Science Fiction

Absolution Gap

Absolution Gap

  • Downloads：9957
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-06-28 09:52:10
  • Update Date：2025-09-07
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Alastair Reynolds
  • ISBN：0575083166
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
  • Download

Summary

DESPERATE TIMES CALL FOR DESPERATE MEASURES

Humanity has endured centuries of plague and a brutal interstellar war: it's time for some peace and quiet。

No such luck: there is a new threat， which could mean extinction for the entire species。 Stirred from aeons of sleep， the Inhibitors - ancient alien killing machines - are intent on ridding the galaxy of its latest 'emergent' intelligence。

A ragtag group of refugees flees the first wave of machines， but with their war leader， the war hero Clavain sunk deep in despondency， the actual leadership falls to Scorpio， the product of a flawed experiment in genetic engineering。 Though Scorpio has every reason to hate humanity， he believes he has put his grudges - along with his criminal past - behind him。

Then comes an unexpected new element: a girl born in ice， gifted with both the power to lead humanity to safety and the ability to draw down mankind's darkest enemy。

On Hela， where vast travelling cathedrals circle the world in endless procession， the witnessing of a miraculous event has given birth to an apocalyptic new religion。 As the cathedrals crawl towards the treacherous fissure known as Absolution Gap， a dark and unsettling truth becomes apparent: to beat one enemy， it may be necessary to forge an alliance with something much， much worse。。。

Download

Reviews

Benji ，

A lot of things that were set-up in the previous books come to their conclusion。 Alastair Reynolds is an absolutely amazing writer。

Kirt ，

The 3rd and final book to the Revelation Space-trilogy was a stunning conclusion to a stunning series。 My only negative was it felt like the ending was a bit rushed ， would have liked to see more detail on how it played out with the wolfs etc 。 Over excellent must read for Sci-Fi lovers

Horizon_Universe ，

Alors là。 Chapeau bas。
Ce livres est une pépite。 Dans la continuité direct de Revelation Space et Redemption Ark， Absolution Gap conclut magnifiquement la saga。 Explorant des thèmes comme la religion， la guerre， l’amitié et le transhumanisme， ce livre prend des directions vraiment étonnantes， et est extrêmement prenant。 Il est difficile de le lâcher une fois qu’on est dedans， et le génie et la plume d’Alastair Reynolds arrive à faire passer même les concepts les plus fous， et les parties un peu Alors là。 Chapeau bas。
Ce livres est une pépite。 Dans la continuité direct de Revelation Space et Redemption Ark， Absolution Gap conclut magnifiquement la saga。 Explorant des thèmes comme la religion， la guerre， l’amitié et le transhumanisme， ce livre prend des directions vraiment étonnantes， et est extrêmement prenant。 Il est difficile de le lâcher une fois qu’on est dedans， et le génie et la plume d’Alastair Reynolds arrive à faire passer même les concepts les plus fous， et les parties un peu plus Hard SF - il ne faut pas oublier que le bon Alastair était astrophysicien， et a travaillé à l’Agence Spatiale Européenne。 Bref， je ne peux que vous recommender cette saga : très certainement une des plus belle， complète et complexe que j’ai pu lire， si vous aimez le space opéra d’envergure。 Un vrai plaisir que de se plonger dans ces romans， et j’ai hâte de pouvoir en découvrir plus ！ 。。。more

Simon ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 This was the third in the trilogy， it bought it all together revealing the dreadful artificial intelligence that scoured the system for star flying life and destroyed it - something made out of boxes that replicated。 They had been built to prevent life from getting to spread out before the merging of two galaxies that would wipe them all out - engaging and exciting

