Revenger (2017)
Written by: Alastair Reynolds
Genre: Science Fiction
Pages: 432
Publisher: Orbit
Why I Chose It: Christopher Walken needs more cowbell, I need more Alastair Reynolds.
The premise:
The galaxy has seen great empires rise and fall. Planets have shattered and been remade. Amongst the ruins of alien civilisations, building our own from the rubble, humanity still thrives.
And there are vast fortunes to be made, if you know where to find them…
Captain Rackamore and his crew do. It’s their business to find the tiny, enigmatic worlds which have been hidden away, booby-trapped, surrounded with layers of protection – and to crack them open for the ancient relics and barely-remembered technologies inside. But while they ply their risky trade with integrity, not everyone is so scrupulous.
Adrana and Fura Ness are the newest members of Rackamore’s crew, signed on to save their family from bankruptcy. Only Rackamore has enemies, and there might be more waiting for them in space than adventure and fortune: the fabled and feared Bosa Sennen in particular.
Revenger is a science fiction adventure story set in the rubble of our solar system in the dark, distant future – a tale of space pirates, buried treasure and phantom weapons, of unspeakable hazards and single-minded heroism… and of vengeance.
Yer voyage ahead be free of spoilers. Yar.
Unless you consider knowing that Lady Space Pirates are in your future a spoiler, in which case you and I will just agree to disagree. Discussion: So if I were to keep it as simple as, “this book is about two sisters who venture out to become space pirates, are pursued by a nefarious lady space pirate and hang out with a badass lady space pirate who is better at kicking ass than making friends, and incredibly entertaining badassery ensues,” that’s probably enough for you, right?
Well, just in case it isn’t.
If you’re not familiar with Alastair Reynolds, his hallmark is phenomenal world building and tremendous, galaxy-spanning scope. He writes hard sci fi with the best of them, able to generate so many fascinating ideas that he sometimes does himself a disservice by asking multiple ideas that could carry their own novel to work together in one story.
Revenger is actually a slight departure from his typical fare in that it’s space fantasy vs. space opera, and it takes a much more lighthearted, whimsical approach than his previous novels. The result is a really fun space pirate romp through a typical Alastair Reynolds landscape that has such potential for depth you feel like the story itself is a rock skipping across the surface of a pond.
The novel is littered with hints into a rich history of vanished cultures remembered only by the relics they leave behind in “bauble” worlds that can only be accessed during limited time windows, not unlike the hidden door into the Lonely Mountain in The Hobbit. But we learn little to nothing about who it was that left these trinkets behind or what happened to them. Delving into their history and secrets isn’t high on the characters’ priority list either; it’s not the relics themselves that anyone is interested as much as the money they can get from selling them.
As a result, you have a surprisingly enjoyable contrast between a world that’s rife with exciting secrets and characters who show virtually no interest in uncovering or understanding them. For instance, the Ness sisters are brought on board the Monetta’s Morn as bone readers, who aid the ship’s navigation by “reading” messages obtained through an ancient alien skull. The technology behind it is a complete mystery and few people have the “gift” for it, but no one’s really worried about filling in the gaps so long as it works.
The characters themselves, to my delight, are dominated by awesome women. While Reynolds often struggles to give his characters a lot of nuance and depth, he rarely fails to deliver characters that you really want to get to know, and he’s notorious for populating his worlds with really interesting women. Revenger is a story that is dominated by and belongs to women. That said, if you’re familiar with Reynold’s issues with characterization and depth, Revenger gives you more of the same. Characters act and react on a very surface level, without a lot of introspection. For instance, in a climactic scene, Fura Ness makes a choice that serves as a defining moment for her character. Yet the emotional and psychological consequences of that choice go almost completely unexplored.
Despite this, I found the story to be engaging, fun and exciting. While not marketed as such, it has been referred to as a YA novel, and I think there is an argument for that. This story, at its core, is the coming of age story of Fura Ness, and it’s an empowering one. With space pirates.
In Conclusion: If you’re a fan of Alastair Reynolds, I don’t see any reason why you wouldn’t be on board with this one even though it represents a bit of a departure from his norm. It’s lighter on the hard science, which can ease the barrier of entry for some, and supplies plenty of fun and excitement. And if you’re still on the fence, I’ll just leave you with the reminder that this is a book about badass lady space pirates.
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