Inhibitor Phase
By: Alastair Reynolds
Narrated by: John Lee
Series: Revelation Space, Book 7
Galactic North
Centuries from now, the basic right to expand human intelligence beyond its natural limits has become a war-worthy cause for the Demarchists and Conjoiners. Only vast lighthugger starships bind these squabbling colonies together, manned by the panicky and paranoid Ultras. And the hyperpigs just try to keep their heads down. The rich get richer. And everyone tries not to think about the worrying number of extinct alien civilizations turning up on the outer reaches of settled space...because who's to say that humanity won't be next?
Retribution Space
By Tango on 10-27-13
Shards of Earth
By: Adrian Tchaikovsky
Narrated by: Sophie Aldred
Idris has neither aged nor slept since they remade him in the war. And one of humanity's heroes now scrapes by on a freelance salvage vessel, to avoid the attention of greater powers. After Earth was destroyed, mankind created a fighting elite to save their species, enhanced humans such as Idris. In the silence of space they could communicate, mind-to-mind, with the enemy. Then their alien aggressors, the Architects, simply disappeared - and Idris and his kind became obsolete. Now, 50 years later, Idris and his crew have discovered something strange abandoned in space.
The mispronunciation of Hegemony is annoying...
By Lucas M. Shepherd on 08-10-21
House of Suns
Six million years ago, at the very dawn of the starfaring era, Abigail Gentian fractured herself into a thousand male and female clones: the shatterlings. Sent out into the galaxy, these shatterlings have stood aloof as they document the rise and fall of countless human empires. They meet every 200,000 years to exchange news and memories of their travels with their siblings.
Extraordinary Sci-Fi
By Joshua on 07-20-15
Elysium Fire
Ten thousand city-state habitats orbit the planet Yellowstone, forming a near-perfect democratic human paradise. But even utopia needs a police force. For the citizens of the Glitter Band that organization is Panoply, and the prefects are its operatives. Prefect Tom Dreyfus has a new emergency on his hands. Across the habitats and their hundred million citizens, people are dying suddenly and randomly, victims of a bizarre and unprecedented malfunction of their neural implants.
Prefect Dreyfus is perfect
Pushing Ice
2057. Humanity has raised exploiting the solar system to an art form. Bella Lind and the crew of her nuclear-powered ship, the Rockhopper, push ice. They mine comets. And they're good at it. The Rockhopper is nearing the end of its current mission cycle, and everyone is desperate for some much-needed R & R, when startling news arrives from Saturn: Janus, one of Saturn's ice moons, has inexplicably left its natural orbit and is now heading out of the solar system at high speed.
Proof that a good story doesn't require a trilogy
By Jesse on 01-14-12
Narrated by: Natasha Soudek
2080: At a remote site on the edge of the Arctic Circle, a group of scientists, engineers, and physicians gather to gamble humanity's future on one last-ditch experiment. Their goal: to make a tiny alteration to the past, averting a global catastrophe while at the same time leaving recorded history intact. To make the experiment work, they just need one last recruit: an ageing schoolteacher whose late mother was the foremost expert on the mathematics of paradox. 2028: A young woman goes into surgery for routine brain surgery.
Not your father's SciFi!
By Charles M. on 08-23-19
Century Rain
Three hundred years from now, Earth has been rendered uninhabitable due to the technological catastrophe known as the Nanocaust. Archaeologist Verity Auger specializes in the exploration of its surviving landscape. Now, her expertise is required for a far greater purpose. Something astonishing has been discovered at the far end of a wormhole: mid-twentieth-century Earth, preserved like a fly in amber.
One of John Lee's best performances
A Hole in the Sky
Arkship Trilogy, Book 1
By: Peter F. Hamilton
Narrated by: Elizabeth Klett
Sixteen-year old Hazel lives in the Daedalus, a starship that is flying in search of a new world. The ship has been traveling for 500 years, searching for a world to settle in after having to abandon its last world. Everyone on board Daedalus lives a very simple existence in farming villages. The age of machines supplying their needs was lost during a mutiny 500 years ago.
By Trip Williams on 03-24-21
Bone Silence
Narrated by: Clare Corbett
The Ness sisters ran away from home to become the most fearsome pirates in the 20,000 worlds of the Congregation. They've plundered treasures untold, taken command of their own ship, and made plenty of enemies. But now they're being hunted for crimes they didn't commit by a fleet whose crimes are worse than their own. To stay one step ahead of their pursuers and answer the questions that have plagued them, they'll have to employ every dirty, piratical trick in the book....