Douglas Berry ，

Alastair Reynolds does not deal with small concepts。 In this， Book 3 of the Inhibitor series， we're taken on a wild ride of theoretical physics， impossible weapons， and amazing characters。Let me start by saying that this is absolutely not a stand-alone novel。 You have to have already read and thoroughly digested both Revelation Space and Redemption Ark to understand what is happening in this book。 The plot follows several threads spread over time。 It starts in 2615 with a crewmember subject to t Alastair Reynolds does not deal with small concepts。 In this， Book 3 of the Inhibitor series， we're taken on a wild ride of theoretical physics， impossible weapons， and amazing characters。Let me start by saying that this is absolutely not a stand-alone novel。 You have to have already read and thoroughly digested both Revelation Space and Redemption Ark to understand what is happening in this book。 The plot follows several threads spread over time。 It starts in 2615 with a crewmember subject to the tyrannical captain of the lighthugger Gnostic Ascension nearly dying and witnessing a miracle on the icy gas giant moon he's named Hela。 The plot then jumps to 2675 and the world Ararat， home to the survivors of the events of Redemption Ark。 They learn that the Inhibitor War has come to them and that they must leave。Parallel to this are the events unfolding on the plant Hela in 2727， where 17-year-old Rashmika Elsruns away from her home in search of a position among the great mobile cathedrals that circle Hela endlessly， waiting for the gas giant Haldora to blink from existence briefly。 Able to tell instinctively when someone is lying， Rashmika quickly finds herself as an aide to the premier cleric on the planet。It's when all these plots start to come together that things really get interesting。 A lot of people complain that Reynolds' work is too dark in tone， that there's never really a win。 I disagree。 His vision is probably what we would face if we stepped out into deep space。 But along the way， this novel continually builds hope in the strangest of places。 Even the epilogue， in its own strange way， offers hope。I will say that like most of Reynolds' books， this is not a light read。 He loves getting into the mechanics of how his universe works， and at one point there is an explanation of string theory and branes that got me scrambling to read a little more on the subject。 You have to pay attention to the details， for they are important。The long-awaited fourth book in the series is finally coming out this fall， which prompted me to reread the series。 I'm glad I did， as it is the kind of mind-expanding SF I love， all while obeying the laws of physics。 。。。more

Taskel ，

Least favorite Revelation Space universe book so far。 A long slog to what seemed like a weak ending。

Juan ，

Alucinante。De esos libros que te enganchan。 Buena historia， personajes bien construidos y con un final de los que te dejan satisfecho。Space Opera de las buenas， con algunos toques de Hard Scifi。Se disfruta más si has leído los anteriores de la saga。

Ben Rieger ，

Narration was fantastic！My review of Revelation Space still applies to this book， and I'll add this:I think the characters in this book were the best of the series--both the recurring ones and the new ones。 The plot was somewhat more discernable than the previous books， and it was nice to have that clearer sense of where the story was going。 The ending was somewhat unsatisfying， with the epilogue both feeling like a teaser for another book and also wrapping up the biggest question the ending lef Narration was fantastic！My review of Revelation Space still applies to this book， and I'll add this:I think the characters in this book were the best of the series--both the recurring ones and the new ones。 The plot was somewhat more discernable than the previous books， and it was nice to have that clearer sense of where the story was going。 The ending was somewhat unsatisfying， with the epilogue both feeling like a teaser for another book and also wrapping up the biggest question the ending left unanswered。 。。。more

Eric ，

So， so good！

Andrea ，

4 stars because the book is still good until the last pages， even if you start to worry about all the loose ends， but this is a perfect example of how to NOT finish a great saga。 A stupid "epilogue" when there should have been at least another book， at least to give justice to the characters and all they've been through。 With this ending， everything that happened makes no sense at all in the end， truly a shame。 4 stars because the book is still good until the last pages， even if you start to worry about all the loose ends， but this is a perfect example of how to NOT finish a great saga。 A stupid "epilogue" when there should have been at least another book， at least to give justice to the characters and all they've been through。 With this ending， everything that happened makes no sense at all in the end， truly a shame。 。。。more

Paul Grenyer ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 I re-read Absolution Gap a decade or more after the first time in anticipation of the next part coming out in July of this year （2021）。 It was always the weakest of the trilogy， but not nearly as bad as I remember。 In fact this time I devoured it in a relatively， for me， short period of time。It’s true， as some other reviewers have said， that the story here could have been told in far fewer words， but then much of the texture of the story telling would have been lost and I think this is what make I re-read Absolution Gap a decade or more after the first time in anticipation of the next part coming out in July of this year （2021）。 It was always the weakest of the trilogy， but not nearly as bad as I remember。 In fact this time I devoured it in a relatively， for me， short period of time。It’s true， as some other reviewers have said， that the story here could have been told in far fewer words， but then much of the texture of the story telling would have been lost and I think this is what makes this such a great book！The characters and themes are believable in this universe。 I think the story could have been very different if certain characters had not been killed off so early or at all。 It’s always a shame when a lot of the main thrust of a previous book （Redemption Ark） is undone， but this is often how things play out in the real world。I achieved what I wanted by re-reading Absolution Gap， I’m up to speed ready for the next installment。 The problem is that there is so much in the Revelation Space universe I now feel the need to go back and read it all again。Ignore the naysayers。 Read this book。 Love this book。 。。。more

