Pushing Ice

Pushing Ice (2005) is a standalone SF novel. In the far future, eighteen millennia from now, some descendents of the Terran species were trying to establish a suitable memorial for their political organization. Some suggested a fountain or other public work. Chromis Pasqueflower Bowerbird proposed sending messages to the Benefactor, wherever she might be, by scattering artifacts to all possible locations.

In this novel, Bella Lind is Captain and manager of the Rockhopper, a comet chaser owned by Deepshaft Corporation. She has called a special meeting of her top staff to discuss a new assignment from corporate headquarters. The United Economic Entities has requested that the company send the ship to chase Janus.

The former moon of Saturn has left orbit and is accelerating out of the system, Its trajectory indicates that it is heading toward Spica. Synthetic aperture images suggest the presence of a very large Structure in that system.

Rockhopper is the only vessel capable to intersecting with the former moon. At the most, it would only have enough fuel to follow the moon for five days before decelerating and returning to the inner planets. The UEE is convinced that this effort could pay off big in new scientific paradigms.

Svetlana Bardeghian is head of the engineering staff on the Rockhopper. She becomes suspicious about the fuel supply after noticing a glitch in the monitoring equipment. She checks the onboard message buffers and finds a discrepancy. Apparently Deepshaft is manipulating the data and lying to the Rockhopper crew about the available fuel.

Svetlana takes this information to her boss, but Bella insists on checking back with headquarters. Naturally, the suits suggest that Svetlana has gone loopy and ask that the buffer data be rechecked. When that data confirms the earlier corporate statements, Bella puts Svetlana under house arrest.

Then Janus changes its propulsive mode once it is far enough from the Solar System. Now it is using some sort of frameshift drive and dragging Rockhopper along in its slipstream. They are going to Spica unless they decelerate out of its frame.

In this story, Bella begins to believe Svetlana and decides to tag along with Janus rather than risking the return attempt. Craig Schrope -- the new second in command -- leads a mutiny against Bella in order to return the ship to its owners. Then another crewmember turns the tables on the mutineers and restores Bella as commander.

Janus is actually a large machine camouflaged as an ice moon. During its flight, the ice melts or falls away from the bow surface, exposing large machines, lava rivers and other inexplicable artifacts. The crew members land the Rockhopper in an excavated cradle on the ice at the stern and build a hamlet around it.

Traveling at almost the speed of light, Janus will take about thirteen shipboard years to reach the Structure at Spica. Yet the moon doesn't decelerate when they get close. Instead, it builds a shell completely around the moon.

Shortly after they should have reached the Structure, seismic sensors record a shock toward the stern of the moon. Afterward, alien things appear to many of the crew in the vicinity of the seismic event. Several searches of the area are made, but nothing is found until a lander overflies the area.

A circular piece is discovered on the ice within a shallow crater. The thing seems to be inert. Searching the shell above the crater, they find a hole to the outside. Apparently someone, or something, has cut their way into the shell.

This story tells of the factions on Janus and their efforts to survive. Some of the machinery is adapted to generate power, but strange things happen to people within the machinery. Although they make themselves comfortable, tension becomes a way of life.

After the aliens arrive, the Rockhopper crew begins to learn more about their surroundings. The Fountainheads are not the only aliens within the Structure. Then Bella touches an ancient artifact and the image of Chromis Pasqueflower Bowerbird appears before her as a hallucination. Her worldview has to undergo another change.

The tale is enthralling most of the time, but the emotional reactions of the crew can drive the reader to distraction. Several times I had to put down the book and do other activities for a while. It was well worth the reading, but it was aggravating at times.

Recommended for Reynolds fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of the far future, alien cultures, and human politics.

-Arthur W. Jordin

2057. In the depths of the Solar system, large spacecraft routinely intercept and redirect ice asteroids and comets into Earth orbit, where their raw materials can be used to fuel Earth's growing economy and incessant need for raw materials. When Saturn's moon Janus inexplicably leaves its orbit and heads out of the Solar system in the direction of the star Spica, an 'ice-pusher' ship named Rockhopper is the only vessel positioned to intercept it. The plan is for the ship to tail the anomaly for a week before returning to Earth. Naturally, complications ensue and the crew of Rockhopper are forced to make a home on Janus as it accelerates towards lightspeed, which will carry them to Spica in 250 years, although thanks to time dilation only a dozen years will pass for those on board.

Pushing Ice is a hard SF novel in the 'Big Dumb Object' tradition, following in the footsteps of Arthur C. Clarke's Rendezvous with Rama, Larry Niven's Ringworld and Greg Bear's Eon. However, unlike a lot of BDO books which tend to put characterisation way behind spectacle and awe, Pushing Ice is centred firmly on the relationship between two female crewmembers of the Rockhopper, Captain Bella Lind and navigator Svetlana Barseghian, two firm friends who suffer a catastrophic falling-out over the Rockhopper's new mission and whose subsequent relations colour much of the novel. This gives the book an emotional centre which helps make it easier to relate to the more traditional, awe-inspiring spectacle stuff that unfolds later on.

Whilst unrelated to any of his other novels, Pushing Ice features Reynolds' trademark use of non-faster-than-light travel and the inevitable closer interrelationship between humanity and its machines, although broadly along more positive lines than his Revelation Space novels. Pushing Ice is also more relatable, as its technology is less exotic and much closer to current day levels, meaning his characters have to work even harder to survive in the hostile environments they find themselves in.

