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)

Five hours in- I quit

5 hrs into it pulled by good basic writing skills and good narration but I still can't see a story arc. Not much interesting science, not much plot development, no humor or wit, and not a very believable culture. Apparently it takes place on Earth but not a very likely one. If this were text rather than audio, I would be skimming pretty fast to find the meat of the story. As it is, I don't have any more time to waste on it.

Better than review

You have to get past the snarky and sarcastic dialogue and when you do you’ll find an interesting hero and other characters and an interesting story. The ancient world they live on is a character you learn about. Realize that Cutter/Quillan has a very thick skin and a kind outlook and this is a traditional sci-fi story. Think Larry Niven

Riveting! I can't wait to read what happens next.

These stories from AR are certainly worth Netflix! TV series! Why hasn't it been done yet?

I liked, but it was not quite hitting it

I did struggle to finish, because the premise was a bit odd.. It's likely just me but the 'zones' concept was as interesting as it was confusing. And while Reynolds may have beaten Jim Butcher and the Helldivers guy to the punch, I read their airship centered books first and the steampunk angle gets lost amongst the technology dichotomy. Still! - four stars because it is actually good story, and as little as some characters (Meroka(sp)) are developed overall; the concept and conflict are good. I'm glad we don't meet more than a fraction of (very different) people from the celestial levels.

Steamfiction of the far-future

I think it's clear at this point that after completing the many Revelation Space books that the author decided to explore a fascination with old technologies and settings, perhaps dating back to 2004 when he did Century Rain and heavily involved 1950s Paris. This time there is a spread of technology levels, but the book fundamentally takes place in near-zero technology levels, lending the story to wooden airships bound to the principles of air travel and gun warfare.

For a long while I was dissatisfied with the trend of the story, but Reynolds always has that one part near the end of his books that suddenly drop intellectual bombs and grant you insider knowledge that sometimes even the characters can't fully grasp. This book is no exception, but by the end I selfishly wanted just a bit more out of the world's lore.

If I'm being honest, the strength of this story is that it gives you the silent treatment about the outside universe, although there is plenty of speculation provided by some characters. Reynolds even goes through his traditional trouble of presenting plausible explanations for complex problems, and then invalidates the characters' hypothesis so that he can make sure you know that he's in strict control of the story progression.

The untold story behind Terminal World is the way that things arrived into their current state, which would have been a stellar short story, like in the Galactic North collection, but that is likely never to happen. Besides, the strength of this as a story is, again, the assumption that humanity knows very little anymore about its past, save for vague scripture that presumably dates back to the incidents that resulted in the state of the world.

I think that it's also worth making a note, as tangential as it might be, that the relationship development in this story is subtly more powerful than I expected. Character development is always a key area for Reynolds, but the untold and between-the-lines development of Meroka with those around her, including a deniable interest in Curtana, her relaxation around Quillon, and her affinity for the young Nimcha and her loaned storybooks.

Also... assuming you have completed the story, consider the Wikipedia information in the section titled "Which World?" (check revision history in case it changes). You might have horribly missed some very interesting information about "Earth".

A delicious sort of World-Building.

Reynolds creates a fantastic sort of world, with all sorts of questions and concepts to keep me thinking far /outside/ of the book.

I've no problems with his characterizations, and enjoyed the progression the main character made over time - but that having been said, the real strength of this book in my mind is the progression through the world itself, new, mysterious lands, ideas, and concepts.

Through it all, a solid level of tension pervades, and I don't think think any portion felt like a real lull. The ending is both incomplete and complete - that is to say, you can see the direction things will go after the conclusion, and even envisage another book, but it might not be necessary, and can stand on it's own.

That having been said, I'll note I'm very comfortable with Reynold's style, and have more or less ended up binging on everything he's published recently! John Lee seems the perfect sci-fi narrator to me, perhaps because of prior experience - but I've developed a deep fondness for his voice over time, and this book is no exception.

Another Reynolds masterpiece

This is amazing story, well written, nothing what makes up a good story is missing. The narrator was not so enjoyable though because of his UK accent.

Interesting Story but horrible narration.

The sad thing about this book is that while the story includes some thought provoking and plot-worthy threads it was largely ruined by the narrator. When every character speaks (albeit with a different voice) in the same timbre, inflection and "Snagglepuss" (think 1970 era cartoons) downward tone at the end of every sentence there comes a disconnect between the action and the verbalization. In this book it made the story painful to endure. A real disappointment.

Where's the rest of the story?

As usual Alistair Reynolds whiting is engaging and draws you into a world of his making and John Lee's performance is superb (again, as usual). As good as the story is, just as the story looks like its going to get even more interesting, the book ends.

Event though it's still worth listening/reading, it seems like there should at least be another book in the series.

Another great book by Reynolds.

Where does Terminal World rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This book ranks in my top 20 SF reads.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Cutter. This guy is tuff, determined and smart.

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

Yes, John Lee is great.

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

no, but it made me dream.

Any additional comments?

Great read.