House of Suns

De: Alastair Reynolds

Narrado por: John Lee

Six million years ago, at the very dawn of the starfaring era, Abigail Gentian fractured herself into a thousand male and female clones: the shatterlings. Sent out into the galaxy, these shatterlings have stood aloof as they document the rise and fall of countless human empires. They meet every 200,000 years to exchange news and memories of their travels with their siblings.

Not only are Campion and Purslane late for their 30-second reunion but they have also brought along an amnesiac golden robot for a guest. But the wayward shatterlings get more than the scolding they expect: they face the discovery that someone has a very serious grudge against the Gentian line, and there is a very real possibility of traitors in their midst. The surviving shatterlings have to dodge exotic weapons while they regroup to try to solve the mystery of who is persecuting them and why---before their ancient line is wiped out of existence forever.

©2008 Alastair Reynolds (P)2009 Tantor

Reynolds one of my faves

This is the second Reynolds novel I've purchased and I am now placing him at the top of my SF reading list along with Peter F. Hamilton. This book moves along at a fast pace and does a good job explaining complex physics in a way that even a complete novice to anything scientific (me) can understand. John Lee is fantastic again (of course). At first I couldn't follow which character was telling the story (Campion or Purslane) but it didn't bother me and as I got into the story I had no problem figuring out who was speaking. All his other characters had distinct accents and I think Lee made the voices for the two main characters the same for a very good reason. All in all, an enjoyable read that left me wishing that the story went on longer. I will definitely keep reading Reynolds' books.

Loved it!

Some have said that this book is long and does not go anywhere. I disagree. The book's mysteries are given up nicely as the journey progresses and the end has a lessen for man kind. I not only enjoyed the journey I liked the ending. It took a while for me to get used to the idea that someone can live a million years. Even if most of the time was spent in stasis. Think of the possibilities!

A slight departure for Reynolds

Reynolds has established himself as one of the pre-eminent contemporary science fiction writers. More so than most of his fellow authors, Reynolds manages to push the boundaries of the genre in new directions. House of Suns begins as a typical sci-fi story with cloned copies of a progenitor line traveling the galaxy in light speed vessels with a periodic reunion to swap experiences and memories. Initially, the story begins along a sinister track with unknown forces out to destroy the line for unknown reasons. Gradually the tale evolves to a more complex endeavor that unearths machine intelligence, past atrocities, and secret societies. The ending also resolves a mystery that is developed early in the tale.
What sets House of Suns apart from other stories is the extreme futuristic setting. Typical sci-fi stories propose scientific progress as an exponential process, such that even a couple of hundred or at most a thousand years is more than enough to reach a pinnacle with a plateau effect. Reynolds places this tale, more than 6 million years in the future. Even the beginning of the clone line was begun well after our present time. Given the relativistic limitations that are preserved, 6 million years of action is not experienced, but the temporal dissonance of the story is palpable and is similar to explaining calculus to students learning to count. Buckle up, the ride is exhilarating.

As good as Pushing Ice, which was a GREAT story

This is my second favorite novel by Reynolds behind Pushing Ice. Although the concepts are pretty far out there, the characters and story are central in this novel (rather than the science-speak in the Revelation Space series). I have not read/listened to the 'prequel' novella "Thousandth Night" (in "One Million AD") but i don't think that's required for this story to make sense.

Although Reynolds is considered a 'hard science fiction' author, he doesn't focus on how each of his concepts is mathematically possible which actually enhanced the story for me. Too much of that gets in the way of telling the story in my opinion, it is FICTION after all. This is a stand alone novel that any futurist/sci-fi fan will enjoy.

Oh and John Lee, as always, does a fantastic job.

This is one of the best space operas ever written

This book is well written from all perspectives. The author explores the consequences of being stuck with the speed of light. Without warp drives or wormholes, how could humanity make a society that spans the galaxy work? Now add some good characters, a mystery, and an epic battle of survival. This is science fiction firing on all cylinders. It isn't the greatest thing every written, but is the best science fiction I've listened to in years. If you are on the fence about whether this is the book for you, my recommendation is a big thumbs up.