Pushing Ice becomes a multi-generational tale as life on Janus during and after is voyage unfolds and Reynolds' story reaches impressive new levels of invention as we discover more about the alien Spicans and their goals. There is a strong similarity here to Clarke's Rama Cycle, but he makes more interesting and focused points in considerably less time and pages than Clarke's earlier work, and the characters he uses to achieve that goal are considerably more interesting.

Pushing Ice (****½) doesn't quite hit the same high as Reynolds' masterwork Chasm City, but it comes damn close. As a hard SF novel in the Big Dumb Object tradition, Pushing Ice is a triumph, but achieves its success with more emotion and heart than most such books. This novel is thoroughly recommended and is available from Gollancz in the UK and from Ace in the USA.

I've wanted to try Alastair Reynolds for a while, but was a little turned off by the 'space opera' tag that his Revelation Space work is often saddled with. I was happy then to read the synopsis for Pushing Ice. A stand alone book set in the near future? An encounter with an alien artifact? Sign me up! I went into the book expecting something along the lines of The Abyss in space. What I got was something totally different. Grander and much, much better than I was expecting.

I do have to say, Pushing Ice took me nearly a month to read. At first I think I was slightly put off by the style of the book. I wasn't too sure what to make of Alastair Reynold's writing. I was used to hard sci-fi in the vein of Arthur C. Clarke and Stephen Baxter. Periodic info-dumps and somewhat bland characters. Mr. Reynolds' style is much different than that, though I can't say I like it more. I happen to enjoy the info dumps and since the 'stars' of hard sci-fi tend to be scientists and astronauts, bland characters seem very true to life. It must be said though that he is a better writer. The information and science was much more naturally blended into the story and the lead characters were fleshed out three dimensional people that you could cheer for and even grow frustrated with. The group dynamics of the main characters were complicated and messy and realistic.

On the downside, sometimes his description was lacking. I was never quite sure what Rockhopper looked like and had to keep checking the illustration on the cover. Also, as I mentioned, the info dumps are more woven into the narrative, but there were times when it felt like it was given a little too late. The forge vat for instance is introduced and made such a big deal of, yet he took quite a while to explain what it actually did (and how it did it).

I usually give a general summary of the book in my reviews, but here I feel that doing that may ruin some of the mind boggling sense of discovery that was such a big part of my enjoyment of the book. I will say that the synopsis on the back of the book is really only the beginning of the story. Bella and the Rockhopper crew are chasing after the rogue ice moon within the first couple of hundred pages. What happens after that... you'll have to read it to find out. I would recommend this book. It does what I want my sci-fi to do, making a playground of science and blowing your mind with the possibilities while showing you a world unlike any you could imagine. I am going to have to try Alastair Reynold's Revelation Space series.

_Pushing Ice_ by Alastair Reynolds is a riveting space opera with an epic scope to it, yet at the same time an excellent tale of an unimaginably isolated community of people.

I don't know how much to reveal in a review of this book for fear of spoiling it for a future reader. The premise is that the (starting) year is 2057 and the ship _Rockhopper_ was operating in the cold, distant reaches of our solar system. The ship, led by Captain Bella Lind, has as its mission mining comets. One day it got a new mission, completely unlike any it had ever gotten before. It seemed one of Saturn's ice moons, Janus, was leaving its orbit and heading out of the solar system at high speed under its own power. No human was doing this, so clearly aliens were responsible. Aliens have not been discovered prior to this and humanity had yet to leave the solar system so this is a major event. Who are these beings, how are they doing this, and why? _Rockhopper's_ masters back on Earth order Captain Lind to investigate, as they are the only ship close enough to Janus to reach it and examine it.

Bella acknowledged the order, but apparently a strong thread of democracy ran through her command or perhaps ships in general in this setting and a vote is taken. Though it is pretty close and there are definite factions on the ship who want to return home, ending an already lengthy mission, Lind got the majority of the crew's blessing to continue on after the Janus.

However not everyone was happy and there were people, even among those who initially gave at least tentative support to the mission, who developed what they felt were legitimate reasons not to proceed. One of them was Lind's best friend, Svetlana Barseghian, who in her position on _Rockhopper_ was concerned that they didn't have enough fuel to reach Janus and then return safely to Earth or even rendezvous with another ship. Bella listened to her friend and investigated but felt that Svetlana was wrong while Svetlana began to feel she was being belittled and not listened to or respected. When Bella pointed out that the ship's data didn't back up Svetlana's assertions, Svetlana then said that the data had been tampered with to get the crew of _Rockhopper_ to believe the mission to be a safe one. Thus began a conflict that would have major repercussions throughout the rest of the novel. The ship fractioned once again, one side convinced that they did have the fuel to make the mission work and that the mission was a important one, perhaps the most important ever in human history, the other side believing that the mission was a death sentence, that they were being sent on a suicide mission by an uncaring corporation and government that only wanted the data - not them - to return home.

Just to end my review right there might be enough, as the tension was well done and I really didn't know how it was going to turn out. I will say that the book's scope spans many years of life among the crew of _Rockhopper_, that following and studying Janus was just the beginning of an introduction to a future and a wider universe that the crew would never have imagined. Many years past during the course of the book, the narration picking up after multiyear gaps, telling through the actions and words of the characters and the story itself what had happened in the interim. Though many things change one constant does remain through the book, the great enmity between Bella and Svetlana, an enmity that had shaped all events in the course of the novel.

