Diamond Dogs, Turquoise Days (Revelation Space)

This is a fine example of the new british gothic space opera genre, you don't need to be familiar with his larger future history relating to the Revelation Space universe to enjoy these two stories... but it would only serve to enhance your enjoyment if you did (if for no other reason than to place these events in their proper timeline context). These are comfortably self contained novellas that stand alone quite well. Great visuals, an easy and enjoyable read, delightfully high-concept and a brain expanding entre into a grand and dangerous future. Well worth the time (okay, I devoured it) and these stories intrigued me enough to go out and buy the rest of his works... how bad can that be?

Diamond Dogs and Turquoise Days do not fail in their attempt to once again suck you into the nothing-short-of-brilliant Revelation Space universe. Both novellas manage to engross the reader quite competently...though, perhaps one of the few minor flaws is that Diamond Dogs manages to accomplish this feat slightly faster than Turquoise Days. Both novellas present the best modern science fiction has to offer; filled with alien vistas, bizarre technologies, and, most importantly of all, rich, deeply drawn characters that make you wish that you could continue their story, continue to know them, long after you have turned the last page.

Former astrophysicist Alastair Reynolds demonstrates why he is one of the most impressive new voices in European and indeed, World Science Fiction in "Diamond Dogs, Turquoise Days", this spellbinding collection of two novellas set in his Revelation Space universe. While both novellas are not as texturally rich as his novels "Revelation Space" and "Chasm City", they are still excellent examples of his splendid prose and development of intriguing characters. "Diamond Dogs" is a nail-biting, gripping macabre tale in the style of an Indiana Jones cinematic adventure, recounting the saga of some explorers seeking to unlock the secrets of an alien, living tower on the remote planet of Golgotha. Others have compared this tale to "slasher" films and I think this comparison is most apt, since the gore count goes up as the explorers head deeper within the tower, trying to cope with its unexpected, often deadly surprises. "Turqouise Days" is also an exciting tale in its own right, as a young woman scientist is forced to contend with the unexpected consequences of a visit by a starship and its crew to her remote planet Turquoise; one of many predominantly oceanic worlds inhabited by the alien Pattern Jugglers. How she deals with these consequences will affect the course of her planet's future in the Revelation Space universe.

Alastair Reynolds is an author who can tell a great story. I have not been disappointed in any of his books. This man can write! If you enjoy stories that you can inhabit, Alastair Reynolds has written some wonderful places in which to live.

The first of these two novellas, set in the author's *Revelation Space* universe, is about an alien tower, obviously part of a long-dead civilization, on a desolate planet. Decomposed bodies and body parts around the base show that extreme care is a very good idea. A man named Childe assembles a group of people to explore the tower from the inside, including Richard Swift, an old friend, and Doctor Trintingnant. The doctor is famous, or infamous, for removing organs or limbs from people, and replacing them with their artificial equivalent, not always with the patient's consent. Therefore, he experimented on his only willing patient, himself. The tower consists of a series of rooms. Entrance to the next room is gained by solving a very high-level mathematical puzzle. After a while, the tower begins to impose a time limit on the decision-making process. After retreating from one disastrous room, where one member is killed, and several limbs are chopped off (happily replaced by the doctor), the rest of the group says no more. Childe and Swift determine that artificial limbs and organs are less prone to attack by the tower than organic, so they have Dr. T turn them into something like an artificial greyhound dog, and return to the tower. In examining the bodies around the base of the tower, the doctor determines that, genetically, they all come from the same person. The question is also raised as to how Childe knew just what sort of people would be needed to explore the tower, if, as he claims, this is his first visit. The second story takes place on Turquoise, a planet whose ocean is inhabited by Pattern Jugglers, a one-celled aquatic organism capable of recording the memories of any being who joins their collective consciousness. Naqi Okpik is among those studying the Jugglers, until Mina, her sister, becomes part of the Juggler consciousness. One day, an interstellar trading vessel stops by for a visit, a once-in-a-lifetime event for the isolated people of Turquoise. One of the ship's crew, a man named Weir, is acting very strangely. During a tour of the Juggler research station, the rest of the crew attacks, and takes over the station. It seems that many years before, a despot named Ormozd visited the planet, and was absorbed by the Pattern Jugglers. The intention of the attackers is to "download" Ormozd's memories from the Jugglers, and place them into several different people. This is what Weir has come to stop. He takes a boat into a node of Jugglers, with Naqi in hot pursuit. He carries with him a "bomb" to destroy the Juggler's memory storage capability, and also to destroy the memories of everyone ever absorbed by the Jugglers, including Mina, Naqi's sister. This is another first-rate piece of writing from Reynolds. It would be a good idea to read any of his *Revelation Space* books first. These novellas are interesting, very well done and highly recommended.