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Revenger #2
Shadow Captain
'A swashbuckling thriller - Pirates of the Caribbean meets Firefly - that nevertheless combines the author's trademark hard SF with effective, coming-of-age characterisation' GUARDIAN 'A blindingly clever imagining of our solar system in the far flung future' SUN Returning to the universe of Revenger , award-winning author Alastair Reynolds delivers another thrilling tale set among the stars. Two sisters ran away from home to join the crew of a spaceship. They took on pirates, faced down monsters and survived massacres . . . and now they're in charge. Captaining a fearsome ship of their own, adventures are theirs for the taking - and there's hoards to loot and treasures to find in the darkest reaches of space. But the rules are also more relaxed out on the fringes, as they're about to discover . . . 'A rollicking adventure yarn with action, abduction, fights, properly scary hazards, very grisly torture and even ghosts of a sort' DAILY TELEGRAPH
'By far the most enjoyable book Reynolds has ever written' SFX
'By far the most enjoyable book Reynolds has ever written' SFX
368 pages, Paperback
First published January 10, 2019
746 people are currently reading
3405 people want to read
About the author
Alastair Reynolds
314 books9,350 followersI'm Al, I used to be a space scientist, and now I'm a writer, although for a time the two careers ran in parallel. I started off publishing short stories in the British SF magazine Interzone in the early 90s, then eventually branched into novels. I write about a novel a year and try to write a few short stories as well. Some of my books and stories are set in a consistent future named after Revelation Space, the first novel, but I've done a lot of other things as well and I like to keep things fresh between books.
I was born in Wales, but raised in Cornwall, and then spent time in the north of England and Scotland. I moved to the Netherlands to continue my science career and stayed there for a very long time, before eventually returning to Wales.
In my spare time I am a very keen runner, and I also enjoying hill-walking, birdwatching, horse-riding, guitar and model-making. I also dabble with paints now and then. I met my wife in the Netherlands through a mutual interest in climbing and we married back in Wales. We live surrounded by hills, woods and wildlife, and not too much excitement.
I was born in Wales, but raised in Cornwall, and then spent time in the north of England and Scotland. I moved to the Netherlands to continue my science career and stayed there for a very long time, before eventually returning to Wales.
In my spare time I am a very keen runner, and I also enjoying hill-walking, birdwatching, horse-riding, guitar and model-making. I also dabble with paints now and then. I met my wife in the Netherlands through a mutual interest in climbing and we married back in Wales. We live surrounded by hills, woods and wildlife, and not too much excitement.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 411 reviews
September 17, 2019
4.5 stars
I enjoyed this second installment even more than Revenger. I know Revenger received mixed reviews from Reynolds' fans who (I guess) didn't get what they expected, but really, I think he wrote a great story, and Shadow Captain is a fine continuation.
The writing continues to reflect Reynolds' densely competent style, with both tension and character development delivered in equal measure. Fura continues a slide into the personality transformation that began as she relentlessly pursued and rescued her abducted sister, Adrana. Adrana continues to recover herself, and tries to understand the extent of any lasting effect Bosa's conditioning must have had on her.
The bond between the sisters remains, but now that they have taken Revenger, the question that looms over them is who are they going to become? This time around the story is told from Adrana's perspective rather than Fura's, and it shows how similar they remain despite the different, yet equally traumatic, events that have brought them back together.
I found Shadow Captain to be a dark, exciting, and creative tale, which ends on an expectant note of more unguessable events still to come.
I enjoyed this second installment even more than Revenger. I know Revenger received mixed reviews from Reynolds' fans who (I guess) didn't get what they expected, but really, I think he wrote a great story, and Shadow Captain is a fine continuation.
The writing continues to reflect Reynolds' densely competent style, with both tension and character development delivered in equal measure. Fura continues a slide into the personality transformation that began as she relentlessly pursued and rescued her abducted sister, Adrana. Adrana continues to recover herself, and tries to understand the extent of any lasting effect Bosa's conditioning must have had on her.
The bond between the sisters remains, but now that they have taken Revenger, the question that looms over them is who are they going to become? This time around the story is told from Adrana's perspective rather than Fura's, and it shows how similar they remain despite the different, yet equally traumatic, events that have brought them back together.
I found Shadow Captain to be a dark, exciting, and creative tale, which ends on an expectant note of more unguessable events still to come.
April 3, 2019
The second Revenger book continues on with a pretty traditional Space Opera tale.
Where the first began with revenge on the mind, the second focuses much more on financial survival, salvage, and after a particularly awesome Reynolds-homage-to-Reynolds sentient skull candy partnership with suits becoming a shambling hoard of zombies, a desperate need to find SOMEPLACE to hide from shadow ships and recuperate.
That's where the real story picks up. Intrigue, lies, torture, cat-and-mouse antics, and even picking up a rather interesting new crew member.
As a regular Space Opera, it's fun. It's more than competent. It's full of bickering sisters and an attempt to turn a mutiny into something much more respectable. :)
So why did I knock off a star?
Because I'm a huge fan of Reynold's more adult fare and this isn't at THAT particular level. The high science and deeply intricate worldbuilding and ideas I usually get are watered down here. That's not to say it's poor for the sub-genre or even the full SF genre. It's right there with the most solid entries. But Reynolds is usually a full head above the rest.
I judge this a lesser example of his works. Not bad at all and actually rather fun, but not fantastic.
Where the first began with revenge on the mind, the second focuses much more on financial survival, salvage, and after a particularly awesome Reynolds-homage-to-Reynolds sentient skull candy partnership with suits becoming a shambling hoard of zombies, a desperate need to find SOMEPLACE to hide from shadow ships and recuperate.
That's where the real story picks up. Intrigue, lies, torture, cat-and-mouse antics, and even picking up a rather interesting new crew member.
As a regular Space Opera, it's fun. It's more than competent. It's full of bickering sisters and an attempt to turn a mutiny into something much more respectable. :)
So why did I knock off a star?
Because I'm a huge fan of Reynold's more adult fare and this isn't at THAT particular level. The high science and deeply intricate worldbuilding and ideas I usually get are watered down here. That's not to say it's poor for the sub-genre or even the full SF genre. It's right there with the most solid entries. But Reynolds is usually a full head above the rest.
I judge this a lesser example of his works. Not bad at all and actually rather fun, but not fantastic.
November 28, 2018
Ah! I’m beginning to see the familiar Al Reynolds yet again! He doesn’t linger much in the YA field, despite the Ness’ sisters age. The story picks up from the end of the first volume,
Revenger
, and builds strongly.
However, I’m surprised at myself: how did I miss the fact that Revenger series is going to be a trilogy? The good thing is that this second part doesn’t suffer from middle book syndrome, on the contrary: things are getting hotter, complicated, the mystery of the quoins is somewhat unraveled, Bosa Sennen is still a big influence and the most significant part, in my opinion, is brought into light but not revealed. The worst part (figurately speaking) is that this hugely significant part is to be developed in the next book, which I have no idea when will be published…
That being said, I enjoyed it to the fullest. If the first story is told from Fura’s point of view, here the narrator is Adrana. The sisters complement each other perfectly, they are the yin and yang of the crew. New characters are brought to life, some despicable, others not so much but all equally interesting. We get to meet new baubles and worlds and based on Bosa’s belongings, some really fascinating, albeit scarce and teasing, details about the Occupations.
The more I delved into the story, the more compelling it gets. As usual, Reynolds leaves us with more questions and scenarios than answers, but that’s what makes his stories great and that is what I love about his writing, beside the fascinating worldbuilding, timeframe and scope. He is one among the very few SF writers who manages to surprise me with something in each of his works.
And if anybody knows when the third is out, for I didn’t find anything about it, please do tell me.
>>> ARC received thanks to Orion Publishing Group / Gollancz via NetGalley <<<
However, I’m surprised at myself: how did I miss the fact that Revenger series is going to be a trilogy? The good thing is that this second part doesn’t suffer from middle book syndrome, on the contrary: things are getting hotter, complicated, the mystery of the quoins is somewhat unraveled, Bosa Sennen is still a big influence and the most significant part, in my opinion, is brought into light but not revealed. The worst part (figurately speaking) is that this hugely significant part is to be developed in the next book, which I have no idea when will be published…
That being said, I enjoyed it to the fullest. If the first story is told from Fura’s point of view, here the narrator is Adrana. The sisters complement each other perfectly, they are the yin and yang of the crew. New characters are brought to life, some despicable, others not so much but all equally interesting. We get to meet new baubles and worlds and based on Bosa’s belongings, some really fascinating, albeit scarce and teasing, details about the Occupations.
The more I delved into the story, the more compelling it gets. As usual, Reynolds leaves us with more questions and scenarios than answers, but that’s what makes his stories great and that is what I love about his writing, beside the fascinating worldbuilding, timeframe and scope. He is one among the very few SF writers who manages to surprise me with something in each of his works.
