Elysium Fire by Alastair Reynolds (book review).

There is a lot of pleasure in reconnecting with old friends and places. Alastair Reynolds has set a number of novels in and around the planet of Yellowstone. In 2007, he published The Prefect, later retitled Aurora Rising.

Set about a century before the events of his first novel, Revelation Space, this series of ‘Prefect Dreyfus’ novels takes place against the backdrop of the Glitter Band. This consists of ten thousand artificial habitats, housing a hundred million people. Each habitat decides how to run its own internal politics and lifestyle. Each citizen is augmented and can participate in voting through a polling core. Overseeing the democratic process is Panoply. The officers of Panoply ensure the polling system is fair and solve problems that might threaten the integrity of the Glitter Band and its democracy.

Prefect Tom Dreyfus is one of those who ensures that the polling cores in each habitat are regularly updated. Often, he works with Thalia Ng and Sparver Bancal. Sparver is a hyperpig, an intelligent genetically evolved being.

In Aurora Rising, some of the issues were caused by Aurora and the Clockmaker. Aurora is an alpha back-up copy of a once-human woman. Though entirely digital, she retains all the intellect of her original and is motivated by a projection that predicts the demise of the Glitter Band. The Clockmaker is another entity whose origins were also once human. He is Aurora’s nemesis, and they hold each other in balance.

In Elysium Fire, Panoply is already under stress with an agitator, Devon Garlin, visiting habitats and urging them to secede, when citizens begin dying. The augments everyone has, except for Panoply staff, overload and cause a literal meltdown in the brain, rapidly leading to death. The problem is accelerating, and there is no apparent connection between the victims. The first hint of a breakthrough comes when Thalia and Sparver are sent to collect the head of a victim working on the reclamation team of a deserted habitat. Thalia spots something worth following up—an image she is told is a representation of a building in the habitat—but when they go to look at it, somehow, the stored water is released into the section they are in. This is just one of the narrow escapes Thalia, Sparver, and Dreyfus experience throughout the novel.

When Dreyfus later inspects the building, he gets unexpected help from Aurora. He knows that Aurora never does anything without it being to her advantage, especially if it helps her counter the Clockmaker. She wants access to the Search Turbines, which contain gathered information about the Glitter Band and its citizens. While Dreyfus is reluctant to deal with her, they need to find a way to stop the deaths.

The system that allows for the continual democratic polling process was developed by Sandra Voi, now almost regarded as a god for her achievements. Threaded through the escalating issues Panoply is facing—the mysterious deaths and the increasing possibility of secession of habitats—is the childhood development of Julius and Caleb Voi, descendants of Sandra. Through this strand, we learn more about the origins of the Glitter Band. At the same time, the perceptive reader will be aware that the lives of these two boys will be vitally important to the resolution of the issues. Reynolds is the kind of writer who leaves clues between the pages, ready for later, and he does it very skillfully.

Dreyfus, Thalia, and Sparver are Field Prefects. Most of their work is straightforward, but they are also on the forefront of danger. The pace rapidly takes them from one kind of jeopardy to another. At any point, their challenges could be catastrophic, not just personally but also to other citizens and even to the existence of the Glitter Band itself. An enjoyable read.

Pauline Morgan

August 2024

(pub: Gollancz, 2018. 423 page paperback. Price: £10.99. ISBN: 978-0-575-09061-3)

check out website: https://www.gollancz.co.uk