Mare Somniorum

“Galactic North” is a collection of short stories set in the universe we encountered in “Chasm City” and the revelation space trilogy.  Some of the stories are pure backdrops into the universe we’re seeing, and it’s hard to see a story as self-contained, “The Great Wall of Mars” shows this off very early.  The collection is often labeled as a “companion volume” to the saga proper, for good and bad.

“The Great Wall of Mars” is a story around the betrayal of blood, and the lengths one goes through for survival.  However, more than anything the story revolves around the initial meeting of Nevil Clavain and Galiana, with Felka along for the ride.  We also get a short introduction to Sandra Voi.  I never really managed to get gripped by the story though, which is a bit of a loss as the people are important in the saga to come, but it shows the need for such a collection to leave the stories on their own.

“Glacial” deals with information theory and sentience, and produces a quite appealing plot.  Nevil Clavain is the main protagonist, and we get some insights into his personality and ties into the conjoiner faction.  It’s not a bad story, but I’d love to see what Egan would have done with this idea.

“A Spy in Europa” is the first real “stand alone” story in the collection.  There are no really big names and we’re faced with a plot over person view that is quite refreshing.  “A Spy…” is also a pretty decent thriller, even if the pacing falls a bit flat during the middle part of the story.

“Weather” is the first story in the collection that really shines.  We’re talking about doubt, fear, prejudice and love bundled up into a brief spot, all of it wrapped inside a ticking time bomb scenario.  It’s not the most amazing plot or idea in the world, but it’s extremely well crafted and delivered.  Weather herself is a real work of art.

“Dilation Sleep” is a bit hit and miss.  A decent plot idea and the writing is pretty decent, but the execution and pacing is decent.  It just doesn’t leap out and scream joy at you.

“Grafenwalder’s Beastiary” fiddles with identity (see, “Chasm City” for more of that), and is quite enjoyable, of sorts.  The story is a bit winded and lacks some pacing, but its got some nice bits to it.  It’s also showing off some darker bits of Reynolds which are well worth catching.

“Nightingale” is another horror tale, with a decent pace and a lot of lingering fear.  It’s well done, well thought out and quite appealing in a disturbed sense.  It’s not a pleasant read, but the take on AIs cold and detached view of war binds the story well.   Oh, and if you thought the previous story was dark, Reynolds has another tier to show you.

“Galactic North” works on a scale which makes it quite… Different.  It’s a grand tale of loss and failure, and the effect choices have over time.  Rings of a pebble in a pond might not be much then and there, but as they wash over space for a few millenniums, things change.  It’s a “grand scale Reynolds” type tale that you either ignore or love, but you can’t deny some of its beautiful and wondrous imagery.

All in all, the collection “Galactic North” has some merit, but it’s hard to see it as a work on its own.  Many of the stories rely on the Revelation Space trilogy in some form or another.  It’s a decent collection, with some interesting backdrops for the big picture and a few really good stories on their own — “Weather” makes the collection worth owning on its own.