Blue Remembered Earth

By: Alastair Reynolds

Narrated by: Kobna Holdbrook-Smith

One hundred and fifty years from now, in a world where Africa is the dominant technological and economic power, and where crime, war, disease, and poverty have been banished to history, Geoffrey Akinya wants only one thing: to be left in peace, so that he can continue his studies into the elephants of the Amboseli basin.

But Geoffrey's family, the vast Akinya business empire, has other plans. After the death of Eunice, Geoffrey's grandmother, erstwhile space explorer and entrepreneur, something awkward has come to light on the Moon, and Geoffrey is tasked - well, blackmailed, really - to go up there and make sure the family's name stays suitably unblemished.

But little does Geoffrey realise - or anyone else in the family, for that matter - what he's about to unravel. Eunice's ashes have already have been scattered in sight of Kilimanjaro. But the secrets she died with are about to come back out into the open, and they could change everything. Or shatter this near-utopia into shards....

©2012 Alastair Reynolds (P)2012 Orion Publishing Group Limited

Great lisen

Where does Blue Remembered Earth rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

One of the best audio books I've listened to

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No,drag it out for my weekly drives in the car

Fun but uninspiring

The book is a pleasant book. The characters were nice, the world building was great, but the narrative lacked wonder. I reach toward sci-fi to experience wonder. This novel gave you a brief glimpse at it but no more than that.

good luck waiting for book 2

This book will assist you in realizing how epic you are as a human being. Just imagine of all the inert matter in this solar system alone, in the galaxy, and in the universe... you as a human being are not comprised of inert matter. You are conscious and self aware of what you are doing. The universe is your mollusk.

Just when you get into the groove of how the world in this book works, you find out how meaningless it all is. Everything is is very local. That feeling of how important you are as a human being can be shaken down to make you feel how very small and insignificant we all are.

There are elephants, lunar dwarf elephants, neural clones, evolving robots, space flight, a human stomping the face off a robot, bombs, and self repairing glasses in restaurants that heal them selves after being dropped on the floor.

Now good luck waiting for book 2.

Good stuff!

What made the experience of listening to Blue Remembered Earth the most enjoyable?

Its a great story and well delivered. Alistair Reynolds is a great SF writer, and getting better all the time

What other book might you compare Blue Remembered Earth to and why?

I wouldnt compare any books directly with BRE. Clearly, Al reynolds other books come recommended, as do Peter Hamiltons

Which character – as performed by Kobna Holdbrook-Smith – was your favorite?

Geoffrey

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Its not short enough to do so, but yes I would have liked to

Any additional comments?

Great book! I look forward to the next instalment

100 years out, humans are reaching for the stars.

What about Kobna Holdbrook-Smith’s performance did you like?

He did a solid job of playing all the characters, making them sound right, and he had the right voice for the environment of the novel.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Our journey is just beginning.

Any additional comments?

A change for Alastair Reynolds: This was his attempt to write a more positive future for the human race. The small events of this small narrative of characters will have a dramatic effect on the human race. A very personal story, an exciting race through the solar system and a great introduction to space opera for someone only casually familiar with sci-fi.

Again, unlike most Reynolds this is about humans at the top of our game. Yet still divided. A great read. I understand that the sequel takes place after many changes brought about by the characters in this book. Reynolds left me wanting to read more, and I anticipate the sequel. A great first book in a series, but also a solid stand alone book in it's own right.

Good book, difficult narration

I love a good book but a narrator can ruin even an enthralling tale. In this case I have to constantly strain to understand what the narrator is saying, I’m not sure if it’s the recording quality or his accent but it sounds to me very slurred and muffled. I’m going to have to ask for a refund because if I can’t loose myself in the story, if I’m constantly straining, or I’m rewinding to catch the narrator, the experience is a waste of my time.

Another miss from Reynolds

What did you like best about Blue Remembered Earth? What did you like least?

He should have skipped the whole first part of the book and instead fleshed out just the last section of the last chapter (was it an epilogue?) into a full story; perhaps make the actual book into a short prologue.

The best potential parts of the book were in the Evolvarium on Mars as well as the underwater colony, but unfortunately both were extremely underdeveloped and all the action I was imagining coming stayed mostly over the horizon. Really disappointing.

Still an engaging writer in terms of style though.

If you’ve listened to books by Alastair Reynolds before, how does this one compare?

I have read everything Reynolds has written so far and unfortunately, after two misses in a row, I'm starting to doubt that he will ever get back to his best.

Some very soft writing in Blue Remembered Earth makes me think Reynolds is tiring of the Hard Sci-Fi that endeared me to his stories. Hopefully he can get back to his best with the next one.

What does Kobna Holdbrook-Smith bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Very well read by Kobna, accents were impressive and differentiation between male and female voices was mostly well handled. Production value of the title was very good overall with small amounts of theme music placed strategically.

Did Blue Remembered Earth inspire you to do anything?

Buy into an African multi-national company...nah not really.

Poor narration

Any additional comments?

When narrating certain characters, it's really hard to make out the words as it drops to almost whisper.

Excellent narrator, pity about the story.

What disappointed you about Blue Remembered Earth?

I've read and listened to a number of Alastair Reynolds books and they are generally excellent. Reynolds usually writes complex and quickly moving plots with many twists. My personal favourites to date have been Terminal World and The Prefect. By comparison this book is very slow and far less engaging.

What could Alastair Reynolds have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

The plot should have moved more quickly. The characters were not engaging, it was difficult to empathise with them.

Which character – as performed by Kobna Holdbrook-Smith – was your favorite?

All of them, the narrator was excellent.

Any additional comments?

This book has not put me off Alastair Reynolds as an author.