After a number of disappointing novels that hinted at brilliance but never followed through, Reynolds’ tenth book delivers an outstanding space opera grounded in hard science and current sci-fi vision while still pushing the envelope. Set six million years in the future at the dawn of the star-faring era, people stay young through time dilation and travel the vast distances of space in stasis. Founding groupings of a thousand immortal clones known as shatterlings, descended from Lines, move through the galaxy preventing major disasters such as stars going supernova while observing the continuing rise and fall of civilizations. Periodically, the shatterlings reunite in order to share memories of all that has taken place during their latest galactic tour.
Campion and Purslane of the Gentian line have broken Line protocol by becoming romantically entangled. With a reunion coming up, the two lovers anticipate being censured for their actions and hope to dump falsified memories into the common sharing. It is a risky ruse that is sidetracked by preventing a supernova catastrophe and acquiring a mysterious robot passenger. By arriving late to the reunion, Campion and Purslane survive an attack that wipes out most of the Gentian line. The survivors regroup on another planet seeking to understand what happened and the answers reveal some unpleasant truths about the integrity of the Line’s group memories.
The grand scale, fantastic vision and sound storyline make this one of Reynolds best efforts to date. The technology is first rate with an authentic feel while the story centers upon some very basic human emotions. Let us hope Reynolds produces more work of this caliber.
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