Alastair Reynolds (born in 1966 in Barry, South Wales) is a Welsh science fiction author. He specialises in dark hard science fiction and space opera. He spent his early years in Cornwall, moved back to Wales before going to Newcastle, where he read Physics and Astronomy. Afterwards, he earned a PhD from St Andrews, Scotland. In 1991, he moved to Noordwijk in the Netherlands where he met his wife Josette (who is from France). There, he worked for the European Space Research and Technology Centre, part of the European Space Agency, until 2004 when he left to pursue writing full time. Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology, or both, upon society and persons as individuals. ... This page lists a broad variety of science fiction novels (and novel series)--some old, some new; some famous, some obscure; some well-written, some ill-written--and so may be considered a representative slice of the field. ... Note that this partial list contains some authors whose works of fantastic fiction would today be called science fiction, even if they predate, or did not work in that genre. ... Poster for 2001: A Space Odyssey, an archetypal science fiction film Science fiction film is a film genre that uses speculative, science-based depictions of imaginary phenomena such as extra-terrestrial lifeforms, alien worlds, and time travel, often along with technological elements such as futuristic spacecraft, robots, or other technologies. ... 1966 (MCMLXVI) was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1966 calendar). ... Barry (Welsh: ) is a town in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales. ... Approximate extent of South Wales South Wales (Welsh: ) is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west. ... For the album by the Kaiser Chiefs see Employment (album) Employment is a contract between two parties, one being the employer and the other being the employee. ... An astronomer or astrophysicist is a person whose area of interest is astronomy or astrophysics. ... Established: 1974 Administrator: Jean-Jacques Dordain Budget: €2. ... A literary genre is one of the divisions of literature into genres according to particular criteria such as literary technique, tone, or content. ... Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology, or both, upon society and persons as individuals. ... Revelation Space cover Revelation Space is a 2000 hard science fiction space opera novel by Welsh author Alastair Reynolds. ... Revelation Space cover Revelation Space is a 2000 hard science fiction space opera novel by Welsh author Alastair Reynolds. ... Laurence van Cott Niven (born April 30, 1938 Los Angeles, California) is a US science fiction author. ... The Varley surname arrived from the french de Verley during the conquest of England in 1066. ... Michael Bruce Sterling (born April 14, 1954) is an American science fiction author, best known for his novels and his seminal work on the Mirrorshades anthology, which defined the cyberpunk genre. ... Gregory Benford (born January 30, 1941 in Mobile, Alabama) is an American science fiction author and physicist who is on the faculty of the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of California, Irvine. ... Samuel Ray Delany, Jr. ... Joan D. Vinge (born 1948 in Baltimore, Maryland) is an American science fiction author. ... At the 63rd World Science Fiction Convention in Glasgow, August 2005 Michael Swanwick (born November 18, 1950) is an American science fiction author. ... The current Star Trek franchise logo Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment series and media franchise. ... Barry (Welsh: ) is a town in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales. ... Approximate extent of South Wales South Wales (Welsh: ) is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west. ... This article is about the sub-division of the United Kingdom. ... Note that this partial list contains some authors whose works of fantastic fiction would today be called science fiction, even if they predate, or did not work in that genre. ... Hard science fiction is a category of science fiction characterized by an emphasis on scientific or technical detail, or on scientific accuracy, or on both. ... Classic pulp space opera cover, with the usual cliché elements. ... Cornwall (pronounced ; Cornish: ) is a county in south-west England, United Kingdom, on the peninsula that lies to the west of the River Tamar and Devon. ... This article is about the sub-division of the United Kingdom. ... Newcastle University is a British university located in Newcastle upon Tyne in the north-east of England. ... The first few hydrogen atom electron orbitals shown as cross-sections with color-coded probability density Physics (Greek: (phúsis), nature and (phusiké), knowledge of nature) is the branch of science concerned with the discovery and characterization of universal laws which govern matter, energy, space, and time. ... A giant Hubble mosaic of the Crab Nebula, a supernova remnant Astronomy is the science of celestial objects (such as stars, planets, comets, and galaxies) and phenomena that originate outside the Earths atmosphere (such as auroras and cosmic background radiation). ... Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated Ph. ... St Marys College Bute Medical School St Leonards College[5][6] Affiliations 1994 Group Website http://www. ... Noordwijk (population: 24,707 in May 2006), formerly known as Noordwÿk, is a municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. ... The European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC) is ESAs main technology development and test centre for spacecraft and space technology. ... Established: 1974 Administrator: Jean-Jacques Dordain Budget: €2. ...

