Review: Galactic North (SF) - Alastair Reynolds ****

Publishing lore has it that collections of short stories don't sell - yet shorter writing often works wonderfully in science fiction and has been a major contributor to SF history. I (like, I suspect, other SF enthusiasts) would like to see many more such books. This one is diving into the past (2006), but if you have read any books set in Alastair Reynolds' Revelation Space universe (which includes the Prefect Dreyfus novels) it does a brilliant job of filling in some gaps (past and future) of that massive world building exercise.

As a collection it's unusual both in that all eight of its contents fit in that same setting, and that it mostly comprises novellas and long stories, ranging in length from 17 to 67 pages. I personally prefer more shorts and greater variety, but the way that it gives context for the novels is impressive.

Three of the stories are arguably SF horror - picking up on a recurring theme of the impact of the future ability of science to modify humans that runs through most of collection, whether through additions to the brain or biological modifications to deal with different environments. I was least impressed by the title story, in that it's one of those efforts that spans many thousands of years, in this case to illustrate the outcome of a major technological mistake that is effectively destroying animal life in the galaxy. The underlying plot in this one seems strangely weak for Reynolds.

However, the rest all work well and take us into what it is to be human in a way that pretentious literary fiction is supposed to but rarely does. Well worth a look if, like me, you missed it when it came out.

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Review by Brian Clegg - See all Brian's online articles or subscribe to a weekly email free here