I liked the book, it was enjoyable. While it was not one of my all-time favorite space operas it had a lot going for it. The characters felt real, the aliens when they are encountered are pretty alien, and there are many unanswered mysteries at the end, which one might possibly view at least a few as loose ends but to me felt more like the author was trying to give to the reader a sense of wonder and awe about the universe. Humanity seemed kind of small sometimes, alone with few friends in a cold, vast, alien, uncaring universe, and that the powerful technology of the future can also similarly be cold, uncaring, and dangerous to humanity, not out of any sense of maliciousness but because it is almost like a force of nature, that once a certain threshold is passed humanity is more at its whims than its master (reminding me of some of the themes in one of Reynolds' other works, _Century Rain_). It is a stand alone novel though I wouldn't mind exploring what happened next to the various characters.

PUSHING ICE is a near-perfect science fiction space opera. Notice the operative words "near-perfect". My only complaints (small) are the title (mundane), the reference to contemporary themes, music & films (a common problem in sci-fi literature)and the sometimes confusing description of movement within structures (..."turning right down the gray encarpment was a low shiny mound veering outward, one arm leading to a low rampthat beneath a 3 km high dome with radiating swirls of paths that circled behind the second pathway.....") Alastair Reynolds has found his niche with this type of book and that is fortunate. There are not many tales this long that can hold your interest and retain suspense. Once again, the genius is the backflash (a common but commonly misused practice). In this case, the novel opens at a meeting of a Galactic Congress 18,000 years in the future. One politicians wants to honor the "Benefactor", an almoast mythical woman who somehow gave birth to a jump in technological progress. In fact they have her DNA and have recorded her voice which is played to the hushed gathering..."I'm Bella Lind...and you're watching CNN." I was hooked.

The story has been told and retold but Reynods is, if nothing else, a master storyteller and in his hands the saga becomes a new creature. A mining ship is ordered to follow Janus, a moon of Saturn that has suddenly departed from its orbit. Of course it is an alien vessel bound for a distant enormous tube-like structure (several solar systems could fit inside) that is divided into sections. The real story, as in all Reynold's novels, resides in the human relationships. Here, it is the story of two strong women - Bella, the captain and Svetlana, head engineer. Along the way there is a mutiny, end of friendship, murder, and First Contact.

Each First Contact story approaches the idea from a different point of view and this is no exception. Like CONTACT, the galaxy is rife with intelligent life but the mystery is why they have not colonized the entire galaxy by now. Throwing a monkey wrench into the action is the politician mentioned in the prologue. She has pushed for the idea of sending an object back in time as a gift for the benefactor. Of course one is discovered and used....but that's enough - read the book.

A+ for dialogue, characterization (particularly the minor ones that in many books appear and vanish), originality, story and resolution. Many times when male authors attempt a heroine, the result is not satisfactory but in this case, the author attempted not only one but two major heroines and the effort seemed flawless. Great Book.

As other reviews mention, there are some problems with the SF nuts and bolts in this book. MacGyver could teach the protagonists a few lessons in EVA rescue techniques. But I found the problems to be minor distractions in an otherwise excellent story.

Reynolds tried to do something pretty hard here: write a novel that has compelling main characters, plausible political intrigue, alien aliens, cool SF toys, a driving plotline, and biting social commentary. I think he pulled it off fairly well. The characters are very human, well rounded, never perfect, but never pointlessly evil. The politics are fairly complex and realistic for a hard SF novel, and keep you guessing a bit about what will happen next. I thought the aliens were pretty strange, but not *too* alien. The plot was a good page-turner and had a pretty solid ending for a British novel (but not quite the neatly and completely resolved wrapup typical of American stories). Overall, a very pleasant read, and a fun old-school hard SF yarn.

As others mention, the tech and toys are a bit familiar, borrowed from Reynolds' own works and from those of other writers, but they're not the stars of this story. This is a book about people, how they (mis)treat each other, and how badly things go wrong when they start managing the truth and mistrusting each other as a result.

(On a side note, I won't argue with Diogenes' comments, except to note that one of the main themes of the novel is the idea of "editing" and/or withholding the truth from others "for their own good", and the costs that such actions carry. I don't think that the protagonists or readers can be absolutely sure that there are no FTL ships in humanity's future; the provider of this information was a well-meaning "truth editor" like many others in the book, and may well have "forgotten" to mention that humanity moved beyond frameshift drives to true FTL--perhaps during a certain 4,000 year period.)

My first introduction to Alastair Reynolds, I enjoyed Pushing Ice. Often SF spends too much time on the technology (which I do enjoy), this spends much more time on the drama and politics (which I also enjoy) while not stinting an interesting interpretation of the future. It's not the "same-old same-old" space opera, and what I thought as a bit of framing story comes into it's own.

For something so drama driven, I felt sometimes the characters were a bit two dimensional. Strong feelings that should fade with time didn't, and not having other focuses for the characters made them fall into a bit of a rut at points. Also, for a book that introduces so many characters, I would have like to see more of them fleshed out, and how they affect the drama. And change more over time.

That said, the meta-plot of what's happening is a fresh twist, and the book felt believable. That got strained a bit right before the climax, but still was good. Also a great job of important technology without having it take over the focus.

All in all, a very enjoyable introduction to AR and I'm looking forward to reading more.

