Jason's Reviews > Blue Remembered Earth

5 stars

I have been a huge fan of Alastair Reynolds for a long time thanks to his incredible Revelation Space series. Blue Remembered Earth is a very different type of novel from the series mentioned. This is a science fiction light novel told only the way that Alastair Reynolds can do it. This is an accessible starting point to those new to the masterful author. Blue Remembered Earth is tailored for a much larger audience as the science fiction is merely another character in the story, and not the story itself.


This book is the first in the Poseidon’s Children series but it plays just as well as a standalone. This book would easily be classified as an adventure novel if it was done by any other author. It is an adventure of epic scope that spans from Earth to the Moon and all the way to the edges of our solar system. It is a space opera but not in the traditional sense. Reynolds has crafted a thought provoking and a well-paced adventure that takes place in our near future (200 years from now). Critics of Reynolds will chime in with the same old about this novel in that his characters are not really the stars, his worlds are. As a science fiction fan through and through, his writing is perfect for me.(I really like hard science fiction as well).



This book can be summarized as an adventure and a mystery to be solved by our heroes. Geoffery and Sunday, brother and sister and main protagonists of our story are the blood of the very rich and powerful Akinya family. The death of their recluse grandmother Eunice and all that is her legacy is the mystery to be solved. The fun begins as our siblings travel from the Serengeti of Africa to the Moon, to Mars, and to Phobos, and ultimately to the end of our solar system. Amazing technologies are fed to us as matter of fact. An underwater scene that could be the center for an entire novel is displayed. Space ships, automatons, and cool ass robots are all part of the fabric of this tale.



“‘Lucas is a prick. He may be blood, but I can still say it.’ Sunday knelt down, placing Geoffrey’s glass to one side. She lowered her legs over the side of the building, assuming a position that struck Geoffrey as being only slightly less precarious than standing right on the edge. ‘He’s had an empathy shunt installed. It’s legal, surprisingly enough. When he needs to become more detached and businesslike, he can turn off specific brain circuitry related to empathy. Become a sociopath for the day.’”



A scene from beneath the seas:


“She aimed for the tunnel mouth ringed in glowing purple, appearing to accelerate into the maw at the
last moment. Geoffrey followed, muscularly signalling his intention to steer and feeling the harness respond almost instantly. Indeed, it appeared to be adapting to him as quickly as he was adapting to it. He was swimming underwater as effortlessly as a dolphin.
He grinned. It would be madness not to enjoy this.”



After a slow but interesting start on Earth the story really kicks off. For being a long novel, I devoured in no time at all. I love the adventure, the themes, and the way that this mystery unfolded.



“We’re all Poseidon’s children, Geoffrey: whether we like it or not.’
‘Poseidon’s children,’ he repeated. ‘Is that supposed to mean something?’
‘We came through. That’s all. We weathered the absolute worst that history could throw at us, and we thrived. Now it’s time to start doing something useful with our lives.’”



There is so much to love and to recommend in this novel. Alastair Reynolds is an author that is not be missed, especially by anyone that considers themselves a science fiction fan. This book is a blast of a read, a must read for fans, so, go and get it.