In Space, No One Can Hear You Turn Pages.

I'm seriously starting to wonder if there's anything in the sci-fi spectrum that Alastair Reynolds (Century Rain, Chasm City) can't pull off and make you like it. As I wrap up the first third of his Pushing Ice, I marvel at how seamlessly he's blended Alien, 2001, 2010, Sphere, and The Abyss into one tidy, tight, thoroughly tense and enjoyable package. He makes no attempts to imply that he's doing anything new; instead, he reminds us why we love all those neo-classics. I didn't even notice until last night, mulling over Chasm City because Corey is reading it, that a focal climax of said book is very bluntly influenced by Dune...but the thing is, it's not blunt at all while you're reading it, because he put so much effort into the rest of the story.

I'm about a week and a half away from a proper review, but why wait for that before reading it?