[Space Opera That Doesn't Suck] Revenger by Alastair Reynolds

[James Nicoll]

Revenger by Alastair Reynolds

http://jamesdavisnicoll.com/review/all-the-merry-men-drowned-in-the-sea

[Stephen Graham]

Post by James Nicoll
Revenger by Alastair Reynolds
http://jamesdavisnicoll.com/review/all-the-merry-men-drowned-in-the-sea

I suppose we should have expected to get the grim Alastair Reynolds with
a title of Revenger.

It wasn't clear from the review: is the Congregation spread out across
multiple systems or is it contained within the one system? The primary
use of light-sails for propulsion would seem to argue for the latter.

One of the corollaries of light-sail propulsion is that someone could
lay an intercept course for your vessel and there wouldn't be a whole
lot that you could do about it. But your comments imply that the pirate
attack was unexpected.

Thanks for doing this review.

[James Nicoll]

Post by Stephen Graham

Post by James Nicoll
Revenger by Alastair Reynolds
http://jamesdavisnicoll.com/review/all-the-merry-men-drowned-in-the-sea

I suppose we should have expected to get the grim Alastair Reynolds with
a title of Revenger.
It wasn't clear from the review: is the Congregation spread out across
multiple systems or is it contained within the one system? The primary
use of light-sails for propulsion would seem to argue for the latter.

Just the one system.

Post by Stephen Graham
One of the corollaries of light-sail propulsion is that someone could
lay an intercept course for your vessel and there wouldn't be a whole
lot that you could do about it. But your comments imply that the pirate
attack was unexpected.
Thanks for doing this review.

My pleasure.

[Moriarty]

Post by Stephen Graham

Post by James Nicoll
Revenger by Alastair Reynolds
http://jamesdavisnicoll.com/review/all-the-merry-men-drowned-in-the-sea

I suppose we should have expected to get the grim Alastair Reynolds with
a title of Revenger.

Wait! There's *happy* Reynolds?

-Moriarty

[Stephen Graham]

Post by Moriarty

Post by Stephen Graham

Post by James Nicoll
Revenger by Alastair Reynolds
http://jamesdavisnicoll.com/review/all-the-merry-men-drowned-in-the-sea

I suppose we should have expected to get the grim Alastair Reynolds with
a title of Revenger.

Wait! There's *happy* Reynolds?

Let's not go to far. But I thought House of Suns was not particularly grim.

[Default User]

Post by James Nicoll
Revenger by Alastair Reynolds
http://jamesdavisnicoll.com/review/all-the-merry-men-drowned-in-the-sea

Finally got down to this in the pile. This was one of those cases where I liked the background a lot more than the actual story that painted on it. I would have been happier with more exploration of the "baubles" leading to information on the significance of the "quoins". As it was, that was mostly just infodump at the end.

I did wonder why, after Bosa's explanation of her true purpose, Fura didn't ask why the need for all the brutality in the means. Slaughtering of crews is inefficient pirating. You want a reputation of viciousness when too much resistance is put up, but that if one cooperates then the crew and ship can live to keep plying the system and maybe get plundered another day.

I suppose that in this case, then this story might not have been possible, but then I didn't like this one that much anyway.

Definitely seems room for further books. Then again, I thought so about The Prefect, but nothing seems to be happening there.


Brian

[Default User]

Post by Default User
Definitely seems room for further books. Then again, I thought so about The Prefect, but nothing seems to be happening there.

Seems that he's working on a sequel to The Prefect:

http://www.alastairreynolds.com/novels/


Brian

[Moriarty]

Post by Default User

Post by James Nicoll
Revenger by Alastair Reynolds
http://jamesdavisnicoll.com/review/all-the-merry-men-drowned-in-the-sea

Responding late because I just finished it.

So it didn't suck. Neither was it good. This was far and away the worst Reynolds I've ever read. I can't believe the same guy who wrote "House of Suns" and "Revelation Space" wrote this.

For starters, everyone in the book is *stupid*. The captains are stupid, their crews are stupid, the evil pirates are stupid, the father is stupid. Everyone is stupid except for the plucky teenage heroine and her sister. The only character who's fleshed out in any way, apart from the protag narrator, is the experienced spacer who is so stupid she decides to go along with every plan the inexperienced teenage heroine spends five minutes dreaming up, no matter how silly the plan is. Gah.

Post by Default User
Finally got down to this in the pile. This was one of those cases where I liked the background a lot more than the actual story that painted on it. I would have been happier with more exploration of the "baubles" leading to information on the significance of the "quoins". As it was, that was mostly just infodump at the end.

Agree with that. The setting was far more interesting than the actual story. I would like to read more about that.

Post by Default User
I did wonder why, after Bosa's explanation of her true purpose, Fura didn't ask why the need for all the brutality in the means. Slaughtering of crews is inefficient pirating. You want a reputation of viciousness when too much resistance is put up, but that if one cooperates then the crew and ship can live to keep plying the system and maybe get plundered another day.
I suppose that in this case, then this story might not have been possible, but then I didn't like this one that much anyway.

It read to me he was trying to write a juvie. Yes, there was violence but it was largely sanitised. The Hardy Girls in Spaaaaaaace!

Post by Default User
Definitely seems room for further books. Then again, I thought so about The Prefect, but nothing seems to be happening there.

His next two books are a sequel to "The Prefect" followed by a sequel to "Revenger". I'll heavily scrutinise reviews of the latter before I'll bother.

-Moriarty