bn.com
The Melding Plague transformed Chasm City from a thriving utopia into a diseased hulk where lowlifes battle for existence. Pursuing one such abomination, Tanner Mirabel discovers an atrocity far greater than first meets the eye. Stephen Baxter called Reynolds's writing "ferociously intelligent." He was right.
Publishers Weekly
In this worthy follow-up to his well-received first novel, Revelation Space (2001), an especially intelligent far-future foray, British author Reynolds transmutes space opera into a noirish, baroque, picaresque mystery tale. Honor requires that Tanner Mirabel, a weapons specialist/bodyguard, track down and destroy the man who killed his boss. Tanner's pursuit takes him to the planet Yellowstone, where a nano-plague has mutated the glittering human cultural showcase of Chasm City into something bizarre, dark and extremely dangerous. He's aided or threatened or both, at different times by a host of human and not-quite-human characters. Relying on his own combat skills and hard-boiled attitude, Tanner keeps seeking revenge even though he begins to wonder why he's doing it, especially after intrusions of other people's memories lead him to suspect he's not who he thinks he is. Inventiveness and tone are Reynolds's strong points. Presented in a sustained burst of weirdness, the novel's details are consistently startling but convincing in context, and the loose ends eventually tie neatly together. The narrator's tough-guy stance works too, both as an expression of Tanner's personality and as a defensive reaction to the setting's intimidating strangeness. Think of a combination of the movie Blade Runner and one of Jack Vance's ironic SF adventure novels. If the ending feels a bit flat, that's probably inevitable after the exuberant display of wonders earlier. Reynolds remains one of the hottest new SF writers around. (Apr. 2) Forecast: Science Fiction Chronicle chose Revelation Space as Best Science Fiction Novel of the Year; Locus selected it as one of its Best First Novels of the Year. Expect this one to receive similar kudos. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.
Library Journal
When security specialist Tanner Mirabel loses a client, killed by an assassin named Argent Reivich, he sets off on a manhunt to bring Reivich to justice. His search leads him to the domed community of Chasm City, located on the planet Yellowstone. There he confronts the city's strange, mutated inhabitants victims of a nanotechnological virus and ultimately comes up against his own worst fears and inner demons. The author of Revelation Space combines sf noir with technothriller in a dark vision of the future that belongs in most sf collections. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.
From the Publisher
"Deep, complex and always more than [it] seems. Reynolds succeeds in the hardest task of good science fiction, creating a new world full of wonder."—The Denver Post
"A tightly written story that spirals inevitably inwards toward its powerful conclusion. [Chasm City] confirms Reynolds as the most exciting space opera writer working today."—Locus
"A worth follow-up to Revelation Space. Reynolds transmutes space opera into a nourish, baroque, picaresque mystery tale. Inventiveness and tone are Reynolds' strong points...the novel's details are consistently startling but convincing in context. Reynolds remains one of the hottest new SF writers around."—Publishers Weekly
"Successfully combines SF noir with technothriller in a dark vision of the future."—Library Journal
"An impressive book. Another step toward what could become a very significant 21st century hard SF career."—SF Site
