Chasm City
by Alastair Reynolds · first published 2001
61% recommend29% neutral10% critical
Why HN recommends it
Hard-leaning space opera set in the Revelation Space universe, with flawed characters, snappy dialogue and surprising twists. Works as a standalone but rewards series readers, including fans of Hyperion.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
"The once-utopian Chasm City a domed human settlement on an otherwise inhospitable planet has been overrun by a virus known as the Melding Plague, capable of infecting any body, organic or computerized. Now, with the entire city corrupted from its people to the very buildings they inhabit only the most wretched, grim sort of existence remains." -- Jacket.
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Revelation Space - by Alastair Reynolds – 2000 An epic volume 1 Volume 2 - Chasm City - brilliant with a dark and heart stopping culmination Reynolds is a British astro-physicists I dont know if he is popular in the US as he is in the UK
on “Science Fiction by Scientists” ↗Another interesting treatment of "immortality" in fiction is the Chasm City/Glitter Band/Yellowstone society from Alastair Reynolds' novels. Rather than achieving true immortality through some one-off miracle pill a la Golden Age pulps, "immortality" is a sequence of stopgaps…
on “We Are Especially Unfortunate to Die, When Our Descendants Could Be Immortal” ↗While I thought Alastair Reynold's Revelation Space was just ok, I really loved his standalone book Chasm City. I picked it up randomly at a book exchange and was blown away. The universe is fiercely imaginative and colorful, the dialog is snappy, the characters are flawed and interesting, the science is just…
on “The Best Science Fiction Books (According to Reddit)” ↗Nobody has suggested Umberto Eco yet.I would try The Island of the Day Before or Baudolino before Foucault's Pendulum. Alistair Reynolds is space opera done nicely (if you want to look in that direction). Chasm City stands on its own, but there are some similar works there. Twain fits in with some of your other comments.
on “Ask HN: What are some good books?” ↗…Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien (enjoyed the audio production from BBC radio) 7. The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories - Ken Liu (enjoyed several of the short stories very much) 8. Revelation Space/Chasm City/Redemption Ark/Absolution Gap - Alastair Reynolds (love the series but it is long!) 9. Executive Orders - Tom Clancy (not my favorite Clancy book but still fun) 10. Rainbow Six - Tom Clancy (also not…
on “Ask HN: Books you read in 2018?” ↗If you're interested in "realistic" (meaning: no FTL) space battles read Alastair Reynolds' Redemption Ark (and read Revelation Space and Chasm City before that). It includes a chase between star systems that goes on for years and "close" (ie within a few light-seconds) combat that involves a lot of interpolation of enemy position, movement and actions.…
on “What future space combat would really look like” ↗I liked The Prefect and its sequel, which are also in there Revelation Space universe but take place during its heyday rather than in the post apocalypse. Chasm City is also a pretty incredible whodunnit/thriller. I liked that the Reynolds books tie together but also kind of stand alone, so you're not stuck reading them in order.
on “Ask HN: What are your favorite sci-fi books?” ↗Hyperion and Chasm City (2nd book of Revelation Space) are two of my favorite books I've read in the last few years. The whole Revelation Space series is fantastic. It's written by a former ESA astronomer, so it definitely…
on “Sci-Fi Novels You Should Read” ↗I can highly recommend Chasm City [1] by Reynolds. I think its greatly under-appreciated! It's full of creativity and unexpected turn of events... [1]: https://www.amazon.de/Chasm-City-English-Alastair-Reynolds-e...
on “Neal Stephenson – Announcing Termination Shock” ↗Alastair Reynolds covered this theme extensively in Chasm City, including technology advancements being transmitted to generation ships en route from the home system and the consequences of that. Super interesting reading!
on “The Wait Equation and AI Investment” ↗…all. Assuming you could even build it, and I think that's doubtful, it's almost certain to get trashed along large enough time spans, and the problems it would cause clearly outweigh any benefits. See Chasm City by Alastair Reynolds for a modification of physics that allows such structures but shows why it's a bad idea anyway. Does the same thing for mind uploading, in case you are interested.
on “The skyhook solution” ↗A few ideas: "The Expanse" series by Corey "Six Wakes" by Lafferty: a locked-room mystery with a twist "Altered Carbon" by Morgan "Chasm City" by Reynolds
on “What would a murder in space look like?” ↗I won't spoil it here, but you might really enjoy Chasm City; I recommend giving it a read. :)
on “John Cage recital set to last 639 years recently witnessed a chord change” ↗I think Chasm City is his best book, but it requires context from other Revelation Space novels to be enjoyed fully.
on “How far could a spaceship go if we never ran out of thrust? (2020)” ↗I just finished this book. I loved it. Any other recommendations for books like this? I read Accelerando, and am reading Chasm City now (both highly recommended).
on “Facebook M – The Anti-Turing Test” ↗