Pushing Ice

This is solid hard sci-fi, the story of a human crew pushed to do something extraordinary, and what happens to them under the pressure of it all. The narration takes a bit of getting used to. The. Narrator seems. To insert pauses. In random. Spots. But in the end I quite enjoyed the delivery.

Technically Reynolds paints an interesting and convincing picture of a near future space-faring society. He seems to delight in the intricate details of how a space crew might operate, and the way in which scientific principles that are quite abstract here on Earth become so important in the context of space travel (red shift for example).

It's a story that is ultimately about the relationships between the crew members, which bodes well, but unfortunately the characters are never entirely convincing and the plot skims the edges of melodrama in places.

Perhaps most frustratingly (especially for people drawn in by the similarity to novels like Rama) the characters never share the curiosity and wonder that we feel as readers when they encounter the amazing sights and sounds that the plot gradually reveals. So prepare to spend hours and hours wondering what on Earth Janus actually is, while they bicker, poke around in the engines, play with fish, fiddle with spacetime, and generally couldn't seem to care less.

So in the end although Pushing Ice is an interesting tale with a decent enough pay off, and will still appeal to fans of the genre, it doesn't quite live up to its first promise.

I once read a review in which an Icelandic girl said that Sigur ros were so good 'she wanted to vomit' ! I wouldn't go that far but Alastair has out-done himself yet again, startling scope and imagination, a vivid pleasure to listen to. Can't wait for "Blue Remembered Earth"

Overall the listen was very enjoyable, I have listened to a lot by this narrator and find him very easy to listen to. The premise of the story was excellent and really what drew me in to listening, that side of the listen was great and I would love see more stories set in this universe or even a sequel to this book. My major gripe with the story was the soap opera like bickering between the leaders of the crew. It didnt seem to me neccessary and really detracted from what was an excellent plot. The fact the neither of them came across as making many decisions that were actually sensible and were so transparently bad left me lacking any real belief that either of them would be in charge of things. I kind of ending up wishing that either one of these characters would be killed off at some point so what I saw as the main plot of story could carry on. I will try some more Alastair Reynolds, this my being first, I have listened to and enjoyed a lot of Peter F Hamilton. I think I could safely say they are comparable. If Peter F Hamilton can be said to be a bit too optimistic about how people behave and things tend to be a bit "nicer". I suppose I would say my first impression of Alistair Reynolds is he is a bit less optimistic about how people behave and things turn out. Probably a more realistic view of people, just not sure I want my Sci Fi escapes to be somewhere that I find myself not liking the main characters. Hope the next one has less of that..

I thoroughly enjoyed this audio book which gripped me throughout. The book's strengths were the womderful imagination displayed in creating an intricate, convincing, and constantly evolving alien world into which our human heros are tossed. The book's weakness was the somewhat unconvincing description of the human society established in this alien world, and the strange moral choices that our heros sometimes make. I have listened to better readers than John Lee, but he was clear throughout.

The prologue almost made me give up on this from the outset, with a futuristic and oh so dull collection of hippies with daft names talking about something banal (it makes more sense when you get to the end of the audiobook). Thankfully I pushed on past that and the first half of the book was really good, with a clever well thought out plot that kept you interested. Unfortunately, about half way through I felt it completely lost its way. There was a lot about feuding factions, human relationships, and bizarre happenings, ending with a fizzle rather than a bang. Overall I'm glad I stuck it out and got to the end, and in fairness, I can see why others rave about it, but I shan't be listening to it again, or buying any more of Reynolds' books for that matter. Each to their own.

Nice story and well narrated. This is the first Alastair Reynolds book I have read or listened to and I enjoyed it. Not as good as Foundation or other classics but much better than rubbish like Seeds of Earth.

The underlying storyline is great, however the notion of internal strife in such a small group of people on such scales and with such unbelievable ferocity ruins it to an extent.

The narrator is another story in himself - thankfully - what excellent voice characterisations and intonations - liked very much.

There is a little over attention to detail once in a while - but that is to be expected with an unabridged audio version - not really a critisicm - more an observation for myself - perhaps I should choose abridged versions?

Anyway - was entertaining on the way to work over the last month so I'd say it was a credit reasonably well spent.

WONDERFULLY BELIEVABLE CHARACTERS IN A BOOK THAT IS FAST MOVING AND EXCITING WITH CONSTANT TWISTS AND TURNS HIS INVENTION AND IMAGINATION ARE AMAZING AT HIS BEST WHEN WRITING THIS TYPE OF STAR SPANNING SCI-FI.

With excellent character interactions; the plot twists in this book shows human characteristics in both low and high forms with a true reflection of human nature which we can see shown in the past, present and future. I was glued to this book relishing the next chapters – this is so good it should be made into a movie. I have now downloaded more from this author and look forward to the next mind tingling adventure.