The expedition was supposed to be temporary, but Sylveste has developed an obsession with the Event that eliminated the Amarantin, convinced that it could have some bearing on humanity’s survival. He is the leader of a fledgling colony on Resurgam, former homeworld of the Amarantin. Archaeologist Dan Sylveste discovers evidence that the extinct Amarantin might have been capable of spaceflight. The Fermi paradox is the central question of Revelation Space, and Reynolds has developed a somewhat chilling resolution: intelligent life evolves fairly often, but something (or someone) eliminates it whenever it achieves spaceflight. Well, for one thing, the galaxy would stop being such an empty place. Instead, Reynolds excels at mapping out the consequences of these semi-plausible capabilities: what would happen if humanity spread out into the galaxy at sublight speeds? In Revelation Space Reynolds does not explain how Conjoiner drives work (they are a mystery) or go into the details of how reefersleep slows the body’s metabolism for those long journeys at relativist speeds. In my last review, I postulated that, in general, the realism of a scientific explanation is inversely proportional to its detail. Not every scientist automatically writes good science fiction, of course, because the other key component is the ability to write well. He is highly qualified in this area: with a doctorate in astronomy, he knows his science and puts that knowledge to good use. There is no doubt in my mind that Alastair Reynolds is one of the premiere authors of hard science fiction. Suffice it to say, I’m referring to stories that use advanced but plausible technology for technology’s sake, stories whose events span millions, if not billions, of years and can affect the lives of countless planets throughout the galaxy. I could digress into some hefty analysis of how designations like hard are loaded terms that only exacerbate science fiction’s precarious position in the genre ghetto-but I won’t. In case you haven’t heard yet, I love hard science fiction, particularly in space opera form.

Revelation space by alastair reynolds