Pushing Ice

By: Alastair Reynolds

Narrated by: John Lee

Length: 19 hrs and 43 mins

Publisher's summary

2057. Humanity has raised exploiting the solar system to an art form. Bella Lind and the crew of her nuclear-powered ship, the Rockhopper, push ice. They mine comets. And they're good at it.

The Rockhopper is nearing the end of its current mission cycle, and everyone is desperate for some much-needed R & R, when startling news arrives from Saturn: Janus, one of Saturn's ice moons, has inexplicably left its natural orbit and is now heading out of the solar system at high speed. As layers of camouflage fall away, it becomes clear that Janus was never a moon in the first place. It's some kind of machine - and it is now headed toward a fuzzily glimpsed artifact 260 light-years away. The Rockhopper is the only ship anywhere near Janus, and Bella Lind is ordered to shadow it for the few vital days before it falls forever out of reach. In accepting this mission, she sets her ship and her crew on a collision course with destiny - for Janus has more surprises in store, and not all of them are welcome.

©2008 Alastair Reynolds (P)2010 Tantor

Critic reviews

"[Reynolds is] a genius for big-concept SF and fans of Arthur C. Clarke's Rendezvous with Rama and Larry Niven's Ringworld will love this novel." ( Publishers Weekly

Amazing

This book is amazing! A plethora of Hard science fiction concepts. If only it could have been longer

great book, poor narration

I loved the story, and hope Reynolds will make this a series.
I wish Audible would have chosen a different narrator. This one was sooooo annoying. I barely got through listening to the whole book because of it.

OK at first but then...

The original concept was pretty interesting, but it never got fully developed, at least before I gave up. Things would be developing along nicely, and then all of a sudden it would be ages later and there were all sorts of stuff that just went away, with only a cursory mention.

It went on this way for so long, I finally gave up after about 2/3's of the way through.

Pushing Ice uphill

Would you recommend Pushing Ice to your friends? Why or why not?

I would probably only recommend this to existing Alistair Reynolds fans, as it is not his best story (in my opinion), and although it introduces some existing ideas it concentrates too much on a rather unbelieveable rivalry between 2 women. The tension between the 2 women is labourer for most of the book and only drives an interesting development in the last 3rd of the novel.

What about John Lee’s performance did you like?

John Lee is always good, and he can make even stilted conversation between blandly drawn characters seem worth a listen

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No, but I was glad I persevered. The last 3rd is interesting and much more the Alistair reynolds style that I enjoy.

Great hard-core sic-fi!

What did you love best about Pushing Ice?

This is a very compelling, intriguing story about people who seem very real. Also, Star Trek influence, although small, gave it a little more pzaz.

Who was your favorite character and why?

It's hard to name one character as the most interesting. They are all very well fleshed-out and interesting.

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

I thing there's very little Alastair Reynolds could have done to get this novel even better. It's as good as it gets!

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No, no, no! This is the kind of novel, separated into book (internal books) that you need to pause for a bit and digest what you've just read.

Any additional comments?

It was very pleasing to find such a competent hardcore SF writer.

Excellent, as usual

What made the experience of listening to Pushing Ice the most enjoyable?

As usual with this author, you can never be sure whether the main characters are going to survive the book. He also pays attention to factions form and interact with each other. Plus, there's so much that never gets explained to the reader/listener, since the characters never figure it out.

What other book might you compare Pushing Ice to and why?

It brings to mind what I think of as the "arbitrary quest" books of Simak (such as Destiny Doll), but is far superior to them. I can't think of anything that's similar in both quality and ideas.

Which character – as performed by John Lee – was your favorite?

Svetlana.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

No. I was interested, but not emotionally invested in it.

New Spin on Extraterrestrial Contact

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

If you are into sci-fi and its role as a philosophical exploration of quantum physics and the human and possible 'will to power', this book is insightful and interesting regarding the impact of unknown alien intentions, contact and impact upon human nature and certain fundamental paradoxes regarding the paradox of ftp travel and time dilation.
The characters are richly described and the performance is superb.

What other book might you compare Pushing Ice to and why?

I think there is a strong connection to the work of Stephen Baxter, particularly some of his concepts in his renowned Xeelee Sequence.

What about John Lee’s performance did you like?

Well spoken, great imagery and consistent in his engagement of the listener's interest.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

It's definitely a three day event if you can manage it....I didn't want to stop listening once the premise rolled out.

Any additional comments?

Get it...you'll love it

Great science, incomplete fiction.

The laws of physics are repected making this a great listen for that alone. But beware the characters and plot aren't fleshed out in a sympathetic way. There are two female protagonists who lead the story line but they are very one demensional props set against each other like bookends. There's no growth or discovery and consequently it's a little aggrivating to listen to them go at it, considering the very future of humanity is supposedly hanging in the balance. As for the plot, maybe I'm a little slow, but I wish Mr Reynolds had wrapped things a little tighter at the end - I went back and listened to the first chapter to try and make sense of what had happened - but I still couldn't connect the dots. Still, a good read overall.

Kept my interest by switching gears

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Maybe. I liked how the story kept switching gears at regular intervals, but the narrator's style got quite tiresome by the end.

Did John Lee do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

I found John Lee's performance quite old-fashioned and lacking any sort of humor.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Into the unknown...

Any additional comments?

It was worth a credit, but not a "WOW".

Good story but too long

This was my first Alastair Reynolds book and i was impressed with the quality of his writing. The story is interesting and well put together with lots of unique ideas. The book was long and probably would benefit by shedding a few hours. I struggled through the last third.
The performance was very good and the presenter does a great job with both the genders and accents.
The character development was good but i could not understand the lead engineer Svetlana’s treatment of Bella (her former boss) as it seemed way too extreme. Also, Bella’s ability to keep forgiving her also seemed excessive. Their whole relationship was a bit irritating.
Overall i struggled to finish this book. I don’t think there was enough meat on the bone for me to give it a high recommendation.