And if anybody knows when the third is out, for I didn’t find anything about it, please do tell me.
>>> ARC received thanks to Orion Publishing Group / Gollancz via NetGalley <<<
February 12, 2019
Well I didn’t like Revenger but hoped I’d like this one better-but all I can say is, “Alaister Reynolds-what’s going on here??” His previous stories are some of my favorites.
The actions is minor and uninteresting and the dialog is leaden. First we hear a conversation between the sisters and then we hear one sister relay the same info to the other shipmates. Yawn....
The actions is minor and uninteresting and the dialog is leaden. First we hear a conversation between the sisters and then we hear one sister relay the same info to the other shipmates. Yawn....
January 11, 2019
Shadow Captain, the sequel to one of 2016's best science fiction novels, is even more entertaining than Revenger; in fact, it's preposterously good. This futuristic pirate tale from master space-opera writer Alastair Reynolds is a unique and original take on space adventure, and this time revenge and grief are at the forefront of characters minds. It's enjoyable to see the progression and evolution of the characters, the Ness sisters in particular, as they continue their adventures aboard the Nightjammer.
The author dials back some of the horror elements that are present in the first book, but the action remains thrilling and plentiful. Reynolds's worldbuilding is some of the best in the business, and this world is no exception. It's richly-imagined and elaborate with lots of attention to detail that most writers don't give a second thought to. His characters are superbly drawn with real grit and gusto and are easy to cheer for and relate to as the story unfolds.
The narrative shifts from Arafura's in Revenger to sister Adrana in Shadow Captain, but neither of the girls are as innocent and hopeful as they were when this dark journey began. It's on quite a regular basis that the second novel in a trilogy suffers from middle book syndrome, but there's none of that here; this is even more enjoyable than the first book. I love that the author provides food-for-thought about all manner of things, the most fascinating of which is the possibility of alien life, and even after finishing I am still thinking about some of the questions that arise in this beautifully woven tale.
Those who enjoy sci-fi, cyberpunk and young adult adventures will find plenty to revel in here; just be sure to read the preceding book before this, it will make little sense otherwise. I feel it will even appeal to those who read thrillers as it has plenty of thrills, danger and surprises and fantasy fans will enjoy the pirate aspect of the novel, and yes, before some smart arse points it out, I know pirates exist. I am now so, so excited for the next instalment, so don't make us wait too long, Mr Reynolds!
Many this to Gollancz for an ARC.
The author dials back some of the horror elements that are present in the first book, but the action remains thrilling and plentiful. Reynolds's worldbuilding is some of the best in the business, and this world is no exception. It's richly-imagined and elaborate with lots of attention to detail that most writers don't give a second thought to. His characters are superbly drawn with real grit and gusto and are easy to cheer for and relate to as the story unfolds.
The narrative shifts from Arafura's in Revenger to sister Adrana in Shadow Captain, but neither of the girls are as innocent and hopeful as they were when this dark journey began. It's on quite a regular basis that the second novel in a trilogy suffers from middle book syndrome, but there's none of that here; this is even more enjoyable than the first book. I love that the author provides food-for-thought about all manner of things, the most fascinating of which is the possibility of alien life, and even after finishing I am still thinking about some of the questions that arise in this beautifully woven tale.
Those who enjoy sci-fi, cyberpunk and young adult adventures will find plenty to revel in here; just be sure to read the preceding book before this, it will make little sense otherwise. I feel it will even appeal to those who read thrillers as it has plenty of thrills, danger and surprises and fantasy fans will enjoy the pirate aspect of the novel, and yes, before some smart arse points it out, I know pirates exist. I am now so, so excited for the next instalment, so don't make us wait too long, Mr Reynolds!
Many this to Gollancz for an ARC.
June 22, 2019
A disappointing 3 stars.
I definitely recommend you read (or re-read) the far superior first book in the series, Revenger, before starting this.
Beautiful, full size image here
All of the components for a great and clever book were here, but the prose is often ponderous and over-written. Fura and Adrana have grown into mostly hard and unsympathetic characters. The action sequences are few, and the narrative pacing is often poor, and the choices that Fura and Adrana make are far too often selfish and disrespectful of the Revenger crew.
Perhaps only Prozer and a few other minor characters exhibit real life and empathy.
Honestly, this could have been great but it feels like it was forced onto the page. Not really much fun here at all. And yes, at the end we are set up for a sequel.
There were very few quotes that I marked in the book. Here's one of the good ones:
Somewhere out beyond the Empty there now shone stars that had been born in gas clouds after this room was decorated. There were stars that had been alive then that were just corpses now, if they had left the least trace of themselves. There was just too much past, too much time that had already happened, and our lives were as nothing against that endless black conveyor belt, ceaselessly rolling, stretching and stretching ever further backward into a dread eternity.
.
I definitely recommend you read (or re-read) the far superior first book in the series, Revenger, before starting this.
Beautiful, full size image here
All of the components for a great and clever book were here, but the prose is often ponderous and over-written. Fura and Adrana have grown into mostly hard and unsympathetic characters. The action sequences are few, and the narrative pacing is often poor, and the choices that Fura and Adrana make are far too often selfish and disrespectful of the Revenger crew.
Perhaps only Prozer and a few other minor characters exhibit real life and empathy.
Honestly, this could have been great but it feels like it was forced onto the page. Not really much fun here at all. And yes, at the end we are set up for a sequel.
There were very few quotes that I marked in the book. Here's one of the good ones:
Somewhere out beyond the Empty there now shone stars that had been born in gas clouds after this room was decorated. There were stars that had been alive then that were just corpses now, if they had left the least trace of themselves. There was just too much past, too much time that had already happened, and our lives were as nothing against that endless black conveyor belt, ceaselessly rolling, stretching and stretching ever further backward into a dread eternity.
.
April 20, 2019
When starting this one, I thought it's the last volume of the series, so I kept expecting things to happen and the plot to advance, and the book got to the end without much happening - I figured out there must be at most another book by then, but overall while the first person narration kept me turning the pages, this felt like a thread the water novel to a large extent; i will take a look at book 3, but it better improve.
February 3, 2019
4.5 stars ...
The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars because the pacing was a little slow at times especially when the focus was on Adrana and Fura's relationship and all of their secrets.
It was also hard to believe that Adrana gave in so easily to partnering with Fura since in the beginning she was so adamant that she didn't want anything to do with her sister's obsession.
I loved their time at the bauble and at Wheel Strizzardy; those were two of my favorite parts of the story. I'm also looking forward to seeing what they encounter in the outer reaches and how the Quoins come into play.
The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars because the pacing was a little slow at times especially when the focus was on Adrana and Fura's relationship and all of their secrets.
It was also hard to believe that Adrana gave in so easily to partnering with Fura since in the beginning she was so adamant that she didn't want anything to do with her sister's obsession.
I loved their time at the bauble and at Wheel Strizzardy; those were two of my favorite parts of the story. I'm also looking forward to seeing what they encounter in the outer reaches and how the Quoins come into play.
January 12, 2019
This time last year I was reviewing Alastair’s Elysium Fire, the sequel to The Prefect (aka Aurora Rising.) In 2019 I’m now looking at another sequel - this time to Revenger, published in 2016.
Shadow Captain continues the story of Revenger, a mere few months after the end of the first book. This was where (spoiler alert!) the two young sisters, Adrana and Arafura (aka Fura) Ness, managed to kill a notorious space-pirate, Bosa Sennen, and take over her ship, the Revenger. Both of these did not escape the plot of Revenger unscathed – the book finished with many of the Ness’s crewmates dead and their spaceship destroyed. Fura ended up having to eat raw lightvine to survive, which has left her ‘full of glowy-stuff’ and can mean changes in behaviour and eventually a painful death. Adrana, this time the teller of our tale, has also suffered by being tortured by Bosa and is now suffering some sort of PTSD.
Much of Shadow Captain, being set a few weeks after the end of Revenger, is about what to do next, having “won the battle but not the war”, so to speak. The solution for the crew of the Revenger is to spend time in the outer reaches of the Confederation, where they (or perhaps more obviously their ship) will be less recognised. As well as this, such covert action allows the crew time to get used to one another, work out how to run the ship and adjust to the new situation. They decide to do this by modifying the Revenger to make it look less like Bosa’s old ship.
First, they have to collect fuel from an old bauble (which are ancient technological artifacts), which leads to a rather exciting, if creepy, adventure. The crew then decide to head to Wheel Strizzardy, an old and rather decrepit space station where they can get supplies and repair/rebuild their ship. On the way to Strizzardy the crew get the impression that they are being followed, a situation confirmed when one of them is injured by stray gunfire when working outside on the hull. It seems that two spaceships are after a bounty placed on Bosa’s old ship. The Revenger returns fire and damages one of the stalking ships by accident, before moving on to Wheel Strizzardy.
