One day I will eventually get around to re-reading Alastair Reynolds Revelation Space books so that I can post thorough reviews but the truth is, at the moment they are such a distant memory that I couldn’t do them justice from half-remembered scenes and a clear understanding of the implications of the climax of each novel. They are complex books that really do require a re-read. Until then, I’m afraid you are going to have to make do with this collection of eight short stories and novellas set in the same universe. This is my first re-entry back into Reynolds’ universe for a few years.

The first short story, The Wall of Mars, is the first chronologically according to wikipedia so it makes sense to have this first in the collection. It features Nevil Clavain, butcher of Tharsis, the complex and interesting sort-of-hero character from the original books arriving on Mars with a proposal of peace between The Coalition and the Conjoiners. The early part of the short story includes a brief reminder of how the Conjoiners, Coalition and Demarchists came to be (reminder for those who have already read the main body, an introduction to those that haven’t – though I wouldn’t recommend starting the series with this collection). Continue reading →