Disappointing trilogy closure
Narrated by: Kobna Holdbrook-Smith
Critically acclaimed author Alastair Reynolds holds a well-deserved place "among the leaders of the hard-science space opera renaissance." ( Publishers Weekly). In Blue Remembered Earth, Geoffrey Akinya wants nothing more than to study the elephants of the Amboseli basin. But when his space-explorer grandmother dies, secrets come to light and Geoffrey is dispatched to the Moon to protect the family name - and prevent an impending catastrophe.
A surprising and staisfying departure for Reynolds
Empire in Black and Gold
Shadows of the Apt, Book 1
Narrated by: Ben Allen
The Lowlands' city states have lived in peace for decades, hailed as bastions of civilization. Yet that peace is about to end. A distant empire has been conquering neighbours with highly trained soldiers and sophisticated combat techniques. And the city states are its desirable new prize. Only the ageing Stenwold Maker – spymaster, artificer and statesman – foresees the threat, as the empires' armies march ever closer. So it falls upon his shoulders to open the eyes of the cities' leaders.
A hidden gem in Epic Fantasy
Terminal World
Spearpoint, the last human city, is an atmosphere-piercing spire of vast size. Clinging to its skin are the zones, a series of semi-autonomous city-states, each of which enjoys a different---and rigidly enforced---level of technology. Following an infiltration mission that went tragically wrong, Quillon has been living incognito, working as a pathologist in the district morgue.
This ain't your fathers Alastair Reynolds
Children of Ruin
Narrated by: Mel Hudson
Thousands of years ago, Earth's terraforming program took to the stars. On the world they called Nod, scientists discovered alien life - but it was their mission to overwrite it with the memory of Earth. Then humanity's great empire fell, and the program's decisions were lost to time. Aeons later, humanity and its new spider allies detected fragmentary radio signals between the stars. They dispatched an exploration vessel, hoping to find cousins from old Earth. But those ancient terraformers woke something on Nod better left undisturbed. And it's been waiting for them.
Exceptional Deep Sci-Fi
By TJ L. on 05-22-19
To Sleep in a Sea of Stars
By: Christopher Paolini
Narrated by: Jennifer Hale
During a routine survey mission on an uncolonized planet, Kira finds an alien relic. At first she's delighted, but elation turns to terror when the ancient dust around her begins to move. As war erupts among the stars, Kira is launched into a galaxy-spanning odyssey of discovery and transformation. First contact isn't at all what she imagined, and events push her to the very limits of what it means to be human. While Kira faces her own horrors, Earth and its colonies stand upon the brink of annihilation. Now, Kira might be humanity's greatest and final hope....
Verges into horror; strong language
By Tim G on 09-18-20
The Medusa Chronicles
By: Stephen Baxter, Alastair Reynolds
Narrated by: Peter Kenny
Howard Falcon almost lost his life in an accident as the first human astronaut to explore the atmosphere of Jupiter - and a combination of human ingenuity and technical expertise brought him back. But he is no longer himself. Instead he has been changed into an augmented human: part man, part machine, and exceptionally capable.
Almost stopped listening. Glad I didn't.
By cek on 08-21-16
By: Stephen Baxter, and others
Prelude to Extinction
Prelude to Extinction, Book 1
By: Andreas Karpf
When Jack Harrison climbed down the short ladder from the airlock and stepped onto the debris covered soil, the ground crackled with the sound of dried leaves and twigs.
Good story okay characters
By Jaime C. Mantel on 11-25-20
The Last Human
By: Zack Jordan
Narrated by: Bahni Turpin
Most days, Sarya doesn't feel like the most terrifying creature in the galaxy. Most days, she's got other things on her mind. Like hiding her identity among the hundreds of alien species roaming the corridors of Watertower Station. Or making sure her adoptive mother doesn't casually eviscerate one of their neighbors. Again. And most days, she can almost accept that she'll never know the truth - that she'll never know why humanity was deemed too dangerous to exist.
Half way through and giving up.
By The Kindly One on 05-21-20
A stellar new science-fiction adventure from the author who redefined space opera, set in his best-selling Revelation Space universe.
For 30 years, a tiny band of humans has been sheltering in the caverns of an airless, crater-pocked world called Michaelmas. Beyond their solar system lie the ruins of human interstellar civilization, stalked by a ruthless, infinitely patient cybernetic entity determined to root out the last few bands of survivors. One man has guided the people of Michaelmas through the hardest of times and given them hope against the wolves: Miguel de Ruyter.