On their arrival at Strizzardy the group find that the station is as decrepit as they had expected and run gangster-style by local crime-boss Mister Glimmery. The crew of the Revenger, now in disguise as the crew of the Grey Lady, find themselves being watched by Glimmery’s henchmen. With one of the squad in the local hospital, the team scramble to get sorted but find that they become part of Glimmery’s power games between the gangster and the local aliens. They are also told that one of the ships that was chasing them is about to arrive at the space station…
When I reviewed Revenger, a few readers made the comment that the book had many of the elements of a Young Adult novel – young protagonists following a bildungsroman-esque journey, etc etc. I disagreed, finding the book as accessible but perhaps more subtle and perhaps more violent than the usual YA text. Here that idea of being for younger readers is shaken off convincingly. This is darker, bleaker and more typically Reynolds’ work.
Whilst it’s not straying too far from the original brief outlines of the characters, the world-building is great and the internal monologue of Adrana is convincing. As the book progresses it appears that neither sister is totally free of Bosa Sennen, with Fura making some questionable decisions in the way that Bosa would have done and Adrana having moments of intense hatred and rage which she feels she has to control. Both of these actions lead to a build-up of tension, as the reader is never sure until towards the end whether this will affect the rest of the crew or not.
The title is a subtle reflection on this – it shows Fura & Adrana as captains of a spaceship in hiding, but also suggests that the sisters as co-captains are a shadow of the Revenger’s previous owner, captains who have to prove themselves to others that they are worthy of the role, but whose position is still influenced by the presence of Bosa.
As with the first book, there are some shocks and revelations at the end (though at least one that was guessable) and the ending is a bit of a cliff-hanger where loyalties and friendships are tested. Don’t expect everything to be tied up! But overall the pace, as it goes, starts slow but builds nicely, to the point where the book becomes un-putdownable. Whilst there are clichés (it is, after all, space pirates!) there were times when I genuinely wasn’t sure where this was going to go. I will now wait impatiently for the third novel.
In summary, Shadow Captain is a middle book that does what it means to do – builds on the set-up of the first and then extends it into something darker and more complex before making you want to read the next. This could run and run as a series, something I would gladly like to see happen.
Shadow Captain continues the story of Revenger, a mere few months after the end of the first book. This was where (spoiler alert!) the two young sisters, Adrana and Arafura (aka Fura) Ness, managed to kill a notorious space-pirate, Bosa Sennen, and take over her ship, the Revenger. Both of these did not escape the plot of Revenger unscathed – the book finished with many of the Ness’s crewmates dead and their spaceship destroyed. Fura ended up having to eat raw lightvine to survive, which has left her ‘full of glowy-stuff’ and can mean changes in behaviour and eventually a painful death. Adrana, this time the teller of our tale, has also suffered by being tortured by Bosa and is now suffering some sort of PTSD.
Much of Shadow Captain, being set a few weeks after the end of Revenger, is about what to do next, having “won the battle but not the war”, so to speak. The solution for the crew of the Revenger is to spend time in the outer reaches of the Confederation, where they (or perhaps more obviously their ship) will be less recognised. As well as this, such covert action allows the crew time to get used to one another, work out how to run the ship and adjust to the new situation. They decide to do this by modifying the Revenger to make it look less like Bosa’s old ship.
First, they have to collect fuel from an old bauble (which are ancient technological artifacts), which leads to a rather exciting, if creepy, adventure. The crew then decide to head to Wheel Strizzardy, an old and rather decrepit space station where they can get supplies and repair/rebuild their ship. On the way to Strizzardy the crew get the impression that they are being followed, a situation confirmed when one of them is injured by stray gunfire when working outside on the hull. It seems that two spaceships are after a bounty placed on Bosa’s old ship. The Revenger returns fire and damages one of the stalking ships by accident, before moving on to Wheel Strizzardy.
On their arrival at Strizzardy the group find that the station is as decrepit as they had expected and run gangster-style by local crime-boss Mister Glimmery. The crew of the Revenger, now in disguise as the crew of the Grey Lady, find themselves being watched by Glimmery’s henchmen. With one of the squad in the local hospital, the team scramble to get sorted but find that they become part of Glimmery’s power games between the gangster and the local aliens. They are also told that one of the ships that was chasing them is about to arrive at the space station…
When I reviewed Revenger, a few readers made the comment that the book had many of the elements of a Young Adult novel – young protagonists following a bildungsroman-esque journey, etc etc. I disagreed, finding the book as accessible but perhaps more subtle and perhaps more violent than the usual YA text. Here that idea of being for younger readers is shaken off convincingly. This is darker, bleaker and more typically Reynolds’ work.
Whilst it’s not straying too far from the original brief outlines of the characters, the world-building is great and the internal monologue of Adrana is convincing. As the book progresses it appears that neither sister is totally free of Bosa Sennen, with Fura making some questionable decisions in the way that Bosa would have done and Adrana having moments of intense hatred and rage which she feels she has to control. Both of these actions lead to a build-up of tension, as the reader is never sure until towards the end whether this will affect the rest of the crew or not.
The title is a subtle reflection on this – it shows Fura & Adrana as captains of a spaceship in hiding, but also suggests that the sisters as co-captains are a shadow of the Revenger’s previous owner, captains who have to prove themselves to others that they are worthy of the role, but whose position is still influenced by the presence of Bosa.
As with the first book, there are some shocks and revelations at the end (though at least one that was guessable) and the ending is a bit of a cliff-hanger where loyalties and friendships are tested. Don’t expect everything to be tied up! But overall the pace, as it goes, starts slow but builds nicely, to the point where the book becomes un-putdownable. Whilst there are clichés (it is, after all, space pirates!) there were times when I genuinely wasn’t sure where this was going to go. I will now wait impatiently for the third novel.
In summary, Shadow Captain is a middle book that does what it means to do – builds on the set-up of the first and then extends it into something darker and more complex before making you want to read the next. This could run and run as a series, something I would gladly like to see happen.
January 31, 2019
Revenger was just a lot of fun - light and exciting and ending with a oh-my-god-what-if moment at the end that really kicked it up a notch.
Shadow Captain is a lot of boring, whining sister dynamics with little character development or real behavioural explanation. It ends with an even better oh-my-god-what-if .
I really want to know what happens next in the world but also wish the characters, especially Adrana, would just shut tf up.
Shadow Captain is a lot of boring, whining sister dynamics with little character development or real behavioural explanation. It ends with an even better oh-my-god-what-if .
I really want to know what happens next in the world but also wish the characters, especially Adrana, would just shut tf up.
March 10, 2019
5 Stars
Shadow Captain by Alastair Reynolds, book two in the Revenger series can almost do no wrong with me. I love his writing style, his pacing, and of course his genre, science fiction. This book is something that none of his other books are, including The Blue Remembered Earth series, it is accessible to all, including the young adult crowd. That does not mean that it is written down to the YA crowd, nor is it watered down. It just means that it is easily digested and not hard science at all.
Comparisons to Mieville's Railsea, and the Shipbreaker series by Paolo Bacigalupi are totally inevitable and fair. Like them, Revenger is an adventure story packed into a science fiction world. I loved every page as this really is my genre of choice.
If you are a fan of Alastair Reynolds then you should read this just to see how much this accessible story is still a Reynolds story through and through.
If you enjoy science fiction on the light side this is for you.
If you want to know about an amazing young girl with a really cool name, Fura Ness, than you should pick this up.
This is a great sequel that was quite unexpected. I love everything Alastair Reynolds!
I loved it.
Shadow Captain by Alastair Reynolds, book two in the Revenger series can almost do no wrong with me. I love his writing style, his pacing, and of course his genre, science fiction. This book is something that none of his other books are, including The Blue Remembered Earth series, it is accessible to all, including the young adult crowd. That does not mean that it is written down to the YA crowd, nor is it watered down. It just means that it is easily digested and not hard science at all.
Comparisons to Mieville's Railsea, and the Shipbreaker series by Paolo Bacigalupi are totally inevitable and fair. Like them, Revenger is an adventure story packed into a science fiction world. I loved every page as this really is my genre of choice.
If you are a fan of Alastair Reynolds then you should read this just to see how much this accessible story is still a Reynolds story through and through.
If you enjoy science fiction on the light side this is for you.
If you want to know about an amazing young girl with a really cool name, Fura Ness, than you should pick this up.
This is a great sequel that was quite unexpected. I love everything Alastair Reynolds!
I loved it.
June 7, 2023
Antroji ciklo knyga.
Seserys Ness gal ir norėtų kitaip, bet aplinkybės klostosi taip, kad priešų visada daugiau nei draugų. Nors pala – ar yra tų draugų? Taip ir norisi cituoti klasiką: „nepažįstu aš tų draugų“. Na, bet vieną kitą sąjungininką pavyksta atkapstyt. Bėda tik, kad tie sąjungininkai gali atsinešti ir savų problemų, be tų, kurias turi seserys. O jei ir neatsineša, tai patys priversti murkdytis nelabai pelnytoje prastoje seserų reputacijoje.
