Blue Remembered Earth [Hardcover]

Alastair Reynolds is known for sweeping, epic, galaxy-wide (and occasionally even intergalactic) space opera. An additional twist comes from his professional background as a physicist: while the science is often wildly speculative, it manages to stay within the bounds of the barely possible better than most space opera. So no faster-than-light travel and no causality violations. Yet somehow he still manages to write up galaxy-wide ancient precursor civilizations, wars that span light-years and aeons, space battles that destroy entire solar systems, and the usual good, clean, space opera fun.

Blue Remembered Earth is painted on a smaller canvas. It is set only about a century and a half in our future, within the Solar System. The more familiar locations, scope, cultures, and characters of the relatively near future are a welcome change of direction.

Reynolds also breaks out of some staid science-fiction conventions. For one thing, in his future world, the dominant cultural, economic, and scientific power is Africa, and all but one of his main characters (Jitendra, of Indian origin) are Africans. Like Ursula K. LeGuin, he doesn't rub your face in it; it's just that much of the action happens in the shadow of Kilimanjar, it's noted that the characters speak Swahili, and the only time somebody's race comes up is if it departs from the norm--i.e., s/he's Chinese or white.

Also, elephants.

I'm pretty much completely clueless about African cultures, so I have no idea how well--if at all--Reynolds has managed to work in cultural particularities of his Kenyan-Tanzaniyan protagonists. I have a suspicion that a Kenyan or Tanzanian might have written it in more strongly: as it is, the only things that struck me as unusual--other than the décor--were the family ties of the Akinya siblings and cousins. They are a good deal stronger than usually portrayed for typically individualist sci-fi heroes.

Blue Remembered Earth is an optimistic book. That's also a very refreshing change from the ever-grimmer dystopias of many current sci-fi authors, and indeed the sticky end Reynolds envisions for his own Revelation Space universe. In his future, humanity has managed to survive the Anthropocene--the near-catastrophic results of climate change--and has entered a new golden age. War is a barbaric feature of the receding past, crime and disease have been eradicated so thoroughly that an attempted murder in Finland or a death from cancer in Australia make the news in Nairobi, and the ecology has been brought back into balance. Colonization of the Solar System is well under way, with the ones too adventurous to live in the Earth's Surveyed Zones emigrating to more anarchic colonies on the far side of the Moon, or Mars, or even further.

Utopias make for pretty boring stories, though, so naturally there's a fly in the ointment. The story is a straightforward treasure hunt across the Solar System, to uncover a deadly family secret with the potential to change humanity's future, or perhaps destroy it. Yes, suitably epic again, in true Reynolds fashion.

I thoroughly enjoyed Blue Remembered Earth, and am looking forward to further instalments in the Poseidon's Children cycle, which the book begins. There are enough loose ends to make sequels possible, but also like most of Reynolds's work, the novel stands very well on its own. As all good sci-fi, Blue Remembered Earth has a lot to say about the world we live in, by portraying a possible future one.

Besides which, who wouldn't love spaceships and astronauts and Martian colonies and iceteroid mining?

Before I launch into my review, how can it be that the Kindle version ($21.96) costs so much more than a hardcover version ($17.43)? It was enough to make me think twice about buying this at all, but in the end I bit the bullet and went with the immediate hit of the Kindle.

Anyway, kudos to Reynolds for a novel that I felt is written in a very different voice to his other work. It is hard to pull this off across so many pages, but Reynolds normal aggressive, punchy style is toned down for a more languid pace that reminded me of Kim Stanley Robinson and Neal Stephenson.

He has also toned down the technology in some regards, which is a blessing and a curse, because Reynolds has a first-rate imagination and usually channels that into some very sexy kit, most of which was either totally enigmatic ("Pushing Ice") or leaning toward the explosive end of town (think the "Revelation Space" series). Of course, there is still a ton of high-tech gadgets and wizardry, but they are a supporting cast not really exciting in their own right.

