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Revenger by Alastair Reynolds, A Quick Look

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This article started off as an Up and Coming Reads however I was able to read Revenger before that post went live, so here were my initial thoughts before reading:

We all love a good swashbuckling adventure filled with pirates and buried treasure... so this type of adventure set in space has placed this book to the top of my To Be Read list. Alastair Reynolds is a good old school, Hard Sci Fi writer and I'm very interested to read his version of a space pirates adventure.

It splits the difference between Firefly and Chris Wooding’s Retribution Falls novels, albeit with more of an emphasis on the sci in sci-fi than in either of those tall tales.
Niall Alexander Tor.com

After Reading...

As you can see this book was presented to me as one for adults who have a taste for hard science fiction and adventure.This would seem accurate if you've read Alastair Reynolds previous books, however it ended up being more in line with a Young Adult Bildungsroman (coming of age) novel.

The reviewers seem to be very divided on this book, some absolutely loved it, others are scathing in their distaste of it. I wonder if it's more because of the marketing and they were expecting something else altogether?  I fall in the middle, I must admit it took a while for me to 'get into it' because it was different from Reynolds other works which lean toward Hard Science Fiction.

The story could come right out of one of your favourite nautical adventures like, Patrick O'Brian's Master and Commander or Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island. It has hidden treasure (in the form of Baubles, which you have to break into like a tomb raider), shipwreaks and of course pirates, only that it’s all superimposed over a science fiction backdrop.

Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.
Arthur C Clarke

This story was set far into a future, human and alien civilisations has risen and fallen so many time that a lot of high tech has been lost. Whats left of it has been stored in Baubles, asteroids with force shields that will come down at irregular intervals.  This lost tech, or treasure, when taken from these Baubles now seem like magic to the treasure hunters. It has an overall feel of a Victorian or Regency story with space ships, very steampunk-esque. I can't see how this book couldn't really be classified as Hard SciFi, however it makes up for it with a well written story and an engaging main character, There are no weird plot twists and we follow the story of the main character Arafura 'Fura' Ness as she is transformed by her desire for revenge.

I would definitely recommend this book to someone new to the Science Fiction genre.  It's basically Treasure Island in space and a quick, fun read at that.



REVENGER

by Alastair Reynolds
The galaxy has seen great empires rise and fall. Planets have shattered and been remade. Amongst the ruins of alien civilisations, building our own from the rubble, humanity still thrives.

And there are vast fortunes to be made, if you know where to find them . . .

Captain Rackamore and his crew do. It's their business to find the tiny, enigmatic worlds which have been hidden away, booby-trapped, surrounded with layers of protection - and to crack them open for the ancient relics and barely-remembered technologies inside. But while they ply their risky trade with integrity, not everyone is so scrupulous.

Adrana and Fura Ness are the newest members of Rackamore's crew, signed on to save their family from bankruptcy. Only Rackamore has enemies, and there might be more waiting for them in space than adventure and fortune: the fabled and feared Bosa Sennen in particular.

Revenger is a science fiction adventure story set in the rubble of our solar system in the dark, distant future - a tale of space pirates, buried treasure and phantom weapons, of unspeakable hazards and single-minded heroism . . . and of vengeance . .

In these post titled 'Up and Coming Reads', I want to provide you with some suggested reading material. These are books which look interesting to me and that I'd like to share with you. The links will be affiliate links, so if you going to make a purchase at Amazon I'd appreciate you using the link. Doing so will help me buy more books so it should be a win-win for us both.

Enjoy reading more and thinking more... with your favourite beverage!


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