Visata po truputį atsiveria. Nors vėl – ar galima sakyti „atsiveria“, kai realiai gauname daugiau naujų mįslių, nei atsakymų.
Tempas kažkiek lėtesnis, nei pirmoje knygoje. Kompozicija irgi, sakyčiau ne kažką, nes realiai smarkiai per anksti gauname kulminaciją, o paskui jau skaitome tokį epilogo ir būsimo tęsinio ekspozicijos miksą.
Pirmoji knyga buvo verta ketverto. Šiai – tik trys iš penkių. Bet dabar jau reikia sužinoti, kuo ten viskas baigėsi.
Seserys Ness gal ir norėtų kitaip, bet aplinkybės klostosi taip, kad priešų visada daugiau nei draugų. Nors pala – ar yra tų draugų? Taip ir norisi cituoti klasiką: „nepažįstu aš tų draugų“. Na, bet vieną kitą sąjungininką pavyksta atkapstyt. Bėda tik, kad tie sąjungininkai gali atsinešti ir savų problemų, be tų, kurias turi seserys. O jei ir neatsineša, tai patys priversti murkdytis nelabai pelnytoje prastoje seserų reputacijoje.
Visata po truputį atsiveria. Nors vėl – ar galima sakyti „atsiveria“, kai realiai gauname daugiau naujų mįslių, nei atsakymų.
Tempas kažkiek lėtesnis, nei pirmoje knygoje. Kompozicija irgi, sakyčiau ne kažką, nes realiai smarkiai per anksti gauname kulminaciją, o paskui jau skaitome tokį epilogo ir būsimo tęsinio ekspozicijos miksą.
Pirmoji knyga buvo verta ketverto. Šiai – tik trys iš penkių. Bet dabar jau reikia sužinoti, kuo ten viskas baigėsi.
September 17, 2019
I love fierce sister duos. You know, the kind where the two sisters have complementary skills and get on each other’s nerves yet always have the other’s back? That kind.
Yeah, Shadow Captain isn’t quite that kind of story.
Adrana and (Ara)fura Ness have managed to dispatch the fearsome space pirate Bosa Sennen, taking her ship in the process. These young women are way out of their league, however, and now that they are in charge of the Revenger, as they’re calling their prize, everyone else is going to think they’re the pirates. Adrana, our narrator this time around, is still trying to recover from her torture at Bosa’s hands. Meanwhile, she is worried about what Fura had to do to rescue her, and the long-term effect that’s going to have on Fura’s mental health. The sisters try to put up a united front for everyone else, but as far as they’re concerned, they’re on shaky ground.
Although a part of me yearns for that good ol’ sister duo ferocity, I will admit to enjoying the conflict Alastair Reynolds creates through the Ness sisters. With each of them on edge, for slightly different reasons, nothing ever quite feels right in this book. Moments of possible redemption turn on a dime into disappointment and bitterness—not through deliberate, over-the-top betrayal, per se, but more through the slow attrition of mistrust.
This is a book about how small cracks in relationships and grow into wedges and fractures that threaten to shatter at the slightest pressure.
Expanding this to the wider cast: no one here is really a friend. Some are friendly, like Prozor. Others are cagey, like Strambli. Whatever the case, the book reminds me of the crews of Serenity in Firefly or Moya in Farscape: joined together more out of common cause, or having no place else to go, than any real like of each other. Reynolds reminds us that this can work just as well when it comes to having characters work together towards a common goal.
Shadow Captain feels slow to me, because the majority of the book is spent approaching and then tiptoeing around Strizzardly Wheel. I kept waiting for the “plot” to happen, by which I mean further developments in the sisters’ involvement with the overarching conspiracies afoot—the quoins, the mysteries of the Occupations, the aliens, etc. I never expected those matters to truly take over the foreground, but I kept waiting for more to happen than “we need to visit this station and oh look we’re running afoul of the criminal overlord of the week oh no.” I felt like most of this novel turned into one big sidequest in a space version of Bioshock.
I continue to dig that overarching story. I’m really intrigued to see where Reynolds goes with all this (I have some ideas, but of course there’s still so much left up in the air right now). That’s his hope, of course: tease the reader with just enough to keep them reading into the next book, even if the rest of the story wasn’t as satisfying. I just hope that the next book presents a more dynamic plot, in which the Ness sisters have a little more agency than “get into trouble at Strizzardly.”
I guess I come for the mystery and stay for the sister relationship. There are points in the book, when Adrana asks Paladin to keep something between them, when Adrana makes decisions or uncovers certain facts that Fura might have been obscuring … points when I was reading this, sipping a cup of tea, in my nice, hot bath, and it felt like Reynolds was really capturing the importance of that family dynamic. As sardonically critical as I am of the story here, this protagonist duo is probably one of the best I’ve seen in a while, purely on the ground of the depth of feeling beneath the tension in their relationship. It’s not something that can or even should be resolved easily, and I’m really happy that Shadow Captain goes in the direction of widening the gulf instead of closing it easily.
My overall impression of this series may hinge on the next book (if it is indeed the concluding volume) and where it takes us….
My reviews of the Revenger series:
← Revenger
Yeah, Shadow Captain isn’t quite that kind of story.
Adrana and (Ara)fura Ness have managed to dispatch the fearsome space pirate Bosa Sennen, taking her ship in the process. These young women are way out of their league, however, and now that they are in charge of the Revenger, as they’re calling their prize, everyone else is going to think they’re the pirates. Adrana, our narrator this time around, is still trying to recover from her torture at Bosa’s hands. Meanwhile, she is worried about what Fura had to do to rescue her, and the long-term effect that’s going to have on Fura’s mental health. The sisters try to put up a united front for everyone else, but as far as they’re concerned, they’re on shaky ground.
Although a part of me yearns for that good ol’ sister duo ferocity, I will admit to enjoying the conflict Alastair Reynolds creates through the Ness sisters. With each of them on edge, for slightly different reasons, nothing ever quite feels right in this book. Moments of possible redemption turn on a dime into disappointment and bitterness—not through deliberate, over-the-top betrayal, per se, but more through the slow attrition of mistrust.
This is a book about how small cracks in relationships and grow into wedges and fractures that threaten to shatter at the slightest pressure.
Expanding this to the wider cast: no one here is really a friend. Some are friendly, like Prozor. Others are cagey, like Strambli. Whatever the case, the book reminds me of the crews of Serenity in Firefly or Moya in Farscape: joined together more out of common cause, or having no place else to go, than any real like of each other. Reynolds reminds us that this can work just as well when it comes to having characters work together towards a common goal.
Shadow Captain feels slow to me, because the majority of the book is spent approaching and then tiptoeing around Strizzardly Wheel. I kept waiting for the “plot” to happen, by which I mean further developments in the sisters’ involvement with the overarching conspiracies afoot—the quoins, the mysteries of the Occupations, the aliens, etc. I never expected those matters to truly take over the foreground, but I kept waiting for more to happen than “we need to visit this station and oh look we’re running afoul of the criminal overlord of the week oh no.” I felt like most of this novel turned into one big sidequest in a space version of Bioshock.
I continue to dig that overarching story. I’m really intrigued to see where Reynolds goes with all this (I have some ideas, but of course there’s still so much left up in the air right now). That’s his hope, of course: tease the reader with just enough to keep them reading into the next book, even if the rest of the story wasn’t as satisfying. I just hope that the next book presents a more dynamic plot, in which the Ness sisters have a little more agency than “get into trouble at Strizzardly.”
I guess I come for the mystery and stay for the sister relationship. There are points in the book, when Adrana asks Paladin to keep something between them, when Adrana makes decisions or uncovers certain facts that Fura might have been obscuring … points when I was reading this, sipping a cup of tea, in my nice, hot bath, and it felt like Reynolds was really capturing the importance of that family dynamic. As sardonically critical as I am of the story here, this protagonist duo is probably one of the best I’ve seen in a while, purely on the ground of the depth of feeling beneath the tension in their relationship. It’s not something that can or even should be resolved easily, and I’m really happy that Shadow Captain goes in the direction of widening the gulf instead of closing it easily.
My overall impression of this series may hinge on the next book (if it is indeed the concluding volume) and where it takes us….
My reviews of the Revenger series:
← Revenger
August 20, 2019
To begin with: As with the first book in the series (Revenger), there was nothing about this book that I didn't love. And this book ends very much in the middle of things with, I assume, a third book in the offing (hooray!), so take as much or as little account of that as seems needful.
