Mare Somniorum

“Chasm City” is an outstanding combination of hard science fiction taking place in a gothic realm of fantasies and nightmares.  It’s one of the few works I’ve read where I’ve felt awed by the setting itself (“Neverwhere” would be another one of those works) and the setting is elaborately woven into the fabric of the story, never becoming the main purpose of the work, but at the same time shaping the story itself by its mere presence.  Yes, I loved “Chasm City”.  It’s kinda weird when I found a science fiction book where some of the best bits are the setting, and the story is as good as anything else I’ve read.  Yeah, certain plot moves made me unsure at times, but the payoff is there in full.

It is one of the best books I can remember reading.  I love the feel of the work, I love the story, I love the implications of the story, I love the cast, I love their interaction, the writing is good — spot on for the task at hand.  It’s told in the first person, giving insights into the protagonists mind, which only serves to muddle our understanding of the world he walks through.

Reynolds delivers in the extreme, if you like dark and story driven science fiction, read “Chasm City”.  It is going to be a reference point for me for a long time.

There was a light in her eyes. Uncountable quantities of celestial objects burning with a ferocity no human could ever conceive of, all captured in a star glass deep within her eyes. Peering into them was not unlike taking a journey into the heavens themselves, launching you as a traveller into a realm in which you had no power. A journey from which you’d return a new being, as starlight was reflected onto yourself.

She had a smile hidden away in her eyes as well. No journey you ever took with her ever left doubt about her care for every one around her, but you in particular — no matter who you were. You were the most important being around. You where the nexus. You where the key to it all, to the very universe itself. With her you where always safe, even from yourself. And in the end you where the only one you needed protection against.

Some said she was a quiet soul but it was more that her very existence made words obsolete. Once she looked at you, your reflection upon yourself became as natural as breathing. No, breathing still required a body to obey the mind, here there was no such clause. Your mind was all there was, as such every motion was immediate, absolute and free of any mortal coil. Your travels through these heavens was for all its beauty a stronger experience for your mind than for your senses. Seeing yourself as a speck of dust on an interstellar journey, heading to a destination anchored in the self. A dream quest of unknown realms. The magic of life became evident, the human condition becomes a marvel in the sea of the void, the idea of love, of passion, of soul moved beyond words into a transient space within your mind itself. Immovable for all time.

I knew her for the better part of my life and to this day I still could not tell you the color of her eyes. I can just try to put into words what they did to us all. She was a mother, not of blood, but of mind. We were all her children.