SLOW BULLETS will please Alastair Reynolds fans and newcomers alike
Four fresh reviews for Alastair Reynolds’ compelling SLOW BULLETS.
(Photo: Barbera Bella)
From ASIMOV’S SCIENCE FICTION:
Reynolds does his usual fine job of creating a compelling narrative out of the classic materials of space opera as viewed through a modern sensibility and an awareness of the real science of space travel. Recommended.
If you’re looking to explore Alistair Reynolds’ work but are worried about investing in a full length novel, SLOW BULLETS is perfect. It’s a quick read and offers a very accessible story to new readers, not feeling like most of the hard science fiction that Reynolds normally writes. The short is unpredictable and enthralling, and the lead character, Scur, is a likeable and well developed protagonist. Reynolds manages to weave a compelling and engaging science fiction short far better than a few full length novels that I’ve read recently, with everything falling into place to work perfectly. It’s amazing how, given the short pagecount, Reynolds is able to develop and expand the world, and blends everything together very well indeed.
SLOW BULLETS is a confident read from Reynolds that will please fans and newcomers alike, and hopefully it will draw in new readers and encourage them to explore more of the writer’s work. Highly Recommended.
VERDICT: 8/10
SLOW BULLETS is hardly longer than a novella. It has few bang-bang demolitions. But Reynolds wasn’t playing the two-tone scale, he banged away at the cathedral organ instead. This is not military science fiction, this is war opera. Recommended!
Military science fiction almost always asks its readers to examine solders giving up their lives for the greater whole. It can show the absurdity of conflict, or reinforce the notion that the cost of freedom is vigilance eternal. Mr. Reynolds uses SLOW BULLETS to take the traditional war story in a different direction, asking its soldiers, even in peace, to continue sacrificing their individuality for a greater whole. While it might be somewhat self-serving of an author to suggest that poetry and art is worthy of an individual sacrifice, this critic sees no reason to disagree. If the transcendent isn’t worth protecting, then what is the purpose of anything? A person would do well to keep this question in mind as they read SLOW BULLETS.
For more info about SLOW BULLETS, visit the Tachyon page.
Cover art by Thomas Canty
Design by Elizabeth Story