A review by leilin
Beyond the Aquila Rift: The Best of Alastair Reynolds by Alastair Reynolds
5.0
I am only sorry I have not been reading Alastair Reynolds sooner!
It's unbelievable that it took me so long to find his books.
I love the fact that the science is as well done as the fiction in this.
I spent a non negligible amount of time throwing myself in Wikipedia rabbit holes about space, time and the universe as we understand it. Looking up terms and locations and concepts I encountered... and I learned a lot in the process, which was awesome!
The fact the man was an astrophysicist shows, because it goes without saying that of course all those references were used in a perfectly accurate way, throughout those stories... But it is not just science and technicalities, all those references were also used in a ever flowing, clever and artful manner. It is nice to see that Sci-Fi does not always have to be one or the other of the nouns composing its name (looking at you Isaac Asimov!).
Here, the writing style and the narration are skillfully crafted and bring us along sometimes complex stories and settings like on an effortless stroll. Effortless, but involved! I was in there with the characters at every turn, and I spied concepts and ideas, entire new horizons that I had not thought about, before reading those shorts. Some were breathtaking and each story was a journey!
It's unbelievable that it took me so long to find his books.
I love the fact that the science is as well done as the fiction in this.
I spent a non negligible amount of time throwing myself in Wikipedia rabbit holes about space, time and the universe as we understand it. Looking up terms and locations and concepts I encountered... and I learned a lot in the process, which was awesome!
The fact the man was an astrophysicist shows, because it goes without saying that of course all those references were used in a perfectly accurate way, throughout those stories... But it is not just science and technicalities, all those references were also used in a ever flowing, clever and artful manner. It is nice to see that Sci-Fi does not always have to be one or the other of the nouns composing its name (looking at you Isaac Asimov!).
Here, the writing style and the narration are skillfully crafted and bring us along sometimes complex stories and settings like on an effortless stroll. Effortless, but involved! I was in there with the characters at every turn, and I spied concepts and ideas, entire new horizons that I had not thought about, before reading those shorts. Some were breathtaking and each story was a journey!