Blue Remembered Earth

Superior space opera

I'm a big fan of Alastair Reynolds's novels (but particularly the Revelation Space series) so the concept of a medium-future space opera is an enticing one. Most SF tends to be 5 minutes from now or way way in the future so this is atypical, set in a time of colonization of the inner planets, with more sporadic industrial colonization of the outer planets and their moons. Due to environmental collapse due to global warming, Africa as emerged as a major power, and the main characters are black sheep members of the very rich and successful Akinya family making lots of money out of space tech. Doing a favour for his yuppie-ish cousins, Elephant behavioural scientist Geoffrey Akinya is sent on a treasure hunt around the solar system after artefacts left by the fearsome and recently deceased family matriarch Eunice, whose adventures around the solar system started the whole thing off.

Kobna Holdbrook-Smith does another fantastic narration job here. He can do an old Chinese lady talking to a young African boy and put you in the conversation, without it seeming like an episode of Allo Allo.

7 of 7 people found this review helpful

He's written better.

The narration is not as bad as some people think (to me anyway). The book is based around Africa and once you accept that and that all the accents are African based, then its all good.
My main problem isn't with the voice, its those stupid pan-pipes that are there inbetween a lot of chapters. I would be quite happily listening away in my own little world and then that effin noise would come along and get me all riled up.

The book itself is not as good as his other work. At this stage I have listened to pretty much all his books available on Audible and this is probably the one I liked least, but still enjoyable for all that... just loose the pan pipes.

15 of 16 people found this review helpful

Where it all begins

This is a trip back to the roots of the Reynolds universe. Humans have not yet travelled further than the solar system but you can see the nascent technology of his other books here. It is a slow start to what I suspect will become a far ranging story in subsequent volumes. There isn't much edge of the seat excitement until the second half of the book and it is used sparingly; it was a good listen and I found myself going back over passages as there is a lot of plot to this story and it helps to pay attention.
I was alarmed to read a couple of the other comment here about the narration but I was relieved to find it a lot better than many other books I have listened to from Audible. The narrator has a good range of tone to separate the characters and good diction; his accents are also appropriate to the story and he reads it with expression which demonstrates and transmits understanding. Overall I would say Holdbrook-Smiths narration added to the presentation rather than being a distraction.
The only reason for not giving 5 stars is this a not quite a "can't put it down to the end" book, but it is a good story to be savored in manageable segments.

23 of 26 people found this review helpful

Fascinating

An engrossing tale of a future world. I'm about two thirds through and really enjoying it. I'm also quite amazed by all the flak the narrator's getting. I've been very impressed with his work - his characterisation is subtle and consistent and "acted" to a high standard. Clearly it seems he's not for everyone, but to my ears, he does a great job.

22 of 25 people found this review helpful

Excellent Narration

This review is more about the narration than the book, I just want to take issue with the negative reviews of Kobna Holdbrook-Smith. I find his narration style excellent and very suitable for this work, initially i had a little problem identifying voices of the main character and his sister as children (they sounded too alike) but after the first chapter the narrator seemed to 'find his voice' and things improved dramatically. Give this book a chance and dont be put off by the negative reviews.

21 of 24 people found this review helpful

Well written sci-fi

This was the first Alastair Reynolds I've listened to (or read) and I was pleasantly surprised! Too often science fiction books are filled with endless paragraphs of exposition explaining how this or that works or can be scientifically explained; some people obviously like that kind of thing, but I prefer more nuance in writing style, prefer an author who can explain the science through the story and Reynolds has done just that in this book.

As for the narration, I thought it was brilliant. Perhaps those who have had problems with this narrator had issues because they were so used to the narrator (who has a very particular style) who has done so much of Reynolds other work? Anyway, I thought this narrator was fantastic. Could've done without the music between parts, but luckily that didn't come up often.

I'm off to buy the sequel.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

I think I liked it.

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Yes, but not every friend. They would have to like rollicking adventure mixed with (mostly) hard sci-fi and not mind the occasional plot hole. I'm friends with people like that.

Which scene did you most enjoy?

I liked the scenes on the moon, particularly with the genetic zoo keeper characters.

Do you think Blue Remembered Earth needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

Well it has, and I was happy to spend more time with the Akinya family.

Any additional comments?

I really liked Kobna Holbrook-Smith's narration...eventually. It probably took me about a third of the book to get used to his unusual style but once I did I loved the quirky voice choices and caramel tones.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

A great book well narrated

I really enjoyed this. Its on par with Reynold's better works such as Pushing Ice or House of Suns. The narration is great and I haven't a clue why there are so many negative reviews about it. If you're in doubt listen to the sample.

9 of 11 people found this review helpful

Great story, excellent narration

Having previously heard all of Alastair Reynolds' novels on Audible and greatly enjoyed John Lee's narration I was initally put off by some of the negative reviews of Kobna Holdbrook-Smith's work. I shouldn't have worried; he really brings the characters in this book to life in a way that I don't think John Lee could have achieved in such a convincing way.

Although the story doesn't have the star-striding scale of some of Alastair Reynolds' other works, this is a more human tale that lays the groundwork for two more novels that no doubt will see humankind reach the stars. I can't wait...

15 of 19 people found this review helpful

Not up to par

I wanted to love this but it failed to grab me in the same way all his other books have. The sense of a massive galactic world has been lost and i no longer feel immersed within a space opera.

9 of 12 people found this review helpful