Alastair Reynolds' novel "Pushing Ice" is a stirring science fiction story that ignites the imagination and inspires the heart. The crew of the Rockhopper, a comet-mining vessel in the not-too-distant-future receives an unusual mission order- to tail and gain intelligence upon Janus, a moon of Saturn that left its orbit and began to move out of the solar system under its own power. When circumstances and human design conspire to rob the Rockhopper of the ability to return to Earth, a great adventure into the furthest reaches of the universe begins. Reynolds background in astrophysics is readily on display in this novel, as hard science pervades its pages. The characters are all generally believable and relateable , if at times a little two-dimensional. Despite its outer space setting and futuristic technology, the root of this story is a familiar one- a friendship gone sour. As in all great fiction a familiar, human story sets the stage for the epic events that follow. This is a fun science-fiction novel that fans of the genre will heartily enjoy.

As with all Reynolds books, the journey is always thoroughly enjoyable, and the destination usually on a par. In this case, the destination was an "allocate on arrival" two star dissappointment.

This is perhaps one of the greatest examples of the paretto principle in literature; 80% of the story in (the last) 20% of the book. Still, If Alistair REALLY thinks that around 400 pages are required to flesh out the characters and the establishment of the colony on Janus, who am I to argue? I am NOT saying I did not enjoy this part of the book - just the reverse, in fact - but it was infuriating that there were STILL huge chunks of information missing that would have been useful later. The establishment of Eddytown, the real function of the lava flows, what happened to Svetlana, the Symbolist wierdo's who lived in the maw etc etc

I find it odd that in such a detailed story where, in reality, precious little has really gone on, that you keep asking yourself "did I miss something or is that the first time that has been mentioned?" ( Just how could those trees grow when they were under an iron sky? ... it would have been perpetual night! )

I hate spoilers in reviews so I will keep them to a minimum, ( dont read this if you have not read the book ) but the real dissappointment to me was the fact that right at the end, when a key player is discussing the possibility of a monument to the central character, she refers to the fact that the "unseen" alien perpetrators of this whole story have died out .... PARDON? Did I miss something again? I thought the only time that was actually realised was when a hole was blown through the structure, many, many years into the future, and the escaping space craft saw the missing "hub".

Similarly, were they in a structure or not? At the end they appeared to be in a VAST complex structure which was supposed to have been destroyed years ago ? Eh? I must have missed that too

and for the above two reasons we never really get an explanation, even a working hypothesis, of what this whole thing was about.

...on top of that the introduction of two alien species were, to say the least, pretty marginal, and certainly not clearly described, which again gave the impression that you had missed something important that would come back to haunt you ( not that it did, in reality )

I am left with the impression that I should re-read it because I clearly missed large sections out !!.

As always, a really ENJOYABLE journey, but unlike most of Reynolds other books, I WAS a bit dissapointed that justice was simply not done to such an imaginatively complex and brilliant story concept when it came to transfering it to paper!

I will still be buying his next one though, because I love his journeys.

Lets start of with a statement - believable characterisation and character interactions are not a strength of Reynolds. There were times during Pushing Ice when I found myself thinking - That character would not have done that or I don't believe they would have reacted that way. Yet I gave Pushing Ice four stars.

Because what Reynold's does very well is good old fashion big concept space opera. He takes a well worn theme - in the near future Jupiters moon Janus proves to be an alien craft mysteriously comes to life and proceeds to exit the solar system. The only UN sanctioned ship capable of intercepting it is the Rockhopper, an asteroid mining ship captained by Bella Lind.

Pushing Ice follows the crew of the Rockhopper from the initial race to intercept, through the realisation that they lack the fuel to return to Earth and need to establish a colony on Janus to their eventual arrival at a giant space station near the star of Spica 260 Light years from Earth, where they encounter other alien species who like our viewpoint characters are trapped within the structure and are unaware of the orginal engineers and their intentions. Central to the story is the interaction and conflict between Bella and her friend and chief engineer Svetlana Borghesian, who initially advises abandoning the pursuit and who becomes the first leader of the human colony on Janus. As the story progresses leadership of the human group alternates between Bella and Svetlana as further interactions reveal that not all of the Aliens trapped within the structure are friendly and that they all may have traveled further in time and space than initially suspected.

If you are looking for a space opera in the style of Arthur C Clarke then Pushing Ice is a good place to start.

Good old fashioned Space Opera

After his hugely successful debut quartet (Revelation Space, Chasm City, Redemption Ark, and Absolution Gap) Alastair Reynolds has begun widening his range. Century Rain and his latest, Pushing Ice, are set in different universes from each other, and from the shared universe of the first four books. And whereas Century Rain takes place at a time intermediate between the present and that of Revelation Space, Pushing Ice starts in the near future - 2057, to be precise. As to where it ends... well, that would be telling.

The action begins when Janus, one of Saturn's moons, mysteriously leaves orbit and accelerates towards the edge of the Solar System. The only vehicle in position to intercept its path is the nuclear-powered mining ship Rockhopper, with its crew of 145 captained by Bella Lind. At the request of Deepshaft, the owners, Bella asks the crew if they are willing to take the unknowable risks involved. Swayed by the promise of huge bonuses, a majority votes to go for it, and the chase is on. But instead of three days of high acceleration, a week of observation, and laughing all the way home to the bank, they soon find themselves fighting for their lives.

It would be wrong to give away any more of the plot, as its effectiveness rests largely on a series of surprises that go on right to the end of the book. Suffice it to say that, while slowly but steadily building up the tension and introducing us to a wide cast of characters, Reynolds weaves in some fascinating technical ideas - from an effective method of freezing dying people for future resuscitation to the potential implications of femtotech (a step beyond nanotech) and relativistic time compression. Watch out, too, for some mind-boggling aliens: in 45 years of reading SF, I have never come across anything quite like the Musk Dogs or the Fountainheads.

