Terminal World

By: Alastair Reynolds

Narrated by: John Lee

Length: 19 hrs and 45 mins

Publisher's summary

Spearpoint, the last human city, is an atmosphere-piercing spire of vast size. Clinging to its skin are the zones, a series of semi-autonomous city-states, each of which enjoys a different - and rigidly enforced - level of technology. Following an infiltration mission that went tragically wrong, Quillon has been living incognito, working as a pathologist in the district morgue.

But when a near-dead angel drops onto his dissecting table, Quillon's world is wrenched apart one more time. If Quillon is to save his life, he must leave his home and journey into the cold and hostile lands beyond Spearpoint's base, starting an exile that will take him further than he could ever imagine. But there is far more at stake than just Quillon's own survival, for the limiting technologies of the zones are determined not by governments or police but by the very nature of reality---and reality itself is showing worrying signs of instability.

©2010 Alastair Reynolds (P)2010 Tantor

Critic reviews

"A rousing adventure in a widly original setting." ( Guardian, UK)

Strong early start that grabbed me

It had a strong early start that really grabbed my interest and retained it for quite a while but toward the middle it seem to slow down and I felt like I was really pushing to complete the book.

genius

Addicted to this author/artist combo. I'm sure that you will too. Try them out now!!!

Not his best but still quite good.

I'm not sure what it was, but this one was missing something. Still, pretty good, and another virtuoso performance by John Lee. Can't wait to start Elysium Fire next.

Worthwhile slightly lacking

I give this offering from Mr. Reynolds four stars based on his masterful writing style as well as the narration of John Lee.
However, the listener should be aware that this is a marked departure from his previous works, which many people list as genius among British space opera.
This story is more of a quest novel, and the story flows more from the setting and the character responses to cataclysmic changes, rather than deep character development.
Also, the main character has many similarities to the main character in Chasm City, i.e., mysterious past, assumed identity, and what will happen when the main character's true nature is revealed.
That being said, if you are a fan of Reynolds, than it is a worthwhile use of a credit. And although this review may seem to focus on the negatives, I think understanding the book's shortcomings will actually increase enjoyability, because the listener will not anticipate familiar plot points and can appreciate the book on its on merits.

Great Story and another several book series

This is a well written, well read story that keeps you interested 'till the end.
Does anyone tell a story that can be told in one book anymore?

Another great title from A. Reynolds and John Lee

Would you consider the audio edition of Terminal World to be better than the print version?

Yes - I preferred the audio version of this book!

Have you listened to any of John Lee???s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Yes - most of them. He is uniformly great at developing character's voices and bringing them to life. It does take a few paragraphs to get used to his slightly Scottish (?) accent and the low timbre of his voice, but you quickly get used to it, and then you realize how really fabulous a narrator he is. His reading adds to, rather than detracts from, the author's work.

Any additional comments?

This is a bit off the beaten path for Alistair Reynolds - more of a "steampunk" covered-wagon era technology novel set in a post-apocolyptic "Earth" (which I think is actually Mars, but not explicitly stated as such). The ending begs for a sequel, but I have read that Mr. Reynolds has no plans for one so that will be a disappointment.

Solid Alastair Reynolds

While it started a little slow, that was good because it continued to build right up to the end. In fact, even though the author says this is a standalone book, I can see, actually would like to see a sequel. At the end I found myself wanting to know what laid ahead for the characters. Well worth the time to listen to this book.

This is Steampunk!!

What did you love best about Terminal World?

Characters were great and of course John Lee's narration!!

What did you like best about this story?

Story was fast paced and kept me very interested. Had a genuine care for all the main characters.Just enough detail not overblown like some other books.

Which scene was your favorite?

Battles in the Sky and the Vorg.

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

Was definitely finished faster than most of my purchases!

Any additional comments?

Wish Mr.Reynolds would make a second! I thought Perdido Street was the best Steampunk book but this one just topped it! Wishing for a movie but probably will not be as good unless David Lynch directed.

Amazing hard sci-fi

I listened to this 3 years ago and I still think about it. This was an amazing novel with compelling characters, plot, and descriptions. There are some incredibly gory and rape-y scenes that could give you nightmares. It's all done in good taste, if that makes sense. The gore, rape, and hopelessness is given weight.

The characters are smart and well fleshed out. The hard sci-fi is well done. This isn't like Star Wars with blasters or death stars working without any explanation.

If I could complain about anything, it would be the lack of visual descriptions of characters. The author has committed this crime many times in the past. However, if you can get past that, this is a good listen. I'm very visual. Alastair Reynolds generally fails in the visuals department compared to authors like Iain M Banks and Neil Gaiman. But don't let that turn you off from this great novel.

The narrator does the job incredibly well with a wide range of vocalizations and pacing. John Lee is an over achiever in all his work.

Disappointing

Normally I am a fan of Alastair Reynolds. But this work, similarly, in my opinion to his young adult fiction bone series simply fails to connect an intriguing world and totally uninspiring characters. Moreover, I get the sense that he didn’t even bother trying to connect his ex position to the plot. The entire ending, complete with his references to space travel and the whole 9 yards seems to have
come from nowhere.