Works

Revelation Space	Chasm City
Redemption Ark	Absolution Gap
Diamond Dogs, Turquoise Days collection	Century Rain
Pushing Ice	Zima Blue collection
Galactic North collection	The Prefect

Reynolds had his first science fiction short story published in 1990. Since then he has published over twenty shorter works and, as of 2007, six novels. His works are hard science fiction veiled behind space opera and noir toned stories, and reflect his professional expertise with physics and astronomy, included by extrapolating future technologies in terms that are consistent with current science. His first four novels and several of his previous short stories take place within one consistent future universe, usually now called the Revelation Space universe after the first novel published in it, although it was originally developed in short stories for several years before the first novel. However, the works set within this future timeline rarely have the same protagonists twice. Often the protagonists from one work belong to a group that is regarded with suspicion or enmity by the protagonists of another work. While a great deal of science fiction reflects either very optimistic or dystopian visions of the human future, Reynolds's future worlds are notable in that human societies have not departed to either positive or negative extremes, but instead are similar to those of today in terms of moral ambiguity and a mixture of cruelty and decency, corruption and opportunity, despite their technology being dramatically advanced. Image File history File links Cover shot of Alastair Reynoldss Revelation Space, from Amazon. ... Image File history File links Cover shot of Alastair Reynoldss Revelation Space, from Amazon. ... Revelation Space cover Revelation Space is a 2000 hard science fiction space opera novel by Welsh author Alastair Reynolds. ... Image File history File links Chasm_City_cover_(Amazon). ... Image File history File links Chasm_City_cover_(Amazon). ... Chasm City is a science fiction book by author Alastair Reynolds. ... Image File history File links Redemption_Ark_cover_(Amazon). ... Image File history File links Redemption_Ark_cover_(Amazon). ... Redemption Ark cover Redemption Ark is a 2002 hard science fiction space opera novel by Welsh author Alastair Reynolds. ... Image File history File links Absolution_Gap_cover_(Amazon). ... Image File history File links Absolution_Gap_cover_(Amazon). ... Absolution Gap is a science fiction book by author Alastair Reynolds. ... Image File history File links Cover shot of Alastair Reynoldss Diamond Dogs, Turquoise Days, from Amazon. ... Image File history File links Cover shot of Alastair Reynoldss Diamond Dogs, Turquoise Days, from Amazon. ... Diamond Dogs, Turquoise Days cover Diamond Dogs, Turquoise Days is a compilation of two of science-fiction writer Alastair Reynolds works, set in the Revelation Space universe. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Century Rain is a science fiction/mystery book by author Alastair Reynolds (ISBN 0575074361). ... Image File history File links Pushing_Ice_cover_(Amazon). ... Image File history File links Pushing_Ice_cover_(Amazon). ... Pushing Ice is a 2005 science fiction novel by Welsh author Alastair Reynolds (ISBN 0575074388). ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Zima Blue and Other Stories cover Zima Blue and Other Stories (2006, ISBN 1-59780-058-9) is the first collection of short works by Alastair Reynolds. ... Image File history File links Al_reynolds_galactic_north. ... Image File history File links Al_reynolds_galactic_north. ... Galactic North cover Galactic North (ISBN 057507910X, published by Gollancz) is a collection of short stories by the science fiction author Alastair Reynolds. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... The Prefect is a 2007 science fiction novel by Welsh author Alastair Reynolds ( ISBN 0-575-07716-6). ... 2007 is a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ... A novel (from French nouvelle Italian novella, new) is an extended, generally fictional narrative, typically in prose. ... Revelation Space cover Revelation Space is a 2000 hard science fiction space opera novel by Welsh author Alastair Reynolds. ... A protagonist is the main figure of a piece of literature or drama and has the main part or role. ... A dystopia (from the Greek δυσ- and τόπος, alternatively, cacotopia[1], kakotopia or anti-utopia) is a fictional society that is the antithesis of utopia. ...

