[Baco Xpuch]

*SPOILER*
Just finished Terminal World and I have to say I absolutely loved it. I was expecting space opera when I got it (I'd only read the Revelation space series). I was surprised to find a Steampunk / Sci - Fi / quasi-fantasy gem. The only thing is I wished there was another 200 or so pages. Ricasso finding out about everything and going through the "Earthgate," Quillon's memory restored, the zones fixed, history revealed, Curtana navigating through "Earthgate." Damn, there needs to be a sequel. The ending gave plenty hints as to what is to come but still, it's a ride I'd like to take instead of assume.

I saw a lot of influence in this book as well. Perdido Street Station mostly (swarm = scar's armada, Tulwar = remade, the Bane = the Taint (or is that the thing between my balls and asshole?), Juggernaut = that thing in Perdido in the junkyard (been a while since I read it) also Spearpoint = that mountain in Silverberg's Silvestre's Castle, Earthgate = Stargate, Skullboys = Reavers (Firefly/Serenity) and more. I don't, in any way, take anything away from him for these similarities. Hell, every original idea I've had I've seen in one book or another.

Regardless of the ending and similarities, I loved this book. I was just curious as to other peoples feelings and ideas about this book. Too many question's unanswered: Where'd angels come from? The Salient? Spearpoint 2? and many more I can't think of right now because I've got a 21 month old girl vying for my attention.

[caladanbrood]

I can't wait for this to come out in paperback! Sounds better everytime I hear about it.

[Aooga]

Just finished this up last night. Excellent book but I found the ending very rushed and abrupt. Basically I wanted to know what the Mire/Eye of God is. Where it came from and what happened to this world. I assume from all the hints that this is a very distant future Earth.

An Earth where the ancient race discovered inter stellar travel and left this world behind through a wormhole in the center of the earth that was controlled by a guild of ...dunno...genetically modified empaths? but then something happened and the wormhole got corrupted. I can't be sure though and I demand satisfaction! Sadly, I think this is a one off from Reynolds.

[GingerBreadMan]

Aooga, on 09 June 2011 - 11:42 AM, said:

Just finished this up last night. Excellent book but I found the ending very rushed and abrupt. Basically I wanted to know what the Mire/Eye of God is. Where it came from and what happened to this world. I assume from all the hints that this is a very distant future Earth.

An Earth where the ancient race discovered inter stellar travel and left this world behind through a wormhole in the center of the earth that was controlled by a guild of ...dunno...genetically modified empaths? but then something happened and the wormhole got corrupted. I can't be sure though and I demand satisfaction! Sadly, I think this is a one off from Reynolds.

**Spoilers**

Dropped by the forum to look for book recommendations and saw this, had to comment

The book is actually set on Mars, there are a ton of clues for those familiar with Mars' (so a rather small group of people).

Stealing from Wikipedia

While the world the story takes place on is referred to only as "Earth" throughout the novel, it is gradually revealed through anecdotes and remarks by the characters that the world Spearpoint is on is Mars. Geographical features such as the Daughters, three mountains that were "punched in a sloping line with the regularity of bullet holes", and the Mother Goddess, "the tallest of all mountains, so tall and wide that from its foot slopes it no longer seemed a mountain, but merely a gentle steepening of the ground",[2] correspond to the Tharsis Montes and Olympus Mons, respectively. Furthermore, the size of the world is smaller than Earth and similar to Mars. At one point, a character estimates that an airship traveling fifty leagues an hour can circumnavigate the world in four days.[3] If a league is assumed to be 4.8 km (traditional length of a league on land) and a day assumed to be 24 hours long (a martian day is approximately 24.6 hours long), this calculates an approximate circumference of 23,040 km; Mars' circumference is known to be 21,343 km, while Earth's is 40,075 km. Characters mention navigating using gyroscopes rather than compasses, which is consistent with the lack of a magnetosphere on Mars. Lastly, one character tells a story about the founding of the world's two other cities, Fortune's Landing and Soul's Rest, both known to be older than even Spearpoint. According to the story, the cities were founded by twin princes who hailed from a faraway kingdom. One brother, named Spirit, founded Soul's Rest, while the other brother, Opportunity, founded Fortune's Landing.[4] This refers to the Mars Exploration Rover mission. Ostensibly, the cities were founded at the locations where the rovers came to rest: "And so the princes traveled, crossing land and sea, and when after many months they had grown weary of journeying, they set down their armour, gathered it into mounds and on top of the mounds founded two new cities."[4] The ages of characters, given in years, also imply that either they mature much more quickly than present-day humans, or that the year is much longer than 365 days. Finally, the discovery in a wrecked city of a sculpture of the first landing implies that Quillon and the other characters are far taller than present-day humans, who appear child-sized in comparison.

[polishgenius]

I thought it was pretty obvious that it wasn't Earth, but good catch on it being Mars (I thought the world was too small even for that, but fair play if your maths adds up, I was just going by vague hunches).

[QuickTidal]

I didn't see any other thread dedicated to Reynolds, and didn't know where to post this, but there is a trailer out for his newest book BLUE REMEMBERED EARTH and it's pretty slick.

http://icebergink.bl...ered-earth.html