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  • The Prefect Dreyfus Emergencies Was: Highlights and Lowlights - Februar

    From Titus G@21:1/5 to Dimensional Traveler on Wed Mar 20 16:52:25 2024
    On 15/03/24 05:46, Dimensional Traveler wrote:
    On 3/13/2024 9:28 PM, Titus G wrote:
     From the list of his other books, The Prefect, (originally Aurora
    Uprising), is listed as being in the Revelation Space series though it
    is not listed as such in Fantastic Fiction so I now have a copy. Has
    anyone read it?

    I have.  And the titles are in reverse order.  It was originally
    released as 'The Prefect' (what I bought it as) and renamed when the
    second book in the series was released and the series was given the name
    "The Prefect Dreyfus Emergencies".

    It is set in the Revelation Space universe but other than that is a
    separate story line from the rest of the Revelation Space books.  It is about a cop solving cases among the huge number of orbital habitats in
    the Glitter Band.  I liked it and both of the sequels, will buy another
    in the series.

    I didn't like Aurora Rising. I loved it even though its predecessor was
    the brilliant The Quiet War by Paul McAuley, a hard 4 star act to follow.
    The background was just as great as Revelation Space, the plot was a
    brilliant adventure with resolution as satisfying as the gradual
    introduction to the conflicts and explanations of futuristic technology.
    I didn't care that the good guys were all super good martyrs and that
    the bad guys were really good guys temporarily misunderstanding reality
    and misled. 5 stars.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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  • From Titus G@21:1/5 to All on Sat Mar 30 18:11:55 2024
    The Prefect Dreyfus Emergencies series.
    Book 2 Elysium Fire
    Just brilliant. The only arguments for 4 rather than 5 stars were:
    I was tricked by the absence of clues as to the difference between past
    and present in the early stages. (I might have missed something?)
    My suspension of disbelief didn't cope with Public opinion seeming too
    one eyed but far too easily swayed, not just in one habitat but
    throughout the Glitter Band. It also didn't cope too well with
    quickmatter, matter that responds to your will, can operate
    independently following instructions or be a semi permanent fixture such
    as the floor which will instantly grow chairs if you will it to or
    recognise rubbish or tipped out cold coffee and break such down to basic elements. (Where they go from there is not revealed.)
    I was annoyed when the brother's names were unnecessarily confused at
    the end of the book.
    But they were minor matters as the plot was brilliantly complicated with
    many remarkable dark events, the characters of the prefecture are
    probably a little too perfect* but the pace and tension were constant
    and exaggerated by the frequent interweaving of different activities or
    plot threads within chapters. Brilliant.

    * I am aware of Dreyfus's major imperfection which is spoiler material
    but would the other more perfect policeman sacrifice their life to
    preserve evidence perhaps to reveal the truth of horrendous crimes
    committed by a dying within minutes psychopathic murderer?

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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