I received this novel from Orbit Books through NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review: my thanks to both of them for this opportunity.
Alastair Reynolds’ name is always enough to make me pay attention to any new book he publishes: so far I’ve learned to expect space opera stories strongly based on science and dealing with a galaxy-wide scope of events, so my curiosity was piqued by the blurb for Eversion, which sounded like a very different take from those themes. It turned out to be a very unexpected, deeply engaging read that held my attention from start to finish and offered a quite unusual story that mixed some Groundhog Day vibes with tales of exploration and an alien mystery shrouded in a quasi-Lovecraftian shade of fear: in short, a story that compelled me to burn the proverbial midnight oil to see where the author would take me.
The novel starts, quite unexpectedly, on a sailing ship from the early 19th Century, the Demeter, traveling through the icy waters of Norway: Dr. Silas Coade, the ship’s surgeon, is the narrating voice of the story as he relates the goal of the expedition, a search for a mysterious construct – named the Edifice – that could be reached through a narrow passage in the ice. The expedition members include, besides the good doctor, the leader of the group, boisterous Master Topolsky; Coronel Ramos, a weapons and explosives expert; tormented mathematician Dupin, and a few others, including Lady Ada Cossile, a noblewoman of great knowledge and prickly disposition. As their intended destination approaches, we get to know the various members of the group and learn about the frictions generated by such different characters sharing close quarters: once the passage is located, though, and the wreck of a previous visiting ship – the Europa – is discovered, tempers flare in a heated exchange of accusations, and then disaster strikes in a most unexpected way. But it’s not the end, because in the next chapter we find once again Dr. Coade on Demeter, only this time he finds himself on a late 19th Century steamship, forging the waters near Patagonia – and still looking for a mysterious passage and an equally mysterious Edifice…
The pattern repeats itself again as the time frame proceeds forward and Demeter morphs from sail ship to steamship to dirigible to spaceship, always seeking to uncover the mystery of the Edifice, always forging through a dangerous passage and always meeting with disaster in one form or another. Some elements remain the same throughout the various versions of the story, however: the characters and their respective roles; Dr. Coade’s addiction to drugs and his literary aspirations which take the form of speculative fiction in which he imagines more advanced technology; Ramos’ head injury which Coade treats successfully and which leads to a close friendship between the two men; Ada Cossile’s pointed remarks which seem to target the doctor more than anyone else, and the hints that she might know more about him than circumstances seem to warrant. It all adds to a compelling narrative that kept me reading on as the picture gained more details with each new iteration, until the core of the puzzle was revealed and it opened the door toward the real situation and danger facing the complement of the Demeter.
The buildup of narrative pressure is certainly the strongest element in Eversion: from the moment in which the story resumes after the first catastrophic ending, although in a slightly different form, it’s clear that there is more at work here than meets the eye, and obtaining the answers to the many questions posed by the story becomes the main attraction in this compelling novel, where the new elements manage only to tease the readers’ imagination, leading them to formulate hypotheses that most of the times prove wrong. When I previously mentioned the Groundhog Day vibes I might have made this story sound like a series of repetitions, but it’s far from that, not only because of the changes in temporal and technological setting for each iteration, but also because there is always some new detail that adds something to the overall picture, while never offering a way to pierce the mystery. Being kept guessing might prove somewhat frustrating, but it’s also a sure way to compel you to forge ahead and look for the final revelation – which will prove to be quite unexpected.
One of the other intriguing components in this novel is the enigma tied to the Edifice, a place whose size and shape appear almost Lovecraftian in their mind- and space-bending quality and also because of the bothersome messages left by the unfortunate crew of Europa about the horrors waiting there: there is nothing more chilling than an incomplete message about something terrible and inescapable coming from the depths, and here it’s also paired with Dr. Coade recurring dream about a
[…] stumbling progress down a stone tunnel, a scurrying nightmare charged with the terrible conviction that I myself were already dead.
which will get a startling but consistent explanation once the veil will be pierced.
Compared to Alastair Reynolds’ previous works, Eversion lacks the sense of galactic vastness one can find in them, but it’s the rather confined background of this story which allows him to explore in greater depth the characters (something which I felt was somewhat missing from his other novels) and to linger on their interactions and personalities. There is a greater focus here on friendship and interpersonal relationships, mixed with some intriguing discussions about ethics and the kind of acceptable sacrifices to be tolerated in the quest for knowledge: it all gains an intriguing meaning once we learn about the reality of the situation facing Coade and the crew of Demeter, adding depth and humanity to what, until that point, was just a puzzling mystery.
