On the Steel Breeze

4 Stars On the Steel Breeze (OtSB), book two in the Poseidon’s Children series by Alastair Reynolds is a tremendous work of science fiction and a real page turner. It does not have the technical specs of the first book Blue Remembered Earth, nor does it have as much character development in it. It al......more

This semi-direct sequel to Blue Remembered Earth is problematic, mainly because it is two novels in one: The first is an account of the rise of artificial intelligence on Earth to produce an egalitarian society akin to Iain Banks's Culture. Known as the Mechanism, this all-knowing, all-seeing presen......more

Consistently hi-quality. I haven't read a Reynolds novel that I've disliked. I'm always surprised, pleasantly, by how he can turn relatively innocent main characters into normal people thrown into massively world-changing situations and yet still allow them the opportunities to make the big decision......more

A surprisingly disappointing sequel. The first book was hit and miss, but was interesting enough to keep me going. This book, though.... Reynolds has a knack for finding the least interesting plot development, making that the center of the narrative for an interminably long stretch, and then followi......more

Although quieter than the Revelation Space books, On the Steel Breeze is still a mind blowing novel. It centers around a fascinating question - it is possible for a Galactic Civilization to be born in a universe like ours, where greater than light travel is not possible? The answers are even more in......more