Revenger

Pulp, maar lekkere pulp. In een verre, verre toekomst met mysterieuze artifacten in het ruimte-equivalent van verlaten jungletempels, wrede piraten en steampunkachtige robots zweert onze jonge heldin wraak op de ontvoerder van haar zus. YA, maar wel vrij donkere YA. Beetje krukkige taal hier en daar (een soort pseudo Cockney slang, lame!), en sommige stukken slepen een beetje, maar al met al toch een fijn avonturenverhaal in een fascinerend universum.

Revenger, which is billed as the start of a new series, is a decent enough tale. It's not marketed as a YA book, but apparently some folks think it is intended to be one, which may explain why the "nitty gritty" bits are a bit less gritty than most Reynolds stories. It's still plenty grim, mind you - just not as messed up as some of the Revelation Space debauchery.

I'm a fan of Alastair Reynolds, but this isn't his best work. It kept me entertained, and I'm looking forward to what he does with it in the sequel, which was just released last month. Questions of sentience, mysteries around truly alien motivations, and grand treasure quests with pirates and sailing ships - it's really a good romp, if you're into that sort of thing.

3.5 stars out of 5

Interesting concept, repeating themes.

Mediocre and clichéd YA, from an author who can do much better.