So, to recap: The time is very, very far in the future. At some point far from now, but in the setting's unimaginable past, all of the planets in the solar system were disassembled the resulting debris used to create millions and millions of potentially habitable worldlets (some of which have a sort of artificial gravity in the form of a "swallower" (an artificially-created miniature black hole) at their heart). Over the millions of years since that disassembly, 13 great civilizations have risen and (well, except for the most current) fallen, leaving the swarm of worldlets seeded with ancient artifacts of greater and lesser value and utility; some folks these days make their living by sailing (most inter-world travel & commerce is carried out by sunjammers -- ships that fly thousands of square miles of solar sail) to long-abandoned worldlets ("baubles", many of which have differing levels of protections) and trying to winkle out those artifacts.
Others have found that it's easier to prey on the artifact hunters, and on commercial vessels, for that matter.
Oh, and there are also at least a few different species of aliens with representatives in the solar system, doing ... things?
So the first book was told from the point of view of one Arafura Ness as she and her sister Adrana decided to sign onto a ship and leave their less-than-satisfactory homeworld and lives behind. Then Adrana was taken by the legendary pirate Bosa Sennen and Arafura devoted her not-inconsiderable energies to getting her sister back and to getting revenge on Bosa Sennen, not necessarily in that order.
In the second book, the POV shifts to Adrana. Bosa Sennen is out of the picture (is she, though?) and Adrana, now reunited with Arafura and the survivors of the previous book's shenanigans, find themselves in possession of Bosa Sennen's night-black ship, rechristened Revenger, which is a ... mixed blessing at best. That very recognizable ship has a certain ... reputation, see, and trying to tell the solar system at large that that ship has fallen into non-piratical hands is just the sort of deception Bosa Sennen has been known to practice in the past.
So they find themselves on a settlement way out on the fringes of everything, enmeshed in the coils of one Mr. Glimmery, an altogether unpleasant fellow who knows altogether more than he should; and Adrana begins to suspect that her sister also has an agenda of her own ...
So, to recap: The time is very, very far in the future. At some point far from now, but in the setting's unimaginable past, all of the planets in the solar system were disassembled the resulting debris used to create millions and millions of potentially habitable worldlets (some of which have a sort of artificial gravity in the form of a "swallower" (an artificially-created miniature black hole) at their heart). Over the millions of years since that disassembly, 13 great civilizations have risen and (well, except for the most current) fallen, leaving the swarm of worldlets seeded with ancient artifacts of greater and lesser value and utility; some folks these days make their living by sailing (most inter-world travel & commerce is carried out by sunjammers -- ships that fly thousands of square miles of solar sail) to long-abandoned worldlets ("baubles", many of which have differing levels of protections) and trying to winkle out those artifacts.
Others have found that it's easier to prey on the artifact hunters, and on commercial vessels, for that matter.
Oh, and there are also at least a few different species of aliens with representatives in the solar system, doing ... things?
So the first book was told from the point of view of one Arafura Ness as she and her sister Adrana decided to sign onto a ship and leave their less-than-satisfactory homeworld and lives behind. Then Adrana was taken by the legendary pirate Bosa Sennen and Arafura devoted her not-inconsiderable energies to getting her sister back and to getting revenge on Bosa Sennen, not necessarily in that order.
In the second book, the POV shifts to Adrana. Bosa Sennen is out of the picture (is she, though?) and Adrana, now reunited with Arafura and the survivors of the previous book's shenanigans, find themselves in possession of Bosa Sennen's night-black ship, rechristened Revenger, which is a ... mixed blessing at best. That very recognizable ship has a certain ... reputation, see, and trying to tell the solar system at large that that ship has fallen into non-piratical hands is just the sort of deception Bosa Sennen has been known to practice in the past.
So they find themselves on a settlement way out on the fringes of everything, enmeshed in the coils of one Mr. Glimmery, an altogether unpleasant fellow who knows altogether more than he should; and Adrana begins to suspect that her sister also has an agenda of her own ...
February 1, 2020
Surprises and challenges for the Ness sisters as they try to shake off the legacy of Bosa Sennen - even as they wrestle with her obsessions. I enjoyed Shadow Captain, but it feels like a middle book: lots of set-up, but it didn’t completely hook me until the final act. I remain a fan tho: this delivers on tension and atmosphere in spades, and that final act? Has me on the edge of my seat for book 3.
Full review
3.5 stars
I received a free copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Full review
3.5 stars
I received a free copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
July 3, 2020
“Shadow Captain” is the second book in British SF author Alastair Reynolds’ YA space opera “Revenger” trilogy. The series follows two teenaged sisters, Arafura and Adrana Ness, as they have adventures after running away from home to escape the smothering rules of their widowed, traditional father. The Revenger trilogy is set in a solar system where space piracy is rampant and humanity is scattered across twenty thousands artificial worlds which have been created from the original eight planets.
The Ness Sisters were separated early in the first book, Revenger, due to events I don’t wish to recount here to avoid spoiling them. The first book was centered around the story of the younger sister, Fura Ness, as she made incredible efforts and indelible sacrifices to eventually reunite with her sister. In the second book, Shadow Captain, Adrana is the primary first-person character but since the sisters spend most of their time together, Fura is also a major character.
The two are co-captains on a space ship they have named “Revenger” which is basically forced to take the crew to a small artificial habitat in order to seek treatment for an injured crew mate.
On the habitat, Fura and Adrana meet a dangerous and powerful man who may or may not have ulterior motives for helping them. They also are forced by their burgeoning reputations to take actions which have significant consequences for their futures, and the future well-being of humans all over the solar system (which is called the Confederation).
The series is a curious mix of space opera (the story contains aliens, ship-to-ship battles, mysterious communication technology and an overarching mythology about how the solar system cane to be the way it is) and steampunk (the space ships use solar sails as the primary form of propulsion, most weapons are projectiles or curious “energy rays” and the language used by most characters is curiously nautical and reminiscent of 19th century pirate novels).
The primary strength of the book is the Ness sisters, and especially their relationship. The world(s) in which the story is set has many curious and intriguing features which also piques my interest. (The main form of currency is something called a quoin which is managed by aliens but has been rumored to have secrets which have yet to be revealed through two books.)
Overall, the plot of the second book is slightly less engaging than the first book (I think Arafura is the more compelling character of the two sisters) but the more we are exposed to the overarching aspects of the story, the more interested I become. I look forward to seeing how Reynolds ties all the threads together in the third book, “Bone Silence.”
The Ness Sisters were separated early in the first book, Revenger, due to events I don’t wish to recount here to avoid spoiling them. The first book was centered around the story of the younger sister, Fura Ness, as she made incredible efforts and indelible sacrifices to eventually reunite with her sister. In the second book, Shadow Captain, Adrana is the primary first-person character but since the sisters spend most of their time together, Fura is also a major character.
The two are co-captains on a space ship they have named “Revenger” which is basically forced to take the crew to a small artificial habitat in order to seek treatment for an injured crew mate.
On the habitat, Fura and Adrana meet a dangerous and powerful man who may or may not have ulterior motives for helping them. They also are forced by their burgeoning reputations to take actions which have significant consequences for their futures, and the future well-being of humans all over the solar system (which is called the Confederation).
The series is a curious mix of space opera (the story contains aliens, ship-to-ship battles, mysterious communication technology and an overarching mythology about how the solar system cane to be the way it is) and steampunk (the space ships use solar sails as the primary form of propulsion, most weapons are projectiles or curious “energy rays” and the language used by most characters is curiously nautical and reminiscent of 19th century pirate novels).
The primary strength of the book is the Ness sisters, and especially their relationship. The world(s) in which the story is set has many curious and intriguing features which also piques my interest. (The main form of currency is something called a quoin which is managed by aliens but has been rumored to have secrets which have yet to be revealed through two books.)
Overall, the plot of the second book is slightly less engaging than the first book (I think Arafura is the more compelling character of the two sisters) but the more we are exposed to the overarching aspects of the story, the more interested I become. I look forward to seeing how Reynolds ties all the threads together in the third book, “Bone Silence.”
March 5, 2020
Yikes.
This is a sequel that just didn't work for me.
I feel slightly ashamed about it because I liked Revenger - I really did! I had high hopes for the follow-up, and they were just kind of...dashed.
Shadow Captain is not a bad book. It's not a bad sequel, even. But it's not the book I wanted, it's not the direction I hoped the series would take.
What I wished for was a sequel that would give the crew of the Revenger a little more space, a little more room to breathe, a little more time to get to know each other. I wanted their stories to be told, I wanted a reason to feel a connection to these characters. I didn't need them to suddenly overcome their differences, or for an unexpected romance to bloom - but I needed more depth than the first book gave me. Initial books in series can squeak by on shallow characters if need be, because often the Initial novel has a lot of other work to do: introducing readers to a new world, setting pieces on the gameboard, putting the larger narrative into motion, etc, etc.
But sequels have to deliver on character work. If a reader is going to spend 800+ pages with a certain cast of characters, the author has to do the work to make it worth their while. And Shadow Captain didn't do the work.
