Elysium Fire by Alastair Reynolds

A My Chronicle Book Box review of Elysium Fire by Alastair Reynolds.

Prefect Dreyfus returns for a second emergency that has the potential to be catastrophic - the advanced technology that is implanted in all of the citizens of the colonies is being used as a murder weapon. In this fast paced sci fi, crime story it is down to The Prefects to find out how and why the murders are being committed and stop them.

This book was included in our February 2018 Science Fiction & Fantasy book box.

Read on for the full My Chronicle Book Box review...

My Chronicle Book Box Review:

Fans of Alastair Reynolds will no doubt be thrilled and possibly surprised that we have been treated to a second Prefect Dreyfuss novel over a decade since the original. The first novel was called The Prefect and has now been renamed Aurora Rising.

If you haven’t read Aurora Rising don’t worry you don’t need to to fully enjoy this book. If you haven’t read any Alastair Reynolds before then be prepared to be blown away by this fast paced science fiction crime story.You may be interested to know that this set in the same version of the universe as the Revelation Space series.

The Prefects are policemen of the very unique democracy of the colonies known as the Glittering Band which are in orbit of the Planet Yellowstone. When the implants that all citizens have in their brains begin causing deaths it falls to Prefects Dreyfus, Ng and Bancal to investigate. That no one knows why or how this is happening is very alarming add to that the fact that the deaths are increasing exponentially and this is true emergency. The pressure is on to find out who is behind it and stop it before the population is decimated.

There are a number of storylines in the novel which intersect, the main two being that of the Prefects and that of two twin boys growing up in an isolated geodome. The storylines seem very separate until they finally connect.

Alastair Reynolds is a master of his craft and this is another excellent example of space opera. I love the pacing of this book, the engaging characters - the dark and moody Dreyfus contrasted with the other Prefects, and the engrossing setting.

There are aspects to this story that remain unresolved suggesting that a third (or even more!) books might be expected in this series. I certainly hope so!

Hi, I'm Louise the founder of My Chronicle Book Box and I hope you have enjoyed reading my blog post.

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