''Poseidon's Wake'' is a

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 uni ...

novel by

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

author

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 ...

. It forms the conclusion of Reynolds' ''Poseidon's Children''

future history A future history is a postulated history of the future and is used by authors of science fiction and other speculative fiction to construct a common background for fiction. Sometimes the author publishes a timeline of events in the history, whil ...

trilogy, which follows the expansion of humanity and its

transhuman Transhuman, or trans-human, is the concept of an intermediary form between human and posthuman. In other words, a transhuman is a being that resembles a human in most respects but who has powers and abilities beyond those of standard humans. Th ...

descendants into the galaxy over the course of many centuries. ''Poseidon's Wake'' follows ''

Blue Remembered Earth ''Blue Remembered Earth'' is a science fiction novel by Welsh author Alastair Reynolds, first published by Gollancz on 19 January 2012. It describes the efforts of two adult siblings to solve a mystery in the pseudo-utopian 2160s. The novel is ...

'' (2012) and '' On the Steel Breeze'' (2013), and was published by Gollancz on 30 April 2015.

Background

Reynolds submitted the manuscript of ''Poseidon's Wake'' to Gollancz in October 2014, and completed his editorial revisions in November 2014. Gollancz released the novel's cover art and announced its print and digital release date in January 2015.

Plot introduction

''Poseidon's Wake'' is a loose sequel to Reynolds' 2013 novel ''On the Steel Breeze'', featuring numerous recurring characters, but can also be considered a stand-alone story. Set in the distant future, after humans have travelled to other stars and encountered mysterious robotic aliens known as Watchkeepers, the novel depicts an expedition by interstellar colonists to a mysterious solar system which contains an ancient and devastating secret.

Reception

Erlingur Einarsson of ''

SciFiNow ''SciFiNow'' was a British magazine published every four weeks by Kelsey Media in the United Kingdom, covering the science fiction, horror and fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically se ...

'' gave ''Poseidon's Wake'' a highly favourable review, describing it as "grand, involving and full of light and wonder" and naming it "one of the best sci-fi novels of the year", while acknowledging that it was more slow-paced than other science fiction works. Eric Brown of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' also reviewed the novel favourably, calling it "a well-paced, complex story replete with intrigue, invention and an optimism uncommon in contemporary SF". Mark Diston of ''

The Register ''The Register'' is a British technology news website co-founded in 1994 by Mike Magee, John Lettice and Ross Alderson. The online newspaper's masthead sublogo is "''Biting the hand that feeds IT''." Their primary focus is information te ...

'' was far more critical of the novel, describing it as "pedestrian, long-winded and ineffective" and saying that Reynolds' characters lack "life ndhumour".

References

External links

* {{Alastair Reynolds British science fiction novels 2015 British novels Future history Novels by Alastair Reynolds Victor Gollancz Ltd books