Jose ，

Well that was a disappointing end。 After such a long descriptive narration of every aspect of the story， the story's end is just a footnote in the epilogue？ Ugh。。。As a trilogy， there's good and there's bad。 I found the universe-building to be great。 The technology and science， distinctions between humans who have become their own species based on the planets they came from， and the space-dwelling humans are all well thought out， and expanded upon。 As for the bad， I think the books are way too lo Well that was a disappointing end。 After such a long descriptive narration of every aspect of the story， the story's end is just a footnote in the epilogue？ Ugh。。。As a trilogy， there's good and there's bad。 I found the universe-building to be great。 The technology and science， distinctions between humans who have become their own species based on the planets they came from， and the space-dwelling humans are all well thought out， and expanded upon。 As for the bad， I think the books are way too long， too descriptive at times with actions and storylines that don't matter in the end。 Reynolds could have easily cut down his books by about 100-200 pages if he wanted， without losing anything of importance。 Some people say: "It's the journey that matters， not the destination"。 True for the most part， but that god awful ending left a bitter taste in my mouth。 Like Game of Thrones Season 8。 Sure the series was good， but the last episodes ruined the whole thing， and I'd never go back and rewatch， knowing the ending。 。。。more

Brandi ，

Well， I read to the end。 A lot of promising ideas in the series， but little payoff。 So many mysteries， discarded。 So much action takes place offscreen。 And the epilogue - don't get me started。 Well， I read to the end。 A lot of promising ideas in the series， but little payoff。 So many mysteries， discarded。 So much action takes place offscreen。 And the epilogue - don't get me started。 。。。more

Kindleworm Dot Com ，

If you're not into reading a whole trilogy crammed into one book then i'd suggest staying away: this book is huge。   But if you've got this far you've just read two books of similar length so you're used to it by now -- dive right in。My thoughts are that this book just doesn't come up to the same level as the previous two。   I think it's because everything in this universe that we've come to know is all getting torn apart into molecules by the Inhibitors and there's not much left of life as we o If you're not into reading a whole trilogy crammed into one book then i'd suggest staying away: this book is huge。   But if you've got this far you've just read two books of similar length so you're used to it by now -- dive right in。My thoughts are that this book just doesn't come up to the same level as the previous two。   I think it's because everything in this universe that we've come to know is all getting torn apart into molecules by the Inhibitors and there's not much left of life as we once knew it。   It's all quite depressing really， as are some of the characters。   And while i like a writer who isn't afraid to kill off a main character or several， i was a bit put out by one of them as i really wanted to hear more from them: i won't say which one because it would spoil the whole book。But， this is war， this is the threatened annihilation of the human race， so we can't expect it to be all upbeat and fun -- can we？So yeah， straight into Galactic North now and then it's a bit of a wait for Inhibitor Phase to be published on 26th August 2021。 。。。more

Ajam ，

4★Xenoarchaeology and artifacts are back but sadly they serve little more than background details， despite that， who knew howl's moving cathedrals could be this fun。⩨NFO⩐ Read Via Moon+ReaderPro Android-AsusXOOTD ⩨FootNotes/Remarks:-The whole Clavain plot in book 2 was decent enough and I had high hopes for the character but here the whole plot comes to an abrupt end and we instead follow annoying， virtually unlikeable characters about whom I couldn't care any less。-The Epilogue and the event 4★Xenoarchaeology and artifacts are back but sadly they serve little more than background details， despite that， who knew howl's moving cathedrals could be this fun。⩨NFO⩐ Read Via Moon+ReaderPro Android-AsusXOOTD ⩨FootNotes/Remarks:-The whole Clavain plot in book 2 was decent enough and I had high hopes for the character but here the whole plot comes to an abrupt end and we instead follow annoying， virtually unlikeable characters about whom I couldn't care any less。-The Epilogue and the events in Galactic North ， not to mention the soon to be released new RS entry have calmed me enough not to shit on these 2 books（RA & AG）。 。。。more