The Revelation Space series includes stories set over a span of several centuries, spanning approximately 2050 to 2727. In this universe, extraterrestrial sentience exists but is elusive, and interstellar travel is primarily undertaken by a rare class of vessel called a lighthugger which only approaches the speed of light. Reynolds has said he prefers to keep the science in his books to what he personally believes will be possible, and he does not believe faster-than-light travel will ever be possible, but that he adopts science he believes will be impossible when it is necessary for the story. ^[2] Artists Impression of the compression of a viewers perspective in front of a ship during interstellar travel Interstellar space travel is unmanned or manned travel between stars, though the term usually denotes the latter. ...

Century Rain takes place in a future universe independent of the Revelation Space universe and has different rules, such as faster-than-light travel being possible through a system of wormholes or star-gates. Century Rain also departs substantially from Reynolds's previous works, both in having a protagonist who is much closer to the perspective of our real world, serving as a proxy for the reader in confronting the unfamiliarity of the advanced science fiction aspects and in having a much more linear storytelling process. Reynolds's previous protagonists started out fully absorbed in the exoticisms of the future setting and his previous Revelation Space works have several interlinked story threads, not necessarily contemporaneously. Century Rain is a science fiction/mystery book by author Alastair Reynolds (ISBN 0575074361). ...

Pushing Ice is also a standalone story, with characters from much less distant in the future than in any of his other novels. Pushing Ice is a 2005 science fiction novel by Welsh author Alastair Reynolds (ISBN 0575074388). ...

The Prefect, marked a return to the Revelation Space universe. Like Chasm City, it is a stand-alone novel within the Revelation Space universe. It is set prior to any of the other Relevation Space novels, though still 200 years after the original human settlement of the Epsilon Eridani system. It was published in the United Kingdom on 2 April 2007. The Prefect is a 2007 science fiction novel by Welsh author Alastair Reynolds ( ISBN 0-575-07716-6). ... Chasm City is a science fiction book by author Alastair Reynolds. ... April 2 is the 92nd day of the year (93rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ...

On June 7, 2007, Reynolds announced that his next novel will be entitled House of Suns, and that it will be set in the same universe as his novella "Thousandth Night" from the One Million AD anthology. House of Suns is a 2008 science fiction novel by Welsh author Alastair Reynolds ( ISBN 0-575-07717-4)[1]. He announced the title on June 7, 2007, and the fact that he was about halfway done writing it at the time. ...

Bibliography

Revelation Space

1. Revelation Space. London: Gollancz, 2000. ISBN 0-575-06875-2
2. Chasm City. London: Gollancz, 2001. ISBN 0-575-06877-9
3. Redemption Ark. London: Gollancz, 2002. ISBN 0-575-06879-5
4. Diamond Dogs, Turquoise Days. London: Gollancz, 2003. ISBN 0-575-07526-0 (previously published separately as Diamond Dogs, Harrogate: PS Publishing, 2001 ISBN 1-902880-27-7, and Turquoise Days, Urbana, IL: Golden Gryphon Press, 2002, No ISBN)
5. Absolution Gap. London: Gollancz, 2003. ISBN 0-575-07434-5
6. Galactic North. London: Gollancz, 2006. ISBN 0-575-07910-X
7. The Prefect. London: Gollancz, 2007, ISBN 0-575-07716-6

