Customer Reviews

Diamond Dogs, Turquoise Days

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Mercenaries travel to an isolated world to unravel the secrets of a deadly, living, alien tower.

I'll recommend this only for those who loved Revelation Space and/or Chasm City, as it works as a slightly off-key counterpoint to those two larger, better, wonderful novels.

At 111 pages, this short story can easily be read in a sitting, which makes it seem almost a trifle. Adding to that feeling, it also seems not quite as polished as Revelation Space or Chasm City.

Take the old "Indiana Jones" spirit of a quest to find something of unimaginable importance, throw in the premise of the indie flick "Cube" (in which several characters travel from room to room in a massive building, facing one deadly obstacle after the next), add in Reynolds' rather unique style of building a tale from his Revelation universe, and you've got an hour or two of fast, fun reading while you wait for his next, Redemption Ark (available for quite awhile in the UK, but not yet in the States 'till June).

The UK version of this comes w/ a 2nd short story called Turquoise Days, offering a nice tale w/ more information about the Pattern Jugglers. I'd actually recommend getting _that_ version...since T.D. is a better story than D.D.

The first novella in the book, "Diamond Dogs," has some very interesting secondary characters and an intriguing setting, but overall, there is not enough to sustain interest - depending on if you like mathematical, geometrical puzzles that you cannot see (i.e. there are no drawings or pictures accompanying the text), you may find yourself skimming paragraphs and pages.

The second novella, "Turquoise Days," is significantly better and I certainly thought the setting and the characters may have been one of Mr. Reynolds original storylines in his novels, but might have been edited out in favor of another. As such, the characters are more developed, the story much more engaging, and the pacing well done.

If you are an Alastair Reynolds fan, get this book; if you are new to his writing, I'd skip this in favor of PUSHING ICE.

Four stars is the average of what the two novellas deserve separately. "Diamond Dogs" is a tightly written science-fictional horror story with a film-noir atmosphere, a fast-paced human drama, and a gripping ending. All I could say at end was "Wow!" (a creeped out and shivering "wow"). Five stars.

"Turquoise Days" rates three stars at best, maybe even two. It feels very unfinished, more an outline of a novel than a complete story, and is not really consistent with the rest of Inhibitors Universe (in which it supposedly takes place). The characters are uninteresting and the plot falls flat -- to me, anyway.

I have one complaint about "Diamond Dogs" novella which I am surprised no one brought up yet. The series "1,3,5,7" is NOT prime numbers! Even if by some tortured alien logic "1" is a prime, there is no way to exclude "2" and claim the result is prime numbers sequence. Yet all the characters agree that's what the sequence is, and that next number should be "11". Ordinarily I would ignore it as a minor blooper, but mathematics plays a major role in "Diamond Dogs" which makes it jarring. Especially considering it is written by an astrophysicist who ought to know what prime numbers are!

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.

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?

You are still in the same 'universe' as the Revelation Space series, exploring different aspects of life. Diamond Dogs was a bit creepy and compelling to read. Then it seemed like Alastair was told to wrap up the book, so he did - a bit abruptly; with a nice twist at the end. I really enjoyed Turquoise Days. This story takes place on a juggler world; sometimes death is not the end of life.

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.

Both stories are set in the well-rendered universe of Revelation Space but don't add anything significant to it. Diamond Dogs seems to be a bit of an exercise in sado-masochism and both stories feel pointless and uninvolving.

In Diamond Dogs, Turquoise Days he brings us back to the wonderful yet plausable view of humanity's future, this time with tales of other fascinating characters, not directly connected to the "Revalation Space" series, although readers will definitily recognize some of the scenario's from his earlier titles,
Keep up the good work..

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.