Julie T。 ，

The best I can say about this book and the whole series is that I'm done with it。 What a let down。 The best I can say about this book and the whole series is that I'm done with it。 What a let down。 。。。more

Ian ，

What an adventure！ And peculiar， too。 More books should be about pig people。

Jay ，

not as bad as some of the goodreaders seem to think。

John Hodgkinson ，

I just love reading Alastair Reynolds' books。 They are so full of real hard science fiction， of what may just possibly happen in 400 or 600 years' time。 And this book， the last in the short series， is absolutely full of it。 The problem for me is that much of it， the brane theory and how it may work， or the hypometric engines， is a bit over my head！ Nonetheless， this is crackingly good SF and also a damned good storyline， or lines， as he does have several threads run ning through this book， as wi I just love reading Alastair Reynolds' books。 They are so full of real hard science fiction， of what may just possibly happen in 400 or 600 years' time。 And this book， the last in the short series， is absolutely full of it。 The problem for me is that much of it， the brane theory and how it may work， or the hypometric engines， is a bit over my head！ Nonetheless， this is crackingly good SF and also a damned good storyline， or lines， as he does have several threads run ning through this book， as with the previous 3 in the series。 If you haven't read any of his works and are an SF fan， then please do so， as it really ios worth taking the time。 。。。more

Mr Adam D Pearshouse ，

GrippingA gripping conclusion to the Revelation Space series。 I hope that the Universe continues to be revisited in Alastair's future stories， I still have so many questions。 GrippingA gripping conclusion to the Revelation Space series。 I hope that the Universe continues to be revisited in Alastair's future stories， I still have so many questions。 。。。more

Thomas Meyer ，

I love （view spoiler）[Scorpio （hide spoiler）] SO MUCH I love （view spoiler）[Scorpio （hide spoiler）] SO MUCH 。。。more

Aki Ranin ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 It WAS a great book and a classic series， but I noticed I was getting awfully worried at around 75% of the book。 Pages were running out and so much of the storyline still open ended。 Sadly， that persisted until the last page， even the epilogue。I can’t say what happened， but it felt like the series deserved a fourth book。 The ending definitely felt rushed and deeply unsatisfactory after committing to the series。

C ，

DNF @ 35%。 Couldn't get into the story。 DNF @ 35%。 Couldn't get into the story。 。。。more

Emma Reynolds ，

I really enjoyed this right up until the end when I couldn't quite work out wtf happened。 There were parts I found hard to follow as well and the ending was disappointing。 I really enjoyed this right up until the end when I couldn't quite work out wtf happened。 There were parts I found hard to follow as well and the ending was disappointing。 。。。more

Shobha ，

Love this series， but not this book。 Uninteresting， meandering minor plot points and some awkward dialogue。

