Permafrost, Alastair Reynolds
Permafrost, Alastair Reynolds
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Permafrost

Author: Alastair Reynolds

Narrator: Natasha Soudek

Unabridged: 4 hr 12 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 06/18/2019


Synopsis

A LOCUS AWARD FINALIST FOR BEST NOVELLA

Fix the past. Save the present. Stop the future. Master of science fiction Alastair Reynolds unfolds a time-traveling climate fiction adventure in Permafrost.

2080: at a remote site on the edge of the Arctic Circle, a group of scientists, engineers and physicians gather to gamble humanity’s future on one last-ditch experiment. Their goal: to make a tiny alteration to the past, averting a global catastrophe while at the same time leaving recorded history intact. To make the experiment work, they just need one last recruit: an ageing schoolteacher whose late mother was the foremost expert on the mathematics of paradox.

2028: a young woman goes into surgery for routine brain surgery. In the days following her operation, she begins to hear another voice in her head... an unwanted presence which seems to have a will, and a purpose, all of its own – one that will disrupt her life entirely. The only choice left to her is a simple one.

Does she resist ... or become a collaborator?

About Alastair Reynolds

Alastair Reynolds was born in Wales in 1966. He has a Ph.D. in astronomy. From 1991 until 2007, he lived in The Netherlands, where he was employed by The European Space Agency as an astrophysicist. He is now a full-time writer. Alastair's books include the Revelation Space novels and Permafrost.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Tadiana ✩Night Owl☽ on June 30, 2020

4.5 stars. This clever SF novella is just my brand of literary crack. Climate change, time travel paradoxes, shifting reality, the past affecting the future and vice versa — it’s all here. A 71 year old Russian widow is the main character, and she’s GREAT. And the plot is intricate but actually make......more

Goodreads review by Trish on August 05, 2022

My very first story by this author and I liked it very well. Time travel is always tricky. Even more so when you're ... well ... out of time. As are Valentina and a group of scientists in the Arctic Circle. You see, an environmental catastrophe known as the Scouring resulted in this (2080) seeing the......more

Goodreads review by Khalid on March 30, 2025

A novella by my most favourite author. It's a time travel tale revolving around a near future earth wherein the travellers try to unravel the havoc wreaked by humanity on our climate. A fast paced, thought provoking, heart breaking and inspirational read. Highly recommend. 2022 Read......more

Goodreads review by Justine on March 20, 2021

Second Read - March 2021 (5 stars) I read this again exactly two years to the day from my first read; it is included in the anthology The Best Science Fiction of the Year Volume 5: Volume Five. Neatly laying out complex ideas and providing a tightly woven story with engaging characters, "Permafrost"......more

Goodreads review by Bradley on December 06, 2020

I think I must have read at least a hundred time-travel novels (or novellas) in my life but I've never come across one with THIS particular analogy. No time stream or branching. It's a glacier. *shiver* I love it. Oh, and the tale itself is top-notch, full of wonderful characterizations, complicated a......more


Awards

  • Locus Awards - Nominee