing look at religion, war, societies, and economics in outer space."--Midwest Book Review

About this edition

• Publisher: Ace Books
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0441012914
• ISBN 13: 9780441012916
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• Number of pages: 768