''Chasm City'' is a 2001
science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...
novel by British writer
Alastair Reynolds
Alastair Preston Reynolds (born 13 March 1966) is a Welsh science fiction author. He specialises in hard science fiction and space opera. He spent his early years in Cornwall, moved back to Wales before going to Newcastle University, where he s ...
, set in the
''Revelation Space'' universe. It deals with themes of
identity
Identity may refer to:
* Identity document
* Identity (philosophy)
* Identity (social science)
* Identity (mathematics)
Arts and entertainment Film and television
* ''Identity'' (1987 film), an Iranian film
* ''Identity'' (2003 film), ...
, memory, and immortality, and many of its scenes are concerned primarily with describing the unusual societal and physical structure of the titular city, a major nexus of Reynolds's universe. It won the 2002
British Science Fiction Association award
The BSFA Awards are literary awards presented annually since 1970 by the British Science Fiction Association (BSFA) to honour works in the genre of science fiction. Nominees and winners are chosen based on a vote of BSFA members. More recently, m ...
.
Synopsis
''Chasm City'' is framed and largely written in the voice of
Tanner Mirabel, a security expert who has come to Chasm City to avenge the death of his former client's wife at the hands of a "postmortal" noble named Argent Reivich.
Tanner arrives to find that Yellowstone, the most advanced civilization in human history, has descended into squalor; an alien
nanotech
Nanotechnology, also shortened to nanotech, is the use of matter on an atomic, molecular, and supramolecular scale for industrial purposes. The earliest, widespread description of nanotechnology referred to the particular technological goal o ...
virus known as the Melding Plague has wreaked havoc throughout the system. Chasm City, a dense forest of mile-high
shapeshifting
In mythology, folklore and speculative fiction, shape-shifting is the ability to physically transform oneself through an inherently superhuman ability, divine intervention, demonic manipulation, Magic (paranormal), sorcery, Incantation, ...
skyscrapers, has melted into a slum. The Glitter Band, a sparkling diorama of ten thousand orbital habitats, has been reduced to a "Rust Belt" of a few hundred survivors, mostly primitive and pre-nanotech antiques.
In this chaos of plague and desolation, Tanner seeks his prey, only to discover that Reivich is more clever than he originally thought. In the midst of his hunt, he begins experiencing virus-induced
flashbacks from the life of
Sky Haussmann, the founder of his home world, Sky's Edge, who is both revered and reviled for the crimes he committed for his people.
From the depths of the gas plume at the heart of Chasm City, to the
aristocrat
The aristocracy is historically associated with "hereditary" or "ruling" social class. In many states, the aristocracy included the upper class of people (aristocrats) with hereditary rank and titles. In some, such as ancient Greece, ancient Ro ...
ic canopy spanning what remains of the skyscrapers, Mirabel begins to unravel the mystery of the Melding Plague.
Awards and nominations
''Chasm City'' won the 2002
British Science Fiction Association award
The BSFA Awards are literary awards presented annually since 1970 by the British Science Fiction Association (BSFA) to honour works in the genre of science fiction. Nominees and winners are chosen based on a vote of BSFA members. More recently, m ...
.
See also
*
Revelation Space universe
The ''Revelation Space'' series is a book series created by Alastair Reynolds that debuted with the novel '' Revelation Space'' in 2000. The fictional universe it is set in is used as the setting for a number of his novels and stories. Its fict ...
References
;Notes
;Bibliography
* Cannon, Peter, and Jeff Zaleski. "Chasm City (Book)". ''Publishers Weekly'' 249.10 (11 March 2002): 56.
* Cassada, Jackie. "Chasm City (Book)". ''Library Journal'' 127.7 (15 April 2002): 128.
* Mort, John. "Chasm City (Book)". ''Booklist'' 98.15 (Apr. 2002): 1313.
* Vanderbilt, Tom. "Alastair Reynolds, Chasm City". ''Artforum International'' 42.4 (Dec. 2003): 128–128.
External links
Extract from the novel*
{{BSFA Award Best Novel
2001 British novels
Fiction set around Epsilon Eridani
Revelation Space
2001 science fiction novels
Space opera novels
Novels by Alastair Reynolds
Nanopunk
Fiction about memory erasure and alteration
Victor Gollancz Ltd books