Other reviewers seem to have been disappointed at the obvious differences between Pushing Ice and Reynolds' first four books. It seems to me that these are the inevitable consequences of his decision to tackle a near-future scenario, along with slightly greater emphasis on characterisation and social relationships. The people of Absolution Gap, for example, are so alien to us - what with their nanotech implants and exotic lifestyles - that it is difficult to empathise with them. Hard SF writers are always being criticised for neglecting the "wetware element", but often their attempts to introduce it backfire badly. Reynolds does pretty well, I think: his people are believable, well differentiated, and easy to like or dislike. All in all, I still think he is the best SF writer active today, and this book is a worthy successor to his previous work. It certainly isn't Jane Austen, and it won't suit readers who want a brisk, action-packed, 200-page novel; but it is ideal for those of us who love to get stuck into a long, detailed SF saga.

The over-arching plot of this book is excellent. It's exactly the sort of Big Idea fiction I expect from Alistair Reynolds, and I'm generally a big fan of his work. However, in this case the story plays second fiddle to a childish spat between two completely unsympathetic characters. I feel like I was supposed to put down this book and contemplate who the Spicans really were and what happened to them. Instead I found myself wondering how two women who were so consistently childish in their spiteful bickering managed to hold down adult jobs, let alone take turns as the fascist figureheads of humanity's last colony. Why were these idiots not deposed? Neither of them made good decisions except by accident, and both of them made huge glaring errors that any reasonable person would have avoided.

It would be one thing if it was just a dumb and uninteresting book, but this is actually worse in a way - Reynolds has a great story to tell, but the price of hearing it is that you have to hang out with some intolerable bickering babies for 457 pages. I spent the whole book thinking how much better it could have been if the characters weren't jerks.

Enjoyable ride through time from modern ages to the far far future of the universe. The action starts out slowly enough as the crew begin their journey but it builds speed with a nice deliberate pace. The scope and depth of the book accelerate inevitably and irresistibly along with the central characters themselves. One of my favorite aspects of the book is that it is paced very much like climbing a mountain. Just when you reach what appears to be the peak, you realize there is even more to come, beyond what you had previously imagined.

The physical description of the effects of close-to-light travel is also quite enjoyable and is one of the features one would expect from Reynolds, as a former scientist and a noted hard-sci-fi writer. I tend to have a soft spot for stories that follow human civilization through a rapidly accelerating future history, in particular those that explore technological singularity or singularity-like events, and this one satisfies.

Pushing Ice is perhaps too-familiar an addition to Alastair Reynolds’ canon. As in some others of his novels, what starts as a gripping tale set in a near-future of recognizable mechanic limitations and human follies evolves into something else entirely, as the action expands and continues far into the distance. The early pages describing how a mining ship ends up chasing an escaping moon of Saturn are solid work give way to an insterstellar trip that grows increasing soap-opera-like. The really distant future becomes a blur, even when one is in it.
There are valiant attempts at characterization that don’t always work: in the politically-correct future familiar from so many SF authors who are up-to-the-minute when it comes to earthly mores, it’s two women who fight for control of a group of humans stranded away from mankind, and one quickly grows tired of both. Indeed, it’s hard to see how Reynolds himself doesn’t. In a problem resembling that presented by the Red Mars trilogy, it turns out that the worst part of having very long lives is that people add new grudges to old grudges and end up in a never-ending cycle of squabbling over stuff that happened long, long ago in galaxy far, far away. One wonders whether a Borges-style denouement, as the one he used in The Immortal with the character of Homer of Greece, is more plausible in these cases: that people just forget why they were fighting about, and even forget who they really are.
For the reader, it’s just a problem when one is hoping that some other character kicks the two women-leaders aside somehow, and somebody else takes control of the humans. Never mind if it’s somebody else from some minority or gender which was disadvantaged in the US in the late 20th century. Reynolds is a SF vet, he has colored and gay and Asian characters at the ready, it’s a pity that none of them takes control of this novel, and gives us a break from the two strong-willed females with opposing views.

Other reviewers mention technologies and relationship to previous stories. Yes, but I would add that Pushing Ice is a major novel featuring complex, believable female protagonists. They deal with frustration and competition on an intellectual level; in a first-contact story, there is a lot of both. People change only gradually (clinging to old beliefs) as the universe changes drastically around them.
Several chapters build toward crises, and I hesitated to start the next because some character faced certain defeat. But few disappeared, and new scientific concepts are thereby introduced. The last chapter really does not end the tale- you will find yourself wondering what the crew of Rockhopper will encounter next. This book really pulls you into their lives.

Other reviewers mention technologies and relationship to previous stories. Yes, but I would add that Pushing Ice is a major novel featuring complex, believable female protagonists. They deal with frustration and competition on an intellectual level; in a first-contact story, there is a lot of both. People change only gradually (clinging to old beliefs) as the universe changes drastically around them.
Several chapters build toward crises, and I hesitated to start the next because some character faced certain defeat. But few disappeared, and new scientific concepts are thereby introduced. The last chapter really does not end the tale- you will find yourself wondering what the crew of Rockhopper will encounter next. This book really pulls you into their lives.