The plot is straightforward enough: a set of mysterious clues from a recently departed doyen of a solar-system wide trading family lead a recalcitrant brother and sister on a merry chase, causing them to clash with their cousins and thrusting them into a web of debt and deception to fund their search.

Of course, it's what you do with the plot that matters and Reynolds has never been shy of painting on a canvas as large as the universe itself. This time his scope seems limited to near-Earth (in galactic terms at least) though he does introduce a bit of a curve ball about half way in that expands the protagonists horizons somewhat.

I really liked that Reynolds got us under the skin of his two main characters in a way reminiscent of Iain M. Banks and Michael F. Flynn. Their emotional state is laid bare; their motivations explored; and their lack of self-awareness gently raised so that we can fully appreciate the tone and tenor of 'why' they are doing what they do.

So far so good.

But, I really, really, really dislike ambivalent heroes. And lead character, Geoffrey Akinya, is one of those "I'd rather be anywhere than here" types who is actually more than ambivalent (though such traits surely are not allowed in this utopian future?). He is pushed and pulled by anyone and anything, displaying very little backbone, in a way that my pop psychology brands as passive aggressive (indeed, Geoffrey actually does get physically aggressive, at which point the overarching 'Mechanism' that monitors everyone's thoughts and actions steps in and punishes him for such lowly intent). Perhaps you can blame it on the Mechanism, but Geoffrey seems to accept 'debts' accrued on behalf of others as his own way too readily, especially given that he's eschewed the Family for so long. And the less said about his elephant fetish the better!

His sister, Sunday, is way less passive and so I found her way less annoying than Geoffrey.

But both siblings, having stepped out of the family to pursue their own objectives, can be pretty frustrating. And perhaps there is a degree of "why are they doing this" in their system-wide steeplechase, because they'd spent so long actively fighting being part of the Akinya trading empire that suddenly lurching into action seems counter to their nature. (To Reynolds credit, his characters do explore this conflict and come to no more clear conclusion than I could.)

Even less credible for me was the Mechanism. Everyone on Earth is patrolled, both physically and mentally, to the point that they'd make those housewives in "Valley of the Dolls" look positively manic. Fortunately, the Mechanism does not intrude too much on the story arc, and is used a couple of times to prod Geoffrey along in the right direction. So that's OK I guess, because once you start to think about such power being deployed you can't but think about such power being abused and despite the references to resource wars and global warming, the "we've come through bad times but we're better people now" does not really stand up to scrutiny against human nature.

But those are minor niggles. "Blue Remembered Earth" has strong enough themes painted on a wide-enough canvas that it remains enjoyable even as I shout from the sidelines for Geoffrey to just "F****N do something". There are various bit players, whole ecologies of transformed humans and a couple of bad guys in the Akinya twins Hector and Lucas (who would have been killed at birth by the Mechanism if there was any justice in the world).

Plus loose ends sufficient for a sequel.

Reyonlds writes good sci-fi and this another of his books that's worth a read. I'd think that if you've enjoyed Kim Stanley Robinson "Red Mars" trilogy, China Miéville's "Perdido Street Station" or Neal Stephenson's "Reamde" then you'll find "Blue Remembered Earth" equally satisfying.

This is a clear departure from Reynolds' earlier works, most of which I'd describe as masterful, fast paced, intelligent space operas, often with post-human elements and a punk noir flavour. Great escapist reads.

Blue Remembered Earth is slower, more character driven, more contemplative... possibly more 'literary' in flavour (particularly the opening). I was a little put off at first an prepared to 'not like' an Alastair Reynolds book for the first time. I even put it aside, read another book and came back to it. But I'm glad I did come back to it. It's a much more near-term, 'closer to home' story but ultimately the characters are more complex and the concepts are fascinating. And the pace does accelerate.

If you're a little patient, Blue Remembered Earth will reward you with a fun but also thought-provoking story, but if you're a huge Reynolds fan then you might want to pretend to yourself that it's a different author.