When a lone human ship blunders into their system and threatens to lead the wolves to Michaelmas, de Ruyter embarks on a desperate, near-suicide mission to prevent catastrophe. But an encounter with a refugee from the ship - the enigmatic woman who calls herself only Glass - leads to de Ruyter's world being turned upside down.
©2021 Alastair Reynolds (P)2021 Orbit
Adventure Space Opera
Revelation Space
Absolution Gap
Redemption Ark
Footwizard
The Hero with a Thousand Faces
What listeners say about Inhibitor Phase
A little advice
Although this book is written so that it can be read as a stand alone, I strongly recommend against it. You will miss much of the subtext and much of the fun of this book comes from finding the answers to loose threads from previous books. So, if you haven't read any of the Revelation Space books DO NOT START HERE. And, if you haven't read the others, you should because they are wonderful. In spite of the order Audible has them listed, start with Chasm City, and then Revelation Space, Redemption Ark, Absolution Gap, and Galactic North. Although there are other books within the Revelation Space series, those 5 are the ones that really provide the setup for Inhibitor Phase.
This is the first of a new trilogy in Revelation Space so it isn't too surprising that it is a little slower than some Reynolds books - it is setting up the action that will surely come in the next two books. I am not going to really review the book because if you have read the series, you are getting the book no matter what anyway. And, if you haven't read the series yet, you shouldn't start with this book. I will make a comment about the narration just because I was a little peeved. Like most listeners, I really like most books narrated by John Lee and his performance in this one is good. However, I was REALLY disappointed that he completely changed the voices for returning characters and no excuse - John Lee originated those voices! I know there has been a gap in time between the original recordings and this new book in the series, but really, John, go back and check yourself.
Bottom line, I am so happy that Alastair Reynolds is continuing in the RS Universe. It is so huge and wonderful and he clearly has plenty more stories to tell.
D. Hunter
God, kill me now!
I have become so spoiled by Reynolds's unparalleled story telling that all the rest are just tripe. Truly no one measures up. I wish he could crank them out like the rest, but the result might place him in the ranks of the average. This has been the most compelling book series I've ever run across.
Fantastic as expected
with Reynolds already becoming one of my favorite writers 😍 I have just stumbled upon the next book series obsession in the Revelation Space series. I can't wait to read them all in order now lol. the only reason I'm giving it 4stars is because nothing can beat House of Suns.
Even an opera should be edited
I like long stories that span space and time. This is one of them. Reynolds has a great ability to create alternative worlds and populate them with unusual characters. Unfortunately, he very often gets caught up in one section of the story that just drags on and on. Then suddenly, we move on to an ending that simply sets up the next book, and you are left wondering what it was all about. I hesitate to call it filler, but I wish the entire story had moved a little more forward in the great arc of the series. One day this will be a boxed set that one can just download and wail through all at once. Some day.
How the mighty are fallen
Every couple of years I revisit Alastair Reynolds. I remember reading Revelation space some 20 years ago in college and having my mind blown. He was never again able to write anything of that quality, but for the next decade his stuff was still worth reading. Then something happened. Now his people don't do anything, they just talk to each other. Often, at times that should be high tension with nothing but action going on, people will pause to have multi page conversations, during which they will acknowledge that maybe they are talking too much. Reynolds has certainly forgotten about the basic creative writing freshman course rule of show not tell. I've known all this for a long time, but it has been a couple years since I checked out some thing of Reynolds work, and I thought maybe he might have dislodged his head from his fifth point of contact. No such luck. I will probably check him out again in another 3 to 5 years, but I feel like this author has lost his je ne sais quoi. Sad.
Delta Vee
Just fantastic!
I'm no critic, but I thoroughly enjoyed this (final?) chapter in the Revelation Space series.
I loved it so much I went back and listened to the original trilogy and then immediately listened to this one again.
Perfect? No. But thoroughly enjoyed.
G Russell
A strong follow up
For anybody who ever wondered how you the humans were going to deal with an unstoppable enemy.... We get ruthless.
Tough to finish
John Lee, awesome as usual.
The story, to me, was slow compared to The Prefect. Action scenes were few and far with characters that tend speak every little thought that happens to cross their minds. Usually I marathon listen thru Alister Reynolds's stories but this one was a struggle.
Getting the band back together!
Kind of a feel good greatest hits but it doesn't get much better than a Reynolds tale set in Revelation Space narrated by the best in business John Lee.
areaderrr
Inhibitor Phase is another great addition to the RS universe! I loved every bit of it!