I've read all of the books Reynolds has published under the Ace imprint, and this is definitely my least favorite. The central conflict feels contrived. In a number of ways, the faction fights among the Rockhopper crew seem like a lite version of the (not wildly convincing either) even more bitter, but quite a bit more meaningful fights among the Martians in Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars series. More frustratingly, a very important disagreement over objective facts is central to the story but, even though the facts should be knowable, they are never revealed. Still, Reynolds still compels compulsive reading even when he's not at his best. I recommend the book to all Reynolds fans, but those not familiar with his work should read the Revelation Space series before considering this one.

The biggest thing I like about this book comes from the author's background. With a Ph.D. in astronomy and working experience in space research he brings two real strengths to writing.

First, because of his education, he understands the science behind the story. His comments about relativity are dead on. His projections as to future discoveries are within the understanding we have of how things work, but progressed logically.

Knowing science is one thing, knowing people and especially management people is something else. His second strength comes from his working experience. Without going too much into the story, when the suggestions (orders) from Earth came to the ship, especially their response to questions about inaccurate data, well, the pointed hair manager in Dilworth comes right out.

The story, is good old fashioned space opera. There are space ships, aliens (first contact), mysteries abound. But as you read it, remember to keep the Prologue in mind, especially the last sentence.

Usually I write a review only if I dislike something about a book. I rarely bother to write good reviews, because every book gets so many of them. In this case, however, I have to make an exception. For any fan of hard science fiction, "Pushing Ice" is AWESOME! It's got everything: realistic characters, solid physics and astronomy, believable near-future society (circa 2050), glimpses of far future society (circa 20,000 A.D.), some REALLY far future, aliens which are somewhat comprehensible, aliens which are completely beyond comprehension, rivalry, broken friendships, betrayal, marooning in space (on multiple levels), struggle for survival, etc. Even asteroid mining and that perennial "stranded in space" trick - using electric motors as generators :)

It's true that one doesn't read Alastair Reynolds for deep characterization or profound emotional nuance. Those sorts of details simply aren't his forte. Indeed, he's just not very good at interpersonal relationships. There's a distinct lack of sophistication in his characters' motivations, and sometimes his dialogue is ham-fisted, cliched, trite or simply banal.

But I still find myself rooting for his characters, rather than being too annoyed with them. I think it's because of what Reynolds is terribly, terribly good at -- the world-building and science and big ideas. Those parts are simply really, really good. And the good stuff is good enough to buffer me from what isn't. In fact, this is one of his better novels. Certainly better than the very mediocre Century Rain, which displayed some of his clunkiest dialogue and characterization ever.

Recommended!

I am puzzled by the high ratings given this book. My last review of a Reynolds book was for Absolution Gap, and I speculated I might not ever read another of his books after that one. Where Absolution Gap had very little in the "middle" of the book, and even less at the end, Pushing Ice has substantial plot.

I agree with the other reviewer stating that this is a story of a relationship between two women. However, it is also a commentary on the Fermi Paradox (etc), which is a common theme of Reynolds'.

What I would say, and I hazard a guess here, is that Reynolds has done a lot of reading between his last book and this book. There are elements of Stephen Baxter (where else have you heard the concept of "non barionic life forms" but the Xeelee Sequence?) and Charles Stross. Neither of these are bad influences, as such, and I think that they helped Reynolds to become a better author.

As such, I've given the book three stars. I was genuinely interested in the plot (that of Janus and where exactly he was going, figuratively speaking), but sorely, sorely disappointed by the anticlimactic, just plain boring end. It ended. Simply, with little fanfare or conflict. There wasn't much of a climax, or a point at which we knew an ending had to happen. It just ended.

In that regard it is strikingly reminiscent of the ending of Absolution Gap. The reader is left holding the book thinking, "what? where's the ending?"

Inasmuch as his writing *has* gotten better (hint: Reynolds: keep reading Baxter, RKM, and Stross), I'll pick up the next book. I considered this book a gamble, and it's about a wash. Nothing really gained, but then the book wasn't really inexcusably bad, either.

An exciting science fiction novel that pushes the limits of scientific imagination. Mr. Reynolds has a Phd in Astronomy and worked for The European Space Agency for 13 years. Now, he is a full time science fiction writer. This novel explores behavior of humans when presented with arduous undertakings and reveals our darkest fears and how we try to cope with them in our unique way. In a science fiction frame, Reynolds tries to state that what is wired in us is not pure evil or pure goodness but a mix of them both. How much of each component you have in you will determine your course of actions and makes who you are. Because I'm a total geek, I loved it. Give it try and you might love it too. @shakirbahzad

The writing was decent and given all the awards and recommendation this author has recieved, I gave this book a go.

This book is similar to Arthur C. Clark's "Rama series". I liked the realism that the author managed to incorporate in the story line and characterization. UNfortunately, the author took a little too long getting to the good stuff, that is, the interaction between the humans and aliens and the main focus of the plot. There was also a bit of a lost opportunity in the way of conflicts between the protagonists and antagonists.

In a nutshell, the author took too long setting things up then rushed through the climax and conflicts.

Overall, I found this an okay read and will probably give the author another chance and read his next book.

This is Reynolds's best storytelling yet. As a fan of hard science fiction, I've always immensely enjoyed his technological inventions, which this novel has to a somewhat lesser degree than in earlier works. The chief selling point of this novel: it has what is easily his most memorable storyline. It's a unique method (as far as I know) for humans to reach deep space. Also present here is a theme that runs through all of Reynolds's works: that our galaxy was once inhabited by beings far more advanced than us, but which have vanished, leaving behind powerful but incomprehensible artifacts. I hope this is the beginning of a series.

