Blue Remembered Earth

By: Alastair Reynolds

Narrated by: Kobna Holdbrook-Smith

Critically acclaimed author Alastair Reynolds holds a well-deserved place “among the leaders of the hard-science space opera renaissance." (Publishers Weekly). In Blue Remembered Earth, Geoffrey Akinya wants nothing more than to study the elephants of the Amboseli basin. But when his space-explorer grandmother dies, secrets come to light and Geoffrey is dispatched to the Moon to protect the family name - and prevent an impending catastrophe.

©2012 Alastair Reynolds (P)2012 Recorded Books

Kobna never disappoints!

If you could sum up Blue Remembered Earth in three words, what would they be?

Thoughtful, interesting, and speculative.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Eunice, I suppose, in all her iterations. She gets and keeps our protagonists moving.

Which character – as performed by Kobna Holdbrook-Smith – was your favorite?

Eunice, I think, though I really enjoyed his characterization of the cousins as well, Lucas and Hector.

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

Taking breaks was nice, mainly because of the length of the book and amount of detail. I never got bored with it, though.

Any additional comments?

This is the first time I bought an audiobook because of the narrator, primarily. After Kobna's work on the Peter Grant series, I thought I would check out some other stories he had narrated, but there aren't many. Blue Remembered Earth sounded up my alley, though, so I took a shot and really enjoyed it. Unfortunately Kobna doesn't narrate the sequels so I am unsure if I will continue; thankfully the book was satisfying as a stand-alone, even if I do want to find out what happens next.

Great world building, Slow build

After having read The Revelation Space Series, I enjoyed Alastair Reynolds's take on more near future science fiction. Thinking about the coming changes in government, surveillance, AI, transportation etc. technologies is one of my favorite things about Sci-Fi and this book delivers that in spades. The reason it gets a 4 overall though is that the plot reveals its

Couldn't Get Into It But Hope for the Future!

I don't know - maybe I'm a little too American-centric but I just wasn't able to get into the story. Probably sounds bad but not meant to be. The story was kind of like a scavenger hunt but I had no understanding of the goal in mind. People just headed off because some dead person told them to do so. The story ended with hope for the follow-on books if developed properly. I'll give "On the Steel Breeze" a try just because the last chapter or so of BRE finally seemed to go somewhere.

Kobna Holdbrook-Smith's reading and accent were actually very pleasant. Some of the characters voices were a bit outrageous, funny even, but for the most part I really enjoyed the narrator's work. Personally, I don't think the narrator would need to be ethnically limited. I'd listen to any sci-fi story he decided to read. Obviously, he was the perfect choice for this book. I hope Adjoa Andoh does as well with the second book.

Great story and excellent narration.

While some of the plot seemed contrived and pointless (I won't give any spoilers here) the book is jam packed with original ideas and interesting people. As is usual with Reynolds he has created a fascinating and believable world. In some ways the book ends just when it's going to get interesting, I hope the author is working on a sequal, I really want to know what happens next!!!! Narration was excellent, I had not heard this performer before but will look for more stuff by him. Easy 5stars, loves it.

Good but not epic

Is there anything you would change about this book?

For a book this long, the universe, characters and plot need to be bigger. I am a big fan of Reynolds earlier books but struggled to find satisfaction with this one. This could easily be adapted to a short story and all the interesting stuff packed into 50 pages. The characters are few and his universe feels small and dim. The plot? It felt developed along the way and the whole mystery with the glove and box, and the wild goose chase, it played out for far, far to long. Much ado about nothing.... I loved Pushing Ice but this isn't in the same category.

Another original book from Alastair Reynolds

Alastair Reynolds delivers another hard science fiction book. One gets use to his original stories by now as well as his unique characters. The reader is excellent.

I Remember Reynolds Being Better Than This

What did you like best about Blue Remembered Earth? What did you like least?

The writing is solid in typical Reynolds fashion. The narrator is just fantastic and took a slow predictable read and made it come alive.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

I knew early on where the story was going and hoped it would have a more thrilling ending. It just kind of fizzled out.

Have you listened to any of Kobna Holdbrook-Smith’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I haven't listened to Kobna before but I will be on the look out for anything else read by him.

Any additional comments?

I have read every book Reynolds has written and this is by far his weakest work.

Reynolds, Visionary, Deserves more recognition!

If you could sum up Blue Remembered Earth in three words, what would they be?

Exciting, Optimistic and Masterful

Who was your favorite character and why?

I loved most all the characters and hope for this to be a first of a series. Most of the characters I already imagined possible futures they might have.

What does Kobna Holdbrook-Smith bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Omg!! It's so great to hear an African accent, the voice artist adds another level of bliss. I was sad when the story ended. His work was perfect, he took some risk and and succeeded, never going beyond his range.

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

I listened three times so far.I paused to savor it. After this last read, I appreciate the collaboration even more.

Any additional comments?

Alistor Reynolds has a rare gift to tell a story without over the top violence. He doesn't shy away from conflict, and there is plenty of action, tension with out cheep tricks. His stories have a convincing hope. Science fiction writers are important as any other form of literature and tell us important things about the future.

A good rope a dope

This book was excellent. It's just like, yeah, the book pushing ice to I've tried several other of his books and they don't hold me.
But I found that probably 2/3 of the book is the build up before you're smacked with the real heaviness and the intelligent sci. Fi This man writes.

Spectacular Treat!

Finally real Sci-fi that you can really sink your mental teeth into. No mindless battles, sophomoric romances or blatantly bad science.