this post was submitted on 26 Jun 2023
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Pushing Ice by Alastair Reynolds. I’m about 3/4 of the way through, and it’s been very interesting thus far! Definitely has not gone where I thought it was gonna go, which is cool.
If you haven’t read it I won’t give any spoilers, but I was fascinated by the similarities to The Expanse in the beginning. They definitely go different places, but I can feel Reynolds influence on James Corey. Surprised I haven’t seen anybody mention this before.
Anyways, I read House of Suns before this and probably like that more, but Pushing Ice is quite good. Should I start the Revelation Space series next?
very minor spoilers for anyone who hasn't read
i read pushing ice with my book club recently. was also not expecting things to go where they went but i really enjoyed the direction. it makes for a very fleshed out 'sailors marooned on a deserted island' kind of story that doesn't waste the possibilities it's genre and setting allow it. janus as a setting just has a lot of great mysteries and the way the crew interact and survive on the planet is explored very thoroughly. the isolation of how hopelessly far they are from home and only getting further struck me when i was reading. you can understand the different factions and how things might have been different if only a few things changed in the beginning.
and as far as sci-fi goes, it's version of it is a favorite of mine. the blue-collar worker in space is something i've always liked, and it gets depicted very well in this book. would love to hear what you think once you've finished it.
Just finished! Not as strong as House of Suns, but I quite liked it. There are some super solid sci-fi concepts, but some of the characters are just so unlikable.
Spoilers below
I really struggled with Svetlana specifically and how long she held her grudge! That exile! So many years! Intense. I was hoping for a bit more of a twist with the Fountain Heads, but then again them being essentially good and telling the truth is a bit of a twist because you sort of expect the alien betrayal! It feels like he set up the story for a sequel with that teaser about the middle of the structure and all. Hope Reynolds revisits this world soon.
svetlana was a character that i had mixed feelings about. i think the book did a good job of establishing the mounting dread of the situation rockhopper was in leading to their landing on janus, so i felt like i could empathize with her and her team's sentiments to a point. but as it goes on and on and she remains the most petty person, especially with so much at stake, it was really over zealous. especially when she had parry as a voice of reason just to ignore. it doesn't help that in every given opportunity bella is always more fair and measured in every action. no competition at all for who's taking the gold in holding a grudge. i have to say though i couldn't help but laugh when there was so much effort gathering and informing everyone to absolutely, under no circumstances, even utter as little as a single word to the musk dogs, followed by direct video feed of svetlana going to go make contact with the musk dogs, comedy.
as for the fountain heads i really enjoyed their earnestness. their complete lack of nefarious intentions was a fun play on expectations, like you said, and mckinley is just one of my favorite dudes.
i think the concept of the structure and the idea of this timeless, universal zoo was really cool and interesting, much more than i was anticipating from the concept at first. the way the time gets played with is something i really loved in the story. connecting bella's final broadcast as the benefactor sparking the greatest civilization in human history, ultimately tying back to garrison, the lock of hair, and the cube as, in a way, his final parting gift, thrown through all of time and space for her, really hit me when it all got brought together towards the end. it really added an important piece of humanity and sentimentality to the unimaginably vast journey bella and the crew goes on.
i'm glad you enjoyed it. i actually haven't read any other reynolds but i did look a bit into house of suns when i was going through his catalogue before ultimately choosing to read pushing ice, i guess i'll have to give it a read.
Totally agree, I understood where Svetlana was coming from, but after 13 years I was like, come on!
Also, this is probably particular to the audiobook, but I was frustrated at times by the way the author would switch scenes quickly. In the audiobook there was no pause or anything, and it was disorienting a few times. Made things a bit dream like. I assume in text there would be a break of some kind. The audiobook should have had more pauses.
Anyways, I look forward to hearing what you think of House of Suns! If you liked the time dilation and whatnot in this one you’ll love it! And that’s all I’ll say about that.