Rating: 
Summary: Brilliant opening, Scooby-Doo Ending :(
Review: I'll preface this review with this statement: I think that Alastair Reynolds is absolutely brilliant.This is the first of his work that I have read. This story is told with great attention to detail, a tremendous insight to human nature, and plausible-yet-inventive scenarios. This is an author who understands the merit of keeping the 'science' in science fiction, yet he manages so with great subtlety. What disappointed me about the manuscript are the choices that were made with the story; there are several intricate subplots that end abruptly, even shockingly so. It is this writer's opinion that the story would have been much better served by making different choices with the characters in a second book (or at least one more chapter). That criticism aside, I enjoyed Chasm City so much I must admit that I immediately bought Mr. Reynold's other two books in hardcover on Amazon. The first 30 chapters are absolutely prolific, a perfect example of what modern science fiction should be.
Rating: 
Summary: Best SF of the Year
Review: If you love intelligent science fiction and space operas,
this book is for you. I easily read around 100 or so SF books
a year and this is THE BEST science fiction I have read
in many, many years. Out of the cojoiner/ultra universe -
sort of a tolkien-like mythopoeia, but placed far in man's future -I liked this book the best and the whole set was astounding.
If I were a wealthy man, I would personally give this book a
money back guarentee -providing of course, the reader was not retarded or having some mental problems.
Buy this book, it is absolutely wonderful.
My only complaint is that the book ends. Good work Mr.Reynolds.
Rating:
Summary: sci-fi lovers, come great your god
Review: If you want action, realism, twists of fate, and unknown endings, come and worship in this man's temple. The entire book makes the thin and sparse books out there seem like ants. After the first three chapters, you are left completely in the dark with the ,often wrong, match of assumption to guide you.
Sky? tanner? who? crazy people? zebra? sky's edge? Things flash before your eyes, and you sit going: huh? Until the riviting conclusion in which you realise that everything you beleived was gone. And in place, comes the final truth. I was shaken up by ...(gives evil glare) find out. ^_~ * sci-fi has reached a new beginning. This man has a unwasted talent. Thank god he is using it correctly. Raven~
Rating:
Summary: This guy is the real thing.
Review: Imagine your brain is a Maserati. Now imagine that you love science--reading about it is your equivalent of flooring it. But, the lack of real science in most 'sci-fi' presents a very big set of speed bumps: it knocks the tiki god off the dash, crunches the axles and makes seatbelt bruises. If that's the case, you have just found the Autobahn. In Reynold's work, the science is real. It's not made up, invented or imagined. He'll even tell you where the ideas came from, like some kind of third-person-omniscient thirtieth century librarian. It's possible to stop on one of his pages, go to a search engine, type in the scientist's name, and find out more about whatever concept Reynolds is throttling towards you at 200 mph; you almost want to write and ask for footnotes so you can get the instant replay before it crashes into the wall. Basically, if you are a scientist, you can read this stuff without arguing with it. It won't blister your delicate ears or chafe your logical sensibilities. It is absolutely beautiful. Vroom vroom.
Rating: 
Summary: Flashes of brilliance from Alistair Reynolds
Review: In all of Alistair Reynolds' novels that I've read I've been alternatively amazed and disappointed. Each one tends to have two storylines (Chasm City included), one of which is subpar and the other, which is spectacular. In Chasm City, the treatment of the events, people, places, and things in Chasm City take precedence, which is a shame. This is because this part of the novel is pretty much nothing new to anyone who's read even one of William Gibson's books. The post-apocalyptic super-modern city fallen on hard times is a pretty old science fiction standard, and Reynolds unsurprisingly doesn't have a lot to add to it. The other, minor, storyline dealing with Sky Haussman's experiences on the colonization fleet, on the other hand, is pure magic. Hopefully one day Reynolds will put it together and write a entire book of the same quality...but in the meantime whatever he writes is generally worth the money. A minor issue I continue to have with all his books is the quality of editing...who are these people at Gollancz hiring to do continuity checks? It doesn't take a literature Ph.D. to make sure that all the events referred to in the text actually happen...
Rating:
Summary: space opera at its fantastic best
Review: In the twenty-sixth century, mankind may have conquered the stars and found the secret to immortality but it hasn't been able to eliminate war. Since humanity colonized Sky's Edge there has always been war and arm merchants like Cahuella, who sell munitions to both sides have become rich men. Tanner Mirabel, former soldier and mercenary, is now a security consultant to Cahuella. When an ambush in the jungle kills his employer's wife, Tanner vows to avenge their death.
He knows the man who was behind the killing is a rich aristocrat whose family was killed by ammunition Cahuella sold to the enemy. Tanner's search leads him across the galaxy to CHASM CITY on the planet Yellowstone, a place decimated by the nano-technological Melding Plague that changed the political and social structure of that world. In the course of hunting down his prey, Tanner has many life-threatening adventures and discovers things about himself that are extremely shocking to him.
CHASM CITY is a space opera at its fantastic best. The story line is so intriguing that the audience will want to read all 528 pages in one sitting. Tanner, the flawed anti-hero, is likable despite the fact that when he gets into mercenary mode, he has no compunction about killing people. If this novel is any indication of his talent, Alastair Reynolds will attain the skies of Robert Heinlein and Andre Norton. Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: Staggers under its own weight.