While quite different from my previous experience with Alastair Reynolds’ writing, Eversion proved to be a fascinating novel combining science fiction and mystery in a seamless blend: prepare for something unexpected but totally engrossing…
What an excellent review! And now… I’m swithering! I a long-time fan of Reynolds as the scope of his imagination and his detailed worldbuilding is outstanding. But he is often quite dark and so I took the decision not to go for this one. And now I’m regretting it! But the great thing is that the book will still be there when I’m feeling more in the mood to cope with darker:)).
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Despite the sense of doom hanging over the Demeter expedition, there are several rays of light in this novel – unlike the majority of Reynolds’ production – and they mostly come from the friendship between Coade and Ramos, and the conversations between some members of the party. Still, there is a good dose of drama here, so your idea of waiting for better times is sound. The book will still be there when you’re ready 🙂
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Thank you for going to the trouble of explaining the nuances for my benefit, Maddalena. It has reinforced my resolution to track it down when I’m in a better place:)).
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👍👍👍
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I cannot believe I still haven’t read any Reynolds, but this time you may have convinced me. Everything you’ve mentioned about Eversion is pushing my buttons, and now I NEED to find time to read it!
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It’s an unusual kind of story for Reynolds, but for this very reason I enjoyed it very much – particularly where the huge mystery was concerned. I hope your first foray into his works will be the beginning of a new reading adventure 🙂
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I cannot believe I still haven’t read any Reynolds, but this time you may have convinced me. Everything you’ve mentioned about Eversion is pushing my buttons, and now I NEED to find time to read it!
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This sounds quite intriguing. I’m almost hooked 😀
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Almost but not quite 🙂
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It’s too new. And that means it is not necessarily a standalone, even though Reynolds is usually pretty good about that kind of thing.
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Take that extra step… Let the hook sink in deeper… 😉 😀
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😀
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Sounds great! I bought this one a few weeks ago and it will be my next read. I’ll start it next week!
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Then I can’t wait to hear what you think about it! 🙂
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I don’t think I’ve ever tried one of Reynolds’ books. I’ve been searching for some good sci-fi, so I think I’ll have to give something of his a try
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It’s on a totally different level from his usual narrative offers, but it might work very well as an “entry level” book, and maybe encourage you to try his other novels 🙂
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I actually thought that this was a continuation of the events od Inhibitor Phase until I got it, so I was a little bummed. But now I’m just more excited to read it 😁 Great review!!
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Thanks!
Eversion is indeed a rarity for these times: a stand-alone novel! 😀 And here I was afraid they were on the path to extinction…
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Hmmm, I’m quite tempted! 😉
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Come to the Dark Side! We have cookies! 😀 😀
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Just received this book out of the blue and now I’m glad I did! I’m curious to see how the three time periods relate to each other. Admittedly my one and only other experience with Reynolds didn’t work so well, but I’m willing to try him again and this one sounds way more my speed.
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It’s indeed different from the usual Reynolds offers, so you might enjoy this one if your previous experience did not work well. Happy reading! (and looking forward to your review) 🙂
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Well I am happy that even if the book was slightly different from his other books, it still managed to captivate you a lot!
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It’s a very compelling story, one whose mystery just BEGS to be solved… 😉
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Glad to see that he blends mystery and SF wonderfully in this one! This is one author, like Tchaikovsky, that seems to write a lot, and often without flaw! Great review, Maddalena. 😀
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Thank you 🙂
This is very different from the “usual” Reynolds, but equally compelling: I literally flew through it!
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I still haven’t read this author but you do make a very convincing case for me to pick this one up. Excellent review.
Lynn 😀
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Thank you! I hope ypu enjoy it and that it might encourage you to try his other books 🙂
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Sooner or later I’ll manage to read this author! I have some books on my virtual shelves so I am halfway there (okay, I am lying… My shelves are over abundant of books, so being there is not really an accomplishment but… It is something, right?).
Anyway, theoretically this book is not my cup of tea. At all. And yet your review is compelling, quite a lot too and I am here wondering about the book. I think that for now I won’t put it on my TBR, but if I found it around I would try it out!!
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The trouble with virtual shelves is that they don’t take space in the house and don’t collect dust, so it’s easy to fill them with lots and lots of books we have still to read (I recently decided to do an inventory and list them on an excel file, and was terrified at the sheer number of titles I have accumulated!). This one I picked up because I know – and like – the author, but here he managed to surprise me, so I hope you will give in to your curiosity one of these days…. 😉
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