Science Fiction Unlimited

Alastair Reynolds’ latest novel ‘Pushing Ice’ follows the current trend for one-shot space operas with vast scope and scale. A little less dark in feel than his previous output, it is nonetheless a compelling and enjoyable tale. Midway through the 21st Century, the comet-mining ship ‘Rockhopper’ is asked to chase after Janus, an ice-clad moon of Saturn which appears, all of a sudden, to have decided to make a beeline for the star Spica, many light-years away. ‘Rockhopper’ is the only human vehicle anywhere near this unprecedented event, and gives chase across the Solar system. It transpires that Janus is no moon at all, but a vast chunk of highly advanced alien machinery, whose only intent is to high-tail it back to what humanity has to assume are it’s origins. But the crew’s decision to accept the challenge of following Janus is only the start of the story. As events unfold, the crew are put through enormous stresses and challenges as they hurtle towards their destiny, very far removed from what they expected. And this is where this novel shines. Reynolds has great skill with characterisation. The main players in the plot go through successes and defeats to equal degrees as the politics of the crew are changed by circumstance, and the portrayal of these events and their impact on the people concerned is excellent. In contrast to the criticism often levelled at science fiction, the characters are very human. They have real and believable emotions and aspirations which are used to full effect in a story of brain-bending physical and temporal scale. Not just a simple swashbuckling space adventure, the tale develops many themes as it progresses, most notably (in the second half of the book) that of the ‘first contact scenario’, a trope that currently seems to be making a comeback in British SF. There’s something for every SF reader in this book; plenty of ‘hard’ technology and astrophysical malarkey alongside the more human dramas of the crew overcoming all the obstacles. Granted, it may not entirely satisfy a reader accustomed to (and demanding of) Reynolds’ darker works (the ‘Revelation Space’ sequence, for example), but it will no doubt pay dividends in introducing him to a wider audience, especially in the US where this sort of character-driven story is much more popular.