“I know you have the strength to do it. You’ve already shown me that a thousand times. Do it, friend, and end this.” “I can’t.”WAAAAH!! You stop that Alastair Reynolds! I read you for cool tech, quantum science, posthumans, and weird aliens. Tugging at my heartstrings is not within your purview!Absolution Gap is the third — and final — volume of the Revelation Space trilogy. No no, not the final book in the Revelation Space series, which span five novels (as of today) and some short stories. This book should, therefore, be read after Revelation Space and Redemption Ark. If you want to dip your toes into the Revelation Space universe without committing to a series you may want to read one of the two standalones: Chasm City or The Prefect.I read the previous volume of this trilogy: Redemption Ark, in August 2013 and I just read this third volume in October 2015! Redemption Ark is a great book, possibly my favorite of his, but I left it so long to read its sequel because Absolution Gap gets so many negative reviews* on Goodreads and elsewhere that it put me off reading it and I put it on the backburner for over a year. Still, it is like an itch that needed to be scratched, so I eventually got to it. As it turned out, I am too easily swayed, Absolution Gap is pretty cool. Besides, a 3.99 Goodreads average rating is not too shabby.I had to look up the Wikipedia summary of Redemption Ark, and Cecily’s review to refresh my memory a bit. It worked like a charm, though Reynolds does make it fairly easy by making the story arc self-contained within this book. Anyway, Absolution Gap follows directly on from the amazing Redemption Ark. As with most of his longer novels, Gap gap contains several plot strands which the author gradually weave together into a unified climax and denouement. One storyline follows Scorpio the hyperpig* and the crew of “Nostalgia for Infinity”, an almost FTL spaceship with a soul (the ship’s captain became fused with his ship in the previous book). Their mission is to rescue a baby called Aura, a kind of “Chosen One”, from the clutches of the evil woman called Skade. The hair-raising rescue involves a tragic sacrifice by one of the characters. Another plot strand follows the antagonist Quaiche, a legendary religious figure and Grelier and his sadistic surgeon-general and henchman, on a moon called Hela. They too are on a quest aboard a very slowly moving cathedral moving toward a mysterious bridge which crosses the eponymous Absolution Gap. Yet another plot strand follows a teenage girl called Rashmika who runs away from home to find out the fate of her brother who joined the staff of Quaiche’s religious organization and soon mysteriously lost contact with his family. Absolution Gap is something of a slow burner compared to the previous books in the trilogy. I personally find Rashmika’s trek towards the Quaicheist church’s cathedral a little slow going; and the girl makes for quite a dull protagonist during the first half of the book until she meets up with Quaiche and discover a much more interesting side of herself (no, she does not become another Ellen Ripley-esq ass kicker, which makes a nice change). The overall plot of the entire book is quite complex but easy enough to follow thanks to Reynolds' narrative skills.The author also helpfully indicate the year number and location of the setting at the beginning of each chapter, I really appreciate this because it keeps the timelines untangled. The climax is not bad but not as epic as I had hoped. The main characters are generally well-drawn, especially Scorpio, who I cannot help but visualize like this:He is no muppet though, you would not want to get on the wrong side of him, and he also has a nice line in sarcasm. One of Reynold’s greatest strengths is the cool sci-fi ideas, and this book does not disappoint in that department. From the Inverted World-like moving cathedral to the unstoppable Inhibitors** (AKA Wolves), the living ship “Nostalgia for Infinity”, the different classes of humans (baseline, Ultra, and conjoiner).There is an element of a religious theme to this book, which appears to be a portrayal of zealotry and the trouble it can lead to. The "absolution" in the title is also something of a motif, Quaiche's idea of absolution is very costly to those who comes into contact with him, whereas several of the heroes are willing to sacrifice themselves for others, and for their absolution from their past misdeeds. In fact, the Revelation Space series as a whole, as the name implies, does have an element of religious theme to it, but that is a discussion for another day (or how about never?).I can see why Absolution Gap is less popular than the previous two books but I regret not having read it when my memory of Redemption Ark was still fresh because I have forgotten some of the nuances of the characters who appear in them. Also, the fate of the heroic Clavain seems unkind and unfair. The book by itself is easy to follow though. If you have already read the previous two books I certainly recommend that you read this one. There is a good chance you will dig it, the negative reviews are in a minority after all._________________________* Genetically modified sentient pig.** Alien robots, yes, alien and robot because just one or the other is not sci-fi enough.