Mostly, I think the novel suffers from the classic problems of the middle book of a trilogy. It feels more like a series of loosely-connected events that have been padded with unnecessary scenes to match an expected page count, a narrative more about moving characters from where they are at the end of Book 1, to where the author wants them to be at the start of Book 3, with too little attention given to what happens in-between.
The growing rift between the sisters Ness? I think it's an interesting dynamic to introduce, both young women dealing with the emotional scars of their recent experiences. I think that would have made a very interesting plot, had it been handled differently. But the way Reynolds wrote it - I wasn't convinced by any of it. It felt too contrived to me, less a natural outgrowth of their characters than an arbitrary way for the author to gin up conflict between his protagonists.
Perhaps I'm being uncharitable - but I'm not exactly a hostile audience, I opened Shadow Captain fully primed to gobble it up. I came away feeling pretty...meh. I still want to see how it all ends. I want to know just what the heck is going on in the Congregation, what's the deal with the quoins, and the Crawlies, and just what's out there in deep space threatening the future of humankind.
I'll probably pick up a copy of Bone Silence when I have the chance, just to get answers to those questions. And maybe the third act will bring me back around to the series as a whole if the finale is well-executed. Middle books are, after all, much harder to write than first or last books, and not everybody sticks the landing - not even well-established authors.
I'm choosing to be optimistic.
This is a sequel that just didn't work for me.
I feel slightly ashamed about it because I liked Revenger - I really did! I had high hopes for the follow-up, and they were just kind of...dashed.
Shadow Captain is not a bad book. It's not a bad sequel, even. But it's not the book I wanted, it's not the direction I hoped the series would take.
What I wished for was a sequel that would give the crew of the Revenger a little more space, a little more room to breathe, a little more time to get to know each other. I wanted their stories to be told, I wanted a reason to feel a connection to these characters. I didn't need them to suddenly overcome their differences, or for an unexpected romance to bloom - but I needed more depth than the first book gave me. Initial books in series can squeak by on shallow characters if need be, because often the Initial novel has a lot of other work to do: introducing readers to a new world, setting pieces on the gameboard, putting the larger narrative into motion, etc, etc.
But sequels have to deliver on character work. If a reader is going to spend 800+ pages with a certain cast of characters, the author has to do the work to make it worth their while. And Shadow Captain didn't do the work.
Mostly, I think the novel suffers from the classic problems of the middle book of a trilogy. It feels more like a series of loosely-connected events that have been padded with unnecessary scenes to match an expected page count, a narrative more about moving characters from where they are at the end of Book 1, to where the author wants them to be at the start of Book 3, with too little attention given to what happens in-between.
The growing rift between the sisters Ness? I think it's an interesting dynamic to introduce, both young women dealing with the emotional scars of their recent experiences. I think that would have made a very interesting plot, had it been handled differently. But the way Reynolds wrote it - I wasn't convinced by any of it. It felt too contrived to me, less a natural outgrowth of their characters than an arbitrary way for the author to gin up conflict between his protagonists.
Perhaps I'm being uncharitable - but I'm not exactly a hostile audience, I opened Shadow Captain fully primed to gobble it up. I came away feeling pretty...meh. I still want to see how it all ends. I want to know just what the heck is going on in the Congregation, what's the deal with the quoins, and the Crawlies, and just what's out there in deep space threatening the future of humankind.
I'll probably pick up a copy of Bone Silence when I have the chance, just to get answers to those questions. And maybe the third act will bring me back around to the series as a whole if the finale is well-executed. Middle books are, after all, much harder to write than first or last books, and not everybody sticks the landing - not even well-established authors.
I'm choosing to be optimistic.
December 22, 2018
Thank you to Gollancz and Netgalley for the review copy in exchange for an honest review
Books are strange things. Sometimes you can be past the first 100 pages and wonder where things are going and are you even really enjoying it. By the end you are hooked. That was Shadow Captain for me.
Shadow Captain is the sequel to Revenger, and follows the new crew of the newly named Revenger after the evens of the first book. It starts up a few weeks after it and instead of Fura’s point of view we now get her sister’s. This took some getting used to for me. For 400 pages I was in the head of Fura, seeking revenge. Now I was transported to the person who was the reason of her revenge. Her view on Fura is very different from what I experienced in the first book and it took some getting used to. Fura of course has had to do some bad things and that changed her.
Adrana herself also took some getting used to. I think the trouble I had was that she was so influenced by Bosa, enough to put a knife to her sister’s troth. Yet in the first 150-200 pages we rarely notice this. This is a conscious choice by her we discover and once we did start seeing Bosa’s influence on her I felt things fitted more.
In a way this second book is a set up book. An in between book. It deals with the consequences from killing Bosa and taking their ship. Things aren’t as easy. They also have to learn how to crew together despite some of the lying that has happened between them and figure out a chain of command. There is also grief and the aftermath of their traumatic experiences that floats to the surface here and there. This book was necessary for them to be able to really go for what their story is about. The questions they (or rather Fura and Adrana) and I have about their history. About how things work. About what will happen to them in the future.
Also the ending, totally called that before Adrana even thought about it. So when is the next book coming out?
Books are strange things. Sometimes you can be past the first 100 pages and wonder where things are going and are you even really enjoying it. By the end you are hooked. That was Shadow Captain for me.
Shadow Captain is the sequel to Revenger, and follows the new crew of the newly named Revenger after the evens of the first book. It starts up a few weeks after it and instead of Fura’s point of view we now get her sister’s. This took some getting used to for me. For 400 pages I was in the head of Fura, seeking revenge. Now I was transported to the person who was the reason of her revenge. Her view on Fura is very different from what I experienced in the first book and it took some getting used to. Fura of course has had to do some bad things and that changed her.
Adrana herself also took some getting used to. I think the trouble I had was that she was so influenced by Bosa, enough to put a knife to her sister’s troth. Yet in the first 150-200 pages we rarely notice this. This is a conscious choice by her we discover and once we did start seeing Bosa’s influence on her I felt things fitted more.
In a way this second book is a set up book. An in between book. It deals with the consequences from killing Bosa and taking their ship. Things aren’t as easy. They also have to learn how to crew together despite some of the lying that has happened between them and figure out a chain of command. There is also grief and the aftermath of their traumatic experiences that floats to the surface here and there. This book was necessary for them to be able to really go for what their story is about. The questions they (or rather Fura and Adrana) and I have about their history. About how things work. About what will happen to them in the future.
Also the ending, totally called that before Adrana even thought about it. So when is the next book coming out?
October 7, 2019
I gave the first book in this series five stars, and unfortunately this book turned out to be quite a disappointment. This continued the story of Adrana and Arafura Ness, in the far future (extremely far future--millions of years at least, possibly hundreds of millions) of humanity, when all the planets have been smashed to rubble and humans are eking out a not-too-great existence in the remains. There have been boom-and-bust cycles of civilization and technology, thirteen of them, and those who make their homes in the Thirteenth Occupation are surrounded by this forgotten technology, contained in the worldlets called "baubles."
(This book only brought home what an enormous unaddressed hole in the worldbuilding this idea is. How could all the planets in the solar system be broken apart? More importantly, why would anyone destroy the Earth? That question is the giant Oliphaunt, to borrow Tolkien's description, in the room, and so far the author has not answered it.)
This second book picks up the Ness sisters' story, and is told from the point of view of the older sister, Adrana. In looking over my review of the first book, I said that I hoped this would happen. Unfortunately, I need to remember to be careful what I wish for, because Adrana is a bland, staid character compared to the dynamic and obsessed Arafura. The pacing of this book is poor, with a huge chunk of the middle devoted to a pointless wandering around on a worldlet trying to get medical care for an injured crewmember, while more interesting mysteries (namely the origin of the seemingly sentient quoins) fall by the wayside.
Just a disappointment all the way around, sadly. I hope, if there is to be a third book, the author goes back to his more interesting character (Arafura) and really drills down into the worldbuilding. There seems to be a giant overarching mystery being set up here, but this book is so meandering and out-of-focus it has dimmed my enthusiasm for the series quite a bit.
(This book only brought home what an enormous unaddressed hole in the worldbuilding this idea is. How could all the planets in the solar system be broken apart? More importantly, why would anyone destroy the Earth? That question is the giant Oliphaunt, to borrow Tolkien's description, in the room, and so far the author has not answered it.)
This second book picks up the Ness sisters' story, and is told from the point of view of the older sister, Adrana. In looking over my review of the first book, I said that I hoped this would happen. Unfortunately, I need to remember to be careful what I wish for, because Adrana is a bland, staid character compared to the dynamic and obsessed Arafura. The pacing of this book is poor, with a huge chunk of the middle devoted to a pointless wandering around on a worldlet trying to get medical care for an injured crewmember, while more interesting mysteries (namely the origin of the seemingly sentient quoins) fall by the wayside.
