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Galactic North Audiobook
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(3.01) - 1,960 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
Centuries from now, the basic right to expand human intelligence beyond its natural limits has become a war-worthy cause for the Demarchists and Conjoiners. Only vast lighthugger starships bind these squabbling colonies together, manned by the panicky and paranoid Ultras. And the hyperpigs just try to keep their heads down.
The rich get richer. And everyone tries not to think about the worrying number of extinct alien civilizations turning up on the outer reaches of settled space...because who's to say that humanity won't be next?
Set in the Revelation Space universe, this is the first short story collection by the author who has been called "one of SF's best and most ambitious novelists." The eight stories included in Galactic North are "Great Wall of Mars," "Glacial," "A Spy in Europa," "Weather," "Dilation Sleep," "Grafenwalder's Bestiary," "Nightingale," and "Galactic North."
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"If you enjoy the Revelation Space series, this collection is a must read, for "Great Wall of Mars" alone. Each of the stories is phenomenal in their own right, but Great Wall provides the much needed background and character development for Clavain which gives meaning to his later actions and self-recriminations in the events of the Revelation Space novels."
— Adrian (4 out of 5 stars)
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“Dark, gothic, and graphic, with tightly composed narratives full of shocks and jaw-dropping moments. Atmosphere and economically-drafted characters are as important as the big ideas.”
— BBC Focus -
“The stories are written with real energy. Dark, satirical, and frequently dystopian. This is gothic SF with gore as Reynolds ensures his taut narrative’s grip from the first sentence.”
— SFX
Galactic North Listener Reviews
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" I'm not sure short stories are really Alastair Reynolds's strong point. The Revelation Space series of novels are some of my favourites, featuring long and complex interweaving plots which slowly reveal themselves throughout several novels. Without the time to build up to that sort of situation, these short stories all felt as if they were lacking something; some felt as if they never really got going. That said, it was interesting to learn more about certain characters and factions from the novels, and to see stories that were set in the Revelation Space universe before that novel was even written. I wouldn't suggest this be read by anyone who hasn't read the series first though. "
— Carasel, 2/19/2014 -
" These are short stories spanning both space and time in the Revelation Space universe. This collection would not be a good introduction to Reynolds or Revelation Space but is a very strong collection for those already familiar with Reynolds and his universe. An extremely well written collection. "
— Tamar, 2/15/2014 -
" Overall a good collection of short stories, although there are a couple of clunkers in the collection -- neither Dilation Sleep nor Galactic North the short story really worked for me. Other than those it was a fun collection of tales from the Revelation Space universe, which to me is a good thing! "
— Brent, 1/30/2014 -
" Another good book by Alastair Reynolds. Good follow-up to Revelation Space. "
— Joshua, 1/28/2014 -
" I like to read sci-fi short stories and Galactic North was an enjoyable collection. It helped build the groundwork for his Revelation Space books which I am looking forward to start reading. "
— Simkine, 1/25/2014 -
" Read after all other Revelation Space books! "
— Melchoir55, 1/19/2014 -
" I enjoyed most of the stories in this book. My least favourite was Galactic North itself which stretched things a bit too far.. "
— Andrew, 12/2/2013 -
" These are pretty good. I liked the Mars story and the Conjoiner one. "
— Joseph, 11/18/2013 -
" All other stories were good, but I did not like the last one. Too confusing. "
— Annika, 7/11/2013 -
" Collection of stories in Reynold's "Revelation Space" universe. Revealed some interesting aspects of the universe such as what's inside a Conjoiner drive. "
— Owen, 6/24/2013 -
" This is the first book I am reading that had been taken out with my brand new library card! It has been years since I had last borrowed a book. "
— Scythan, 5/8/2013 -
" I vacillated between 4 and 5 stars; it really is that good. I like hard sci-fi, and I liked that it was a collection of short stories that gave a glimpse of the universe that Reynolds has created for his other books. "
— Teresa, 10/22/2012 -
" This is a collection of short stories that give a glimpse into Reynolds development as a writer as they also fill in some blanks and add some backstory to the universe that some of his novels inhabit. Not as satisfying to me as the long form work but interesting non the less. "
— Ricky, 3/23/2012 -
" This excellent collection of stories explored the aspects of the Revelation Space universe I most wanted to learn more about! "
— Catherine, 8/5/2011 -
" This is the first book I am reading that had been taken out with my brand new library card! It has been years since I had last borrowed a book. "
— Scythan, 6/10/2011 -
" I prefer novels to short stories, this book being a compilation of the later.<br/>Still, it was a fun read, weaving together various threads of the plot from the other Revelation Space books.<br/>Most interesting to me was the last story, with the Greenflies giving a welcome appearance. "
— Gendou, 10/27/2010 -
" I vacillated between 4 and 5 stars; it really is that good. I like hard sci-fi, and I liked that it was a collection of short stories that gave a glimpse of the universe that Reynolds has created for his other books. "
— Teresa, 6/6/2010 -
" Great collection of shorts set in his main/most visited story universe. Reads well independently of the other books, or as a companion to them. "
— Alex, 5/1/2010 -
" Actually a lot better than I was expecting - not usually one for short stories, but this was engaging "
— Jonathan, 4/11/2010 -
" These stories were pretty good. I liked the first ones better than the last two. It got dark and fatalistic towards the end. "
— Jennifer, 3/30/2010 -
" Another good book by Alastair Reynolds. Good follow-up to Revelation Space. "
— Joshua, 3/16/2010 -
" I like to read sci-fi short stories and Galactic North was an enjoyable collection. It helped build the groundwork for his Revelation Space books which I am looking forward to start reading. <br/> "
— Simkine, 1/3/2010 -
" Short story collection set in the author's "Revelation Space" Universe. A nice introduction to his work as is "Diamond Dogs, Turquoise Days". "
— Justin, 12/15/2009 -
" I'm not a big fan of short stories but I am a huge fan of Revelation Space Universe. Some of the stories in this book are 5 star but many are ok. I liked the Conjoiner stories and the last novella is a face melter. "
— Willy, 11/3/2009 -
" Eight stories of varying quality, as expected for a collection spanning an author's published career. <br/> <br/>Each story is part of the "Revelation Space" future history and are often more interesting for the light shine into corners of that history than as stand alone stories. "
— Matt, 10/10/2009 -
" Though the stories vary a lot in quality the tapestry they create for the Revelation Space 'world' is very nice. "
— Will, 9/22/2009 -
" These are pretty good. I liked the Mars story and the Conjoiner one. "
— Joseph, 7/1/2009
About Alastair Reynolds
Alastair Reynolds is a bestselling author and has been awarded the British Science Fiction Award and the Locus Award, along with being shortlisted for the Hugo Award, the Arthur C. Clarke Award, the John W. Campbell Memorial Award, and the Theodore Sturgeon Award. He was born in Barry, South Wales, and studied at Newcastle and St. Andrew’s Universities to ultimately earn a PhD in astronomy. A former astrophysicist for the European Space Agency, he lives in the Netherlands, near Leiden.
About John Lee
John Lee is the winner of numerous Earphones Awards and the prestigious Audie Award for Best Narration. He has twice won acclaim as AudioFile’s Best Voice in Fiction & Classics. He also narrates video games, does voice-over work, and writes plays. He is an accomplished stage actor and has written and coproduced the feature films Breathing Hard and Forfeit. He played Alydon in the 1963–64 Doctor Who serial The Daleks.