With his Revelation Space trilogy and the spinoff books Chasm City and The Prefect, Alastair Reynolds has accomplished the best world-building outside of Iain M. Banks' Culture novels. Truly, I can't understate how impressed I am with what Reynolds has put together.Over the last ten weeks or so I have fallen in love with the Revelation Space universe and I simply can't get enough of the stories or characters that occupy it. I started with The Prefect, not realizing it was part of a bigger picture, and what I found was a a thoughtful and creative story, subtly complex, which was precisely and expertly executed. I then learned that there was a greater universe out there and thought I'd give Revelation Space a shot … and I was hooked. Before I knew it I had gobbled up the trilogy. I'm now reading Chasm City and am similarly engrossed. I also have the short-story and novella collections set in the same universe waiting on my kindle and anticipate wolfing them down pretty soon.Absolution Gap, which I give three stars, is the nowhere near the best of the books set in the Revelation Space universe, nor of the original trilogy. But that's not to say that it's bad at all—I still give it three stars, which for me means I thoroughly enjoyed the book and would recommend it to other people. And if the worst book of a series is three stars, the author is doing pretty well. Oh, I know there's lots of people on GR (especially the youngsters) who throw around five-star ratings like candy at the state fair. That's not me—I'm stingier with my stars. Not too long ago I even went through all my ratings and downgraded numerous books, not because I didn't like them, but out of a commitment to reserve my stars for the best. On my shelf, four stars go to books I thought were really very good, and five stars to books I thought were truly exceptional. My average rating of all the books on my "read" shelf is 3.64, so I think I'm doing pretty well at reserving stars for works that deserve them. Absolution Gap would default at five stars for me because I like the Revelation Space universe so much, but it loses a star because it's not a self-contained novel (you really need to read the first two books to grasp the fullness) and it loses another star because it has its flaws, mostly in the ending.I don't want to say too much about the ending because I don't want to hide behind the spoiler function in this review, but in essence I agree with other reviewers' cries of "deus ex machina!" and "huh?!" I got the impression Alastair Reynolds was setting us up for a fourth book in the series, and maybe he'll still get around to it, but I find it more likely that after years of writing these books he just wanted it to end. It's a disappointment, yes, but one I can live with, especially since there are other books, short stories, and novellas set in the Revelation Space universe for me to have for dessert.Other than the ending though, I found Absolution Gap to be just as well executed as the rest of the Revelation Space novels. There is plenty of suspense and thrilling moments, while still having time to relax and enjoy the scenery; in other words, I think Reynolds has mastered the art of pacing. And I love love love his use of language. It's not the shower of softball-sized ten-dollar words you'd find in a China Miéville novel, but Reynolds clearly has a knack for finding the right word and isn't afraid to spice up his prose. At the same time I found nothing hard to follow. It may not be for everybody, I'll admit, but Reynolds' prose seems to fit perfectly in my head; it's exactly how I want things to sound.Some of my love of Reynolds' prose undoubtedly comes from the perfect match of audiobook narrator to author. I've so far listened to all of the Revelation Space books on audio, and all of them have been narrated by John Lee. Audible members likely will recognize the name as he's a prolific narrator (his other notable work is the China Miéville novels). If Peter Kenny and Iain Banks are a match made in heaven, then John Lee and Alastair Reynolds are soul mates. Lee's voice and Reynolds' prose are like Bing Crosby's voice in White Christmas … that is to say, like buttuh.I will probably go back and read all the Revelation Space books in hardcopy (or, more likely, on my kindle) once sufficient time has passed for the details to bleed away together. Re-reading books is something I enjoy only if I can still have some sense of discovery or suspense the second or third time around. But for now I'm happy to hear Reynolds' words gliding through my head on John Lee's smooth voice.So what is the Revelation Space series? Is it hard sci-fi? Space opera? It certainly has elements of both, I think. Somewhere I saw these books described as sci-fi noir, and I like that description. The Revelation Space books are not all dark, not totally lacking in happy moments or good characters, but there is a certain noir undercurrent to the whole thing. I don't know that "sci-fi noir" has yet risen to the level of a genre, but that's where Reynolds' work fits. Certainly if you're a fan of hard sci-fi and space opera, the Revelation Space books are well worth your time.