Just a disappointment all the way around, sadly. I hope, if there is to be a third book, the author goes back to his more interesting character (Arafura) and really drills down into the worldbuilding. There seems to be a giant overarching mystery being set up here, but this book is so meandering and out-of-focus it has dimmed my enthusiasm for the series quite a bit.
July 10, 2021
Desigual continuación de la primera novela. Se estira demasiado el chicle y gran parte de la misma podría haberse recortado. No resuelve ninguna de las grandes cuestiones planteadas en la primera novela pero lo deja a huevo para la tercera, que posiblemente acabaré leyendo.
August 18, 2025
A bare 3 out of 5 stars for me. Compared to Revenger, Shadow Caption dragged even more. Often feeling slow, with long dialogues that sometimes made it slow to even follow which character was talking.
Like Revenger, it has atmospheric, yet excessive, descriptions that honestly could've been more straightforward at times. And I can't help but to think that with the bare minimum of events happening in this part, it could've been written in half the amount of pages.
That said, I did like the change of POV to Adrana, the sister of previous 'main character' and POV Fura. I felt more connected with her as the narrator of the story and unlike Fura her, often, erratic decisions, Adrana seemed to put more thought behind hers.
The end was the only part of this book that really got me hooked and getting there was a slow drag. I'm still curious enough to see how the sisters their story will be wrapped up in the third and last book, and I am hoping it delivers more of the action and urgency I was missing in this book.
Like Revenger, it has atmospheric, yet excessive, descriptions that honestly could've been more straightforward at times. And I can't help but to think that with the bare minimum of events happening in this part, it could've been written in half the amount of pages.
That said, I did like the change of POV to Adrana, the sister of previous 'main character' and POV Fura. I felt more connected with her as the narrator of the story and unlike Fura her, often, erratic decisions, Adrana seemed to put more thought behind hers.
The end was the only part of this book that really got me hooked and getting there was a slow drag. I'm still curious enough to see how the sisters their story will be wrapped up in the third and last book, and I am hoping it delivers more of the action and urgency I was missing in this book.
April 19, 2019
With four stars, I obviously enjoyed this. However, there were a few aspects that rather bugged me. Before we get to that, though, there's lots of adventure, more exploration of the universe, some advancement of the overall story arc, and interesting exploration of new characters.
On the down side. there is a change of narrator. People are acting differently enough that I was never quite sure if Fura was unreliable in her account -- was she heroic and clever or just a scary, angry jerk? -- or has she changed so quickly in the last few weeks? Or is Adrana now the unreliable one? She does seem awfully well adjusted despite how crazy she was at the end of the prior book. She does still struggle with that fallout, occasionally, but for the most part she's the rational one. I'd also really like more in depth exploration of the universe -- plot threads into the next book make me hopeful I'll be getting that soon.
On the down side. there is a change of narrator. People are acting differently enough that I was never quite sure if Fura was unreliable in her account -- was she heroic and clever or just a scary, angry jerk? -- or has she changed so quickly in the last few weeks? Or is Adrana now the unreliable one? She does seem awfully well adjusted despite how crazy she was at the end of the prior book. She does still struggle with that fallout, occasionally, but for the most part she's the rational one. I'd also really like more in depth exploration of the universe -- plot threads into the next book make me hopeful I'll be getting that soon.
March 13, 2019
A triumphant return to form for Alastair Reynolds, full of evil characters, conflicted heroes, mysterious aliens, and a hidden history for humanity spanning millions of years.
January 22, 2019
One again, Alastair Reynolds demonstrates his mastery of complex world building. This is a sequel to Revenger, but while it's ideal to have read that first, I didn't feel a huge loss from not having done so. (But I'll be going back to read it.)
What sets these books apart is the richness of the setting. The Ness sisters, Adrana (the narrator of the book) and Arafura, along with their small motley crew, sail their spaceship through a far future solar system, where the planets have long since been dismantled to produce millions of small habitats and storage asteroids known as baubles. The civilisation in the system has risen and fallen many times, leaving mysterious technology (and contact with some low grade aliens) in a scenario that mixes high tech with a setting that is strongly (and intentionally) reminiscent of the world of seventeenth century shipping.
Spaceships are primarily powered by vast acreage of solar sails, privateers hunt bounty from the baubles and even the language has an element of period feel. The result is a very impressive, immersive environment. The Ness sisters have captured the vessel of the feared pirate Bosa Sennan - they need to survive, somehow avoid being mistaken for pirates and interact with lowlifes on a frontier miniature world when one of their crew is seriously injured.
Part of the cleverness in the way Reynolds weaves his world together is the mix of very everyday and the bizarre and innovative. Ships communicate from a 'bone room' where the skull of a long dead creature, invested with a kind of artificial life, provides a mental connection to other similar setups. Some of the characters suffer from a strange infection that gives their skin a glow and gradually makes them paranoid. Even the currency they use is mysterious. And underlying it all is the gradual revelation of a huge, time-spanning story that explains the regularity of the rise and fall of civilisations in the system - this is far from resolved and left for future entries in the series.
As is true of other Reynolds titles (Elysium Fire, for example), the only real weakness is characterisation. The Ness sisters are from modern SF central casting, where it has become a cliché for the central character to be a very young woman. Despite being 18 and 19, they run the ship and act as the officer class - but there's nothing in their characterisation suggestive of their age - it would have made more sense for them to be in their 30s. Most of the other crew have very little depth - this is primarily reserved for the baddies, who can be a little pantomime, but there is something there.
Frankly, though, in this thoroughly enjoyable adventure, this lack is a very minor factor. There is so much going on, and so much depth to the world building that the reader is carried along brilliantly. The puffs on the cover call the series 'Pirates of the Caribbean meets Firefly' and 'Treasure Island meets Moby Dick in space.' The most effective of those comparisons is with the superb TV show Firefly, which was frontier cowboys in space, but that was set in a very conventional space universe. Reynolds gives us so much more to explore and enjoy. Excellent stuff.
What sets these books apart is the richness of the setting. The Ness sisters, Adrana (the narrator of the book) and Arafura, along with their small motley crew, sail their spaceship through a far future solar system, where the planets have long since been dismantled to produce millions of small habitats and storage asteroids known as baubles. The civilisation in the system has risen and fallen many times, leaving mysterious technology (and contact with some low grade aliens) in a scenario that mixes high tech with a setting that is strongly (and intentionally) reminiscent of the world of seventeenth century shipping.
Spaceships are primarily powered by vast acreage of solar sails, privateers hunt bounty from the baubles and even the language has an element of period feel. The result is a very impressive, immersive environment. The Ness sisters have captured the vessel of the feared pirate Bosa Sennan - they need to survive, somehow avoid being mistaken for pirates and interact with lowlifes on a frontier miniature world when one of their crew is seriously injured.
Part of the cleverness in the way Reynolds weaves his world together is the mix of very everyday and the bizarre and innovative. Ships communicate from a 'bone room' where the skull of a long dead creature, invested with a kind of artificial life, provides a mental connection to other similar setups. Some of the characters suffer from a strange infection that gives their skin a glow and gradually makes them paranoid. Even the currency they use is mysterious. And underlying it all is the gradual revelation of a huge, time-spanning story that explains the regularity of the rise and fall of civilisations in the system - this is far from resolved and left for future entries in the series.
As is true of other Reynolds titles (Elysium Fire, for example), the only real weakness is characterisation. The Ness sisters are from modern SF central casting, where it has become a cliché for the central character to be a very young woman. Despite being 18 and 19, they run the ship and act as the officer class - but there's nothing in their characterisation suggestive of their age - it would have made more sense for them to be in their 30s. Most of the other crew have very little depth - this is primarily reserved for the baddies, who can be a little pantomime, but there is something there.
Frankly, though, in this thoroughly enjoyable adventure, this lack is a very minor factor. There is so much going on, and so much depth to the world building that the reader is carried along brilliantly. The puffs on the cover call the series 'Pirates of the Caribbean meets Firefly' and 'Treasure Island meets Moby Dick in space.' The most effective of those comparisons is with the superb TV show Firefly, which was frontier cowboys in space, but that was set in a very conventional space universe. Reynolds gives us so much more to explore and enjoy. Excellent stuff.
December 3, 2018
-- I received this book through NetGalley against an honest review. --
I loved the first book in the series and I was delighted to have the sequel and be able to read it in advance, but I do not know what happened, I did not really appreciate my reading.
When I reread my review for Revenger, and I see what I think of this sequel, there is somewhere a bug. The elements I liked in Revenger are still valid, especially the richness of the universe because we learn a little more about it in Shadow Captain and the author leaves us with new questions for the future. The questioning around the waves of civilizations has enormous potential, the author barelly explore it in this sequel and I hope that book 3 will reveal many new stuffs, I would have just wanted to learn more about the other races of aliens because I think this is a major key to the plot.
