Halcyon Years
A gripping new murder mystery set on a spaceship from the million-copy bestselling ‘mastersinger’ of science fiction
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3.9 • 14 Ratings
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- $16.99
Publisher Description
A superb new noir/science fiction fusion from the 'mastersinger of space opera' (The Times) and the creator of the beloved Revelation Space universe, strap in for a gripping murder mystery.
Yuri Gagarin is a private investigator, who picks up small cases from his local community, runs into trouble with the local police, and generally ekes out a living as best he can. He's aboard the Halcyon - a starship, hurtling through space, carrying thousands of passengers with thousands more sleeping the journey away.
Only his usual investigative work - catching cheating spouses, and small time con artists - is about to take a turn. He's hired by a mysterious woman called Ruby Red to look into a death in one of Halcyon's most elite families . . . and then warned off the case again by a second mysterious woman called Ruby Blue. Caught between the two, he's about to be embroiled in a murder mystery in which - at any moment - he could be the latest victim.
Gripping, fast-paced fun this is a classic noir mystery with a science fiction twist, which will keep you guessing, and on the edge of your seat, to the end.
'A hugely entertaining film noir pastiche set on a generational spaceship' - SFX
'Alastair Reynolds is a genre adventurer . . . Halycon Years is a novel composed of nested mysteries and riddles' - Locus
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this gritty noir with a science fiction twist, BSFA award winner Reynolds (Machine Vendetta) introduces private investigator Yuri Gagarin, a once-famous Russian cosmonaut who's been revived from cryogenic sleep aboard the Halcyon, an enormous generation ship containing a sprawling landscape of cities and towns. One night, a mysterious client going by the name Ruby Blue convinces Yuri to take on a high-profile case investigating the suspicious deaths of Juliana DelRosso and Randall Urry, scions of Halcyon's two most wealthy families. The investigation gets off to an eventful yet unpromising start when Yuri interviews Juliana's doctor, Noah Apolisi, only for him to also die shortly thereafter in another suspicious accident. Next, Yuri manages to coax some information out of the disgraced detective formerly assigned to Juliana's case, Lemmy Litz, but ends up arrested and thrown in jail. As more misadventures accumulate, Yuri, aided by his new robot assistant, Sputnik, and some unexpected friends, pieces together a vast conspiracy that has the potential to change life on Halcyon forever. After a slow start, the mystery hits its stride. Longtime Reynolds fans won't find this one to be his most intricate, but there's still plenty of fun to be had with this vast sci-fi murder mystery.
