Rating: 4/5
Alastair Reynolds, Zima Blue (London: Gollancz, 2009).
I had forgotten how much I enjoy Alastair Reynolds’s writing. He is an expert in the “space opera” genre. Short stories give authors a great opportunity to distill a story down to its very essence. Reynolds does not waste words. I really enjoyed this collection.
My favourite stories would have to be the Merlin sequence (Hideaway, Minla’s Flowers, and Merlin’s Gun). He covered a lot of ground in those three stories. Beyond the Aquila Rift was pretty good, Angel of Ashes left me begging for more, and Spirey and the Queen was awesome. Understanding Time and Space was also fascinating. If you like science fiction, give this book a whirl. If you decide you like his writing, by all means, read his other books !!