The start-up to this book was great: seemingly unconnected prologue, tight pacing, good hard SF tech, and then Reynolds inserts a conflict between characters that escalates into improbability. Some of the extremes that the two main female protagonists go to so satisfy their vendetta toward each other often descend into clichéd misogynism. Personally, I expected something a little more refined or, at least, logical thinking from people who obviously must come from a structured and disciplined background need for deep space mining.
In the end, Reynolds channels Clarke's Rama but the one thing that kept nagging at me was that in decades marooned on the alien artifact, the crew of the Rockhopper hadn't explored Janus a little more.

Once again, Alastair Reynolds shows us is ability to write stories able to renew our sense of wonder.

His previuos stories in general and this one in particular have a scope which is often lacking in other authors.

The momentum builds step by step, even if allowing for some respite form time to time, making the storyline more credible but still maintaining the general focus.

The scope of the overall story is also magnified by the point of view of the narration, that of a small community with all its human, sometimes petty, interactions; this makes a nice contrast with the dramatic adventure they are living, something that would take away the breath of many but would also make every one dream about. It sometimes reminded me about Omero's Odissey, with a bunch of people thrown into something they didn't choose but that they go along with as best as they can.

I also liked the way Alastair Reynolds takes relativity (which sincerely often sucks, giving you a sensation almost of "imprisonment" by the laws of phisics) and uses it to widen the time-scope of the story.

Definitely a don't-miss if you like hard sf with some adventure added as a bonus; I can't wait for his next book.

Extremely mediocre for Mr. Reynolds. Terrible, unlikable characters. Interesting storyline but very long, drawn out with little to no payoff. Nothing in comparison to his other works. I'm certain he won't make this sort of mistake again.

I found Pushing Ice an excellent tale, and further proof that for Alastair Reynolds there is definitely life after his Inhibitor novels. The crew of mining spacecraft Rockhopper find themselves embarking on an unexpected voyage of discovery, after Saturn's tiny moon Janus starts to behave very oddly. This has similarities with Clarke classic Rendezvous with Rama, with added corporate politics and interpersonal friction. Some characters remain relatively undeveloped, but most are convincing, as is the future technology, which is impressive but never infallible. Credible aliens and gigantic space structures help this novel to evoke a fine, old-fashioned sense of wonder.

Apart from a reasonably length prologue, there is far more of the straight new future action-spaceship in trouble type book here. However, given that this is Reynolds writing, you know it won't stay like that. He then diverts a little into Greg Bear's Eon, to a degree, but, of course, the situation is probably even nastier. Excellent work again. Reynolds is still an author I will be happy enough to pay the outrageous prices books have got to these days, to own. With a growing body of work he has not let me down once.

I've read Century Rain before this and thought that it was a rather average experience.

Pushing Ice however had me absolutely hooked. Like other reviewers, I'll grant to have seen better character interaction elsewhere, but as alvays with good SF, it's really all about the setting and the plotline, and as a first encounter novel this ranks among the best.
If you've enjoyed Peter Hamilton - the current master of Space Opera - but found him a bit long-winded and liked Arthur C. Clarke, but found him a bit too nerdy, you might give this one a try.

It's been a while since I've had a reading experience that really made me loose myself to the story, but "Pushing Ice" did the trick. And then in one volume....

IMO, there's too much crap in the space opera genre. Insofar this can be considered space opera - which I really don't think it is - this is definately a gold nugget.

This was the first Alastair Reynolds book I have ever read, and I loved it!!! It kept you guessing as to what would happen; the plot twists and ending were unexpected; the relationship between Bella and Svetlana was a complex balancing act of power, back and forth. I liked the aliens, which seemed fresh and original. The framing story was also different.

Also, this book is a stand-alone book, and I think that Reynolds deserves special credit for that: you don't have to hunt down a lot of extra volumes. In a publishing world of open-ended series and never ending sequels, this book provides a lot of ideas, dynamic characters, and big-punch adventures in a single volume. Bravo, Alastair!!!

I thought this would tie more directly into Revelation Space, and none of Reynolds work has blindsided me as much as that one did, but this is my favorite since, though I still have a few to go back and check out.
Some of the characters motivations and choices are questionable as they always seem to be.
John Lee's voice is always a joy to listen to.

What a fabulous read. This book stretched my mind to comprehend a worn out theme in a new light. This isn't just your same old "Lost in Space" adventure. It captures the hopelessness of a crew lost in deep space trying to unravel a mystery as they're hurtling not only through space but also through time.

After many years wandering lost amid fantasy mislabeled SF, and turning in desperation to the oldies but goodies written by Niven, Zelazny, and their ilk, I stumbled on Pushing Ice. Fabulous! Enough explanation that this non-physics major can follow (or pretend to), with plenty of action. The typical male failure (sorry, guys) to track character development, but it is quite possible (sorry, girls) for a woman to hold an implacable grudge for 50 years or even 18,000. 5 stars for the pleasure to read some really good, and new, hard SF.

I really enjoy the science in science fiction, and believable characters. I have watched the movie Aliens many times and I have always wondered why you would pick really stupid people to go into space. Is there going to be a shortage of smart people in the future? Are we going to rely on a bunch of idiots to take us into the far reaches of space? Is mister Renolds watching too many soap operas on TV?

