One of my all-time favorite science fiction writers is Welsh author Alastair Reynolds. I was glued to the screen of my iPad running Kindle software reading his 2010 novel Terminal World set in the distant future when I came across, as I frequently do with his writing, a paragraph that just stayed with me and wouldn't let me the page turn:
“He wanted desperately to act, but he
knew it was senseless; that Meroka was right. How ludicrous he must seem
to her now, he thought: fresh from the city, stung with bruising indignation at
the inhumanity he had only now begun to take notice of. But it had been
out there all along, not just for years or decades but for millennia. A
grinding toll of cruelty and injustice, going on, ceaselessly, for every waking
moment of his life.”
That last sentence, “a grinding toll of cruelty and
injustice, going on, ceaselessly, for every waking moment of his life,” is the
type of writing I love from Mr. Reynolds.
The way he expresses himself is as captivating as the exotic, complex
and colorful stories he tells. Terminal
World is not as complex, not as technically detailed and imaginative as other
books by Reynolds, but when I was done with it, I wished that there would be a
sequel soon. And I love it when a book
does that for me.
I fell in love with Mr. Reynolds's writing through the
novels Revelation
Space (2000), Chasm
City (2001),
Redemption Ark (2002) and Absolution Gap (2003). On a whim I looked
up Mr. Reynolds's online and found his email address in
the company for which he worked at the time. I hate to admit that I wrote
him a piece of fan email at his office. Geez. I instantly regretted
pressing send and thought my communication was destined to be filed under
"weird." And yet, he wrote back, swiftly, politely and
appreciatively, cementing my fan loyalty.
Mr. Reynolds writing is the kind of read that makes me want to go slowly while I’m reading, to take in every beautifully shaped phrase. Yet at the same time I wrestle with the desire to lurch ahead and keep up with the break neck pace of the thrilling story lines. And about his words, he has some good words, really good words. And he uses them in the right places making for an interesting, engaging and stimulating read.
Mr. Reynolds writing is the kind of read that makes me want to go slowly while I’m reading, to take in every beautifully shaped phrase. Yet at the same time I wrestle with the desire to lurch ahead and keep up with the break neck pace of the thrilling story lines. And about his words, he has some good words, really good words. And he uses them in the right places making for an interesting, engaging and stimulating read.
Terminal
World is the story of a pathologist who is working in the city morgue of
the last human city. After a nearly-dead
being (who resembles a winged angel and lives in a part of the elevated city
out of bounds to regular people) drops onto his dissecting table, his life
changes and he embarks on a mission to help and save the life of his surprise
visitor. On the run, together they
venture into a wild and untamed land with surprise upon surprise.
Wow.
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