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Chasm City

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Chasm City

By: Alastair Reynolds
Narrated by: John Lee
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About this listen

Named one of the best novels of the year by both Locus and Science Fiction Chronicle, Alastair Reynolds's debut Revelation Space redefined the space opera. With Chasm City, Reynolds invites you to reenter the bizarre universe of his imagination as he redefines Hell.

The once-utopian Chasm City - a domed human settlement on an otherwise inhospitable planet - has been overrun by a virus known as the Melding Plague, capable of infecting any body, organic or computerized. Now, with the entire city corrupted---from the people to the very buildings they inhabit---only the most wretched sort of existence remains. For security operative Tanner Mirabel, it is the landscape of nightmares through which he searches for a lowlife postmortal killer. But the stakes are raised when his search brings him face to face with a centuries-old atrocity that history would rather forget.

©2008 Alastair Reynolds (P)2009 Tantor Adventure Fantasy Fiction First Contact Science Fiction Space Opera Technothrillers Thriller & Suspense Technology Thriller

Critic Reviews

"Consistently startling.... Reynolds remains one of the hottest...SF writers around." ( Publishers Weekly)
All stars
Most relevant
A gripping tale with a few twists. Doesn't carry on from the first book, all the characters are new.

Great company

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Enjoyable in many ways though the story was ultimately weak. I think the author might be hoping for a film deal; steam punk blade runner. The first book is on another level. I'll read the third in the series to form a better opinion.

Steam punk

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What a story - what an imagination- Reynolds draws you into worlds and stories that grip you to the end and beyond

Incredible

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Can see why this book won awards when it came out. It should be made into a tv series (possibly suit an animated series).

Also have to say, John Lee is the best narrator in the audiobook business.

Keeps you hooked the whole way through

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This book was so disappointing. Not because it was a terrible story, but because he developed it so well and then copped out at the very last moment. He obviously didn’t realize what he had before he threw his jewel in the bin. I’m surprised that after 700+ pages of good writing he couldn’t think of anything better than a completely absurd deus-ex machina climax.

I also wish he’d had cut the over used tropes and cliches of science fiction. He has a PhD in astrophysics you think he’d be smarter and more original. He takes the horse that’s been beaten to death, revives it with fantastical futuristic technology, and then beats it some more.

On the plus side John Lees performance was superb.

Alastair Reynolds dropped the ball before it was thrown.

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This is, while very different in some ways, superior to Revelation Space, the first in the series. It deals with certain themes and character in extremely imaginative and spectacular ways. While not necessarily perfect, or especially close to it, it is more than worth listening to.

And of course, John Lee is still my favourite narrator. I can't fault him.

Fantastic

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A narrative which has numerous plot twists, set in the gothic world of post-plague Chasm City. Well narrated with no filler material - a solid 4/5 stars.

Reynolds' ode to Use of Weapons

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I actually like the story of Sky Houseman and the way it was told was interesting but the meandering way that it was exposed to the reader/listener left me a little bit frustrated with it. I do like Alistair’s writings and how he treats the future as both wonderful and advanced yet decaying and decrepit. Like I said I generally liked the book but a few things let it down. It doesn’t seem to matter that much to a lot of readers but it mattered to me.

Good but…

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The depth and the well written parts of this story go further again and I would say just about as good as the first. Though I had expectations that were not filled within the first part of the book, it nonetheless delivered on interesting dark good storytelling and like before but maybe more strongly it pulls on your heart strings in unexpected ways, as well as horrifying you, then leads you into tranquility. Well read performance, I wish there was more artwork for these books, they seem so much larger a scale when you read than you would first imagine words could do. It goes into more detail of the early American era in this book,

Again not a happy scifi story, nonetheless not very dull either plenty of segmented action. I got this for free so factor that in. No credits spent.

Great Listen

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Chasm City starts so far away from where Reynolds ended Revelation Space that the reader wonders if the two will ever meet. Reynolds doesn't disappoint though, intertwining two story lines to reveal more depth in the protagonist than a linear story could. Reynolds has a great way of not only showing how the protagonist influences those around him to reach a better end, but also how the protagonist himself was influenced, for better or worse. As the story climaxes we are not actually sure if we are meant to empathise with the main character or his antagonist.

Lee's narration is a much more solid performance that Revelation Space, making this book an easier listen as well.

All in all, a great story that will create new fans and engage existing ones.

Another brilliant book

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