Blue Remembered Earth by Alastair Reynolds
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
“Blue Remembered Earth” is the first of a new series, Poseidon’s Children, by Alastair Reynolds. Unlike his previous work in the Revelation Space series, this book is set in the Solar System. The main events of the book happen in the mid 22nd century as imagined by Mr. Reynolds. The book is also a departure in style from his previous work. It is lighter and more optimistic than any of the books in the Revelation Space series. The work is more character driven and has fewer information dense “hard science” passages.
Surprisingly, it also does not revolve around a “chase sequence” that a lot of Mr. Reynold’s work seem to have as a central plot point ( See The House of Suns, or the short story Galactic North). I think the book is better for it.
Blue Remembered Earth is more character driven and has a lot less action than previous books by Mr. Reynolds, but remains an engrossing and rewarding read. The books centres around Geoffrey and Sunday Akinya, siblings and members of the powerful Akinya clan. It starts with the funeral of Eunice Akinya, the reclusive scion of the clan and picks up space as Geoffrey and Sunday are involved in the attempt to disentangle some of the mysteries of their late grandmother. The book takes us to the Moon, to Mars and beyond.
The plot moves along at fair pace, but it is clear that the author is just setting the things for bigger things to come in subsequent books. The future as described here is believable and the science is very plausible. I particularly enjoyed the chapters following Sunday Akinya’s adventures on Mars.
If you came to this book expecting some of the Gothic feel and the dystopian futures seen in Absolution Gap or Chasm City, you may be disappointed. I enjoyed this lighter style and look forward to future installments in this series.