Rating: 
Summary: It ain't over till the space lady sings
Review: Alistair Reynolds' sf-debut is first and foremost a fresh instance of the space opera genre. Space, time and species galore, in other words, and enjoyably so. Secondly the novel can be categorised as hard science fiction; Reynolds manages to ground his fantasies in believable science.The story soars over space and time, telling us about scientist Dan Sylveste's obsessive interest in the ancient race of the Amarantin. Almost a million years ago a stellar event whiped them out of existence, and Sylveste is rather destined to find out why. His central storyline is interwoven with the exotic crew of the giant spaceship Infinity, ex-soldier Ana Kouri and some cloudy puppeteering forces that remain largely unseen. Revelation Space is a debut, and a promising one at that. There are flaws, though. I feel that the story could have been told in almost half of the pages it takes Reynolds to do so. Furthermore the sheer scope of the plot makes it hard to keep all lines in the head. But these are minor flaws. Revelation Space might not be a pageturner, but it does offer a gripping plot that keeps on satisfying a curious mind. Do not be surprised. Revelation Space ain't over till the space lady sings.
Rating: 
Summary: For Bulwer-Lytton fans only
Review: This is appallingly written. Some gems: "Fire burned in their minds too, but this was the unquenchable fire of being." "'Assassination tools!' Girardieu shouted." "Volyova digested this knowledge for a few moments before regurgitating it as a tiny, troublesome cud of certainty." Quite hilarious, really; perhaps the whole thing is tongue-in-cheek? Such depths could only be reached intentionally.
Rating:
Summary: Revelations indeed!
Review: Plot Summary: For the first couple hundred pages there are three separate storylines: The crew of the starship Nostalgia for Infinity is searching for Dan Sylveste, a scientist and his A.I. father to help them cure their captain who is suffering from some sort of virus that the Sylvestes had earlier helped them with. On Yellowstone, in Chasm city, a Shadowplay assassin is drawn into something bigger. On Resurgam Sylveste is investigating an extinct race of aliens, the Amarantin, amidst several coups of the government there. By the halfway point of the book, the Infinity has stopped at Yellowstone to look for Sylveste but recruited the Assassin, Khouri, to be their new gunner then went on to Resurgam to get Sylveste. However not everything is as it seems. There is a secret that will be discovered about the extinction of the Amarantins that will tie into an even more ancient war which could have repercussions for the human race in the future.
Opinion: Very good opening novel. I love the way the plots start out separate then weave together by mid-book. Unfortunately once they combine, there is just one storyline from several different perspectives. Not much variety. Luckily, enough is going on that this does not hinder the novel too much, more just a personal preference towards diverse plot elements going deeper into the book. The characters start out pretty distinct but by the end of the book they all run together. For the last hundred pages the three main female characters could have easily been any of the others, I felt. None are really likeable as a person, they all have flaws, but that adds to the grittiness of the story. This is not a "likeable" type of story. I guess you could say that rather than pulling for any of the actual characters, I was rooting for "the facts" to win out. Certain revelations and truths are dropped early on then are basically ignored for long periods of time. One begins to wonder if something was missed. On the other hand, near the end of the book, all the characters are making their own revelations about whose deceptions and stories are true and whose are not. By the end, everything is eventually explained into place even if some great leaps of logic are required for certain characters. The ending sets up conflicts that I am sure will be explored in the sequels. This story is very large in scope and the timescale is immense.
Recommendation: I would give this 3.5 out of 5 stars due to the excellent story but some of the things I mentioned above seemed to hinder my full enjoyment of it. I will definitely read the sequels. Anyone who enjoyed The Golden Age trilogy by John C. Wright would do well to pick this up. It's the beginning of a grand epic.
Rating: 
Summary: Quite difficult to read and annoyingly disjointed
Review: It took me quite a long time to finish this book because it is such a long-winded novel, full of hundreds of totally unnecessary sub-plots that never resolve into anything remotely interesting, let alone vital to the story. The author's terribly annoying tendency to end each "scene" on a supposed cliffhanger really worked my nerves after the first 100 pages or so, and then even more so as I realized it would continue throughout the rest of the book. To end each scene with some profound statement, and then return to it--without consequence--leads the reader to mistrust the author's direction and leading in the book, for every scene is presented as a turning point in the story--which is not true. I was exasperated halfway through to find that there really was no cliffhanger, no compelling core story to draw me in, and found it very difficult to finish the book.
There are some interesting points in this book, but most of them are utterly unfinished and will leave you with a very underwhelming sense of theft in the end, as if the inter-personal relationships, conflicts, and sub-plots were utterly irrelevant. I found myself not caring what happened to the main characters, for there truly was no single character with which I could relate.