Revelation Space cover Revelation Space is a 2000 hard science fiction space opera novel by Welsh author Alastair Reynolds. ... Chasm City is a science fiction book by author Alastair Reynolds. ... Redemption Ark cover Redemption Ark is a 2002 hard science fiction space opera novel by Welsh author Alastair Reynolds. ... Diamond Dogs, Turquoise Days cover Diamond Dogs, Turquoise Days is a compilation of two of science-fiction writer Alastair Reynolds works, set in the Revelation Space universe. ... Absolution Gap is a science fiction book by author Alastair Reynolds. ... Galactic North cover Galactic North (ISBN 057507910X, published by Gollancz) is a collection of short stories by the science fiction author Alastair Reynolds. ... The Prefect is a 2007 science fiction novel by Welsh author Alastair Reynolds ( ISBN 0-575-07716-6). ...

Other works

• Century Rain. London: Gollancz, 2004. ISBN 0-575-07436-1
• Pushing Ice. London: Gollancz, 2005. ISBN 0-575-07438-8
• Zima Blue and Other Stories. San Francisco, CA: Night Shade Books, 2006. ISBN 1-59780-058-9
• House of Suns. London: Gollancz, 2008, ISBN 0-575-07717-4

Century Rain is a science fiction/mystery book by author Alastair Reynolds (ISBN 0575074361). ... Pushing Ice is a 2005 science fiction novel by Welsh author Alastair Reynolds (ISBN 0575074388). ... Zima Blue and Other Stories cover Zima Blue and Other Stories (2006, ISBN 1-59780-058-9) is the first collection of short works by Alastair Reynolds. ... House of Suns is a 2008 science fiction novel by Welsh author Alastair Reynolds ( ISBN 0-575-07717-4)[1]. He announced the title on June 7, 2007, and the fact that he was about halfway done writing it at the time. ...

Anthology and magazine appearances

• The Year's Best Science Fiction: Fifteenth Annual Collection (1998, ISBN 0-312-19033-6), Gardner Dozois, ed., includes "A Spy in Europa" by Reynolds
• Future War (1999, ISBN 0-441-00639-6), Gardner Dozois and Jack Dann, eds., includes "Spirey and the Queen" by Reynolds
• The Ant Men of Tibet and Other Stories (2001, ISBN 1-903468-02-7), David Pringle, ed., includes "Byrd Land Six" by Reynolds
• The Year's Best Science Fiction: Seventeenth Annual Collection (2000, ISBN 0-312-26417-8), Gardner Dozois, ed., includes "Galactic North" by Reynolds
• Space Soldiers (2001, ISBN 0-441-00824-0), Gardner Dozois and Jack Dann, eds., includes "Galactic North" by Reynolds
• The Year's Best Science Fiction: Eighteenth Annual Collection (2001, ISBN 0-312-27465-3), Gardner Dozois, ed., includes "Great Wall of Mars" by Reynolds
• The Year's Best Science Fiction: Nineteenth Annual Collection (2002, ISBN 0-312-28879-4), Gardner Dozois, ed., includes "Glacial" by Reynolds
• Infinities (2002), Peter Crowther, ed., includes "Diamond Dogs" by Reynolds
• The Year's Best Science Fiction: Twentieth Annual Collection (2003, ISBN 0-312-30860-4), Gardner Dozois, ed., includes "Turquoise Days" by Reynolds
• One Million AD (2005), Gardner Dozois, ed., includes "Thousandth Night" by Reynolds
• Forbidden Planets (2006, ISBN 0-7564-0330-8), Peter Crowther, ed., includes "Tiger, Burning" by Reynolds
• The Year's Best Science Fiction: Twenty-Third Annual Collection (2006, ISBN 0-312-35334-0), Gardner Dozois, ed., includes "Beyond the Aquila Rift" and "Zima Blue" by Reynolds
• The Year's Best SF 11 (2006, ISBN 978-0060873417), David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer, eds., includes "Beyond the Aquila Rift" by Reynolds
• Science Fiction: The Best of the Year, 2006 Edition (2006, ISBN 978-0809556496), Rich Horton, ed., includes "Understanding Space and Time" by Reynolds
• The Best of the Best Volume 2: 20 Years of the Best Short Science Fiction Novels (2007, ISBN-10: 0312363427), Gardner Dozois, ed., includes "Turquoise Days" by Reynolds
• The Year's Best SF 12 (2007, ISBN 978-0061252082), David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer, eds., includes "Tiger, Burning" by Reynolds
• The New Space Opera (2007, ISBN 978-0060846756), Gardner Dozois and Jonathan Strahan, eds., includes "Minla's Flowers" by Reynolds
• Interzone No. 209 (2007) includes "Sledge-Maker's Daughter" by Reynolds
• Aberrant Dreams I: The Awakening (forthcoming) includes "The Manastodon Broadcasts" by Reynolds
• The Starry Rift (forthcoming 2008), Jonathan Strahan, ed., includes "The Star-Surgeon's Apprentice" by Reynolds
• Galactic Empires (forthcoming), Gardner Dozois, ed., includes "The Six Directions of Space" by Reynolds