What do You think about Absolution Gap (2005)?
The final novel in the Revelation Space Trilogy concludes one of the great space operas of the modern era. Though not the best book of the trilogy (I reserve that spot for Revelation Space itself), Absolution Gap brings the vast, centuries-spanning epic to a satisfactory conclusion. (view spoiler)[ My only dis-satisfaction with the novel (*spoiler alert*) involved the nascent leadership struggle between Scorpio and Vasko that never seemed to carry any consequential weight. This is a shame, given the compelling character of Scorpio, a seemingly minor character in the second book, Redemption Ark, who unwillingly becomes one of the main characters in the drama. The problem is not with Scorpio, but with Vasko, who, while we are led to believe is going to come into conflict with Scorpio, only really does so as just another member of the discontented opposition to Scorpio's rule. When Vasko should shine, he timidly fades into the background. (hide spoiler)]
—Forrest
Originally published on my blog here in August 2004.This novel completes the story of Revelation Space and Redemption Ark, about how the human race falls foul of machines named Inhibitors or wolves, which destroy interstellar civilizations when alerted by the use of particular kinds of advanced technology. (Chasm City and the pair of novellas Diamond Dogs, Turquoise Days share the same background, but are not part of the same story.) At the end of Redemption Ark, one group of humans had taken refuge on the backwater planet of Ararat; one strand of Absolution Gap starts when the Inhibitors attack them. The other main narrative thread is set on the bizarre world of Hela (a third describes the discovery of this world). Hela is an icy moon, home to a really strange religious movement. Many satellites have synchronous orbits, keeping one face towards the planet they orbit, as the Moon does to Earth - nobody could see the far side before the days of space travel. Hela nearly does this, but not quite, so the planet of Haldora appears to slowly move through the sky. On the equator is a route travelled by the strange cathedrals, slowly moving, huge buildings; their aim is to keep the planet directly overhead, under constant observation. (Of course, only one can do so at a time, causing a great deal of rivalry.)Absolution Gap is a long novel, and to start with moves too slowly. Even though I had enjoyed Reynolds' other writing, I seriously considered giving up on this story. The depiction of Hela is a serious problem; although the cathedrals are a fascinating idea, with a great deal of scope for baroque description in the manner of Peake or Moorcock (they're easily the best thing in the novel), we don't actually learn very much about them. This is because Reynolds doesn't want to reveal twists in the plot beforehand, but it means that the reader's interest isn't sustained. Basically, Absolution Gap could have been better constructed; it is a lengthy wait for things to start to get interesting. Read it if you want to find out the end of the story of the Inhibitors; otherwise, it's not really worth the effort. #
—Simon Mcleish
Revelation Space series started great and I absolutely loved the first novel. The second one (Redemption Ark) was still good, although less than the first one. I was warned the closing novel of the trilogy does not live up to the expectations that the start of the series brought and that's, if anything, is a serious understatement. The book is the largest in the series and yet manages to say the least of them all. The book is very terrestrial - half of the book plays out on Ararat - a Juggler planet and half - on a planet ruled by a demented religious dumbass. Both halves suffer from serious under-editing, there is a lot of text there that does not add much to the story and does not have to be there at all. The story is not too exciting either - the Inhibitor threat is not so much resolved as explained away and swapped under the carpet at the very end. START SPOILERSThe author also continues with a seeming theme he started in the previous book of introducing something that's supposed to be super amazing, awesome and fantastic and that in the end turns out to be a complete flash in the pan type of flop. In the previous book this was the supposedly fierce hells class cache weapons. In this book - it's Aura - a prodigy child who could help build amazing weapons before she was even born but by the time she was 17, seemed to be completely ordinary and even a bit slow.END SPOILERSOverall, the book does sort of finishes the trilogy but disappointedly so, and the size of the novel is not an indication of the content you will be getting - a lot of stuff is still unexplained and left hanging.
—Svetlana
