Zima Blue

by Alastair Reynolds

Overview

A fabulous collection spanning the galaxies and career of SF superstar Alastair Reynolds

Reynolds' pursuit of truth is not limited to wide-angle star smashing - not that stars don't get pulverised when one character is gifted (or cursed) with an awful weapon by the legendary Merlin. Reynolds' protagonists find themselves in situations of betrayal, whether by a loved one's accidental death, as in 'Signal to Noise', or by a trusted wartime authority, in 'Spirey and the Queen'. His fertile imagination can resurrect Elton John on Mars in 'Understanding Space and Time' or make prophets of the human condition out of pool-cleaning robots in the title story.

But overall, the stories in ZIMA BLUE represent a more optimistic take on humanity's future, a view that says there may be wars, there may be catastrophes and cosmic errors, but something human will still survive.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780575084551
Publisher:	Orion Publishing Group
Publication date:	06/16/2010
Edition description:	UK ed.
Pages:	488
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 7.75(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Alastair Reynolds was born in Barry, South Wales, in 1966. He studied at Newcastle and St Andrews Universities and has a Ph.D. in astronomy. He stopped working as an astrophysicist for the European Space Agency to become a full-time writer. REVELATION SPACE and PUSHING ICE were shortlisted for the ARTHUR C. CLARKE AWARD; REVELATION SPACE, ABSOLUTION GAP, DIAMOND DOGS and CENTURY RAIN were shortlisted for the BRITISH SCIENCE FICTION AWARD and CHASM CITY won the BRITISH SCIENCE FICTION AWARD.

You can learn more by visiting www.alastairreynolds.com, or by following @AquilaRift on twitter.

Editorial Reviews

Inventive, thought-provoking stuff with some ingenious ideas—BBC

Reynolds does short stories with particular flair, and this collection contains some spectacular SF storytelling—BOOKLIST (starred review)

From the Publisher

The Barnes & Noble Review
The often-used Forrest Gump quote "Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna get" may be true in many circumstances, but when it comes to Alastair Reynolds's very first short story collection, longtime fans of the former astrophysicist turned science fiction novelist (Pushing Ice, Revelation Space, Redemption Ark, et al.) know exactly what they're in for: ambitious, hard science fiction–powered story lines that are dense with ideas and laden with visionary speculation.

Noteworthy selections in Zima Blue and Other Stories include "Beyond the Aquila Rift," which follows a wayward starship to a space station 150,000 light-years from home; "The Real Story," about the first man on Mars -- the legendary Captain Jim Grossart -- who happens to have multiple personalities; and the never-before-published "Signal to Noise," which chronicles a scientist's attempt to contact his recently deceased wife across quantum realities.

Reynolds's first short story collection isn't so much like a box of chocolates as a handful of breathtaking literary gems. The ten tales included are all compelling in their own right, and most have headlined various science fiction anthologies throughout the last decade. Fellow British author Paul J. McAuley wrote in the collection's introduction that this compilation shows exactly why, "fifteen years after we first met, [Reynolds is] still riding at the very cutting edge of science fiction." Discerning science fiction fans who have read Reynolds's mind-blowing novel-length works will undoubtedly agree with McAuley's assessment of this collection. This is the good stuff. Paul Goat Allen

This solid collection of 10 stories spanning the galaxies and the career of British SF author Reynolds (Pushing Ice) demonstrates that his pursuit of truth is not limited to wide-angle star smashing. Not that stars don't get pulverized when one character is gifted (or cursed) with an awful weapon by the legendary Merlin, who finds it after a 10,000-year search in "Merlin's Gun." Mainly, though, Reynolds's protagonists find themselves in situations of betrayal, whether by a loved one's accidental death, as in "Signal to Noise," or by a trusted wartime authority, as in "Spirey and the Queen." Reynolds may not always convince that intelligence leads to moral behavior, but his fertile imagination can resurrect Elton John on Mars in "Understanding Space and Time" or make prophets of the human condition out of pool-cleaning robots in the title story. (Dec.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Publishers Weekly