Blue Remembered Earth
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4.6 • 44 Ratings
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- $13.99
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
BLUE REMEMBERED EARTH is the first volume in a monumental trilogy tracing the Akinya family across more than ten thousand years of future history ... out beyond the solar system, into interstellar space and the dawn of galactic society.
One hundred and fifty years from now, in a world where Africa is the dominant technological and economic power, and where crime, war, disease and poverty have been banished to history, Geoffrey Akinya wants only one thing: to be left in peace, so that he can continue his studies into the elephants of the Amboseli basin.
But Geoffrey's family, the vast Akinya business empire, has other plans. After the death of Eunice, Geoffrey's grandmother, erstwhile space explorer and entrepreneur, something awkward has come to light on the Moon, and Geoffrey is tasked - well, blackmailed, really - to go up there and make sure the family's name stays suitably unblemished. But little does Geoffrey realise - or anyone else in the family, for that matter - what he's about to unravel.
Eunice's ashes have already have been scattered in sight of Kilimanjaro. But the secrets she died with are about to come back out into the open, and they could change everything.
Or shatter this near-utopia into shards ...
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Reynolds (Terminal World) cements his status as one of the preeminent writers of hard SF with this gripping and intelligent kickoff to the three-book Poseidon's Children sequence. It's 2161, and Africa is the Earth's "dominant economic and technological" power. Geoffrey Akinya has used major scientific advances to enhance his research into elephant intelligence, preparing to mind-meld with wild pachyderms. His studies are interrupted by the death of his 131-year-old grandmother Eunice, which catalyzes events that takes the biologist to the Moon and beyond to decipher a series of clues Eunice left behind. Akinya's quest further enmeshes him in some very complicated family dynamics. The futuristic science, which includes expansions of virtual reality and a convenient mode of travel from Earth to the Moon, is plausibly conveyed. Beyond that, Reynolds's creative imagination uses current and speculative science and technology as the underlying structure for a thoughtful exploration of humanity's place in the universe.
Customer Reviews
Another exceptional page-turner from Reynolds.
I found this novel a welcome return from the steam-punk universe of Terminal World. The story is a gripping fix for any narrative junky while still engaging the higher order cognitive processes of the very best speculative fiction. While the clue chasing characters are a tried and true narrative device, the civilisational context Reynolds has crafted for this drama is compelling and convincing. It was a great read and I highly recommend this novel to anyone interested in the genre. Congratulations Mr Reynolds.
My favourite to date...
By which I mean, up until now, not to actually go on a date with. Although if I was on a date and I brought this along, the success of said date might depend on whether they liked Alastair Reynolds. Another staggering, beautiful, mind-boggling masterpiece. Such wonderfully realised characters and story-telling. I am in awe.
Great Novel
For anyone looking for great sci fi then this novel and this author are an excellent choice!!!