For the characters, the first volume followed Fura that I adored, this sequel focuses on Adrana, I find her character more dull than Fura. She has been under the thumb of Bosa for months and the consequences of this remain too small in my eyes, yes she has excesses of anger, but that's it. Where is the psychological torture, the brainwashing, I would have liked the author to take the bias to make Adrana darker, especially since she has Fura in front of her who keeps all her secret and who is in my eyes much better built. I am therefore mixed with Adrana, I think that alternating points of view between the two sisters could have been a good idea.
My big flat comes and it's the plot, I'll be sincere apart from fleeing, I found that there was nothing else in terms of action, yes the author distils us in small points some important information, but everything happens mostly in the last quarter of the novel. And then I had this feeling of passivity, apart from Fura, no one makes clear decisions. Frankly, it's a very strange feeling, because I know the potential of the universe and the series and at the same time I am deeply disappointed by Shadow Captain. I am still curious about Volume 3, but it will not be a priority when it will be released.
I loved the first book in the series and I was delighted to have the sequel and be able to read it in advance, but I do not know what happened, I did not really appreciate my reading.
When I reread my review for Revenger, and I see what I think of this sequel, there is somewhere a bug. The elements I liked in Revenger are still valid, especially the richness of the universe because we learn a little more about it in Shadow Captain and the author leaves us with new questions for the future. The questioning around the waves of civilizations has enormous potential, the author barelly explore it in this sequel and I hope that book 3 will reveal many new stuffs, I would have just wanted to learn more about the other races of aliens because I think this is a major key to the plot.
For the characters, the first volume followed Fura that I adored, this sequel focuses on Adrana, I find her character more dull than Fura. She has been under the thumb of Bosa for months and the consequences of this remain too small in my eyes, yes she has excesses of anger, but that's it. Where is the psychological torture, the brainwashing, I would have liked the author to take the bias to make Adrana darker, especially since she has Fura in front of her who keeps all her secret and who is in my eyes much better built. I am therefore mixed with Adrana, I think that alternating points of view between the two sisters could have been a good idea.
My big flat comes and it's the plot, I'll be sincere apart from fleeing, I found that there was nothing else in terms of action, yes the author distils us in small points some important information, but everything happens mostly in the last quarter of the novel. And then I had this feeling of passivity, apart from Fura, no one makes clear decisions. Frankly, it's a very strange feeling, because I know the potential of the universe and the series and at the same time I am deeply disappointed by Shadow Captain. I am still curious about Volume 3, but it will not be a priority when it will be released.
September 3, 2019
I agree with Manuel Antão, who said "To fully enjoy this novel you've got to put on your YA hat, otherwise it won't work." You also need to remember that Reynolds thinks BIG and you mustn't look too closely at the magician's hands.
Let's look at the magician's hands anyway.
So here we are in a setting that has dismantled entire solar systems at the atomic level, and now they measure in leagues and spans, carry swords and talk like cartoon pirates (especially Tindouf/Smeagol). But they also have flying eyes, volition pistols, implausibly powerful ship guns and more. They have alien skulls as some kind of psychic ansible.
They have the SF-normal 500' ship with a crew of six.
Glimmery lives on a wretched slum of a wheel out in the armpit of nowhere, but he has milk baths several times a day - and he's a BIG man. Where. Are. The. Dairy. Farms?
Near the end we learn that they are eight million leagues from The Miser, and the best guess for travel time is 50 days. Shall we do some math? A league is three miles. They are going to average 20,000 miles per hour. Now imagine the acceleration pressure on a solar sail; it is roughly equal to being breathed on from 20 feet by an asthmatic butterfly. Sure, it eventually builds up impressively. But here all the acceleration has to be in the first half because they then have to slow down for 25 days. But Reynolds escapes for now: From Revelation Space we know that lighthuggers can accelerate at 1g (which makes it possible- as long as you don't ask how a solar sail can generate 1g acceleration)
I found it really annoying as Reynolds dragged out the scene of letting Eddralder tell Glimmery what he needed to know. But when that was resolved interestingly, I was set up for a key exchange that makes the whole flimsy book OK. One of the older crew members explains to Kid Captain that ain't nobody on this ship is much of a good person. Even those who try to be good aren't succeeding. (Reader reviews cast of characters, hmm, yes, this is true.)
Now we look back at the increasingly impossible situation our "heroes" are in, and we realize that not only are they not very good people, but they have never really had any good choices available to them.
THAT makes me want to read #3. That, and the sentient money.
Let's look at the magician's hands anyway.
So here we are in a setting that has dismantled entire solar systems at the atomic level, and now they measure in leagues and spans, carry swords and talk like cartoon pirates (especially Tindouf/Smeagol). But they also have flying eyes, volition pistols, implausibly powerful ship guns and more. They have alien skulls as some kind of psychic ansible.
They have the SF-normal 500' ship with a crew of six.
Glimmery lives on a wretched slum of a wheel out in the armpit of nowhere, but he has milk baths several times a day - and he's a BIG man. Where. Are. The. Dairy. Farms?
Near the end we learn that they are eight million leagues from The Miser, and the best guess for travel time is 50 days. Shall we do some math? A league is three miles. They are going to average 20,000 miles per hour. Now imagine the acceleration pressure on a solar sail; it is roughly equal to being breathed on from 20 feet by an asthmatic butterfly. Sure, it eventually builds up impressively. But here all the acceleration has to be in the first half because they then have to slow down for 25 days. But Reynolds escapes for now: From Revelation Space we know that lighthuggers can accelerate at 1g (which makes it possible- as long as you don't ask how a solar sail can generate 1g acceleration)
I found it really annoying as Reynolds dragged out the scene of letting Eddralder tell Glimmery what he needed to know. But when that was resolved interestingly, I was set up for a key exchange that makes the whole flimsy book OK. One of the older crew members explains to Kid Captain that ain't nobody on this ship is much of a good person. Even those who try to be good aren't succeeding. (Reader reviews cast of characters, hmm, yes, this is true.)
Now we look back at the increasingly impossible situation our "heroes" are in, and we realize that not only are they not very good people, but they have never really had any good choices available to them.
THAT makes me want to read #3. That, and the sentient money.
February 23, 2019
I just can’t keep reading this book. Its plot tension almost entirely depends on the Ness sisters making obviously, knowingly bad decisions. Decisions borne of needless secrecy and deceit. It is intensely frustrating to read and I’m just going to stop at the 54% read mark and go on to something else. Maybe I will come back but I can’t imagine what would make me choose to seek out the frustration I currently feel.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 8, 2019
Decent storyline, excellent world building...but slowed to a crawl too often by waaaay too much sisterly angst.
April 6, 2022
Second in Reynolds' not-quite Steampunk, not-quite YA, series. The Ness sisters have their ship, but it's a ship with a legacy the rest of the Solar System is unwilling to forget...
The far distant future setting, in which the planets have all been dismantled into millions of worldlets (presumably for the extra surface area), where ships use vast sails to journey between them, where -in the almost lawless outer reaches- there are fortunes to be made seeking the treasures of ancient civilisations, is fun. Reynolds clearly enjoyed setting his serious hat to a jaunty angle with Revenger, first in this series. With Shadow Captain, however, there's evidence of strain. The pseudo-nautical terminology and dialogue, the Victorian manners and mores, the Age Of Sail tropes, seem more of an affectation this time around, more forced. Perhaps it's Reynolds' rather dry, even cold style, that doesn't help - this kind of thing needs warmth, even flamboyance, in its execution, in order to work well.
But it's never anything less than entertaining, and ends on a hint of a possible expansion of the setting that will have me, happily enough, coming back for book three.
The far distant future setting, in which the planets have all been dismantled into millions of worldlets (presumably for the extra surface area), where ships use vast sails to journey between them, where -in the almost lawless outer reaches- there are fortunes to be made seeking the treasures of ancient civilisations, is fun. Reynolds clearly enjoyed setting his serious hat to a jaunty angle with Revenger, first in this series. With Shadow Captain, however, there's evidence of strain. The pseudo-nautical terminology and dialogue, the Victorian manners and mores, the Age Of Sail tropes, seem more of an affectation this time around, more forced. Perhaps it's Reynolds' rather dry, even cold style, that doesn't help - this kind of thing needs warmth, even flamboyance, in its execution, in order to work well.
But it's never anything less than entertaining, and ends on a hint of a possible expansion of the setting that will have me, happily enough, coming back for book three.
April 3, 2020
Alastair Reynolds writes good very far future hard sci-fi, I state this because this is not that. This is a good sci-fi book but it is not and really doesn't pretend to be hard sci-fi. It is a pirate story in space and its a good pirate space pirate story. It wasn't as good as the first book in the series because the surprise of the setting has worn off and Reynolds has never been great at characters so it wear a bit thin there. It is still a very fun book and what the author does very well is keeping you intrigued and I am still that. I will read the 3rd in the series to see where this puzzle goes.
Fun book.
Fun book.
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