Gardner Dozois (born July 23, 1947) is an American science fiction author and editor. ... Future War is a 1997 science fiction film about an escaped human slave fleeing his cyborg masters and seeking refuge on Earth. ... Jack Dann (born February 15, 1945) is an American science fiction writer living in Australia. ... David Pringle (born 1950) was a Scottish science fiction editor. ... Peter Crowther (1949- ) is a British journalist, short story writer, novelist, editor, publisher and anthologist. ... David Geddes Hartwell is an editor of science fiction and fantasy. ... Kathryn Elizabeth Cramer (April 16, 1962) is a science fiction author, editor, and literary critic. ... Jonathan Strahan (1964 in Belfast - ) is an editor and publisher of science fiction. ... Interzone is a British science fiction and fantasy magazine, published since 1982. ... Galactic empires are a fairly common theme in science fiction. ...

Short works posted free on the Internet

• "A Spy in Europa"
• "Spirey and the Queen"
• "Fresco"
• "The Big Hello"

See also

• Transhumanism in fiction, which contains plot spoilers for Reynolds's œuvre.

Science fiction has depicted transhumanism in various forms for many years. ... Look up Spoiler in Wiktionary, the free dictionary Spoiler could refer to Spoiler (media): a document, review, or comment which discloses plot details of a book, play, or film - or is intended to distract attention from a rivals activity and/or product. ...

References

Locus Magazine is subtitled The Magazine Of The Science Fiction & Fantasy Field. It reports on the science fiction writing industry, including comprehensive listings of new books published in the field. ... Galactic North cover Galactic North (ISBN 057507910X, published by Gollancz) is a collection of short stories by the science fiction author Alastair Reynolds. ...

Internal links

• Technology in Revelation Space
• Characters in Revelation Space
• Races in Revelation Space

These are technological elements found in the Revelation Space series of stories and novels. ... These are major characters from the Revelation Space series of stories and novels. ... These are fictional alien races found in Revelation Space series of stories and novels. ...

External links

• Personal homepage
• Alastair Reynolds at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
• Alastair Reynolds' online fiction at Free Speculative Fiction Online
• Golden Gryphon Press official site - About chapbook Turquoise Days
• Map of Revelation Space systems by Winchell Chung and described as "excellent" by Reynolds
• http://revelationspace.freeforums.org Alastair Reynolds chat forum.

The Internet Speculative Fiction Database is a database of bibliographic information on science fiction and related genres such as fantasy fiction and horror fiction. ...

Interviews

• Interview conducted by Roger Deforest at HardSF.net (2006)
• Science fiction 'thrives in hi-tech world', interview by the BBC (2007)