Reynolds continues to spin fine hard SF yarns - this one not set in his Revelation Space universe. Comet & asteroid miners are diverted from their task as one of Saturn's moons begins to exit the solar system. They are uniquely positioned to give chase, and the interstellar adventure begins. Credible character development and good science make this a must read for hard SF fans.

This is the first book by Alastair Reynolds I have read. I must say I was disappointed. The idea behind the book is interesting. But Reynolds' writing is pedestrian at best. The pacing is terrible. The characterizations are thin. The book drags for hundreds of pages, then falls apart in the last 50. It seems like the editor got nervous at the length and told AR to wrap it up quick-smart.

I would read other books by AR if they were given to me, but I won't be buying any others.

I enjoyed this book, especially as it was on clearance. I didn't like some of the main character's motives, and some of the conflicts seemed manufactured, although I suppose I've never been rocketed away from home forever. I may read a few other of this author's books before I make a final decision on his quality. I suppose the most I can say is that this book left me ambivalent at best.

I really enjoyed this book with the exception that the story was slightly disjointed at times. There are sudden jumps in the story and one in particular in which a large chunk of plot seems to suddenly go missing. Aside from these short comings, however, The science & plot work well together. The characters are reasonably complex & the universe captivating.

I am an avid fan of Alaistair Reynolds.

Chasm City is among my all-time favorite books ever. The setting, the people the whole atmosphere were just perfect.

'Pushing Ice' delivers an interesting setting. The whole "what is with this moon that makes it move out of our system' was very good.

But I don't want to read 250 pages until they get on that thing and when the interesting part starts you only get tiny bits on the last 50 pages.

The whole 'women friendship theme' was a bit over the top. Locking up someone for 30 years because she made a bad call (which she had to make) and still have a grudge.

The fountainheads part was interesting, but as mentioned far too short.

I usually enjoy the thrill of grand space operas. No suspense in this one though. Everything was totally predictable. The conflict between Svetlana and Bella was tedious; the aliens were somehow uninspired. I enjoyed a couple of his other books, but this one was far too long and uneventful.

Reynolds has again produced a novel of human nature that happens to be taking place in a very original SF setting. Along with John Scalzi and a few others, he presents hope that the SF genre will not continue its backslide to the pulp fiction market.

It seems to becoming fashionable these days to reuse (notice I don't use the "P" word) the writing of others, and pass it off as original work. (A while back, sequels were all the rage. A.C. Clarke, with some help, wrote a slew of sequels to his famous Rendezvous with Rama. It's been a while, but I seem to recall they had titles like Rama Redux, Rama Run, and Rama at Rest. I think.) Take, for instance, the recent award-winner Old Man's War by John Scalzi. Nothing but recycled Heinlein there, and not a very good job of it, either. Or, look at the present volume up for consideration, Pushing Ice. Here we have yet another Rama incarnation, neither more nor less. Perhaps such blatant, er, borrowing would be acceptable if the story weren't so awfully boring. Reynolds has little flair for characterization or pacing, and, perhaps most damning for a writer of this genre, limited imagination. I find it hard to believe that, fifty years from now, people will be using our current-day slang. Let's hope that, come 2057, "Don't go there" will be remembered as a quaint phrase whose usage died out sometime in the 2010's. (Then again, back in 1990, if you told me that wearing a baseball hat backwards would still be considered trendy in 2006, I'd have laughed.) Reynolds "describes" his characters by telling us what TV shows they watch and what slogans are on their t-shirts. In fact, he does an awful lot of telling, and not enough showing. Well-written dialogue conveys the emotional tone. With Reynolds, technology and people each get plenty of infodumps, so that the book reads more like a user's manual than a novel. And of course, the lack of imagination is the real killer. I'd be willing to read another telling of Clarke's classic, if it was interesting. After 250 pages, Pushing Ice was just not worth the effort. More like Pulling Teeth, in my opinion.

Musk Dogs...Fountainheads..and a spaceship that's been on the grill to long..Two crabby women that fight for 50 freakin' years or is 18,000 years! Yes I finished the book..I know why some wanted to leave the "structure".

Granted the first part of the book is full of promise, chasing down Janus and the problems that ensue...but then the wheels fall off. Read the first 1/3 of the book then pick up something else.

I do not fully understand how anyone could truly enjoy this type of science fiction. Create a pointlessly psychotic human drama that relentlessly goes sideways and doesn't fully resolve itself, involving over and under developed characters that cannot seem to get over themselves and never get what they deserve, and frame it all in a science fiction narrative that attempts to demonstrate how feeble and insignificant the human race is, and there you go - so called "first rate hard-SF". If you confess that you honestly enjoy this kind of pointless story, good on you. Just don't mind me blaming your proclamation on the fallacy of consensus.

I have read and listened to my share of SF, but I am no authority. Though, over the years, I have come to discover that hard SF is hit or miss with me. Clarke's Rama series? Excellent. Asimov's Foundation? NO THANK YOU. Foundation was nothing more than a slap in the face of anyone who follows a religion, presented by means of a somewhat creative delivery. And, Pushing Ice was an ugly reminder to me that intellectual elitism still runs amok in the genre.

I made it through the whole audiobook - only because I had to stay awake on a long drive, and I did not have a back-up plan. Serves me right. The best part of this book was finding out that I was able to return it and get my money back.

Nothing personal Alastair Reynolds, but with Pushing Ice, you have given me no reason why I would ever want to read or listen to any of your other books.