Absolution Gap
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| First edition cover | |
| Author | Alastair Reynolds |
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| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Series | Revelation Space |
| Genre(s) | Science fiction |
| Publisher | Gollancz |
| Released | 2003 |
| Media Type | Print (Hardcover & Paperback) |
| Pages | 565 pp (Hardcover) |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-575-07434-5 |
| Preceded by | Revelation Space |
Absolution Gap is a 2003 science fiction space opera novel by Welsh author Alastair Reynolds. It concludes the stories of the Revelation Space universe.
[edit] Synopsis
Absolution Gap picks up the story of the survivors of Redemption Ark not long after their arrival on the planet Ararat. Nevil Clavain, once known as the Butcher of Tharsis, now a tragic, heroic figure fully fleshed out in the previous novel, has fled from the society he helped to create. He's left Scorpio, an uplifted pig from Chasm City (both the city itself and the novel) in charge. Scorpio's done well, but finds himself confronted with an arrival on Ararat that calls for Clavain's presence. There's a suggestion that the lighthugger Zodiacal Light is in the system and that Inhibitors are catching up with these struggling dregs of humanity. The year is 2675.
In 2615, we find another starship, Gnostic Ascension, pulling into an uncharted system. It's Quaiche's last chance to prove to the horrifying Ultranaut captain Jasmina that he has the skills to earn his keep on the ship. He sends his personal ship down to an uncharted planet, where he finds more than he could have imagined at a price that is beyond imagination as well.
And in 2727, on the small frozen moon of Hela, Rashmika Els, a 17-year-old archæological child prodigy, has unearthed evidence that undermines the beliefs of those who rule the vast cathedrals, huge cities in motion that circle the moon to keep the planet Haldora in view, just in case the Miracle happens again. That miracle is becoming a little bit more common of late. The Inhibitor threat increases, and as the characters are slowly revealed they must choose between two different methods of dispelling the Inhibitor threat; the mystery of the vanishing planet and another, secretive race.
In combat with the Inhibitors, the characters often refer to the Hades Matrix, a large machine described as having great knowledge. With assistance from this, Aura, and humanity's newfound allies, the Inhibitor threat is dispelled, but a greater, worse threat that the Inhibitors had constrained is alluded to...
[edit] Content notes
- The Gnostic Ascension is a lighthugger from the Revelation space universe. It is commanded by Jasmina and was the ship that Quaiche and Grelier serve on before coming to Hela. It is destroyed by a sentry when Grelier and Quaiche fail to instigate a mutiny on the ship.