Utterly unsatisfying, hard to read, and therefore deserving of 2 stars (1 of which is provided only due to a creative ending, which while unsatisfying on the character level, was intriguing in scope).
Rating: 
Summary: epic space opera
Review: if you are a fan of cinematic storytelling, hard science fiction and grand space adventures, this should be your next sci-fi read. it's very imaginative, reynolds created the relvelation space universe in rich detail, with a lot of history and background.
the story itself is fast paced and thrilling, the characters compelling and modern. at times it almost reads like scenes from a japanese animation cinema.
Rating:
Summary: Mixed Reaction
Review: For a first book, REVELATION SPACE is pretty good, but I was a little disappointed when all was said and done. Possibly this was due, at least partly, to high expectations. This book has gotten a lot of very positive spin -- award nominations, strong recommendations, ect. Besides that, however, there are some problems. Reynolds keeps several plot lines going in this book and, combined with frequent shifts of time frame, it became rather disconcerting. Also, though the character development is good compared to most space operas, I didn't find any of the people in this book particularly sympathetic. Consequently, I wasn't sure I really cared what happened to them by the time I got to the end.
Despite these issues, I found REVELATION SPACE quite readable. Reynolds uses language nicely, the action moved along at a good pace, and the universe Reynolds has created is an intriguing one. So, while it wasn't as good as I hoped it would be, this is still better than average sci fi and I expect to read the next book in this series.
Rating:
Summary: Engaging despite plot inconsistencies
Review: This is a very engrossing novel that is full of interesting, if at times implausible, plot twists. The witty dialogue is also fun. Near the end, however, things become progressively more implausible and that mars an otherwise great read. Alastair Reynolds also has the annoying habit of having characters divulge information to other characters without explaining it to the reader. A typical example might be something like: Then XX recounted what she had learned in the Shroud, and YY understood why ZZ had to be stopped at all costs. At this point, Reynolds then moves onto another character/plot line without recounting XX's narrative. This happens 3-4 times in the book. Annoying. Oh well, nothing's perfect. Bottom line: I read it, couldn't put it down, and plan to read the next one!
Rating:
Summary: Good, but nothing revolutionary
Review: OK, I quite liked this book. It was very well written, and I value that. Mr. Reynolds weave as a complex a universe and tells a story as intricate and complex as any. The characters are quite well drawn, and the universe of revelaton space is interesting. I highly recommend it as a holiday, or airflight read.
The issue I had with the book is that there is very little really new in it. I recognize a bit of Clark, a bit of Vance, a bit of this and a bit of that. Reynolds is no Mieville. I do not think he aims to be one either though. He seems to be very aware of his sources of inspiration. Also, he blissfully avoids all childish sex that fills most other science fiction books nowadays.
I also think he throws to much in. The book almost becomes a collage of ideas and events with very little cement between them. I will now start reading Chasm City to see if that book is more solid.
Rating:
Summary: Tremendous Scientific Accuracy
Review: Revelation Space will exert what we might call a great deal of "subconscious influence." Other artists reading this book will recall the future concepts evoked by Reynolds but subsume them into better works of art of their own. Few will end up compulsively re-reading the book but rather recall it to mind when reading from the press about advances in nanotechnology and artificial intelligence.
WHY YOU SHOULD READ THIS:
Any person who indulges in non-fiction science will find this a stunning book and disagree violently with this review. Readers who are familiar with Fermi's Paradox, the Drake Equation, and Schrödinger's Cat should definitely read. This is an excellent novel with which to introduce new readers into speculative fiction.
WHY YOU SHOULD PASS:
Readers who are not overly impressed by scientific expertise and don't find enjoyment in trying to match actual science with their own imagination should definitely pass. If you're a person who is quite satisfied every time Geordi LaForge finds a new use for neutrino beams to save the day and prefers the metaphor behind the event, than this book is not for you. If you're looking for inspiring characters rather than science, you should also seek elsewhere.
READ THE REST OF THE REVIEW AT INCHOATUS.COM
Rating:
Summary: Worth reading
Review: I love space opera, and was pretty pleased with this. Although maybe not quite on par with the earlier stuff by Iain Banks (Consider Phlebas, Against a Dark Background), and Vernon Vinge; it is much, much better than Peter Hamilton, which isn't hard sf at all. He writes about disguised zombies, while Reynolds keeps it real. The story is exciting, and of course the secrets should be released little by litte. The person complaining about BIG SECRETS being dumped suddenly really doesn't grasp how a story should unfold, and should stick to kid's novels. Reynolds provides good, hard sf, a little bloated maybe, but not too much, not like the overswelling Hamilton-novels, who seem to decide beforehand to make his novels 1200+ pages. Anyway, I intend to read more of Reynolds, as this was most convincing. But if you haven't read early Banks, I would do that first.
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