Review: Like many of the reviewers, I really enjoyed Revelation Space and wanted to like this book a lot more than I ultimately did. The problem was that the story doesn't really hold together well. The interesting details and backstory keep you reading, but I found that in the end I had rather forgotten what it was actually about and didn't have the sense that it held together very well at all. Reynolds remains a talented and interesting writer, and this won't dissuade me from reading another of his books, but I certainly wouldn't *begin* here if I hadn't read Revelation Space yet.
Rating:
Summary: Another homerun by Alastair Reynolds!
Review: On the surface Chasm City appears to be a novel about one man's quest for revenge but as Tanner Mirabel begins to have dreams of the life of Sky Haussmann, the disgraced founder of his world, you suspect that there's more going on than just revenge. It takes awhile to actually get to Chasm City but once there the book picks up steam. While not slow up to that point you do get anxious to se Tanner start hunting his foe. Once there the action intesifies and you wonder what the dreams of Haussman mean and you wonder exactly why Haussmann was so reviled that he was crucifed for his crimes. Tanner also tracks down the supplier of Dream Fuel which helps protect the near immortal inhabitants of Chasm City's elite from sucumbing to the Melding Plague that ravaged the city. The answer is surprising though it's unclear why this is even part of the story still it doesn't detract from the novel at all. Though it does somewhat tie into another plot in the novel. The story is told in the first person and this makes the story more interesting as you really get into the head of the protaigonist, Tanner Mirabel. Interesting characters and a fast moving plot. Chasm City is even better than Revelation Space, Reynold's first novel and that was good too.
Rating:
Summary: You WILL be assimilated (till the last page...)
Review: One lonley day in Queenstown NZ, I had the urge to buy a new book to brighten my day, and stumbled across Chasm City in some desolated book shop, and decided to try my luck...
...and lucky I was...
Starting from the first few pages, Raynolds` universe seems like a lovely place to spend some quality time in....
Or maybe not so...Human kind`s usual behaviour is still apparent after decades of spacefaring and advanced technology, we`re still the same all same all, greedy-mutant-machine enhanced-artificial parts-bastards we were always. Tanner Mirabel, the leading charachter, became a good friend of mine straight away, I mean - where can you find men today, that can heal some of these worlds (or others, for that matter) mishapps, shoot when he needs to shoot, getting shot and not being to grumpy about it and still has time to throw around snappy punch lines as often as possible... The story line seems like a simple enough quest at start, lone wolf hunts down an arrogant nobelmen for killing his boss, as a debt of honor. Soon, the book evloves into three seperate story lines that enhances the tension and the mystery surrounding Mirabel, until the point of explosion....and trust me, the debris flew light years away. In short: A gothic universe circling a lovely (lovely?!) man who lives under the immortal phrase:"when you need to shoot, shoot, don`t talk, but if you can spare the time choose the best punch line before desposing of the bastards". ...don`t forget to remove any implants you might have before reading, the plague might get you...
Rating:
Summary: Before Revelation Space
Review: Revelation Space was Alastair Reynolds's first novel and this one, Chasm City, is his second. Both novels are set in the same universe. However, most reviewers somehow create the impression that Chasm City is a sequel to Revelation Space. Only two reviews I have read of all the available reviews at the time I write this actually explicitly or implicity mention that the story in this novel, Chasm City, pre-dates the story in the first novel, Revelation Space.
I agree with one of those reviewers that the person interviewed by Tanner Maribel in the epilogue of this book might very well be Ana Khouri. The facts we have been given in the these two novels support this:
In this novel, Chasm City, shortly after Tanner Maribel has met Chanterelle Sammartini, she tells him that she was born in 2339 and that she is 178 years old. This means that during the few days that the main story takes place, the year is either 2517 or 2518 (which, by the way, also shows that the main story in Chasm City pre-dates the main story of Revelation Space, since Revelation Space starts its main story in 2551). In the epilogue, we learn that Tanner Maribel has been in Chasm City for 6 years when he interviews the unnamed woman. This makes the year in which that took place either 2523 or 2524. In Revelation Space, we learn that Ana Khouri was (1) offered her job by Tanner Maribel, and that (2) it happened in 2524.
In the epilogue of Chasm City, we also learn that the unnamed woman is from Sky's Edge, and in Revelation Space we learn that Ana Khouri is from Sky's Edge.
Comparing Chasm City to Revelation Space, there is no character that plays a main role in both novels. Some of the main characters of Chasm City are mentioned briefly in Revelation Space and vice versa. And all the events that are mentioned in both novels are mentioned in such a way that these two novels can be read in any order.
However, despite the fact that Chasm City was written after Revelation Space, I recommend reading Chasm City BEFORE Revelation Space for two reasons: (1) The main events in Chasm City take place before the main events in Revelation Space. (2) Chasm City is a standalone novel, while Revelation Space is the first part of a trilogy (parts 2 and 3 are Redemption Ark and Absolution Gap, respectively). So it makes more sense to me to read Chasm City first, instead of having it interrupt reading the trilogy.
The only argument I have against reading Chasm City first is a subjective one: I liked Chasm City better than Revelation Space, so if I had read Chasm City before Revelation Space, the latter would have disappointed me a little.
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