The Prefect by Alastair Reynolds
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Book Reviews of The Prefect
Book Review: Conspiracies within conspiracies
Summary: 5 Stars
Reynolds is normally considered to be in the `space opera' sub-genre of sci-fi, although his PhD in astronomy and his day job as an astrophysicist for the European Space Agency qualify him for `hard' sci-fi as well.
The Prefect takes place, pre-Melding Plague, in the Revelation Space universe. The protagonist, Tom Dreyfus, is a Prefect, a Panoply policeman for the Glitter Band of habitats that orbit the planet Yellowstone. What starts out as a straight-forward murder investigation (the destruction of one of the smaller habitats) quickly spirals out of control as Dreyfus' detective work uncovers a conspiracy to thwart his investigation. And, like peeling the layers off of an onion, the deeper Dreyfus digs, the more he uncovers (conspiracies within conspiracies) until ultimately he is confronted with a grand conspiracy that threatens the very existence of the entire Glitter Band - 10,000 habitats and 100,000,000 people. The character mix includes the sole surviving member of The 80, from the first attempt at uploading human consciousness into a computer environment, and the Clockmaker, a mysterious and murderous computerized being, which Dreyfus has previously encountered.
Extremely well-written with well-developed characters and a fast-paced plot, The Prefect reaffirms Reynolds' place among the very best sci-fi writers today. Highly recommended without any reservations.
Oh, one last thing. Reynolds leaves the door wide open for a sequel.
Book Review: Conspiracies within conspiracies
Summary: 5 Stars
Reynolds is normally considered to be in the `space opera' sub-genre of sci-fi, although his PhD in astronomy and his day job as an astrophysicist for the European Space Agency qualify him for `hard' sci-fi as well.
The Prefect takes place, pre-Melding Plague, in the Revelation Space universe. The protagonist, Tom Dreyfus, is a Prefect, a Panoply policeman for the Glitter Band of habitats that orbit the planet Yellowstone. What starts out as a straight-forward murder investigation (the destruction of one of the smaller habitats) quickly spirals out of control as Dreyfus' detective work uncovers a conspiracy to thwart his investigation. And, like peeling the layers off of an onion, the deeper Dreyfus digs, the more he uncovers (conspiracies within conspiracies) until ultimately he is confronted with a grand conspiracy that threatens the very existence of the entire Glitter Band - 10,000 habitats and 100,000,000 people. The character mix includes the sole surviving member of The 80, from the first attempt at uploading human consciousness into a computer environment, and the Clockmaker, a mysterious and murderous computerized being, which Dreyfus has previously encountered.
Extremely well-written with well-developed characters and a fast-paced plot, The Prefect reaffirms Reynolds' place among the very best sci-fi writers today. Highly recommended without any reservations.
Oh, one last thing. Reynolds leaves the door wide open for a sequel.
Book Review: Space opera meets John Rebus
Summary: 5 Stars
Alastair Reynolds has been producing great space opera for several years now. This time he takes a somewhat different path. It's still great space opera, but he's added touches of Ian Rankin (the best current British mystery writer). Reynolds's main character -- Tom Drefyus, the Prefect of the title -- is very reminiscent of Rankin's John Rebus. He's a driven, cranky policeman, somewhat of an outcast despite his many years in the service. H is loyal to those who work for him, is sometimes at odds with his peers, and unwilling to give up when he gets his teeth into something. And of course he is brilliant at pulling together disparate elements.
I won't try to summarize the novel here. Several other reviews do a fine job with that. I'll just say that this is yet another very good novel from Reynolds. It may be his best, and is probably the one that I'd hand to anyone who hasn't read much SF but wants to find out what this "new space opera" stuff is all about. This will definitely be on my Hugo ballot next year.
Book Review: Policing the Glitter Band
Summary: 5 Stars
Reynolds delivers another slice of the Universe he has created and he does it with an eye to the crime drama style he is so good at. As in Chasm City and Century Rain Reynolds uses the police/detective to tell the story and drive the action. Nothing is ever perfect in the Revelation Space universe, it is always a bit grimy and gritty. Reynolds always leaves tatters and frayed edges in his stories. These can drive you nuts or you can just accept them for what they are. Having said that, this book is far more complete and coherent than Absolution Gap.
I hope we see more of Prefect Dreyfus and I also hope we get to see more of the Glitter Band in the pre-plague era. And maybe just maybe we can see the cause of the plague and how it happened. Was Dreyfus involved or how about the Clockmaker?
Book Review: One of Reynolds' best!
Summary: 5 Stars
I have enjoyed all of Alistair Reynolds' book but this one was exceptional. I could not put this book down and I read through it in one weekend. I only wish I had read it before I read the Revelation Space series.
The Prefect is a good intro to the Revelation Space universe. The book is centered on one character, an old-fashioned policeman/lawman/sheriff type that we easily recognize from our favorite TV shows but Reynolds never allows any of his characters to slip into cliches. Both heroes and villains are multi-layered. The plot is easier to follow than Reynolds' other longer works and I love how the so-called aliens turn out to be not so alien after all.