Michael Burnam-Fink ，

Absolution Gap is a decent novel on its own merits， but a disappointing conclusion to the Revelation Space series。The best parts of the book follow Rashmika， a 17 year old girl on the frontier pilgrimage world of Hela。 Hela orbits a gas giant that occasionally vanishes， revealing hints of some immense machinery inside。 An entire religion has grown up on Hela， centered around moving cathedrals that keep the gas giant perpetually at zenith and the strains of an indoctrination virus floating throug Absolution Gap is a decent novel on its own merits， but a disappointing conclusion to the Revelation Space series。The best parts of the book follow Rashmika， a 17 year old girl on the frontier pilgrimage world of Hela。 Hela orbits a gas giant that occasionally vanishes， revealing hints of some immense machinery inside。 An entire religion has grown up on Hela， centered around moving cathedrals that keep the gas giant perpetually at zenith and the strains of an indoctrination virus floating through the population。 Hela has it's own xenoarcheological paradox， a local culture of extinct scuttlers who seem to have been killed by something other than the inhibitors。 Rashmika is driven to find out why the scuttlers are extinct， what's happened to her brother， and the true nature of the church， all of which seem to center on a immense bridge of unknown construction over a massive canyon， the titular absolution gap。 Meanwhile， the survivors on Ararat are trying to make sense of their mission， as the Inhibitors and Conjoiner war catch up to them and Captain Brannigan takes over the Nostalgia for Infinity。 The plot lurches along towards a conclusion that has about three simultaneous deux ex machinas。It's a shame， because while Reynolds sets up a fascinating universe， he never quite figures out how to tell good stories in it。 The paradox of the Inhibitors is that they're a lot like zombies， an unthinking horde that can be slowed but not stopped。 The point of zombie movies is not the zombies， but the survivors。 Who do you become in a moment of survival？ Who will betray you？ The paranoid BDSM war criminals who populate the Revelation Space universe would space each other with more ease than drinking a cup of tea， so there's not much depth to be found there。 The universe is also populated with enigmatic hints that the Inhibitors are not as all powerful as they seem。 Tinned apes， as space faring H。 Sapiens are， might not have a spitting chance， but there seem to be civilizations which have foiled the Inhibitors through migration into alternate biological forms， cybernetic uploads running on exotic substrates， or para-dimensional spaces。 The theme that transcendence is salvation pokes up again and again in the series， but is ultimately dropped。Instead， survival is assured by two previously unknown hyper-powerful alien societies。 Our heroes pick the 'right ones'， and survive the Inhbitiors， buying a few centuries for another form of rogue terraforming mechanical life to threaten the galaxy。These books have their moments， but those moments are buried in ideas that should have been cut in the draft。 。。。more

Alex Nimmo ，

I have seen a lot of folks really hate on this as the ending to the trilogy and with good reason; compared to the first two books （which are brilliant） this one is very poorly paced and with an utterly indifferent ending。 However， I didn't have to push though and force myself to read it， it still pulls you in， although the reasons for spending huge amounts of time on an ice planet when there is a lot more going on elsewhere is frustrating。 I've never been a Peter F Hamilton fan and this final bo I have seen a lot of folks really hate on this as the ending to the trilogy and with good reason; compared to the first two books （which are brilliant） this one is very poorly paced and with an utterly indifferent ending。 However， I didn't have to push though and force myself to read it， it still pulls you in， although the reasons for spending huge amounts of time on an ice planet when there is a lot more going on elsewhere is frustrating。 I've never been a Peter F Hamilton fan and this final book gets very close to his style of space opera。 Overall I would say a disappointing ending to the trilogy， poorly paced and a very weak conclusion。 BUT I am now off to buy House of Suns and Galactic North because Alastair Reynolds is probably still my favourite Sci Fi author。 。。。more

Maria Demchenko ，

Amazing！

Daud Khan ，

Rating: 2。5The book could easily have been condensed into half of the 662 pages I had to suffer through。 Unlike the first novel of the series， the big ideas are few and far between。。。 it just goes on and on and on。 A few brilliant ideas are thrown in， but they aren't enough， in quantity or quality， to make the experience worthwhile。Unfortunately， the author doesn't manage to answer all the questions he had tantalizingly set up， even from this novel itself。 The ending is a rushed job with little Rating: 2。5The book could easily have been condensed into half of the 662 pages I had to suffer through。 Unlike the first novel of the series， the big ideas are few and far between。。。 it just goes on and on and on。 A few brilliant ideas are thrown in， but they aren't enough， in quantity or quality， to make the experience worthwhile。Unfortunately， the author doesn't manage to answer all the questions he had tantalizingly set up， even from this novel itself。 The ending is a rushed job with little payoff。 I hear you have to read a short story to have a final ending to this series。 Really disappointing stuff。 。。。more

Gordon Watts ，

Ok。。。 that was a lot to go through for a setup at the end which was basically。。。 trust - also， everything is destroyed。 The last 100 pages were fantastic。 But the rest。。。 I just couldn't get there。 Ok。。。 that was a lot to go through for a setup at the end which was basically。。。 trust - also， everything is destroyed。 The last 100 pages were fantastic。 But the rest。。。 I just couldn't get there。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Absolution Gap

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Absolution Gap&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Absolution Gap&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0